Inter-house English Elocution

The first inter-house English elocution was held on August 19, 2013 evening. This program was initiated by the English department of senior section. The principal focus of holding such event in the school is to boost motivation for speaking English among the students while on the page and off the page. Each house is to send three participants: one for compulsory poetry recitation, second for speech, and third student for dramatic presentation. The house masters have guided their participants in their respective disciplines for effective presentation which becomes a source of inspiration for other students for making English speaking a way of life in the school and getting used to speaking English without much thinking. After the competition, the result was announced and winners were given away prizes by the school principal.

The first round of English elocution contest was won by Triral house, followed by Trisong, Nyatri and Songsten. Among the speakers, Miss. Namdol of VII D was adjudged as the best speaker, and from poetry recitation, Miss. Paldon of VI D was the best reciter, and from dramatic section, we have Master Thinley of V B. It seemed that all the participants came up with their best preparation and it was worth watching and every one present at the program enjoyed the presentation and thus many might have been encouraged and inspired to follow the same path shown by the participants. 

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Independence Day celebration

Independence Day, observed annually on 15 August, is a national holiday in India commemorating the nation's independence from British rule on 15 August 1947. Independence coincided with the partition of India, in which the British Indian Empire was divided along religious lines into the Dominions of India and Pakistan; the partition was accompanied by violent riots and mass casualties. 

The holiday is observed throughout India with flag-hoisting ceremonies, parades and cultural events. Indians celebrate the day by displaying the national flag on their attire, accessories, homes and vehicles; by listening to patriotic songs, watching patriotic movies; and bonding with family and friends. Books and films feature the independence and partition in their narrative.

As usual, Tibetan Children’s Village School Gopalpur commemorate the 66th Independence Day with an official function held on the evening of 15 August with the assembly of students and staff members in their best attire in the school auditorium. The program got started with welcome address by Mr. Ram Chand, who is the Hindi teacher at our school, followed by singing of national anthem. The chief guest illuminated the butter lamp accompanied by the school management committee. Students’ representative also spoke on the occasion. This year Independence Day’s theme was on “Thank You India” for their unwavering supports towards the just cause of Tibet and sheltering thousands of Tibetans after the Tibet’s occupation by the Red Communist China in 1959.

The school band ‘Woenang band’ presented pahari songs (local song) before the actual contest began. There was a display of cultural show and competition held between the students of class VI, VII and VIII. The program was attended by local notables and chiefs and winners are given away prizes by the guest of honor and the function ended with vote of thanks by the village Director. 

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Inter-House Cultural Competition

As an extension of Trungkar celebration, inter-house cultural competition was held on 29th July, after a month of hard work and preparation by the students and their housemasters. The guest of honor for the day was Dozong Rinpoche who graced the occasion by making his presence on the night of inter-house opera competition. Our students displayed a high level of excellence and perfection in the field of traditional opera dance and music, and all the guests were visibly impressed. The mega-event got involvement of huge number of students from four different houses viz Nyatri, Songsten, Trisong and Triral. 

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First Terminal exam

The first terminal examination for TCV School Gopalpur got started from 22 to 27 July, 2013. The summative one for students of grade IX and X got started a week earlier as per common date sheet.  Thereafter screening meetings for different classes were held as per schedule planned in the meeting held earlier. On August 8, 2013 the result was officially declared in the hall during morning assembly in presence of home mothers, hostel warden and matrons and school principal. 

The result was declared class-wise and names of the failures were also announced in the audience.Class VII D was declared as the best class in terms of students’ performance in the first term exam and simultaneously the worst performed class too was declared. After the formal announcement of class-wise result, then student’s individual prizes were given away by the school principal. The list of failures from respective classes were prepared and got struck on the soft board for students’ information and urged them to come for special evening self study to be commenced from August 9, 2013.

Failures and compartmental students will be forfeited from going for second Saturday. The principal congratulated those who came out with flying colors and urged them to perform better next time. At the same time, failures were warned. Failures have been asked to show consistency in their studies and bring improvement before the second term examination. The detainees were reminded that if they could not show good result in the summative two, they would be suitably guided into vocational training which means the closure of gate of scholastic education for them. On the evening of August 8, 2013 all subject teachers have attended the specially arranged meeting between the teachers and parents of students to get the concerned parents informed regarding the poor performance of the students and also to make parents feel the responsibility of their kid’s learning.

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TRUNGKAR CELEBRATION

His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s 79th Birthday anniversary (Trungkar) was celebrated on 6th July with great joy and jubilation. In the morning, incense-burning and longevity prayer were held in the school hall followed by the function. Students from hostels and homes with their home mother, matrons and warden flung new prayer flags near the stupa early in the morning. This was a special occasion for all the Tibetans living in and outside Tibet to celebrate the birth anniversary of HH the Dalai Lama. After the official gathering and function, basket ball and football matches were arrangement between the staff and student teams. The result couldn’t be announced on July 6, 2013 due to heavy downpour and on Tuesday during the morning assembly, the winners were awarded by the assistant head. 

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[video] H.H THE DALAI LAMA’S RELIGIOUS TEACHINGS

Around 375 senior students from grade XI to XII got the golden opportunity to attend two days religious teaching by His Holiness the Dalai Lama from June 27-28 at TCV School Upper Dharamshala. The main teaching was on “opening the eyes of awareness”. His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s discourse was in the morning while afternoon students have attended the debating session with senior monks (Geshe) about various tenets of Buddhism. For all the students it was a great opportunity and helped a lot in their understanding of Buddhism. It was a great learning experience, thanks to the kind hospitality shown the host school and organization committee for such an arrangement.

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World Drug Day

International Day against Substance Abuse and Illicit Drug Tarfficking was observed in the Tibetan Children’s Village School Gopalpur under the initiative of Health club headed by Mr. Kalsang Tsewang with a group of students. The Theme for this year’s World Drug Day was on “Make health your new high in life, not drugs”. On the day of 24 June, during the morning assembly, the following students have given talks on various topics to bring awareness on different issues being faced in the contemporary societies with no exception of Tibetan society. Master Tsering Kalden of X P talked about the significance of the day. Master Phuntsok Wangdue from X P on ‘understanding substance abuse’, Miss Tsering Lhamo X P on ‘health effect’, Miss Dhekar of X B on ‘prevention’ and last speaker Miss Dolkar concluded the presentation. Master Sonam Dhargyal has organized Art competition in the school. During the long break the members of health club had shown a documentary movies related with substance abuse which brought a lasting impact on students’ mind. Along with documentary show, chart and poster displayed and brochures were distributed among the students and made them take pledge “No Drugs” and they will live a substance free life. They also carried out signature campaign and writing messages on canvas.

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The summer fete

The school summer fete gets underway on 22 June 2013. Staff members of the school were to have different stalls set up for eating and entertainment of students. The opening ceremony was done by the village director Mr. Tsultrim la at 9 am sharp. The program lasted for whole day and by 4.30 pm the stalls were closed for the day and on the same evening; a game of tambola was organized in the school hall. Students from all classes and staff members took an active participation in the game of tambola. The money raised from the sale of eatables from the different stalls and tambola game is meant for purchasing school sports items. 

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Nyennag recitation

Students for language preservation organized Nyennag recitation on Monday 17 June, 2013. The program was graced by the guest of honor Rev. Kirti Rinpoche from Kirti monastery Dharamsala.. 15 students have taken part in the Nyennag recitation and competition. Three judges were invited to witness the competition and they were Mr. Sherap from political prisoner association, Mr. Sonam D Bhuchung, a freelance writer and poet and Miss. Sangmo, a contemporary Tibetan writer Dharamsala.

His Holiness Kirti Rinpoche after the program gave a speech on contemporary grave situation prevailing in Tibet. His reverence urged students to work harder as we are living in free country where you are provided with every basic and general facility required for a student. He further said, everyone should strive for achieving excellence in their work. Tibetans in Tibet are watching and awaiting us to free country Tibet from the bondage of the Red Communist China. In recent times we have been witnessing a number of self immolation being done by individual Tibetans to express their anger and desperation against the Chinese rule and to get justice, restore freedom of expression and fundamental human right, practice one’s own religion, etc. As Tibetan students are viewed as the future seeds of Tibet by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, we have huge responsibility to shoulder and try to come and go at par with modern world.

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First Social Science Quiz

The Social Science Department of the school organized the first social science quiz for grade VII to IX students June 13, 2013. The quiz tests the students’ knowledge over the current affairs, and various academic disciplines of the social sciences such as history, political science, geography and economics. A new round was also added to test students on various facets of Tibetan history.

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Rhetoric

Rhetoric or Tsig gyak (traditional satirical verses competition between male and female students) was held between students of class VII and VIII on the evening of May 31, 2013. This is a folk culture of Tibet, prominent especially among people in rural areas of independent Tibet. The verses were composed by the students themselves and sung to a melodic tune. This activity enhances students’ command over the language and helps in promoting love for poetic composition. The competition was won by students of Class VII D, followed by VII P and VIII B students respectively. 

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Riglam (Dialectic practice)

As per instruction from HH the Dalai Lama, Riglam (Dialectic practice) has started in Tibetan Children’s Village School Gopalpur in the year 2006 for students from VII through X and for XI and XII students were introduced to learning of Buddhist philosophy. Since the concerned religious teacher faced problem in the management of large of students at one point of time, it was resolved to have dialectic practice only for students from “D” section only to have better learning atmosphere and learning becomes effective. Students from other section like section B and P have access to the dialectic practice on interest based.

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Celebration of English Week

The English week was observed in the school with a view of bringing improvement of English in writing and speech and of course in listening from May 27-31, 2013 by the Department of English. On Monday, the program got kicked off by a speech from XII D student Master Chonjor and a English song presentation by Miss. Tenzin Sangmo. During the week long English program, all other normal programs of morning assembly come to stand still. On Tuesday, there was presentation of speech by Master Norbu Lhagyal, poetry recitation by Miss. Rither Tsering, Master Tenzin Passang and song by Master Pempa Tsering. The poetry recitation and song were dedicated to Mr. Lhasang Tsering la, who is one of the Tibetan political activists in exile community. Miss. Yangchen of XII A gave a brief account of his life history.

On Wednesday, students from VI D and X D presented a wonderful English songs followed by poetry recitation On Friday morning assembly, Miss. Tsering Bhuti and Miss. Ngawang Bhuti recited poems, Master Lobsang Dawa and Samten dedicated their songs to their social teacher Gyen. Tamdin la, and the English Department. The anchor also made announcement of English wall quiz and students are urged to take note of it and winners will be honored after the submission of answers after the summer break. With this the English week came to an end.

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Kagyur Reading

Two day Kagyur (more than 100 Buddhist sutras or text – containing lord Buddha’s original teaching) reading was organized by the Cultural Committee of the school on May 24-25, 2013. Kagyur Reading is one of the important aspects of the Tibetan Children’s Village School – Gopalpur. This is done every year during the holy month of the Tibetan calendar. Students from class VII through XII and staff members got assembled in the school hall on the appointed day for reading. The very idea behind this is to retain our cultural heritage and for the well being of all sentient beings. On the evening of May 25, a special Solstog was arranged by the culture committee to offer special prayer. This is time of the year that Tibetans across the world make offerings and hold special prayers and refrain from killings and eating meat to have positive impact on their lives for the next life.

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Tibet our country project

The Tibet our country project for the senior section student gets underway from March 4, 2013. The theme for TOCP was discussed in the staff meeting. It is suggested that students need to understand history of Tibet. To get insight of Tibetan authentic history, one has to refer to historical texts. Senior staff members unanimously decided to do Tibet our country project on “Political History of Tibet” written by renowned historian Shakapa after lengthy deliberation on the topics. Ultimately, senior section students will be reading political history of Tibet as a part of project. The Tibetan department head Mr. Karma Sangye has been urged to make available of books of Shakapa and topics distributed among the classes. Class VII will do the project work of exile life since 1959. The project work came to an end on March 30, 2013. Thereafter, each class was asked to make presentation on the project done on Tibet Our Country, in the morning assembly.

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The first Inter-house Tibetan Debate

The first inter-house Tibetan Debate is held on the evening of 20 May, 2013. This year the Tibetan Debate was held on the topic drawn from the lot and the participants were to speak on tempo basis by grasping the ideas contained in the topic. There were three participants from each house, the first speaker has to define the keys words from the topic, second speaker has to speak on the main theme and the third speaker has to wind up the topic. Each house is given time to ponder after the draw of lot of topics. During the pondering session, the students on the floor were shown video clipping of VOA. Mr. Gonpo from XII C was selected as the best speaker from the first round. The topic for each house differs from one another.

The topics are;

༡༽ གཞོན་དུས་སྐྱིད་པོ་གཏོང་།

༢༽ དཔལ་འབྱོར་ཡོད་ན་བདེ་སྐྱིད་ཡོད།

༣༽ ཇ་དང་དགེ་རྒན་ཚ་ན་དགའ།

༤༽ དབྱར་ཁའི་དགུང་སེང་དེ་ད་ཡོད་ལས་དུས་ཡོན་རིང་ན་ཁས་ཕན་ཆེ།

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Dolma Tsenkyong

Dolma prayer recitation for the whole night of May 18, 2013 was organized by the cultural committee of the school. This cultural program was organized for the longevity of His Holiness life and well being of all sentient beings in general and also for the departed soul of Tibetans who made supreme sacrifices for the genuine cause of Tibet. Dolma prayer recitation was done on roster basis and the program got started at 6 pm and went on until 6 am next morning. It is one of the major features of TCV School Gopalpur to organize such cultural event during the holi month of Saka Dawa. Students from VII through XII and all staff members have gladly taken part in this program.

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The first Inter-house English Debate

The first inter-house English Debate was organized by the English Department and was held on 16 May, 2013. The very purpose of holding such event in the school is to bring improvement in communication skill and remove the stage fear and have them practice in the art of speaking. Each house was to speak on different subject matters/topics; such as ‘Ancient monuments are more of making money than preserving tradition”, ‘Lack of moral values lead to an increasing youths in violence’, ‘Today, Buddhism has become a money making business’, ‘Lack of employment opportunities also forces some parents to send their children to foreign countries’ and ‘Helpless old people have become a burden to their children’. All the participants spoke well on their topics, defending the motion. The best debater in the first round for the year 2013 was bagged by Miss. Tenzin Dolma, followed by Miss. Tenzin Yangchen in second and Mr. Tenzin Yonten in third positions respectively.

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Basketball tournament

From 22 April – 30 April, inter-house basketball tournament was held under the guidance and supervision of the housemasters and games committee. Students from different classes representing the four houses played matches among three main divisions on the basis of their height and weight. These games are important part of the physical and mental growth and development as a part of educational program. 

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English Quiz

The first literary contest (English Quiz) was held on April 19, 2013 as per schedule. There were 24 participants in all from classes VII through XII. The topics for the quiz were announced a week before the actual contest was held. The quiz was held on the following topics: 1) grammar 2) books and authors 3) audio-visual rounds 4) rapid fire round. For each topic, there were different quiz masters.

Students on the floor showed interest in the English quiz especially in the rapid fire round. This kind of literary activity evokes learning spirit amongst the students and many students got informed and exposed to different arena of competition even when they were not directly involved in the quiz contest.  The winners were awarded prizes by the school principal. 

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World Health Day

TCV School Gopalpur marked the World Health Day on 08th April in the school hall. The program was initiated by the health committee members. The health committee members organized a series of talks and this year’s health talk was basically on theme “blood pressure control”. In order to lead a healthy life one has to keep a check on ones’ blood pressure. The world health organization message on blood pressure control was made understood amongst the students and staff members through their presentation in power point. 

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Graduation Day

The graduation day for the class XII students was held on 1st April, 2013. An official function was held in the school hall with the assembly of students and staff members. Mr. Tsewaing Yeshi la the President of TCV Schools in India from the head office, TCV Dharamsala, was the guest of honor for the day. The program began with the recitation of prayer for the long life of HH the Dalai Lama. The staff members and outgoing students were served with Drasil and tea. After the formal function, subject teachers along with Management committee members had photo session with the outgoing students. 

On the same evening official farewell dinner party was organized for the graduate students. Students and staff members of TCV School Gopalpur feel proud of good performance by outgoing students in the All India Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (AISSCE), held this year in March. The school remained closed on account of cent percent result. A new history is created in the TCV School Gopalpur chapter that this year the largest number of students (263) so far has appeared in the (AISSCE), with 75 students in distinction, 143 students in first division and the remaining 45 in the second division. There are none in the third division. Wow!

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Social Service Day

For materializing one of the main missions of TCV – that of making our students contributing members of the world, Social Service day was observed on 31st March 2013. Apart from the daily social service activities conducted in the school, on this day, students were taken out of the school campus to clean vicinity of Chamunda temple (a very holy place for Hindus), Dart, and Chachian. Local Indians appreciated our students for their sense of community service and students were accompanied by their respective class and subject teachers.

The specified areas for community service done by the students of the senior section:

1. Chamunda Area ----- XII A 
2. Dart Area ----XII B
3. Gopalpur to Nagri Post office XII C
4. Nagri  Post Office to Main Nagri Bazaar … XII D
5. Garbage Separation ---- IX D

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Trekking

In order to provide a real life experience for our children, class-wise trekking was organized every week-end. The first class to go for trekking was the students of class VII. This year there are three sections of Class VII and students left for their trekking with their class and subject teachers on March 23, 2013. The things needed for the trekkers are being provided from the kitchen and store such as dry ration, vegetables, cooking stove with oil, etc. The trekking involved walking, camping, hiking and cooking food by students with an overnight stay in the mountains. Class VII students are divided into groups to get the provision from the kitchen store and purchases done. Things which are not available in the school are being bought by the students themselves. The last class to go for trekking was class XII. Students of XII grades went on trekking on 27th April, 2013.

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Spring fete

This year the spring fete of the school is organized on March 16, 2013. The games and sports committee has initiated the fete. The whole school is divided into four houses and the staff members of the school are engaged in different activities as per work distribution done by the respective house masters. The very purpose of holding such event is to raise school fund for making purchases of sporting and cultural items needed for the school for 2013-14 academic session. On the evening of March 15, 2013, a game of tombola has also been organized in the school auditorium for the senior students. One of the attractions of the fete is, local Indians do come and enjoy the moment. 

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Tibetan National Uprising Day

On the 54th anniversary of Tibetan 10th March, the four sections of class XII students accompanied by the class teachers went to Tsuklha-khang to attend the official function organized by Central Tibetan Administration. The school arranged four buses for ongoing journey to Dharamsala and students had to bear the expenses of the return journey by themselves. Our students not just attended the official function, but had also taken active participation in the programs initiated by CTA and non-governmental organizations. Despite rainy and windy weather on 10th March, our students braved the situation and joined the peace procession from the temple to the police ground, where speeches and other programs were to be held by Central Tibetan Administration and non-governmental organizations collectively. Students’ spirits were running high and shouted out their slogans for the genuine cause of Tibet and Tibetans. It was the day for every Tibetan to rise against the Chinese brutal policies being implemented on Tibetans inside Tibet and pay respect to the 107 Tibetan martyrs who made supreme sacrifices in the recent days. 

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Parents’ Day

Parent’s day celebration for the year 2013 began with the prayer initiated by Rev. Lobsang Khedup for the long life of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and offering of scarves. The guest of honor for the occasion was Geshe Pema Dorjee, who was the former Principal of EDRC of the Tibetan Children’s Village Dharamsala. He gave a lengthy talk on how the parents’ day celebration came into being in the exiled community. He informs us that it was the birth anniversary of Dickyi Tsering, mother of HH the Dalai Lama which has been given official recognition as the parent’s day in our exile community. The day is marked with its special significance in the annals of Tibetan history as the Parents’ Day across the Tibetan settlements. Furthermore, he laid stress on preservation of intrinsic values and our noble heritage, as many Tibetan youngsters are getting influenced by western ideas and forgetting their own culture. While on the other hand, the westerners are being attracted towards our culture and heritage. He shared his observation of grave situation of 11 Tibetan families in Nepal where their kids had become drugs addicted and caused a lot of problems to the concerned families. He sincerely urged each one of us not to embark on such bad habits.

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School Opening Ceremony

The March 2, 2013 was set for the School opening ceremony, as on March 1, class XII students have to take their AISSCE. This year we have the largest number of students appearing for the board examination. Mrs. Sonam Dolkar the Education Director, TCV Head Office, had graciously accepted to be the guest of honor on the opening ceremony. Genla, briefed the students and staff members regarding the grave situation prevailing in Tibet and asked each and every one to shoulder their respective responsibility with utmost enthusiasm. The Oath swearing ceremony for the newly elected Captains and Prefects for the year 2013 was done by the school Director. Students came back from winter vacation with fresh look full of enthusiasm and commitment to their academic pursuits. Students who achieved target percentage and toppers in Mathematics, Science and English were honored and awarded by the chief guest. After the official function, the new session began. 

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Orientation Program:

Prior to the opening ceremony, orientation program for the new academic session was arranged for the staff members on 27/28 February, 2013, so that staff members get prepared for the new session and get going well. On the first day of orientation program, the school arranged a talk by Geshe Lhakdor la, the Director of Tibetan Library and Archives (CTA). His main focus of talk was on corporal punishment, its weaknesses and disastrous consequences on the mental development of children. He further elaborated his talk by giving example of shaping child’s behavior since the child is being conceived in the mother’s womb. During the pregnancy, the mother has to remain cool and should stay in the state of happiness prior to child birth. He said, “Don’t expect thank you from others for your work done”. Your work for others should be considered as a natural state of affairs. Furthermore, he laid emphasis on four qualities of a teacher; ༼མཁོ་བརསྦྱིན་པ།༽ ༼སྙན་པར་སྨྲ་བ།༽ དོན་སྤྱོད་པ།༽ དང་། དོན་མཐུན་པ།༽ On the second day (28th February) of orientation program, Mr. Kunphen Sherling one of the senior most and retired staff of TCV was invited as the guest of honor to share his long experiences being in the Tibetan Children’s Village. In the afternoon session, the principal of the school made clarification and known to the staff members regarding Default cases, Pension scheme, Warning card system and avail of Casual and other leaves.

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