Jhamtse Gatsal News » Daily Life

“School Jhamtse Gatsal, Fairy Land”

gatsal — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 03:43:59 +0000

Our school has 74 students. Some are boys are some are girls. Girls are more than boys. Our school has 21 boys and 53 girls. We study English, science, social, Hindi, Bhoti (Tibetan), and maths. Boys play more sports than girls. We play cricket, football, handball, volleyball, Nintendo, computer games, hockey, and chess. In Jhamtse Gatsal we play cricket. Cricket is a very nice game. When we play cricket, we shoot very strong. Our favourite movies are Jackie Chan, Power Rangers, Harry Potter 1, 2, and 4, The Monkey King, Ben Ten, Hollywood and Bollywood. Our school has four amalas (house mothers) and eight teachers. Our school has much fertile land to grow crops. Our favourite activities are singing, dancing, and playing games. Sometimes we go to picnic. On Fridays our school is closed.

Written by: Rinchen Tsering, Sangey Tsering, and Dorjee Norbu (class VI students)

Typical Daily Schedule

HeatherB — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 04:06:27 +0000

One positive factor that is very precious to us is that our students are very much self-driven and deeply motivated, on top of being wonderful kids, very intelligent, self-disciplined and well cultured. Their true potential and capabilities are far greater than what we have been able to tap and utilize so far. In the coming months and years, it is our firm commitment and resolution to put in spirited efforts to exploring their potentials to the fullest level.

And because we thought you might also be interested, below is the the typical Daily Routine Schedule being followed currently in Jhamtse Gatsal Children’s Community:

Tashi Delek from our busy Community!

Our Students’ Class Schedule

HeatherB — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 02:43:16 +0000

Our students show very strong innate interest in learning, knowing, and acquiring new knowledge. They are exceptionally responsible, thoughtful and mature for their age which gives us tremendous hope to seeing them lead highly meaningful and successful careers in the future and with a desire for assisting others. We also have a highly motivated and dedicated, talented team of teaching and non-teaching staff.

Because we thought you might be interested, and in order to provide a better view of what our children study and learn in the School, I produced this Class Time-Table that is currently being followed in Jhamtse Gatsal School:

Half Yearly Exams Commence with Gusto

HeatherB — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 17:03:48 +0000

After a rigorous academic session (March–August) that was interspersed with many extra-curricular activities, visitors, and the arrival and departure of new teachers and voluntary teachers, our Half Yearly Examinations for grades 1 to 6 finally took off on Saturday the 21st of August 2010, with much gusto!

I was greatly impressed to see the high level of self-confidence and composure with which the students are taking these examinations, even though this first part of the academic session witnessed a series of unscheduled programmes and activities which might have interfered with their normal academic progress. These extra-curricular and community activities nevertheless hold equal importance and relevance in the overall success of our vision and also that of achieving all around development of the students: mentally, emotionally, intellectually and physically. Our children fared very well in the midst of all these expectations and simultaneously succeeded in making remarkable academic progress during this first half of this year’s academic session.

Our children – all Grades – take examinations in six main subjects: English, Mathematics, Science, Social Science, Tibetan Language and Hindi Language. Each day, all the classes have to take Examinations in a particular Subject. Examinations are held only in the morning session. Afternoon is kept for the teachers to evaluate the Answer Sheets and prepare the Marks Sheet.

Thank you for your kind attention and all the best to our students! Tashi Delek!

Will Miss you DAD!

gatsal — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 06:42:37 +0000

today…is black day for me! yesterday night, at 11.55 pm, my dad, my friend, philosopher & guide has left me and my mom alone in this world! He passed away..

life…little bit shattered now! But I know I have to overcome this situation..for my mom at least. I will be fine i know…but my mom! She has lost her life partner, i know how it is..

cant say much…

want all of you to do a little bit prayer for my dad’s soul!

Thanks in advance,

love you all…

Snacks for the Kids

gatsal — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 18:03:32 +0000

While she was here, Suzanne had the great idea to bring the children some afternoon snacks for all their hard work preparing for the play. The kids really needed the extra energy to get through the play and the remainder of their day. Suzanne made it her personal mission to make sure that the kids have a snack every day, so that they can recharge their batteries and be better prepared for class. This is something that we hardly ever think about in the West because it’s so natural, but here it is extremely necessary. After eating, they all had so much energy. They were tumbling in the grass, playing soccer, playing tag, and laughing hysterically. It was great to see how effective a little extra food can be. Any donation support for this new venture is welcome. Thanks so much for reading! Pictures of the play will be up soon.

“About our Garden”

gatsal — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 15:02:38 +0000

Some of the vegetables we plant in our garden are spinach, tomato, cucumber, corn, beans, chillie, cabbage, cauliflower, corriander leaves, pumpkin, bitter gourd, beetroot, and gourd.

We work with our amalas and teachers in our garden.

We planted onions but they did not grow because maybe they were late.

We picked some spinach and gave it to the kitchen for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They cooked it at breakfast with roti, at lunch with rice, and at dinner with ti-momo.

One day in July some of class six’s students went in the garden and we picked sunflowers. Then we ate them.

Some spinaches were damaged.

We like to work in our garden because it gives us more energy than vegetables that are bought from the shop.

Sometimes we go to the garden to pick wildgrass. We collect wildgrass and make compost. Then we throw the compost into the garden. The compost makes the soil fertile and vegetables grow well.

In the future we want to plant more onions and cucumbers because now onions and cucumbers were damaged. The onions and cucumbers were damaged because insects ate them.

Written By:
Phurpa Yangzom, Namgey Chodron (B), Sangey Drolma, and Namgey Chodron (A) (class VI students)

Suzanne & Cinderella

HeatherB — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 18:00:11 +0000

A big applause to the just-ended play staged in the School Hall. It is our first dramatized western play at Jhamtse Gatsal. Thanks to our friend and supporter, Suzanne from Switzerland, for her voluntary services offered to our children for the last few months. She is a Teacher in the International School of Geneva.

The fact that our kids never lack in talent, intelligence and sense of humor was reinforced by watching the famous children’s play CINDERELLA this afternoon, complete with full costumes and a regale of royal outfits that seemed to be weighing down our little kids. I was amazed by the level of confidence and poise with which our children performed on the stage. The choice of the girl and boy (Pema Drolma of Class Six and Langa Tsering of Class Five) for the lead roles was perfect, as they played their roles so naturally, joyfully and with perfect elegance and grace. Their delivery of dialogue was also so dignified, clear and so sweet to hear.

It is so good that so many boys and girls could take part in the play as based on our own childhood memory. Children always like to play acts and perform, and feel immensely happy to play even a small part in any play.

We all are extremely grateful to Ms. Suzanne, for working so hard, day and night, to put together this play!

So here again, thank you Suzanne, for your inexhaustible energy and creativity, love and understanding, and for opening the floodgate of joy and cheer for our children over the past weeks during which the whole atmosphere in the school transformed into a celebration of music and singing and dancing as much as a celebration of childhood divinity and unspoiled joy and spontaneous happiness.

As you leave for Switzerland tomorrow, we wish you a pleasant journey and we look forward to your next year’s longer visit!

A Daily Snapshot

HeatherB — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 15:22:26 +0000

Stealthy pictures of all the teacher’s, doing their thing! (Except for Sachi….he was the ‘man behind the cam!’)

“About Our Village Trip”

gatsal — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 08:38:34 +0000

In May, four class VI students, Gen Lobsang (Director), Gen Sangpo (Tibetan teacher), Gen Ngawang (Campus Manager), Beezy Madam and Jeff Sir (two visiting volunteers from the US), and one doctor and four nurses from Lumla went to Kharteng and Phomang villages to give immunizations. On the way, the road was very dangerous. First we went to Phomang. We saw the villages are very dirty: e.g. there is cow dung near the houses, and many houseflies. They throw plastic everywhere and there are no toilets, but near some houses there is a structure made of branches and people go to toilet in a hole on the top level and below pigs eat. There are many houseflies and there was one girl sitting on a stoop, covered with houseflies and crying. Her family was gone to farm. And there was a naked girl and she was also crying and she was 9 years old. In the villages many parents have lots of children and they don’t know how to take care of them.

People drink dirty water from ponds. They don’t know that boiled is better. They don’t know what germs are. That is why they get sick. There is no doctor in the village and poor people haven’t money to buy clothes and medicine. So, many people die.

Then we went to Kharteng to give immunizations and to explain how immunization is important. We met one grandmother who was blind because when she was working in the field, a rice plant leaf poked her eye. Her eye was blue. Then we also met one baby who was with rash. His mother’s name is Dargey. Gen Lobsang said, “You wash your baby before 10 am every day with boiled water and with baby soap.” And he also said, “After 10 o’clock take the baby inside because the sun is hot.” This because after 10 o’clock there is risk of ultraviolet rays. “If you don’t have baby cream, baby powder, oil, and baby soap, tomorrow I will bring for you.”

Many people were scared of injection because some had never seen injection before and some think it is dangerous because they think it is the same as pricking oneself when they sew clothes. When we were going to immunize, many people hid in their houses. We saw a pregnant woman was hiding. She was scared of injection. Gen Lobsang said, “If you get injection, it will be good for you and for your baby.” Then she got an injection.

We learned that immunization is important to keep the body strong and healthy. So, we think we should continue to go and teach them. We know that if we were in the village we would be the same like them. Thank you for supporting.

Written by: Tsowang Lhamo, Pema Drolma (A), Tenzin Drolma (A), and Tsandang Lhamo (class VI students)