PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
As we flip the calendar and embark on a new journey, I extend my heartiest greetings and best wishes to everyone for the year ahead. We achieved many milestones in the last year from the inauguration of our school building and Buddhist center by Kyabje Ling Rinpoche to starting our dream school in Tawang.
I vividly remember those sleepless nights that I spent since the year 2014 in getting land approvals from the government to raise funds and begin the construction. I just began my six years of studies for the geshe lharampa program at Sera Jey monastery then while dedicating every free time towards the work of our school project.
Looking back, I feel humbled and filled with gratitude to so many people in my life who worked tirelessly besides me and many who supported me spiritually for this project. We couldn’t have achieved anything without the kind guidance of His Holiness the Dalai Lama who also personally blessed our project land. And to our kind sponsors, our TSF team, our dear family, members of Wisdom Bridges, New York city, I owe a lot. A very special thank goes to Zarina from Sweden for her constant support in so many ways.
Today, I congratulate our team for coming so far and achieving a lot during a relatively short period. The starting of the school in March is just the beginning and a beautiful journey is awaiting us ahead. I wish our team success in starting the school and in providing quality education to children in Tawang. I will continue to work hard to achieve this and I wish to invite everyone to join me in supporting Tashol Tengyur School and our vision of making quality education a fundamental right of every child.
With prayers and good wishes,
Tengyur Rinpoche
With staff and supporters of Thubten Shedrubling Foundation in 2014
WISDOM BRIDGES BOARD MEETING IN NEW YORK CITY
Wisdom Bridges board of directors met in New York city on December 19 and that was the first in-person board meeting after the pandemic. Tengyur Rinpoche offered his welcome note and thanked everyone for working towards raising funds for supporting Tashol Tengyur School that opens its doors in March this year. Rinpoche conveyed special thanks to Tenzin Kunsang for her volunteer work on social media for Wisdom Bridges. Tenzin Kunsang is an enthusiastic and talented young lady who is currently working for Tibet House New York.
Wisdom Bridges will work to raise funds for supporting children’s education in Tawang through our school and we urge individuals as well as organisations around the globe to support Wisdom Bridges in achieving this selfless goal. Visit Wisdom Bridges to know more.
APPLICATIONS FOR NEW STUDENTS OF TASHOL TENGYUR SCHOOL
In the beginning of January we announced the start of the application process to Tashol Tengyur School which ended on January 15, 2023. Due to the limited capacity during our first year of operation, we have accepted thirty eligible applicants so far. Everyone is looking forward to the start of our classes from March 15 this year. We have created a beautiful classroom for the first graders with all the necessary amenities. Generally schools in Tawang suffer from poor heating during long winter months. We have set up heating in our classroom, so parents do not have to worry about cold classrooms anymore.
Enjoy these joyful images of our future students!
Tashol Tengyur School classroom
OFFERING KHATAK TO PALDEN LHAMO ON THE LAST DAY OF TORGYA FESTIVAL, TAWANG MONASTERY
On January 22 our administrators Venerable Geshe Tsultrim and Venerable Wangdi offered khatak as a means of auspiciousness to mask dancers at Tawang Monastery during the Torgya festival. This festival is celebrated every year for three days which is part of important pujas to dispel any obstacles for the happiness and prosperity of Monyul land and people. The primary deity Palden Lhamo rose in the form of a mask dancer to bless the puja and the public assembled for this ceremony.
CURRICULUM
As Tengyur Rinpoche often says, the first language should be the language which is the foundation for our rich culture and traditions and it is only through teaching our first language that we can preserve them. At TTS children will speak and learn Tibetan (Bhoti) language and script which will provide access to centuries old scriptures that are preserved in world libraries and museums due to their significance and preciousness. We have also selected the most recent English language materials from the USA. We plan to invite volunteers with experience in teaching English at primary schools to join our faculty.
SOCIAL EMOTIONAL ETHICAL LEARNING CURRICULUM
Cecilia Buzon, a long term school management expert and training facilitator on Social Ethical and Emotional Learning (S.E.E.L.) from Argentina will visit our school in the end of February to train our faculty members on how to teach ethics to children and how to do it in a compassionate way. Teachers from other schools may also join these courses and we hope that it will help them enrich their teaching methods and skills.
ENGLISH TEACHER VOLUNTEER POST
We invite volunteers who have experience in teaching English to come to our school to teach English. The duration of stay is from one to six months and TTS will provide accommodation, partial compensation for trips and food while in Tawang.
HOW YOU CAN SUPPORT TASHOL TENGYUR SCHOOL
TTS is in need of your support to pursue our selfless endeavour. As a non-profit, we do not have any sources of income and rely entirely on donations to run the school. Any amount of donation is welcome and it will make a big difference in the lives of Tawang children.
You can donate towards:
- One year tuition for one child
- Hot lunch for all children for one day
- Expenses toward inviting and hosting volunteer English teachers from overseas.
For details, please visit Wisdom Bridges website.
