Autumn Interlude with Songs and Dances

Inter-House Dance Competition at Tsirangtoe Lower Secondary School

As the signs and signals of onset of autumn blaze from hills and vales, Tsirangtoe Lower Secondary School took an autumn interlude with songs and Dances. The School Cultural Club organized Inter-house Dance Competition on September 20, 2017, thus welcoming the pleasant autumn.   

The four houses jostled for the ‘title’ neck-to-neck on three major dance categories –Zhungdra, Boedra and Rigsar. 

As Zhungdra is sung with extended vocal tones in complex patterns, students sweat blood prior to coming on the stage. Yet, each participant gave it a whirl, practiced until they drop, and were able to perform a decent traditional way in front of hundreds of spectators. Unlike in the past, the students this time integrated a dramatization with their songs to make it easy to comprehend its serpentine lyrics.  Zhungdra is the oldest styles of traditional folk music of Bhutan and known for its great significance.   

Learning the lyrics, tune and dance movements of Boedra was simply a plain sailing for the participants. They simply practiced and learned. Their performance was really a praiseworthy one. Everyone jumped with joy following each song. Many conclude that the Boedra is a traditional genre of Bhutanese music, which is influenced by Tibetan folk music.

Rigsar or the Lusar is the staple of Bhutanese repertoire these days. Thus, learning and dancing Lusar is something that even distant Tsirangtoe students can do it simply at the stroke of a pen. It is the most enjoyed genre of music, both for the participants and the spectators. Indeed, the fast-paced Lusar was the core of the show, adding much weight and colour to the audio-visual feast.

The dance competition was organized to instill and inspire the timeless values of Zhungdra and Boedra, as these genres often tell Buddhist allegories. It was also to foster students in learning pop Bhutanese music style or the Lusar. 

Pentomime and Storytelling

A Dual Literary Programme at Tsirangtoe Lower Secondary School

The Literary Club at Tsirangtoe Lower Secondary School organized a dual literary programme: Inter-House Pantomime Competition and Dzongkha Storytelling Competition on August 26, 2017.

As the beats and melodies floated in the air, the mime artists of four houses appeared on the stage in various forms and paints, amusing the audience from all walks of life. Their themes surrounded around the importance of a healthy natural environment, the other side of cell phone, love for parents, and value of education in life. The literary club member’s exhibition mime on ‘save the water’ added much weight to the show.         

Pantomime is a theatrical entertainment, mainly for children, which involves music, topical jokes and slapstick comedy and based on certain theme. It is a drama or play without words.

In Bhutan, the theatre tradition began roughly from 1960s based on traditional stories such as Gasa Lami Singye. The school variety shows were mostly dominated by dramas and mimes until 1990s. However, years following 1999, the theatrical art began to lose its repute to the new media arts accessible via television and internet.  

Early this year, the Ministry of Education realized the value of long-forgotten art, and determined to reintroduce drama in schools.

The other part of the programme, storytelling competition was no less exciting. Indeed, it was thrilling performance for each audience. The storytellers narrated folktales adorned with timeless morals. The use of wide range of props and background dramatization made the stage rich enough to take the audience miles away, connecting and contemplating much on their own life.     

The dual literary programme was organized as a part of Sherig Pledge (made during 18^th National Education Conference) to promote Performing Arts in schools. The benefits of such dual programme for the students are beyond measure.  

A Day for English at Tsirangtoe Lower Secondary School

The faculty of English at Tsirangtoe Lower Secondary School, led by the Head of the Department, Mr. Nenda Dorji structured and observed special day in the school termed as “English Day” on April 23, 2017.

The faculty conducted wide range of activities that would help children develop all four strands of language: Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking.

The melodies of a greeting song, “I Have A Dream” (Westlife Songs from Merry Xmas 2010) soared all over in the airs of Tsirangtoe, touching the hearts of each and everyone present in the hall. The song taught the power of language to express the overflow of our feelings.

Word Ladder competition for classes II and III, word-within-word competition for classes IV and V, Word Jumble Game for class V, and English Quiz for classes VII and VIII were some of the language acquisition activities carried out on the day. Throughout the programme, all the children remained floating on the air with excitement.                

The day was observed to enrich the language proficiency and accelerate the pace of language acquisition for the students and teachers alike. With majority of the students belonging to illiterate or ignorant family background, outshining in English language is found to be the real barrier in their whole educational ladder. Lagging behind in English weigh down the overall performance of a child, possibly because English is the medium of instruction in Bhutanese Education System.

Thus, with such programmes in the school, it is expected that children get inspired to learn English beyond what is being prescribed by the curriculum.       

Inter House Monologue Competition

Like never before, the School Literary Club at Tsirangtoe Lower secondary School organized Inter house Monologue competition on April 15, 2017.

Monologue is a long speech by one actor in a play or film, or as part of a theatrical or broadcast programme. The Greek root word monologos translates to “speaking alone”.  

The staging of monologue created occasion for the students and teachers to meet face-to-face with the prominent Shakespearean characters like fictional prince of Denmark Helmet, a brave solder Macbeth, sensitive young man of sixteen, Romeo from Romeo and Juliet, a young woman of Athens, Helena from Mid-Summer Night’s Dream and most interestingly the drunkard jester Trinculo from Tempest.    

The participants adapted monologues from the Children’s Book of Shakespeare to moderate the standard of the theatrical and the spectators. As the well costumed characters, resembling much like Elizabethan era people appeared on the festooned stage, the audience jumped out of joy, desperately eager to watch the performance.

The monologue was staged as a part of Sherig pledge (Drama) made during 18^th National Education Conference. It was also as part of the launch of Shakespeare into the English Curriculum. Such theatrical activities in the school will help children learn the art and values of Shakespearean drama.  

Honouring the International Women’s Day, 2017

Women, in the early Victorian art and literature are portrayed as a silent victim, denied to right experiment, discover or to construct their own realities. Tennyson, in his most celebrated poem “The Lady of Shalott” vividly depicts the position of women in the Victorian era.

During this long stretch of time, much has been done to balance the status of the gender on this planet. The champions of women's rights activists toiled to eliminate prejudices and stereotypes on gender. However, some recent inspirational figures like Hillary Clinton believe that the right of women and girls is the unfinished business of the 21st century.

Realizing the worth and significance of the day, Tsirangtoe Lower Secondary School joined the globe in observing “The International Women’s Day – 2017”. It was jointly coordinated by the School Tarayana club and the School Guidance and Counseling Unit.  A student member of the coordinating club introduced the campaign theme of the International Women’s Day, 2017 - “Be bold to change”, in the morning assembly.

The speaker highlighted that, with the pride of technological advancement and globalization that fetched unprecedented opportunities in the world of work, there is also an insufferable darker side of it. She said that there is a growing informality of labour, income inequality and humanitarian crises, which are miserably felt heavier by the women gender all over the world.

To instill the sense of respect for girls and women gender, girls were let off from all the day-to-day works in the school on the day. Boys captains served meals for the girls, and senior boys washed plates and mugs for the girls. On the day, the status of girl gender in the school was lifted at par to that of female Bodhisattva in Mahayana, Tara or Arya Tara, also known as Jetsun Dolma. Everyone in the school pledged to consider girls and women as a Goddess henceforth.

The International Women's Day was first celebrated in 1911. The idea of an International Women's Day was inspired by America's National Women's Day, February 28, 1909, declared by the Socialist Party of America.

Happy International Women’s Day!

Celebrating the 37th Birth Anniversary of the Fifth Druk Gyelpo

As the sky and mountains aglow with the rays of the first light of the day, the teachers, students and the parents of Tsirangtoe Lower Secondary School drew together in the forecourt of the school, overflowing with excitement to celebrate the occasion. It is the 37^th Birth Anniversary of the Fifth Druk Gyelpo, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck.   

The Lama or the abbot of Dechen Lhendrup Lhakhang (A shrine built to store the relics of Sangsung Gyelpo or Tsirang Dzongpoen), the Chief Guest of the day sanctified the entire compound with his little dharma chakra. In his insightful speech, he mentioned that there is nobody more benevolent to us than the Dharma Kings (Referring to the Wangchuck Dynasty) in this Samsara. The Lama insisted on each and everyone to recite the zhabten (prayer for stability of life) of our Kings in return for their selfless deeds to ensure wellbeing of us, the Bhutanese.   

As the butter lamp of thousand prayers dwindled its measure and brightness into the heaven, the guests soaked themselves up with the visual-feast presented by the Scouts and Nachungs of the school. The sky was filled with the rhymes and rhythms, sounds and songs, and gentle music. Interlude of games like Khuru intensified the ecstasy of the celebration.   

Above all, on this auspicious day, the Lama has presided over an oath of allegiance for the office bearers of the school. They pledged to serve the school with their utmost dedication. This was, indeed, the formal appointment of the office bearers of Tsirangtoe Lower Secondary School for the academic year 2017.

King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck is often referred to as “the people’s king’. He is the king who cooks for his people. A king who toils in knee-high water during the flood adversity. A king who walks days and nights to reach his people. He was born on February 21, 1980.         

Sherig Lyenpo visits Tsirangtoe Lower Secondary School

The Minister of Education visited Tsirangtoe Lower Secondary School on February 14, 2017.

Meeting with the students, His Excellency talked about "the importance of trying". Lyenpo narrated a story about a little Raven called Gyelsay. Indeed, the story was self-modified version of an ancient Jataka tale from India-“The Brave Little Parrot”.

Lyenpo narrated that, upon seeing a forest fire catastrophe, little Gyelsay flew towards the river and carried some water in his beak and dropped into the flames of raging fire. It vanished with a hiss, but Gyelsay continued it several times. His feathers became charred now.

His Excellency has set a climax of his story with the appearance of the entire animals in the forest. The animals thought, “Why this little Gyelsay, in his infinite wisdom, fighting a losing battle?” The Gyelsay rejoined impatiently, “I am trying my best.” The entire animals got inspired by the commitment of the little Gyelsay. Everyone tried. Everyone worked. They were able to control the raging fire.

Citing some personal experiences about how His Excellency became expert four-ball-juggler and a scriptwriter of twenty plus Bhutanese movies, he said that the secret is “the little Gyelsay”. He added that every time, whenever he feels like to renounce or relinquish, he hears the Gyelsay whispering, “Give a try”.       

In a separate meeting with the teachers, His Excellency urged teachers to craft our children with skills and abilities to face the realities of twenty-first century world. He tinted on three key skills that our children must possess when they grow up: Create, Collaborate and Communicate.

Lyenpo also shared some of the visions of the Education Ministry. He over and over again mentioned that the school, curriculum and the teachers are the core of education system.

The ministerial visit was the first time at Tsirangtoe Lower Secondary School in the last ten years.