The flash floods in August 2010 wreaked havoc on the computer room of Druk Padma Karpo School. The mud crept in and damaged all the computers installed there. However, things always have a way of bouncing back from a disaster. And so it happened with the Druk School too. A lot of the damage done by the floods was repaired. Further, new computers were installed in March, 2011. Now the new and improved computer room stands proudly on campus with 32 new computers!

As part of the project Operation Sadbhavana, the Indian Army undertakes various campaigns to develop literacy, women empowerment, public health and relief and rehabilitation in Jammu & Kashmir. On the 25^th of March Mrs. Pari Balsara, wife of Core Commander of Operation Sadbhavana, and Colonel Rana from the CO 503 ASC Battalion arrived at the Druk Padma Karpo Institute to distribute blankets to the students from the flood affected regions of Ladakh. The event started at 11am and 58 blankets were given to the students. The event started off with a cultural programme where the students performed different songs as well as Ladakhi and Himachali dances. There were solo performances as well as group numbers. This was followed by the distribution of the blankets. Thus ended a day of goodwill.

The Druk Padma Karpo School celebrated the school's founder, His Holiness Gyalwang Drukpa‘s, birth anniversary on 15 March, the 10^th day of the 1^st month according to the Tibetan calendar. The day started off with prayers along with a special Long Life prayer for His Holiness. Following that, each student offered a “khatak” (white  scarf) to His Holiness’ picture. Students from the 2^nd standard onwards participated in this ceremony. The students were then taken for a ceremonial round of the Naropa Photang monastery. A delicious treat of “halwa-puri” (sweets) and juice awaited the children once they came back to school. A documentary on the life of His Holiness Gyalwang Drukpa titled “My Life, My Wishes” was screened. The celebrations drew to a close with talks on His Holiness by staff and students.

Tsering Dolma of class S-9 writes a poetic account of her winter holdiay.

Ladakh is the land which is covered all around with the crowns of white sparkling glaciers and snow capped mountain where icy cold water from sparkling white glaciers take birth and flow singing and dancing. Most of the places are covered by snow in winter and make Ladakh a snow land. When the sun rises, all the places shine and show us a beautiful view and it seems that they are wishing us good morning with warmth and great pleasure. When it’s time to wake up a beautiful view takes our attention and that is the trees on which snow have been fall softly and the snow which is landed on the tree remains there for long time and when it melts with sun heat, its make us feel warm. The chirping of birds also take our view on them when the walk on the ground with noisy sounds remaining their footprints on snow landed ground and again flying above the snow landed land. After these beautiful nature wonders when I woke up and step my foot towards outside the cold weather touches my skin and makes me feel cold. The boots which I left outside was filled with snow and again mothers shout.

Although the breakfast time is the sweetest among all, a big bowl full of hot streaming, delicious smell of thukpa with many delicious varieties in a cold shrinking winter. Sitting near bukhari with the family members and having it. The more I ate the more I become hungry for it. After these things another honey movement comes and that is getting ready for tuition. When I get ready for tuition my friend would come to take me and together we go for tuition. At there all the students gather and throw snow on each other in cold weather. The girls make their own group and boys their own and enjoy throwing snow on each other wearing woolen clothes. At there no one spoils our mood until teacher comes. When teacher comes everyone becomes lazy and lazily we all go into our class and waits teacher to finish the lesson . After teacher finish lesson everyone comes running out from class as if we were kept there for many centuries. We shouts, sing, dance and play lots of games and sports. In winter the most exciting games for us is ice skating. While we are skating sometimes our leg would fall inside hole in ice where in return your boots would wet and makes us cry because of the cold pain we suffer.

The winter going outside with friends is also very pleasure. We would plan to go for shopping and we would roam all around the street and we would walk giggling and laughing holding our hands tightly so that we would feel comfortable and secure from cold weather. When we walk along the street sometimes we slip and the others laugh as a donkey and parrots. Although it is very funny to do these things in winter. The winter days goes very quickly and remind us school. When our precious winter movements comes to end we feel very bore because it’s time to go for school and our funny days ends there. We have to complete our works and we have to give all our precious times in books. No exciting movement knocks our door and our happy days. We spend our summer in memory of winter days and waits winter to comes and pray for remain it for longer time with another spicy and funny days.

The school arranged a winter training programme for some of the teachers which took place from 10^th February to 19^th March, 2011, at Sri Aurobindo  Ashram , Delhi, India.

19 teachers from the school attended the programme.   

 The aims and objectives of the training programme were:

• To empower the teachers with a comprehensive understanding of the child as a learner and learning as a lifelong process.
• To prepare systems and processes to equip the school for launching a comprehensive model of Child Centered Education.
• To help teachers understand and develop themselves as facilitators and Human Resource for implementation of Child Centered Education in the school.

The programme included: Self development; teaching through projects; child centered education;  visits to some schools in Delhi and some museums and historical places; art and craft; theatre and drama; physical education,  and yoga and meditation.

 The teachers reported that it was a good learning experience and are looking forward to implementing their new approaches in the school in a phase wise manner.

The teachers reported that it was a good learning experience and are looking forward to implementing their new approaches in the school in a phase wise manner.

Account by Stanzin Thinles of class S-9.

On 15th December. one and a half months after the start of our new school year, our school was closed for a long winter break like other schools of Ladakh. But for us, the students of S-9, school arranged a tuition class for 5 days. My classmates were very happy not only for the long winter break but also about the tuition classes because we got a chance to spend more time with our friends. After that I spent my holidays with lots of enjoyment and studies also. During the vacation I also went for a tuition class at Leh and each day spent by me at Leh was wonderful. I also did my winter vacation homework.

There were two major local festivals during the vacation, DOSMOCHAY and SPITUK GUSTOR. We went to the festivals with our friends and enjoyed them a lot, and we also visited the gompa and stupas.

On the last three days we again came to school for Hindi extra class when Sir Sudershan Kumar taught us.

On 4th of March school was reopened after the vacation and I met all my friends again. From the very first day we started preparing for our 1st unit tests which started on 7th of March.

These are some of my memories of winter my holiday which I enjoyed and also studied a lot. I hope next holiday will also happen like this.

At the beginning of March 2011, the school resumed after the two and a half month winter break.

Thankfully the wooden floors have survived and have recently been sanded and re-varnished.

In the aftermath of the mudslide disaster, 78 displaced children who had lost their homes or a parent, were taken in by the school as residential pupils. This has left the school with the need for additional classroom and residential accommodation in addition to the planned expansion of the school.

Of paramount importance is to build a defensive structure to protect the school from future similar mud or rock slide events. A structural engineer from Arup, the architects and engineers of the school, is spending four months at the school working with the construction manager during the summer construction programme.

The landscape of the whole school site needs a lot of work because the resulting ground level is 1-1.5m higher than it used to be in many places.

The king of Ladakh, Raja Thinles Namgyal, recently passed away.

The Druk Padma Karpo School wishes to express gratitude for his patronage and his active involvement and to offer condolences to his family.

If you are a qualified and experienced teacher with an intimate knowledge of the Indian education system, and are interested in applying your skills in Ladakh, please take a look at the job descriptions in the Help/Job Opportunities section of this website. 

Druk Padma Karpo School is seeking the following professional staff:

Leadership Team

• Academic Coordinator

Senior Teachers

• English
• Maths
• Science

Teachers

• Art
• Montessori

Student Welfare

• Pastoral Care

Please go to HELP/Job Opportunities for detailed Job Descriptions and additional information on how to apply.

Dawa Dolma, a student of M-8, describes Losar which was celebrated in December.

"Losar is the one of the important festival of Ladakh. It is a New Year eve for us. On Losar we forget about the past and look forward for a bright and prosperous new year.  Day before the Losar we remember our close ones who passed away. We go to cremation ground with a monk and do a prayer there.

On the day of Losar we visit our relatives and friends and they serve food, sweets and CHANG (local beer) to the guests. On Losar we all wear new clothes and wish each other. These days, affluent families distribute gifts to poor and needy. Children always look forward for Losar because it is a day of festival, feast, gifts as well as lots of fun and playing.

HAPPY LOSAR TO ALL OF YOU!!! "

The Construction Manager, Angdus, and his teams spent the months before the harsh winter set-in repairing and replacing the broken doors and windows that the mud and rocks had crashed into. Where the mud had been deposited, up to 1-1.5 m deep inside rooms, the lower sections of interior walls, made of mudbricks, had to be removed as the moisture from the mud caused them to deteriorate.

While classrooms were unusable, some lessons were held in tents. Gradually the classrooms were ready for temporary use without furniture.

Apart from the two science laboratories, classrooms and offices have wooden floors and there was concern that the floors might be ruined and need replacing - timber costs are high. Once the mud had been dug out, the floors were cleaned and left to thoroughly dry over the winter for review in the spring.

Before the school closed for the long winter break, lost equipment, resources and some furniture was replaced and the residential dormitories re-equipped using donated funds.

Books, books and more books

Most of the books on the campus were destroyed in the August mudslide.  Members of the Arup Design Team visited Shey in September 2010 and brought 80kg of reading books collected by Darrick Wood School, London, and Pilgrim School in Bedfordshire, UK.  The Druk Padma Karpo children were very excited to see so many books and were soon engrossed.