Nge gi la lobey in

Nge gi la lobey in - My work is to teach. We started Dzongkha lessons today so I had to use this for the title of today's blog. I want to share some photos of the school we visited yesterday - Jigme Losel Lower Secondary School in Thimphu. Madam Deki and Madam Tara, the two teachers who have been preparing us for teaching in Bhutan invited us to see their award winning school.

Fortunately for us when we arrived the principal was also there to show us around and share her educational vision. It is winter time, so the students are still on holidays for another couple of weeks, and because it is winter the flourishing flower and vegetable gardens we had seen photos of had mostly died off. Nevertheless the school was inviting, colourful and brimming with personality. It is definitely a school that students love to come to everyday, and a place of learning above and beyond the national curriculum.

The school has won awards for its 'feeding program' which provides lunch to 37 needy students. Parents who are able come to the school to cook up large pots of nourishing food for these kids to eat. When the principal won an international award for this program, she took her 30 teaching staff to Bangkok to visit high performing schools there  (including a GNH school) to inspire her staff. During our orientation Madam Tara and Madam Deki both used collaborative learning techniques they'd seen in Bangkok to give us some new ideas for ways to motivate and engage our Bhutanese students.

I'll let the pictures tell the rest of the story:

In Bhutan, caring for the environment is just one aspect of being a green school.

Inspirational quotes painted by students were 'planted' throughout the gardens.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Outside each classroom were colourful displays of student work.

 

Some displays had colour photos of the activities that students have been doing.

 

Bob, Remy, Xavier and Sarah check out the displays.

Important messages are prominently displayed on buildings.

We saw many examples of how students use recycled materials for art work and making things around the school.

 A papier mache necklace looks like traditional coral and tiger eye necklaces.

Even in winter, some flowers were blooming: most plants are in reused containers.

The inpirational school Principal enjoyed showing us around her school.

An inspirational quote hanging in the assembly area.

Bob and Xavier in the assembly area.

Visiting this school is a really great example of how being a volunteer teacher here in Bhutan is definitely a two-way learning experience. We have many ideas to share from schools in our home countries, but there is much to learn from inspiring teachers and schools here too. Kadinche-la Jigme Losel LSS!