Wednesday, 05 March 2014 12:03

Education Advisor appointed

Mr Das

The school governors are pleased to announce the appointment of Mr Shomie Das, an eminent Indian educationist, as Education Advisor.  Mr Das is an alumnus of The Doon School and graduated from the University of Calcutta and the University of Cambridge, UK.  Mr Das was Head of the Physics Department at Gordonstoun School and was Principal of Mayo College from 1969 to 1974 and then Headmaster of the Lawrence School, Sanawar, until 1988.  He served as Headmaster of The Doon School from 1988 until his retirement in 1995.  He is currently the Chairman of Oakridge International School.

Thursday, 07 November 2013 21:06

Class 10

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This month the Class 10 students, aged 16+, sit their external Matriculation Examinations before leaving school. The results will be available in March when the students make final choices on further education or work opportunities.

The students are working very hard as they are all striving for good examination results.

Tuesday, 15 October 2013 00:00

Music Volunteer

Students enjoyed making musical instruments with music volunteer Will Embliss from KINSHIP, UK, this summer.

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Will made instruments out of spare construction wood and taught the students how to play them. On the day of the Plant Nursery Inauguration guests also enjoyed the xylophone. Will also made instruments from metal tubes and old oil drums.

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Friday, 30 August 2013 16:00

Reflections 'three years on'

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Three years ago this month, a big mudslide hit our school in the night and did a huge amount of damage. Nobody was killed on the campus, but more than 200 people lost their lives nearby in the Indus Valley. School staff saved our residential students and led them to safety on adjacent high ground. Villagers' fields were left covered in mud, boulders and debris, dramatically affecting their livelihoods.

The school buildings took a direct hit, but top-class design and good construction enabled them to withstand the large forces. The mud made a terrible mess inside buildings, and carried away books, furniture and equipment.

Wednesday, 28 August 2013 17:42

Independence Day Workshop

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On Independence Day, 15th August 2013, Sumita Sinha, Executive Director of Charushila led a workshop at the school with the residential students. Charushila is a small charity focusing on the empowerment of the individual and the community through participation and engagement.

Charushila engages in projects, research and events connected with the creation of public spaces using sustainable and local resources, knowledge transfer and community engagement. Charushila believes that in particular, engaging with children and youth encourages their potential and creativity through positive interaction with the built and natural environments. The Sanskrit word 'Charushila' is made from Charu meaning 'Beautiful' and Shila meaning 'foundations'.

The children were asked to draw their vision of Ladakh's future or their environment (school/home) on long sheets which became 'horizontal tangkas'.  Each group collaborated, debated, negotiated and finally drew their ideas on paper.

It was a fascinating process and the drawings themselves provided very revealing insights into what attracts, focuses and engages children into the built and natural environments. In particular, children were very close to the spiritual environment which is very dominant in the landscape and culture of Ladakh. Some significant themes emerged and could indicate further how children can become active citizens and responsible for future of Ladakhi society.

Wednesday, 03 July 2013 00:00

Activities

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Students take part in many extra-curricular activities. A few senior students performed in a cultural programme organised by the Ladakh Buddhist Association to celebrate the birth anniversary of Dr. B R Ambedkar as seen in the photograph.

The school also took part in the Buddha Jayanti procession organised by Ladakh Buddhist Association and various students participated in the cultural programme.
The students of Class 9 were taken to see a Science Exhibition organised by Bharatiya Vidya Niketan (BVN). There, the students saw different models and exhibits illustrating various scientific concepts and theories.

The House competitions continue every Saturday at school.

Friday, 14 June 2013 00:00

Sports achievements

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The school participated in the Secondary Sports Tournament in May, organised by District Youth Services and Sports. It was held at the Boys’ Higher Secondary School, Leh. Thankfully the conditions were better than during their winter sports events. The following awards were won:

  • Girls Football (Winner)
  • Girls Handball (Runners Up)
  • Boys Relay (Gold)
  • Girls Relay (Gold)
  • 100m race Girls (Gold)
  • 100m race Boys (Gold)
  • 400m race Boys (Bronze)
Friday, 31 May 2013 00:00

Inter-school literary festival

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The 2-day annual Kurman Gyalmo Inter-school literary festival was organised by the school in May. This is held every year to encourage budding literary talent among the students of Ladakh. There were different events such as creative writing, drama, dramatic reading, art, and a quiz. The festival was themed “Child Rights”.  Among the participants were 13 schools including Lamdon, Moravian, Kendriya Vidyalaya, and a few government schools. The best school award for the Junior category went to Druk White Lotus School and the senior award was taken by Lamdon School, Leh.

Wednesday, 18 April 2012 16:46

His Eminence Kyabje Thuksey Rinpoche

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His Eminence Kyabje Thuksey Rinpoche visited Ladakh between 14th and 18th April 2012. He visited Druk White Lotus School to give encouragement and provide advice as well as visiting Hemis Monastery to oversee the preparation works for the forthcoming 4th Annual Drukpa Council to be held there in August.

Tuesday, 03 April 2012 11:50

Principal's visit to the UK

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The school term finished on 15th December 2011 for the long winter break. The school’s Principal, Mr Prasad Eledath, made an educational visit to the United Kingdom during January 2012.

A highlight of the trip was to visit the St Christopher School in Letchworth, Hertfordshire. DPKS has enjoyed a twinning with St Christopher School since 2005 when a group of students and staff from St Christopher first made a visit to Ladakh.

Since then a biennial visit has been established, with the UK students participating in a challenging trek in the Himalaya mountains, and spending time at DPKS delivering workshops and educational sessions.

Mr Eledath and the Head of St Christopher School, Mr Richard Palmer, had the opportunity to meet for the first time. The staff of St Christopher gave a tour of their campus and had discussions about the on-going twinning of the two schools, especially the next visit to DPKS which is scheduled for summer 2013. The students of both schools benefit enormously from the visits.

Wednesday, 19 October 2011 12:18

Celebrating 10 Years

On the 24th September 2011, the Druk White Lotus School celebrated its 10th Founders’ Day. The entire school had been gearing up for this event for weeks. The last few days leading up to D-day were absolutely frenetic, with the students and the teachers working from dawn to dusk to make sure that the celebration was a success.

The day was graced by Rigzin Spalbar, Chief Executive Councillor (Leh) as the Chief Guest for the occasion. Many other eminent personalities along with the children’s parents attended as well.

There was an art exhibition put together by the different classes on varied topics including “monasteries of Ladakh”. Individual classes also put up exhibitions on “history of Ladakh”, “dances of Ladakh”, “Amchi (Tibetan traditional) medicine”, etc. There were posters, crafts and paintings.

There was a cultural show by different students. It included traditional Ladakhi and Tibetan dance and song recitals and modern dances to Tibetan and Hindi songs. The infant section recited rhymes. Some of the highlights of the show included a karate display where the students performed stunts like breaking wooden staffs and slabs of marble with their limbs. Another popular recital was the yoga display performed by some of the juniors.

Once the show ended, the guests went around to the various game stalls that had been put up across the brightly decked campus.

Later in the evening, after all the guests had returned home, the school prepared for its live webcast screened through this website. After a few problems getting the satellite connection to work, some of the day’s performances were repeated for the global audience, including a few words from students and staff and a message read out from His Eminence Kyabje Thuksey Rinpoche, the Chair of the Governors. Viewers across the world in Mexico, USA, Europe, Africa and India watched with delight as Ladakh was beamed into their homes.

Saturday, 24 September 2011 15:00

His Eminence Kyabje Thuksey Rinpoche’s Message

On the 10th Anniversary of the official opening of the Druk White Lotus School, His Eminence Kyabje Thuksey Rinpoche, Chair of the school governing body, sent this message.

When the land where the school stands today was offered to H.H. Gyalwang Drukpa and H.E. the 1st Thuksey Rinpoche over 40 years ago, His Holiness wanted to build on this site a school that would combine modern education with the traditional value systems of Ladakh so that the students graduating from this school would be able to face the challenges of the modern world and yet retain their cultural values. With the support of generous patrons and sponsors and the dedicated hard work of Drukpa Trust UK, His Holiness' vision of a school was realized and the Druk Pema Karpo Institute, also known as Druk White Lotus School, was opened at Shey, 10 years ago this day.

Over these 10 years the school has seen many changes. It has grown from primary to middle school and today we have a group of dedicated teachers and staff led by the principal Mr. Prasad Eledath. I feel proud and privileged to be associated with the school and have the opportunity to contribute towards carrying forward the vision of His Holiness.

It is not enough to have eco-friendly buildings and environment. We must work hard now to ensure that the school grows in educational standards as well over the coming years so that DKPI becomes a globally model school of modern education, cultural preservation and eco-friendliness. I am confident that the teachers and staff members led by Mr. Prasad have the necessary determination and courage to face the challenges that lie ahead.

Last but not the least I take this opportunity to thank Sonam Angdus, our construction manager, for taking sole responsibility, with dedication and sincerity, in seeing that construction was carried out as per the blueprint prepared by the team of architects.

Tashi Delek!