Christmas Newsletter – 2009
Posted by on April 12, 2013
Dear Friends, Season’s Greetings to everyone!!
As heaps of red chillies were languishing in the sunny and dry autumn days of Dashain and Tihar, cold wintry weather suddenly blew in from the west. Everyone was struck down with a cold or flu - viral flu, swine flu, bird flu.......no one knew for sure what was going around.
In October ’09, the students of Tashi Waldorf School from classes 1,2 and 3 attended a dental camp organized by the Global Dental Relief Organization based in Colorado at Thrangu Rinpoche’s Shree Mangal Dvip School in Boudha. An expert team of dentists from Colorado and organizers Laurie, Carol, Mary and Joanna provided dental care at no cost to many school children. Children’s cavities and dental problems were seen to with great care. There were toys and games to keep the children amused. Everyone was taught basic dental hygiene and how to properly brush their teeth each day.
We celebrated Dashain and Tihar festivals with lots of fun, delicious food and sweets. We were thrilled by the visit of Heather Maclaren, one of TWS's founding members during the festival, all the way from Bowen Island, Canada.
The nicest thing about Dashain is kite flying. Everyone from the Kindergarten to the Grade Classes at Tashi Waldorf School made kites and enjoyed kite flying immensely.
Kindergarten teachers Durga and Chandra enacted a Tihar story: The good King Bali Raja’s life is saved by his wise sister when she tricks the Underworld King to extend Bali Raja's life to the length of time it takes to dissolve a walnut in the hard shell.
Receive the children in reverence;
educate them in love;
let them go forth in freedom.
Rudolf Steiner
Parents and Teachers Meeting was held on Nov 7th. Kindergarten teacher Chandra demonstrated and discussed various kindergarten activities, like indoor play and outdoor play where children learn by seeing, copying and imitating others. Teachers and students both give and take. Timetable and schedule provide rhythm and structure in the activities of the child.
Tashi Waldorf Students’ testimonials:
Class 1
Norbu: I love to play with my friends, Samir, Kumar, Kusal and Bishal.
Srijana: I want to be the best and I can be myself here.
Bishal and Kumar: We love Tashi Waldorf School and we like Rajen, the office manger.
Aastha Rana Magar: I like to dance with my friends during Morning Circle. I like my teacher, Ms Lobsang.
Sangita: I am learning a lot and I want to be a teacher when I am big
Sangita Lopchan: I love what we’re taught here, especially painting.
Taro Ravi Ghale and Dipu Dahal: We love the Morning Circle and English Circle. It makes us happy to sing.
Lalita Ghale; I feel very happy to paint and read stories.
Saroj Magar: Other schools are too difficult and there’s too much homework. Students who don’t do their homework get punished.
Yagya Giri: TWS is just right for me as in other schools, students have to buy many books which is very expensive for my family.
Babita Nepal: Other schools have lots of books. Here, we don’t read and write a lot.
Kusum Rai: I like all the teachers here at TWS. I love painting and beeswax modeling.
Dr Bimal Poudyal and team from Nepal Netra Jyoti Sangha, affiliated with SEVA Foundation conducted an Eye Check-Up Clinic at TWS at the end of November’09. The good news is that TWS students were found to be free from eye ailments except for one student who needed glasses and one with an eye infection.
We send our gratitude to all our very generous friends who have given us their time, money and expertise. The TWS faculty and staff would like to thank the many kind visitors who have donated much Steiner educational materials to TWS, such as colored felt, beeswax, and block crayons, which are not available in Nepal. We also thank our hardworking volunteers and pashmina sellers, Arlene & Brenda, Barbara and Heather. Big congratulations to Arlene and Brenda for raising over CAN $11,000 in pre-Christmas sales.
Meg Infiorati very kindly invited CON fundraising team - Rinzing, the thanka painter to demonstrate TWS bag painting and Doma, the fundraiser at her Bake Sale at the US Embassy Recreational Club. We raised about Rs 9000($120) from the sales of TWS bags, Handcarved bamboo knitting needles and Tibetan cookies.
Many thanks also go to our kind visiting volunteers. We hope to get more help to have a part of the our website in German.
With sincere thanks and best wishes for the New Year 2010!
Doma Chudon,
Fundraiser
Tashi Waldorf School Thanks You for All Your Kind Support