September 15, 2019

The Royal Academy Weekly Newsletter

Vol. 1, Issue XXIII

Synergy

In this Issue:

Obstacle course with Wangsel Institute| ​Sonam Chogyal, Jimi Pfinso and Tshering(Grade IX)

Dasho Sonam Kinga|​Jimmy Pelbar(Grade X)

Space Engineer Mrs Yeshey Choden| ​Nendra Wangchuk

A different life| ​Ugyen Tshering(Grade IX)

Interview| ​Ambassador Ruchira Khamboj (Sangay Choden Grade X)

Interview|​Ms Tashi Chenzom(Jamyang Ugyen Tshomo Grade X)

September 15, 2019

Obstacle course with Wangsel Institute

​Sonam Chogyal, Jimi Pfinso and Tenzin Tsheringl(Grade IX)

On Sunday we had a great time with the students from Wangsel. It was a first for all the students of The Royal Academy as we interacted with our differently abled friends from Wangsel. As the buses from Wangsel arrived we were very excited. We wanted to learn new things and show off what all we have learnt during our Friday learning experiences.

The Wangsel students which are in class pp- three also joined the events taking place at our school. The smile on their faces were as bright as sun flower and the way they did the obstacle was in many ways far better than most of us as they always gave their one hundred percent which is in line with our school philosophy “ Be the best you can be”.

September 15, 2019

We thoroughly enjoyed our day with them and found many new teamwork skills within us. Communicating with them taught us new things and it also strengthened our sign language skills. They gave it their best. We were able to share thoughts and ideas with them with ease after a few hours with them. The exposure helped us improve our communication. On Sunday we created new bonds and made new friendships with our fellow students and learned a lot from them.. We hope for future interactions just like this.

September 15, 2019

Dasho Sonam Kinga

Jimmy Pelbar(Grade X)

It never seems to end, there were so many people all puzzled about their own world. There were many things going on, some were chatting away about how their day went, others being myself, were wondering what might be our lunch as we were starving. Suddenly, there was silence and heads turned. There was a very friendly and engaging person on the podium. It was Dasho Sonam Kinga.

Listening to a talk form a non-religious person, has made me able to relate to the talk even more, there were so many different practices that point to the same answer, the end of suffering.As Dasho was going around the stage, we forgot our hunger, we were hanging on to his words. He took us through his life story and his practices, on why he practices what he practices. He was able to make connection with many concepts in his life with the teaching that he had received through his spiritual teachers.When I looked around the room, it was a diverse group of students paying attention to the speaker, most of them were focused and were able to relate to it, some were scribblers they were either taking notes or drawing away their wildest dreams, some were so into the topic that they actually tried to relate to it through mediation.

We suddenly realised we were being sent out to get some food. It was an apple. Somehow an apple tasted good. The direct effect of listening to a great practitioner. The next session was dedicated to our burning questions, the room went dead silent, we needed an ice breaker I thought and right when I was about to raise my hand Jamyang rose and broke the silence. Then one hand after another rose, critical and thought provoking questions were.. Each of us waited patiently as each question were answered, Dasho who was no expert in this field was able to handle the question well and he was able to take us around the wheel of life.. I was left there dumbstruck with all the answers September 15, 2019

Space Engineer Mrs Yeshey Choden

| ​Nendra Wangchuk

Misses Yeshey Choden was born on 2nd October in the year 1993. She is the eldest daughter in her family. She has two younger sisters, Pema Choden and Pema Yangchen Choden. She spent her early childhood in Paro, studying in Woochu Lower Secondary School. Then she went to Lungtenzampa Middle Secondary School in . She said that in Grade Nine she saw an interview of a topper from Grade Ten and then she decided that she would also become a topper, whatever it takes. So she made a schedule that she would strictly follow and she would divide time for domains and move from one domain to the other even if she didn’t finish learning everything, she just stuck to the schedule. She said that she would study through the night till 1:00 a.m. in the morning and then she would wake up at 4:30 a.m. in the morning, all the while taking in a lot of black coffee which she does not recommend us to do!

She was the National topper of 2008 grade 10 BCSE examinations. The toppers were granted an audience by His Majesty Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck on 21st February, 2009. She wore decent clothes and followed Driglam Namzha properly, when it was time to take photographs she immediately went beside His Majesty. When the photo was being taken, she requested His Majesty to say Ema Datsi and His Majesty agreed and everyone said Ema Datsi. She received a certificate signed by His Majesty the King. She completed high school and graduated from Yangchenphug Higher Secondary School and got a scholarship from His Majesty the King. She thought that it was because of the Ema Datshi incident that His Majesty gave her the scholarship. For her undergraduate she went to National University of .

When she was building the satellite -1, she said all of them planned the design for the satellite. The teams consisted of people from Bhutan, Malaysia, Phillipines and Japan. Three satellites were built, Bhutan-1 by Bhutan, Maya-1 by Philippines and UiTMSAT-1 by Malaysia. She expressed that she loved and since it September 15, 2019 was Bhutan’s satellite that there has to be some Dzongkha letters or words written on it, therefore, they wrote Druk on it and also their names. The telescope was built in JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) in one year and 2 months and was released from ISS (International Space Station)on 10th August 2018, launched by Falcon 9 Full Thrust, contractor as SpaceX and it is in low Earth orbit.

She also thinks that whatever we know and are skilled in, we should also offer services for free, doing things voluntarily. She also talked about organisations like Space Generation Advisory Council and World Space Week and mentioned that from 4th to 10th October this year is the space week and is based on the theme “Moon”. She was featured in BBS (Bhutan Broadcasting Service), BBR (Bhutan Bio Democracy Resilience Conference ) and Yellow Bhutan’s page. One of the pictures had the Bhutanese group and she learned that she was the only female so she had to post it on her instagram accompanied by a quote, "Listen to the mustn'ts, child. Listen to ​ the don'ts. Listen to the should nots, the impossibles, the won'ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me... Anything can happen, child. Anything can be."-Shel Silverstein.

Apart from her work with space and technology she also likes to do Skiing, Deep water diving and Rock-climbing and has certificates for the latter and Deep water diving. She also wants to give back to the nation so she takes part in the Theatre Club, Desuung and Bhutan Animal Rescue and Care. For her internship she got a slot in the UNOOSA (United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs) at the office in Vienna, Austria.

The talk was very interesting and inspiring. Considering that Mrs.Yeshey Choden accomplished so much at the young age of 25. It truly is a feat to admire, take inspiration from and to appreciate. We hope that Mrs.Yeshey will have a great journey ahead in life and we wish her many successes.

*For anyone who would like to contact her, the email address is [email protected] * ​ ​

September 15, 2019

A different life

​Ugyen Tshering(Grade IX)

Purpose

The Royal Academy resides in the astounding village of Pangbisa. Therefore, being part of the community of Pangbisa, it is important for the students to be engaged with the community of Pangbisa. This project aims for the students of the Royal Academy to be involved in the everyday life of the villagers.

What we did during our visit to the village

After having tea, we left school carrying our rations for the whole day. As soon as we reached there, we helped the owner of the house to segregate vegetables to sell and also helped to make dinner for their herd of cattle. During that night, many of us for the first time experienced milking and during When it was Jigme Tenzin Nidup’s turn, one of the cows kicked the milk bucket and wasted almost two litres of milk. But we were relieved that uncle told us that it was okay in the process of learning. We made our own curry and tea(together) and it was quite sad for us to see aunty adding ‘zaetoe’ in our curry. But later, we ate at least two plates.

The next morning, we did weeding and also took a bath in a small tub. We also got to experience making cheese balls and butter. When it was nearly time for us to leave, they were a bit sad.

September 15, 2019

What did we learn

Our journey to the village with the friends was one of the most memorable days for this year. Although I had always wanted to feed and herd the cows, my parents and brothers never let me do it for some reasons. We learnt how to weed cabbages and how to cook food. In addition, we learnt about the cultural aspects and the history of that place.

September 15, 2019

Interview

Sangay Choden Grade X

Ambassador Ruchira Khamboj

Q 1 Bhutan and signed the Treaty of Friendship in 1949 and it was again renewed in the year 2007. How do you feel the friendship has changed over the years?

The friendship between the two nations are still blooming and all this happened because of our great leaders. The credit goes to Druk Gyalpos of Bhutan and even the remarkable leaders of India. The Bhutanese students go to India to study and such activities shows our friendship in terms of education. The building of hydropower plants has enhanced our bond. Moreover, this year we celebrated the 50 years of friendship between the two nations and our prime minister was able to address the youth of Bhutan in RUB. We are still planning various things that will create a platform where we can share our cultures and many more.

Q 2 You are a very successful woman who has achieved so much and contributed many things for your country and the world. What did you believe in while you were on your journey through life.

I do not have much to say on this because you reach where you want if you work hard. I am someone who believe that hard work is everything. I always say there is no shortcut to be successful without hard work. There is no short cut to success. The harder you work, the luckier you become. Hard work and luck go together. I am September 15, 2019 here only because I worked hard and I gave everything my complete attention.Also at the same time you need to lead an active life. Play a sport or something which will keep you physically fit. This helps to keep your body fit and your mind agile too. So, at your age you should work hard and strive for success in life because it is not too late.

Q 3 India is one of the countries in the world that is known for being the biggest democratic country. Bhutan started democratic system in recent years. After coming to Bhutan, how did you feel about our democratic system? Is there anything other countries can learn from Bhutan?

The government system of Bhutan is different from many countries as the head of state is His Majesty and the head of government is the Prime Minister. I have talked with the former Prime Minister and the present Prime Minister Dr. and they are good leaders who are dedicated to serve the King, people and the country.

Q 4 Most of the people have a mindset that politics is dirty. And Bhutanse youth also have the same type of perception. How will you comment on such things to change their mindset?

It is true that many people have such perception about politics. This is because they only tend to see the easy side of politics and never try to understand what is really feels to be a politician. People should know that good governance is required. And that is the role of the politician. Behind the scenes, the politicians are working hard to change the country. People also comment that politicians uselessly talk or give speeches in the media, but as a politicians if we do not do that how can we share our ideas and change the world. There are a lot of problems which can be solved by effective communication. Speeches are a way of disseminating knowledge.

September 15, 2019

Ms Tashi Chenzom

Q1. You and your partner are teachers. This is something new in our campus. Can you tell us something more about your teaching and life partner relationship? Usually in our teaching partnership we support each other. TP encourages me and is so excited about me going for the leadership program at RIGGS. When it comes to responsibility we try to understand each other. Initially TP used to cover for some of my duties, especially when I was busy with my baby Tenzin! I am careful when I express my opinion in a meeting especially when it is against TP’s opinion. This is something I have to overcome. I am trying to find different ways of communicating my opinion.

Q2. How did you get into teaching? I had no ambition as such. When I was in grade 12 I didn't focus on any goal. I just wanted to have good scores. Because if you have good scores you can choose anything. During the orientation program for choosing an undergraduate program, I was in the queue and I overheard my friends discussing careers. My initial idea was to go beyond Bhutan. I wanted to take Math. My grade in chemistry was good. So I had to take chemistry for my undergraduate program. But I started liking it as I started learning. Now I want to do everything with CHEMISTRY. When you are selected for the ex-country scholarship, you come back and teach. After we came back, we were guided to go through a post graduate diploma in Education. I have a Bachelors in Chemistry and a pg diploma in Education majoring in Chemistry. I take whatever I have got and put myself wholeheartedly into it. I have developed a love for teaching. I taught for 3 months before going for my scholarship.That was fun and I realised that you learn best when you teach.

Q3.You have studied in Australia. Could you narrate your experiences in a foreign country? It was difficult to communicate with the other students. We didn’t have exposure to media and the accent was a barrier. But I did not feel lost because we were nine of us. We missed the orientation so we had no idea about schedules,how to enroll for the subjects we wanted to learn. The food was bland at first but now I have got used to it and I like it. The first month we stayed at the university accommodation and it was super expensive. We were broke.The next month we shifted to a house and all nine of us stayed September 15, 2019 together. The facilities were good at the university.. The education system was different in Australia. The studies didn’t give us much stress and they didn’t focus solely on examinations.Exams were only 60% of the assessment. There were multiple choice questions in the exam. We didn’t speak and interact with others.It was difficult as there wasn’t any Bhutanese society over there at that time. We were the first Bhutanese to be there.The nine of us have kept in touch. Living in Australia initially was difficult as we all came from different parts of Bhutan; we had misunderstandings with each other. And also, as none of us knew how to cook, it was even more challenging for us. Over time we became very close and we still keep in touch.

Q4. What is the most interesting part of teaching Chemistry? Practical is the most interesting part of chemistry and I also like how chemistry can help unravel mystery in our daily life. I have met students who said they don't like chemistry. Chemistry is abstract and they find it difficult to understand; students have to imagine the concepts. But each time, I encourage them to take interest in it.

Q5. What is the one thing you really appreciate at The Royal Academy? I really appreciate how teachers are encouraged to be a learner. Being here for 7 months I have learnt Yoga, Aerobics, played Khuru, Degor and many other things.

Q6. What are your hobbies and how do you enjoy your hobbies given the busy life at The Royal Academy? Reading, reading, reading, most of it fictional- I read whenever I have time. I just make time for my reading. Currently I am reading a lot of books about China.

We want to publish your work! Please deliver or email submissions to the Editing Team by Thursday evening at 5pm: [email protected]