News from Tibetan Parents Association

Recent News:

• Tibetan Parents Association of Toronto donated $5055.00 towards the Gangjong Choedhenling Community Center Project. As part of the project, the community will have five classrooms for the Tibetan language program run by the TPA.

• Tibetan Parents Association has donated $3432.32 worth of musical instruments and costumes to the CTAO Tibetan Performing Arts program. The amount is determined after deducting one year depreciation. The TPA will no longer run dance and music classes.

• The priority before the 6th TPA committee members is to establish a viable and vigorous curriculum for the Tibetan language program. TPA envisions an examplary program in the future once the classrooms, textbooks, teachers and the curriculum are in place. A proposal to purchase $1500 worth of textbooks and Tibetan reading materials from Tibetan cultural printing press has been completed. Once the new regime is adopted, students will be assigned to classes according to their skill levels and annual tests will determine their promotion to the next level of class.

• A resolution passed by the TPA committee on July 21, 2007 required the PTA to merge two groups of learners into other classes. These groups previously shared space with other classes and seen as not the best way to conduct lessons. As a result, two of our teachers were asked to stop teaching for the time being. However, they were encouraged to rejoin once classroom facilities are in place in the new cultural center. The resolution was passed to solve present difficulties in terms of space, discipline and learning.

• The same resolution required the Tibetan Language program to adopt a new prayer regiment. The new regiment called for the induction of the standard Tibetan school prayer book instead of the existing one. It was pointed out that the school prayer book was specially designed for the children and that His Holiness has repeatedly emphasized it’s importance and relevance to the children in terms of saying and understanding the prayers. Presence of a lot of mantras and transliteration into English were seen as major drawbacks of the existing book. However, children still say the same important prayers including “ode to manjushree” which is beleived to dispel ignorance in young minds.