On March 16, Mr. Mani Wangdi conducted a professional development workshop (PD) on Performance Management for the staff of Samtse Lower Secondary School (Samtse LSS), excluding the three support staff members. This PD was held in accordance with the 2024 principal's conference resolution, which mandates all schools to cascade this training for their teachers. In his opening remarks, the principal emphasised the importance of performance management and encouraged participants to implement the knowledge and skills gained in their daily work.

The PD began at 9:30 AM and concluded at 1:30 PM. Mr. Mani Wangdi presented the process of Strategic Planning, focusing on the need to align all school activities with the school's vision, mission, and goals, as mandated by the updated School Performance and Management System. He further explained, compared, and demonstrated how Samtse LSS's vision of "Education for life through the Pursuit of Excellence'' aligns with the Ministry of Education and Skills Development vision of "An educated and enlightened society of GNH, built and sustained on the unique Bhutanese values of tha dam-tsig ley gju-drey."

Following the explanation of strategic planning, Mr. Mani presented contextualised examples along with SMART key performance indicators (KPIs). He utilised ICT tools to facilitate discussions on KPI development and understanding. To further engage participants, he touched upon developing KPIs for academic performance by analysing Samtse LSS's 2023 academic results and comparing school rankings.

Due to time constraints, he tasked all department heads with developing a departmental KPI to enhance student academic performance. In the second part of the workshop, he presented the updated Individual Work Plan (IWP) and facilitated discussions on its completion.

Here at our school, we're passionate about fostering a lifelong love of reading in our students. That's why we've implemented exciting reading programs. 

Building on a Strong Foundation

Last year, we kicked things off with a school-wide initiative, equipping teachers with the necessary skills through professional development workshops.  This ensured they had a wide range of reading strategies at their fingertips, tailored to different key stages. While we were enthusiastic, we also encountered some challenges.  Securing enough reading materials and audio equipment proved difficult, and printing out additional resources added a significant workload to the English department.

Streamlining for Success

This year, we've taken what we learned to heart!  In collaboration with the English department, the academic board has carefully selected the most effective reading strategies that can be applied across all key stages (1 through 3). These strategies include:

• Silent Reading (Sustained Silent Reading)

• Guided Reading

• Buddy/Pair Reading (Our New Program!)

• Choral Reading

• Independent Reading

The Power of Partnership

We're particularly excited about Buddy Pair Reading. This program pairs students of different ages or reading levels, allowing them to support and learn from each other. For our youngest learners in Key Stage 1 (pre-primary to Grade 3), two teacher mentors will be present to provide additional guidance.

A Bilingual Approach

Dzongkha and English reading will alternate each week, while still utilizing the same effective reading strategies. In Key Stage 1, for Dzongkha reading sessions, a dedicated Dzongkha teacher will be present to offer specialized support.