His Holiness Dalai Lama XIV said and I quote, “When educating the minds of our youth, we must not forget to educate their hearts.” I firmly believe in creating an emotionally supportive environment where my students can continue to develop their social and emotional skills and character traits that we know to be so crucial in our work and home lives. Along with it, books are also an extremely important yet great way to allow children to feel safe and supported, especially when they can see their own emotions reflected in their favourite characters. I hope children will learn that even when times are difficult, we are all here to help one another. Only then will academic learning take place. In this ever-increasing and advancing technological and more complex world, it’s hard for us as adults to keep up, just imagine how hard it is for young children. We can help make it easier by building time into the school day (and curriculum) to listen to what the children are saying, sense what they’re feeling, and notice what they’re worried about. Their lives are hurried. Being the Principal, I feel immense pride in proclaiming that DPS, Leh is one such institution which offers them a place where they can speak their thoughts, have fun, be listened to respectfully, slow down to relax and reflect, and have positive role models to guide them on their path.