Juniors Skip School and Spread Influence

Joyce Oh

Last Friday, 25 September, Dalat’s junior class spent eight hours at SKTT (Sekolah Kebangsaan Tanjong Tokong) cleaning, repairing, and painting its walls to benefit the community in Penang.

Christy Chow, a member of the Junior Class ExCom, said “We chose SKTT as our Servathon destination because the school was close, which means we could directly witness our project’s effect on the community. Also, we thought it was a great idea to do a service project in a place where Dalat already had connections, so that we can strengthen our relationship with them.”

Each year Dalat’s junior class is involved in a number of important activities, designed to honor the senior class, serve the school community, and reach out beyond the school walls to the local community.

The Servathon is a part of their fundraising process that provides the opportunity for the juniors to help reach their financial goal and to leave a positive and cheerful impact on the people they choose to serve.

The students raise money by finding one or more sponsors who will participate in the Servathon by donating for hourly work or a set amount. For example, Darby Kendrick requested for her parents, families she babysat for, her family’s landlord, and other relatives to become her sponsors.

“They we all very supportive of this idea, which motivated me to work more diligently during the service project,” said Kendrick.

In order to increase their efficiency, the juniors divided up the duties by assigning different people at hallways, classrooms, doors, and exterior walls of the school. The painting committee not only added colors to the gray walls but also added mosaics and drawings as decorations.

            According to Hannah Buhr, the juniors worked with good spirits despite the heat and the haze, because many students had already invested their time at this school through the SKTT English Camp that happens at the beginning of each month.

 “We had a lot of fun just being together outside the school. We told riddles, jokes, and funny stories to keep ourselves entertained and positive,” added Buhr.

Junior Class experiences like the Servathon allow juniors to bond as a class, as they work towards a common goal. Their productivity and hard work will be paid off the following year through their own senior trip, a long-standing tradition of Dalat.

Photo Credit: Ning Kang Chia