Monday 4 December 2017

RLT’s Tales of Christmas: “The Most Wonderful Show of the Year!”

Aurelie D’Couto

The beautiful holiday, Christmas, shines bright like a diamond! From November 30 to December 2, Dalat International School amazed the audience at PenangPAC with the performance, RLT’s Tales of Christmas!

Throughout the semester, the RLT Players in the world of drama and theatre have been quite busy, especially when it came to working hard to make the performance a wonderful one. Performing isn’t always easy, but with practice, persistence, and a never-give-up attitude, an excellent work of art is sure to appear. Even though Christmas was a few months away, as it was the beginning of the year, it gave the RLT Players plenty of time to get ready for a long-awaited Christmas show. Since Christmas is one of the best holidays of the year, the motivation had to remain high; giving a performance that would be memorable was the perfect way to bring the Christmas season here in Malaysia. 

Christmas stories from Mr. Mark Sasse and Mr. Doug Yost, along with well-known Christmas songs, were included to give memories and Christmas cheer to everyone in attendance. With a couple of well-performed acts and instrumental music from the musicians, the RLT Players were certain to give their all in everything that they did to prepare for “the most wonderful time of the year!”
  
An actress, Ashley Kim (11), said, “So, this year, I decided to join RLT because I was actually part of it last year. So, I was part of Mr. Sasse’s production, and I just enjoy being with the group. There’s a lot of bonding, and also, it was really fun trying to characterize, and we all helped each other to build character. I just really enjoyed that, so that’s why I decided to continue it this year. What I like about RLT is that instead of being one full story or play, it shows small snippets, and I like the variety because one skit can be really comical and then the other one can be really deep. I just really like how diverse and multifaceted it is. The audience can be included in all of the plays. That’s what I really like about RLT.”

It’s true that when it comes to the RLT productions, the actors and actresses can come together as one family and work together to make their performances come to life, which they all did in Tales of Christmas; it was an excellent mixture of comical and deep skits. One of the skits, The Kettle Man, was about the Salvation Army and donations. In fact, a portion of the ticket sales went to the Salvation Amy to support those in need, since Christmas is the holiday of giving. It was great that the skits offered some good lessons like how we need to be caring, accepting, and know that our families are more important than focusing on monetary gain.

Overall, the RLT Players performed spectacularly at PenangPAC! Merry Christmas to all. 

Tuesday 28 November 2017

An Early Christmas

Mika Yeap

The advent of 3D printing has taken the world by a storm, opening up possibilities by putting the power of production in your hands. Dalat high school students are opening their large hobby 3D printer to the Dalat community for use in order to raise awareness on 3D printing technology. The brand new machine will be open for orders at the start of the spring semester.

3D printing is truly a technological marvel of the 21st century. FDM, currently the most accessible 3D printing process, has long been a patented additive manufacturing process that became open to the public just seven or eight years ago. Since then, there has been a boom of hobbyists endeavoring to make their own home versions of these industrial machines, shrinking them down and making them more suitable for the end user.

A group of Dalat students, Simon Jeong (12), Albert Jeong (11), and Mika Yeap (12), were part of the later waves of such hobbyists. In July 2016, the group of three designed and built their own 3D printer from scratch to gain their background knowledge in 3D printing and general electronics. Flash forward a year later, and the printing continues. In August this year, the students owned and operated one hobby-grade 3D printer from an innocent, inconspicuous corner of a high school science lab. And now the gang is poised to add another, larger machine to their arsenal. With it comes an equally large opportunity.

Aidan Frusher (12) summarizes this, as he proudly brandishes a newly printed and spray-painted toy, “3D printing usually takes time. With two machines, one with a large build volume, there’s a lot more space to crank out other orders.”

 The opening of the machine to the community will present many opportunities. Science teachers could submit orders for custom lab equipment, students could order JSB gifts, and partnerships with the Junior Class store are all possible.

Whatever happens, the pattern is sure to continue. When people get ahold of 3D printers, they make things happen. 

Monday 27 November 2017

A Night in Paradise

Asher Kim

It is always awesome when you can break free from all your work and other problems that drag you down. Imagine taking a nap on an island, where there is nothing that can disturb you. Imagine dancing the night away with wonderful people and delicious food – that is exactly what Dalat high school students will be doing next Friday, December 8, at Paradise Hotel.

Sponsored and held by the Dalat StuCo, Christmas Banquet invites all high school students who signed up for the event to have fun celebrating an early Christmas. Also, students will have the opportunity to catch the amazing D.A.B. (Dalat Air Band) live performances by students and staff, as they also get their knives and forks ready for a scrumptious feast.

For some students, like Jerald Ooi (12), Christmas Banquet is a meaningful event for him because, as he said, “It is always so exciting to shop for new suits for events like this!” Ooi believes that dressing up for the Christmas Banquet is a perfect way to express himself and meet new friends.

As well as looking good in their fancy clothes (and ugly Christmas sweaters), Christmas Banquet can help students build new friendships or create a stronger tie among already established ones. Felix Tobias (12) said, “I really think it is a great way to have fun with friends and get to know them better. I am glad that Areeya [Kunawaradisai (12)] asked me.” Tobias (12) also mentioned that he feels bad for some students who cannot make it.

Just by the fact that you can hang out with friends, eat tasty food, and watch fun performances, you can tell that the Christmas Banquet is already a huge event. However, apart from all that, Lauren Lee (11) argues that the most significant reason she is excited about Christmas Banquet is that she can enjoy a relaxing night before the finals.

Hopefully, the lively Christmas decorations at the Paradise Hotel ballroom will help elevate the moods of snow-sick students.

Monday 20 November 2017

Christmas in Summer

Jung En Seo

Christmas is only 34 days away. Although it will not be a 'white' Christmas, considering this is Penang, everyone is looking forward to this celebration. CB asking has started this week.

CB, an acronym for Christmas banquet, is bringing out a lot of excitement in everyone. It is an event planned out by StuCo, and it will be held on the 8th of December in the Paradise hotel ballroom. Students are signing up and filling out their forms, as all of the CB requests are due on the 23rd of November. CB is the main student event at Dalat that celebrates Christmas and, therefore, is a meaningful and memorable event.

Girls are looking for perfect dresses for the occasion, within the dress code, of course. Others are searching for a present that they could give to their dates for CB. Curiosity is rising among students on who has been asked for a date. Aidan Frusher (12), requested Mikaela Steinkamp (11) for a date in front of the basketball court after lunch. 

"I was really nervous walking up after lunch right before I asked. Then I signaled to my little sisters holding the signs, and, after that, it's all a blur," Frusher said. 

However, many students still prefer going to CB with a friend or two. “It is my last year of high school, and I want to make good memories with my friends before I leave,” said Harin Park (12).

Students are also excited about the events that will be taking place during CB: D.A.B. Ugly Christmas Sweater. Students can choose a song and up with a choreography. They can win prizes for developing a good dance and having an ugly Christmas sweater.

For a long time, CB has been an event that everybody can enjoy and get comfortable with talking to people around them. Many students, especially the freshmen, are looking forward to it. 

The Soroptimist Fair

Like any other Saturday, the Gurney Drive road is packed with weekend shoppers flocking to Paragon mall for lunch and social activities. In the main atrium, a temporary stage is set up, Christmas paraphernalia littering the backdrop. There's a certain excitement in the air as the Dalat Choir steps onto the stage, clad in their signature black dresses and suits. The first notes of   “The Hallelujah”, drift up the mall as enthralled onlookers watch from the second floor balcony.

To the right of the stage, the stalls of the Soroptimist sale bustle with noisy clamour as curious shoppers poke and prod items displayed on sale. Every year, the Soroptimist Club organizes a fund-raiser to collect funds to enable and support women and children. Musicians and bands are invited to perform and support the event, while vendors may set up stalls to help raise funds for the charity. One such stall, displaying perhaps the widest variety of items from painted stones to containers of slime, stands in the centre of this bustle. Behind the counter, Mrs. Nichols peers over the handiwork that her art students have diligently made over the course of the past month. Behind a tray of Temari Ball ornaments, Alicia Chin (11) scribbles feverishly onto paperwork, carefully keeping track of the bountiful sales of the day. Collectively, the art students from 9th grade through 12th grade made items to sell at the event like wire earrings, and even 3D printed alpacas.
“Slime for sale!” Abel Tan(9) promotes, a tray of items in hand, bravely taking on the daunting sea of shoppers.

The Dalat Band and Choir finishes their performance as the afternoon dims. but Mrs. Nichols and her students plow on, with over half of their items sold by the day's end. As shops turn in for the night, Abel Tan kneels in front of his tray in the middle of the mall, advertising his last three containers of slime to a young boy.

“Dalat students have worked really hard this year to make this sale and performance happen,” Mrs. Nichols muses, as Tian Ooi (12) and Niki Tsumagari (10) close up the stall and count the earnings that will ultimately go to helping the women and children supported by the charity.