Another Year, Another You: Moving Up in the World

Tian Ooi

As the bells rang once more, the school year picked up steam like a shiny new train chugging out of the station. Though many things stayed the same, most students had a deep awareness (or unawareness) of moving up to the next grade.

With last year’s graduation barely past, ex-juniors found themselves filling the void their predecessors left behind. Between front-row seats in Chapel and freedom from shifts in the Junior Class Store, twelfth graders grappled with a mini existential crisis as they ascended to the top.

Pondering deeply, Peter Kim (12) said sagely, "To be honest, I don't feel like a senior; I still think about planning for JSB. But looking at college applications takes me back to what I'm supposed to do—be a senior.”

Newly minted juniors, on the other hand, jumped straight to business. The class put in many hours managing and running their store, which proudly advertises brand new products such as funnel cakes or cookie dough balls.

Not only were juniors occupied in the store—they also sacrificed Saturday mornings to plan and prepare for the upcoming After-Sneak Dinner for the new senior class. “I can’t tell you what the theme is,” Elisabeth Kilgo (­11) said, aghast. “It’s so much better as a surprise. But,” she divulged with a smile, “I think it’s seriously pretty cool.”

Most sophomores felt a bit more ambivalent about the new year, simply glad to move a step up the high school ladder. “It’s better than last year,” Joseph Chandra (10) and Letitia Ong (10) agreed after ­­­­hesitation, promptly returning to studying for their Developmental Psychology test.

Last but not least, the freshmen experienced their first taste of high school. Affectionately referred to as “freshies” by most of the upperclassmen, many former middle schoolers felt overwhelmed by the new environment and expectations.

Others, however, enjoyed the change. “Ninth grade is a lot harder but also not as stressful, since you don’t get the pressure of being the top of the social hierarchy,” Mikaela Yeap (9) said as she walked out of her first three-minute thesis presentation.

Despite the serious atmosphere of some classes, students also remembered to enjoy being at school. Lydia Geiman (9) recalled a humorous incident from her band class, nearly incomprehensible between bursts of laughter.

The first few weeks of school were eventful in themselves. Casually momentous milestones passed students by with hardly any notice. As the year steamrolled on, covering more and more terrain, students enjoyed taking in the rolling scenery before the high school train reaches its destination.

Two Days in Paradise: Leadership Retreat

Hyun Ji Kim

Carrying her overpacked sling bag on one shoulder, Shannen Leong (12) excitedly boarded the white van that would take her from school to paradise, Lost Paradise, for the next two days.

Extending from the 10th to the 11th of August, high school students with positions in StuCo, ExCom, and Dorm Council took part in the Leadership Retreat. At this retreat, students redefined their understanding of leadership, bonded with their group, and planned for the year.

After arriving on the exotic Thai-style resort, students spent the first two hours getting comfortable and interacting with their peers. Students were found playing Korean games in circles, chatting in the conference room, and playing volleyball in the garden. One of the highlights of the retreat was when the senior class president, Rahul Gill (12), stepped into the ocean without hesitation, attempting to retrieve the volleyball that he had bumped over the fence. Other students cheered him on as they recorded the rare scene on their devices.

The atmosphere of the retreat was rather laid-back and relaxed, but it did not hinder the students from being productive as well. Knowing when to have fun and when to be serious, students listened intently to the inspirational talks given by Mr. Ronzheimer, Mrs. Allen, Mr. Steinkamp, and Mr. Brewster. The speakers reminded the students what it meant to be a leader and what being a leader required.

“When I think about the meaning behind the word ‘leader,’ the first thing that comes to my mind is someone who serves. A leader must be willing to give and sacrifice for the group. And importantly, leaders need to be responsible enough to face the consequences when things go wrong,” Harin Park (12) told her friend when asked to define the word ‘leader.’

Thankfully, these students won’t have to bear the burdens of leadership alone. The retreat allowed committees to bond through group activities. Although the unpredictable weather disrupted some plans, the students were able to have fun regardless. And in the midst of all the fun, the students spent their time productively as they planned and made goals for the upcoming year.

“My goal as a leader this year is to leave a legacy and make memories before I graduate. I want to influence those in my class and lower grades positively this year,” Senior Class ExCom, Aaron Tan (12) explained.

The two days flew by quickly, and it came to an end as Mr. Allen and Richard Baek (12) led the students in worship. Boarding the vans that had brought them to the resort, the students returned to school, with new definitions of leadership and new hopes for the upcoming year.

Leadership Retreat: the Stage for Korean Games

Harin Park

The noise of the students’ clapping hands got louder, and the atmosphere intensified as the rhythm of the game started to pick up speed—the Korean games had just begun at the leadership retreat, August 11th.

As a group of students walked into the conference room of the Lost Paradise Resort and sat in a circle on the floor while waiting for dinner, they quickly noticed that three-quarters of their number were Koreans. Soon after that, the Koreans introduced those from other nations to the irresistible world of Korean games.

To start off, they taught the concentration game to the group, a game which, as its name suggests, requires much concentration from the players. This game starts with a short introductory melody accompanied by a rhythmic clapping of hands, which decides the speed of the game. As soon as the beginning tune ends, a player calls on another player’s name followed by a number between one and four. Then, the player who is called on says their names as many times as the number that followed their name. To add more craziness into this already complicated mental game, the players must say their names in synchronization with the clapping rhythm.

As expected, the non-Korean players had much trouble getting used to this chaotic combination of continuous clapping and saying their names at the right time, especially as the rhythm of the game was quickly accelerated by the expert Korean players. Their hands clapped so rapidly that they were nearly invisible, and their tongues twisted as they tried to spit out their names as fast as they could. However, their body quickly internalized the game, and they soon played skillfully. As Hyun Ji Kim (12) said, “Although it was hard to progress the game in the beginning, everybody got better eventually, and we had a blast playing those games.”

Threatened by their expertise, the Koreans introduced another mind-blowing game—the dummy game. Externally, this game looks much easier than the concentration game; however, it requires more brainpower than the first game. This game involves showing a number between one through five with your fingers but saying a different number out loud. Then the next person has to read the number shown with the fingers of the previous player and say the number while showing a different number with his or her own fingers.

Unlike the previous game, this game confused all of the players, including Koreans. With puzzled eyes, each player said a number hesitantly. Watching each other’s brain-mouth coordination glitches amused the players, and unstoppable waves of laughter continued throughout the games. “The Korean games we played allowed me to bond with my fellow ExCom members and other leadership members. It was fun to learn a tiny bit about Korean culture as well as being with friends,” said Aaron Tan (12), an enthusiastic player.

The games went on until dinner was called. The players left the conference room promising another round. What remained after the games were red hands, tired mouths, puzzled brains, and new friendships. 

Learning Leaders

Theodore Zimmer, President of StuCo  

It was the first full week of school and all high school students were back. StuCo (Student Council) had finished up their elections during the final semester of last year, and they began to come up with ideas of activities that they could introduce to the high school for the new school year.  Seniors and juniors finished up their elections last week, and the new Dorm Council members had finally been chosen. With all the members accounted for, these leaders loaded up and went to Lost Paradise on Thursday, August 4th, 2017; the Leadership Retreat was finally on its way.

We arrived around 3:40 p.m, right after school, and received our room assignments. The women went one way and the men another. We men were placed in the two rooms above the conference room, while the women were a little bit more spread out.

After room assignments, we were allotted free time till 6:00pm. Most of us young men went swimming while the woman chit chatted. In the pool, we wrestled and played Marco-Polo. The pool was a blast, even Mr. Allen (StuCo sponsor) and Mr. Ronning (Senior Class sponsor) hopped in. We then saw how far we could swim with one precious breath. Sam Castro (11) ended up winning with the help of his long appendages.

We then had to go get some chow. As we were waiting, Grace Chang (12), Riley Phillips (10), Yigal Ang (12), and I, Theodore Zimmer (12), had an unexpected visitor—a little Chinese boy who decided to eat with us. He was a handful, but it was worth trying to get his name and age. He spoke broken English and Bahasa Malaysian, making it hard to communicate. Hopefully, we left a good impression in this young whipper snapper’s heart.

After eating chicken, rice, and fruits, we headed inside to begin our first lesson, led by Mr. Ronzheimer. It was about who we are a big influence to and who we think we will leave the biggest impact on. As StuCo president and male dorm representative for Zeimer Dorm, I had a lot of opinions. I think I will leave a big impact on the school being a well-known senior; however, I think my biggest impact will be within the dorms. We a are a small close knitted community and, being the older one now, I have to step up and be a good role model.

When the session was completed we broke up into our groups, Senior ExComm (Executive Committee), Junior ExComm, StuCo, and Dorm representatives. I stayed with StuCo and talked about why we joined StuCo. We all said we wanted to serve our great classmates and school. The biggest thing I wanted to instill into my team was that it’s okay to want this on your high school transcript, but it should not be your only or main reason; one should serve because he or she wants to, not because it makes him or her look better.

The next day our groups split up and did our own activities for group bonding. StuCo and Dorm Council rode on the Hop-On Hop-Off bus and got massages or Starbucks. The seniors went batiking and to tea, while the juniors had a buffet lunch together.  

We then all assembled for our last sessions with Mrs. Allen and Mr. Brewster. We read through Scripture and a few stories that helped show leadership, and we wrote down points that we thought were useful. We then gathered with our groups for one final meeting.

After StuCo finished filming an introduction video, and the other groups finished with what they were doing, we all piled into the vans and returned to school. It was a good day off of school to learn how to improve our leadership abilities. I know Dalat produces fine leaders and will continue to mold them.