Monday 29 January 2018

Senior Lunch

Sophia Ong

Krrrr! The groans of chairs pushing back and zippers zipping fill the classroom as the bell signals the end of D-block.

“Hey, Lucky 99 today?”, Zachary Kok (12) suggests his favourite lunch place while flying down the steps as his friends murmur agreement excitedly.

Hungry students usually make their way down to the cafeteria during lunch, some preferring to bring a home-packed lunch to eat in the Student Center. However, most seniors opt to take advantage of their senior privilege and find lunch outside of school grounds.

His friends pile into the backseat of Zachary’s trusty Kancil before zooming off to their lunch destination. Finally issued his driving license, Zachary is excited to be the group’s designated lunch time driver, while his friends are simply happy to take advantage of the free shuttle service. Meanwhile, Rainbow Chan (12) and Julia Munson (12) take a peaceful stroll over to the beloved chicken rice stalls, a mere 5 minutes away from school. After handing over their student IDs at the guardhouse, they take the overhead bridge, chattering loudly over the clamor of the busy road, exchanging thoughts and laughter. They find Jonathon Chinn (12) at the stalls, already scarfing down his second plate of chicken rice, while a third one awaits, drizzled with a little too much chili sauce.

“It’s just so good,” he remarks between bites, “and it’s only RM3.50!”

The Hillside stalls prove a popular lunch stop for hungry seniors, because of its cheap prices and wide variety--Julia often chooses the Nasi Kandar over chicken rice, while Rainbow finds her way at the Wanton Mee stall. Although the hot Penang sun beats down relentlessly, most students still prefer a quick walk out to lunch to stretch legs and bond over a warm bowl of noodles.
However, not all seniors prefer this. Mika Yeap (12) sits down excitedly at his favorite lunch spot in the cafeteria, opening his home packed meal with delight. Tian Ooi (12) steals a bite of pork before he can protest. Some seniors, although finally allowed the privilege of finding lunch elsewhere besides the cafeteria that they have known for years, still prefer to eat a cozy meal by the seaside amongst the lowerclassmen.

“Not tardy yet!” Zachary shouts, barely making it through the main office door to sign in before the bell rings. Sweaty from running all the way down from Upper Field, but with appetites quenched, seniors happily return to class, grateful for the privilege to escape campus for the lunch break.

Rainbow Reminder

Theodore Zimmer

I was sitting on the Ziemer Dorm balcony thinking of what to write for Senior Scribble. I was going to write about the basketball trip to ISKL where we, the varsity basketball boys, won 1st place and went undefeated. Varsity girls basketball got 3rd, and frankly, I have no clue how JV boys and girls did. But it was a good trip, full of memories that will hopefully last us for a while. Once we get older, we basically forget everything, and what I mean by older is thirty-five years old; I’m just messing, but really…

Anyways, there was a rainbow tonight over the ocean. This rainbow was dull and not cutting through the sky. It was not the prettiest rainbow I have ever seen, but nonetheless, it was still beautiful.

A rainbow is formed when light reflects, refracts, and disperses within water droplets in the air, directly opposite of the sun. This is the scientific way. A rainbow was originally created as a promise from God that He would not destroy the earth again with a colossal flood. This was during the time of Noah, and the last time I checked, this promise has been kept.

The Lord always keeps His promises. He also has a plan for every one of us. His plans might not look like the biggest, brightest rainbow in the sky; nonetheless, it’s still a rainbow.  God knows exactly what His plan is for us. All the rainbows are bright in His eyes. Plan for the future and then don’t worry about it by having faith in the Lord. Matthew 6:34 reads, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Again, the Lord has a plan.

I have my whole life planned out: join the Army and then become a farmer or miner. That’s my plan, but we will see what the Lord has in store.

To my fellow seniors, and to whom this may concern, plan your future, but know that the Lord’s plan will always supersede our plans. It’s acceptable to be nervous, but when it comes to the point when we don’t trust in the Lord, that’s when it is bad. Say a prayer and know that the Lord always provides.

When we do become old, like fifty (…joking again), we can look back at the things we did, or at situations that we thought were impossible to overcome, and smile, knowing that the Lord always had our backs. Our future may not seem like a shiny rainbow, but to Abba, Father, all the rainbows are perfect. 

The Art of Movement: Boulder Climbing

Simon Jeong

The Boulder Climbing club members met for the second time at Project Climbing in Permai on Wednesday, 24 January 2018 to practice the art of movement and climbing.

Boulder climbing is slightly different from rock climbing because of the non-usage of ropes and harnesses. Also, boulder climbing has a lower platform than rock climbing, so there are mattresses on the floor to absorb the impact of a fall. So how would anyone climb for long if the platform isn’t that high? Boulder climbing answers that by allowing participants to climb sideways and perform more intricate movements that would otherwise have been impossible with the restriction of ropes and harnesses. Also, the beauty of boulder climbing comes with being able to climb alone without a partner to pull the ropes of a rock climber and being able to fit in such a small compartment. The whole area is only about the size of Dalat’s B-Lab, compared to rock climbing platforms that would be as high as the Dalat’s Castle building. Being so efficient for both the climbers and the owners, Dalat’s climbing members decided to try it out.

At first sight, the platform looks very confusing and disordered, containing many different “rocks” with different colors of stickers next to them. These stickers, however, have a very significant purpose. A climber can only get from point A to point B using the “rocks” with the same colored stickers. Other “rocks” with different colored stickers are not meant to be used or even touched. The challenge of boulder climbing, therefore, isn’t just to climb but also to figure out which “rocks” to use. “The simple tips for boulder climbing are: be efficient in strength and adapt to the situation,” said Shion Fraser (12).

Mrs. Nichols, the supervisor of the club, started climbing with confidence while Shion Fraser (12) and Chia Hoong Ewe (12) soon followed suit. Later, Suzanne Liew (11) and Alicia Chin (11) joined. Soon, the whole area was filled with laughter and the constant thud sounds of students falling onto the mattress. 

Tuesday 23 January 2018

Safety First

Grace Chang

Safety strategies were never my interest until I experienced an eye-opening incident. Just like any average day, I walked into the library for my study hall. As soon as I entered, Mr. Brewster, with a hint of a mysterious smile, came up to me with an odd request. This unusual approach of Mr. Brewster’s brought an impending sense of danger. He asked if I was available and willing to help him out, and I replied, “yes”.

As if a secret agent, Mr. Brewster surreptitiously conveyed the mission and slipped a note to me that stated, “This is a drill”. He instructed me to act in a hypothetical situation and approach the safety team with the problem.

Without a warning, Mr. Brewster wanted to assess the team’s ability to respond and resolve the problem that was presented to them. To carry out my mission successfully, I followed the directions that Mr. Brewster provided. He wanted me to pretend that I was pregnant and took some pills because of stomach pain. First, I found Mrs. Steinkamp, the counselor. I told her I wasn’t feeling well and handed the slip. After reading the slip, she gave me a cheeky smile. Then she asked me why I wasn’t feeling well, and I responded that I took some pills. Little shocked by the statement, Mrs. Steinkamp invited me into her private room to further investigate my situation. She asked, “Why did you take the pills? What kind of pills did you take?”

After general interrogation about the pills, she walked me to the clinic. There, we handed the note to Aunt Jan and explained her my hypothetical situation. Aunt Jan diagnosed me with a possible drug overdose and requested immediate transport to the general hospital. Eventually, they discovered that I was “pregnant”. As the drill went along, Mr. Brewster tailed me to observe the responses of each safety team member. He critically analyzed their reactions and implemented additional “what if” situations, such as vomiting or a heart attack. According to various situations, the team responded differently. They went over the procedures step-by-step, from the financial details to guardianship matters. Since I was a dorm student, a dorm staff member, Uncle Brian, was summoned as a guardian. Mr. Steinkamp arrived to assist in carrying me by the backboard to the car. Experiencing and seeing the whole process being executed efficiently gave me an appreciation for the safety team and the Dalat community.

The extraordinary experience triggered my curiosity to explore safety. I interviewed the residence administrator, Aunt Valerie Weidemann, a former member of the child safety team. Her response to my first question, “What is child safety?” clarified how I felt after the drill.

“Child Safety at Dalat involves protecting students from harm, harassment, and abuse, as well as training parents how to talk to their children about personal safety and empowering students to protect themselves and one another.” Although it was a drill, I felt protected and cared for by the teachers who calmly assisted me in my situation.

Dalat and the safety team values students’ safety and strives to create a culture in which students are respected and cared for by staffs. They ensure that all students are provided with a safe and secure educational environment. With these resources available, students should utilize them when their moral, emotional, physical, or mental health is threatened. I believe that the team is prepared for any circumstance, even the ones that seem trivial.  

Monday 22 January 2018

Dalat Community Ultimate

Shannen Leong

Dalat Community Ultimate (aka DCU), is an ultimate frisbee team consisting of students, parents, and alumni from Dalat. On Saturday, January 13th, DCU traveled to the mainland of Penang to have a friendly match with a local university, UiTM.

The team of 12 players left campus at about 4pm and arrived at the university an hour later. This was the first time these players had ever played together as a team. They did some warm up exercises, led by Jesse Lohman (12), which were then followed by some drills led by Joseph Leech (class of 2016). Mr. Ladner, founder of DCU, gathered the team together and gave some words of encouragement before the game started.

DCU’s strategy was to have Mr. Ladner pick up the disc and throw it all the way to the end zone, while the faster and younger players, like Andrew Kaney (9) and Jeremy Worten (11),  ran to score the point. Both teams were trading points most of the game, but at the end, DCU took the lead by a few points and won the game.

The teams played a 5:2 (male to female) ratio throughout the game. It was tiring for the DCU girls, as there were only three girls on the team. Sharisse Leong (9) said, “It was a tiring but fun game. I think the game was evenly matched and I hope to play with the team in future tournaments.” She also added, “I hope more girls in Dalat will pick up this simple and fun sport.”

After the game, both teams huddled in a circle and gave feedback to each other. They all agreed it was a fun game for a Saturday evening. DCU and UiTM ended the day with a group picture.

On the way back to campus, Mr. Ladner talked about his hopes for the team. He said, “I hope this team will grow in size in the future, and maybe Dalat can have an official frisbee team. This is a great way for the Dalat community to come together and have some fun.”