Monday 26 November 2018

Laughter and Bonding with a Second Family

By Lydia Kim

With his lips tucked in his mouth, John Cho (12) proceeded to face the group and screech the word, “pterodactyl.” Everyone in the group teared up in their attempts to stifle their laughter and hide their teeth to escape the punishment of the Pterodactyl Game.

On November 23, all three dorms in the Dalat community packed up to leave for their annual Dorm Retreat. Unlike other years, the bus did not take the route to the Chefoo Centre in Cameron Highlands but instead headed to the Swiss-Garden Beach Resort in Damai Laut. After three hours of an anticipatory bus ride, the dorm students found themselves welcomed by a familiar yet foreign ocean breeze and a dance flash mob prepared by the staff at the resort.

Following the appetizing dinner with various seafood dishes, the students sat in the main hall for the sessions. This year, the sessions were led by guest speakers Mr. and Mrs. Castro, who shared their testimonies and connected them to the story of the Prodigal Son found in Luke 15. As Daniel Kang (12) stated about the Castro’s testimonies, “It could be quite difficult to share something so vulnerable in your life, but they were very open about their past, which helped us relate to the Castro’s more personally.”

The dorm students also experienced various group activities both nights they were there, including games, such as Empire, and bonfires. Another highlight of the retreat was the talent show where students displayed an assortment of talents from dancing to the popular song “Level Up” to rapping about students from each of the dorms. The silly and lighthearted atmosphere of the talent show brought the dorm students closer together and contributed to everyone enjoying a relaxing time.

Bethany Davis (12) stated that one of her favorite memories about the dorm retreat was “sitting in big groups and playing Korean games outside while not having to worry about anything else.”

As the end of the retreat drew near, students savored every minute of their time by playing games with friends, swimming, playing beach soccer, and getting closer to or getting to know new people. On the last day, students were still able to enjoy a laid-back schedule with a closing Q&A session with Mr. and Mrs. Castro and the last lunch meal before preparing for their departure.

Even as the Pterodactyl Game was halted by an encroaching horse, the dorm students could not stop themselves from bursting into laughter. When the dorm students reflect back on this moment, they will remember a time of endless laughter and bonding with friends that helped deepen their relationship both with Christ and with their dorm family.

Choir Crashes Straits Quay

Seth Kelley

On Saturday, November 24, a portion of the high school choir brought the Christmas spirit with a small performance at Straits Quay. The mall’s staff gave this choir a prime-time slot, which meant there was high demand for their angelic mix of voices.

The choir performed their November’s worth of work on acapella arrangements of “White Winter Hymnal” by Robin Pecknoid and “Hallelujah” by Jeff Buckley. But they went beyond the standard conglomerating of their twenty voices—give or take. The former song included several body percussion solis from the women, and the latter song opened with a vocal solo by Joseph Chandra (11) and Celestine Teoh (11).

“The most challenging part about the solo for me was learning how to blend my voice with Joseph’s, while at the same time, maintaining my projection and conveying emotion,” reflected Teoh. “One reason I enjoyed performing in Straits Quay is that it gave me a chance to exhibit my passion for music.”

This short flash-mob-like performance stretched the singers’ skills and allowed them to experience a challenging setting they had never before tried—letting the acoustics of the open air carry their voices into the listeners’ ears.

Shannon Frohlich (12) commented, “Considering I've been dying of a cough recently, singing for around 10 minutes without coughing my guts out was an extreme challenge. Luckily, I made it all the way through without going into a coughing fit. It was great. Oh, but the audience couldn't really hear us because the microphones weren't really working. That was also great.”

Performing for a small audience at Straits Quay allowed the choir to, in a sense, test-run their songs—looking for ways they could improve their performance in anticipation of the upcoming Christmas concert. But it also brought the choir together and deepened the friendships they formed over the choir trip and during class.

“I was just really thankful that we had the opportunity to officially perform at a venue like Straits Quay,” said Su-Ji Lim (12). “The fact that they invited us is amazing. They had mics, a keyboard, and stage lights all set up for us when we came. I appreciated all the time and effort the production team must have spent putting it all together.”

Thanksgiving

Lauren Lee

Finally,” Albert Jeong (12) groaned loudly at the sound of Wednesday’s school bell. School was officially out, and the long weekend looked amazing from where most students were standing. The much-anticipated four-day break celebrated gratitude, rest, and thankfulness with family and community. However, the iconic American holiday wasn’t celebrated by everyone: to some, it was a huge family occasion, while to others, it simply acted as a promising and relaxing long weekend.

Dalat’s high schoolers took advantage of this break in many different ways—while some students took the break to get some well-needed rest, some were stuffed with the busyness of organizing Thanksgiving lunches and dinners. For others, this four-day weekend was good just to have extra time for academics, especially with the December SAT coming up.

Thanksgiving planning seemed to be the most popular event of the weekend, though, as the American tradition is a popular one amongst Dalat staff members and students. “Dalat’s tight-knit community also means lots of visitors, so we have to prepare for that, but it’s worth it, because Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays,” said Elisabeth Kilgo (12). “We had three different pies, one turkey, and lots of other side dishes on our dining table. The prep was lots of work, but it paid off.”

Full of food and time with family, it’s understandable why so many people love the celebration. 

Those who didn’t celebrate Thanksgiving still had fun, though. For example, many students said it was a really refreshing break: after being crushed by all the overwhelming work that teachers always try to squeeze in before long weekends, it’s nice to have the days off.

Freshman Esther Lo explained, “My family doesn't celebrate Thanksgiving, but the long weekend was an amazing time to just relax, spend time with my friends and family, and just not think about school.”

From watching movies to trying new restaurants in Georgetown, Dalat’s high schoolers really took advantage of these four days with enjoyment.

Thanksgiving is a time of reflecting, celebrating, and being grateful, and this break certainly did that for lots of students. With nothing pressuring like sports practice or big projects going on, this four-day weekend didn’t just bring a time of thanksgiving but a time of relaxation for Dalat’s well-deserving and hardworking students. Ready to get back on the grind this week, this break helped refresh students for the upcoming flurry leading up to Christmas break.

Tuesday 20 November 2018

Are You Prepared to Face the World?

By Courtney Soon

As the end of the semester is approaching, Mr. Kilgo, teacher of the Christ and Culture 12, decided to place the seniors’ nightmares into reality. In place of a final exam, the Bible class hosted a debate. Students had to research different current social issues, such as capital punishment, drug legalization, climate change, homosexuality, dating, immigration, and so on. The final project tested them in their knowledge, both around the controversies and their biblical stance on the issues, as they will need a good foundation to defend their beliefs once they leave their Dalat bubble.

For the final project, all seniors in the class participated in different roles of the debate: Topic Presenters, Debaters, and Question Generators. Topic Presenters needed to present findings around the issue to the class in both secular and Christian views. Question Generators were assigned to spur critical-thinking questions and press the debaters to question their ethical, moral, and biblical stance on the social issues in society. Debaters had an unexpected twist in their roles: they were only able to know which side they supported on the day of the debate, so they had to be prepared to argue for both sides.

Not only that, they have to provide biblical support for whichever side they were randomly assigned. When Mr. Kilgo gave the rule that students were not allowed to bring any notes when debating, many students let out a huge sigh. All the facts and Bible verses that they have accumulated have to be fiercely glued in their minds in order to carry out a good debate.

On the first day of debate, Karl Chan (12), Seong-Min Kim (12), and Trevor Ronning (12) went as guinea pigs to carry out the debate on capital punishment. Smiles were still spread across their faces, even though nerves filled them internally. Presented with a tough question, “Isn’t killing killers also murder?”, Karl was assigned to argue the opposing side and had to provide biblical views that would support his argument. He stood up courageously and proceeded to argue, “God gave us a command to love our brothers and sisters, so there is no such thing as killers in the Bible.”

The whole class broke into laughter and applauded him for his effort in answering the difficult question while connecting his given stance to the Bible.

As Lydia Kim (12) explained, “The Bible project is helping me understand more about what's behind the controversies that I hear about frequently but don't know very well. By researching my own topic and also listening to others’ debates, I am learning more to form my own opinions about the issues.”

While this may be a start of a few weeks of chaotic Bible class, it will help the seniors formulate solid backgrounds for the controversial issues when they face the real world. 

Monday 19 November 2018

The New Kid on the Block

Ruben Nyul

The Dalat community is a very welcoming one. Last Friday, the “new kid on the block” presented himself for everyone to see. By ‘the new kid on the block,’ I mean the recently added sport into Dalat Athletics: rugby. A few courageous individuals remained on the team after weeks of hard, physical practices. Some had to drop out of the team given the physicality that the sport requires.

At the weekly All Hands On Deck announcements, it had been announced that the first ever rugby game in Dalat history was to be played on Friday, November 16, 2018 on Upper Field: the Blue Dalat team versus the Yellow team, an inter-squad scrimmage. The hype was unreal and later justified. The varsity basketball team postponed its practice so that the team could watch the rugby game. The sidelines were so packed with spectators that it was hard to walk around and find the right spot to watch the game. This was the most packed I have ever seen Upper Field in my six years of attending Dalat.

The game was about to begin; no one was prepared for what was about to happen. The yellow team kicked off by Hudson Morgan (11), captain for the Blue team. The first play of open scrimmage was Morgan running right into and through Gavin Zimmer (11). The crowd was shell-shocked; there were bodies flying everywhere. Never before had we seen something so intense and so physical. Gabe Frohlich (10) said, “The first play of the game was a slap to the face of the crowd”, indicating that no one was ready for that type of intensity and physicality.

Unfortunately, during the game, there were a couple of injuries; some were bigger than others. Trevor Ronning (12) cut the left side of his head, with blood dripping down his face. This was the first taste of real rugby the whole audience got. Regardless, when asked how he felt about the game and why he was looking forward to the rest of the season, he said, “I love the intensity and pace of the game, as well as the warrior spirit I feel when I play rugby.”

A couple of minutes later,  Nathan Chand (12) also went down with a broken collarbone, proving that rugby is not a sport for the fainthearted, but rather for the tough and competitive.

Luke Lindsey (11) ended up stealing the show, as he led the Yellow team to victory and earned himself the first ever Man of The Match award for the Dalat rugby program. The first match certainly lived up to its expectation and left the crowd asking for more at the end of the game. The first ever Dalat rugby game proved that this sport is here to stay for good in the Athletics program.

Coming In Hot

Hannah Lawrence

Many underestimated the hidden skills that were found last Friday on Upper Field when some high school girls, part of the varsity rugby team, played their first ever inner-squad game.

They can only pass the ball behind them. The ball is like a football but not. They don’t wear any gear, but they run right into the other teams’ face. They get touchdowns, but they are called a Tri. Some say it is like a game of tag with a ball, but last Friday showed that it was much more than just that.

Last Friday, the girls here in high school got to experience their first ever touch-rugby game in the history of Dalat International School.  There were two teams: the Gold team and the Blue team. They were divided not by rank of skill but by girls learning together about the game. Most of these girls are athletes, but some are not and have never been on a varsity team, much less on a team. There is much diversity; with Coach Van though, they are making history.  The girls’ varsity rugby team played an inner-squad game and played with all their knowledge of the game, with only three weeks of practice.

The game of touch rugby is simple (at its core). There are two teams that consist of seven players on the field. These seven players are trying to get to the opposite side to put the rugby ball down on the other side without being touched. If they are touched, they have to put it down on the ground and walk over it, so that their other teammates can take it and run, while the other team has to back up 5 meters before touching the opponent with the ball. The Dalat girls had it down.

They played with so much intentionality while making some mistakes to learn from.  There were some injuries, such as a broken finger, sprained ankle, and bruises left and right, but as they say, “No pain, no gain.” Specifically, Abby Owen (10) said, “I like it, and I’m glad I did it. Everyone is pretty much new at the sport, but they are all encouraging and nice.”

She has never played a varsity sport, and others like her now have an opportunity that they didn’t have before. This sport has brought opportunity for these girls. This bonding experience will go down in Dalat history. And it is only the beginning.

Monday 12 November 2018

Battle of the Factions

Vivien Chang

November 7, 2018, the sound of cheers reverberated through Youth Park— the battle between Blaze, Wave, Quake, and Bolt had begun. From station to station, each team competed for beads—ultimately leading to the wonderful Seahorse Trophy.

That morning, each team separated into their factions based on the team color. Blaze with their enthusiastic cheer, Wave with their music, Quake with their face paint, and Bolt with their energetic smiles: each team trooped towards the new parking lot and into the buses. As the buses arrived at the Youth Park, each team slowly progressed towards the stadium where directions of the event were given.

Throughout the day, each faction separated into eight smaller units to rotate through eight stations. Each unit consisted of different grade members, which in turn encouraged teamwork and new friendship formation. Going from Capture the Chicken, crossing the road using tires, to Chinese Checkers, a wide variety of activities with different types of teamwork were presented. Despite the students having a blast throughout the day, there were also students who witnessed the mischief of the devilish monkeys in the Youth Park. They jumped from one tree to the next, snuck up to steal snacks, and blocked passages with their fierce expressions.

As an intermission, the senior class ExComm also prepared a small announcement about the upcoming Splash and Dash charity run event during lunch. After finally drying off, the senior class president was once again drenched in order to show an example of what the Splash and Dash event would look like. After lunch, each unit returned to complete the last four activities of the day.

As the day slowly came to an end, each unit returned their beads to the faction leader and the anticipation for the winners begun. The rest of Wednesday, everyone was tired out. However, Thursday was the day the winners were announced. With a very close difference, Blaze took the Seahorse Trophy home this year. According to Nicholas Khor (12), the senior class president, “Putting aside the final results, it was a great atmosphere - the camaraderie from the teams, the friendly competition, and the frequent laughs from humorous moments made the event a pleasure to take part in."

As much as it was tiring to complete all the activities, the memories were just as worth it.

Fare Thee Well, Phone

Sin Ler Oo

On November 2nd, a group of Media Literacy students sat pensively in their seats as Mr. Steinkamp strode to the front of the room. A pile of Nokia phones and an empty box lay ominously on the desk nearby. All of the students could see the wide grin on his face. As Mr. Steinkamp clapped his hands to signal the start of the day, he also marked the beginning of something else. Day 1 of the Dumb and Dumber Project had begun.

The project’s goal was to replace the students’ smartphones with “dumb phones” (the Nokia phones sitting innocently on the table) so that students may experience the impacts of using a smartphone on individuals and society. For this project, students were expected not to use a smartphone for two weeks. To those who were attached to their phones, this would be a challenging project indeed.

As a result, with the help of Seth Kelley (12) and Gabe Roberts (11), Mr. Steinkamp began to orchestrate the Dumb and Dumber Project’s first mockumentary as a way to lighten the mood. Even though Mr. Steinkamp had announced the project earlier, students acted as if he had sprung the project upon them. Of course, Mr. Steinkamp desired nothing less than pure pandemonium as he set about casting different “roles” for the event. Students had to pretend to sob hysterically and jump over tables to escape while Seth and Gabe gleefully filmed the event.

As the first part of the chaotic filming ended, the true project began. Individually, students started shutting down their phones (some more mournfully than others) after saving their most important contacts. SIM cards were taken out of the smartphones and dutifully placed into a Nokia that Dalat had purchased. Although newly bought, the phones contained the classic keypad as well as a small screen. As a result, some students struggled to remember how the Nokia worked, to the amusement of Mr. Steinkamp.

As Natasha Palanivel (12) put it, “As I held the phone in my hands, I pondered on how to turn on the device as there was no power button. I didn’t realize there was an instruction manual. By some miracle—after pressing a variety of buttons—the phone turned on! It was a Christmas miracle! It was a thrilling moment to hold this small device in my hand.”

At first glance, it seemed as if the phones could not access the internet, call Grab, or even download music. Students, however, were elated to find classic games such as Snake, Doodle Jump, and Crossy Road on the phone.

For the final filming of Day 1, students formed a funeral procession. They lined up with their smartphones and gradually strolled towards the empty box, where they set their phones down as if performing some elaborate ritual. Then the box was lidded and taken away. It was to be stored in Mr. Steinkamp’s office, out of sight but unlikely out of mind. The 336-hour countdown began.

Tuesday 6 November 2018

Basketball Tryouts

Sam Castro

The anxiety passed through every boy’s body as they woke up. Everyone knew that it was the day to show their best basketball skills to join the men’s varsity basketball team, but all nerves were on the edge. Because of the anticipation, the school day couldn’t have felt longer; then the time finally came, at 3:10 the bell rang, and instantly people were mentally preparing for the coming event of tryouts.

As soon as all the boys walked into the gym, one distinction from last year was noticeable: the coaches were completely new to their position. Coach Hoffmeyer and Coach Lee were named the new coaches of the team. Both coaches from last year moved away the same year, leaving the team with nothing until Mr. Hoffmeyer came to the team’s aid when it was most needed. Everyone who just walked in noticed that the format was different than it usually was from the previous coaches. Cones were set up everywhere in positions that no one recognized. The boys were told to show their skill in basketball handles and smooth moving with the ball, while maintaining their posture. Countless drills were done to test the ability of each player.

At the end of the day, all the boys’ energy was completely drained. One of the boys, Wansuk Kunawaradisai (11), said, “I was so tired, my muscles could barely handle the pain.”

Coach Hoffmeyer told the group they were done with day 1 of tryouts, but to prepare ourselves for day 2, which was all playing ball. The second day of tryouts, the group of ball-hungry boys walked onto the court once again. Mr. Hoffmeyer separated the boys into teams to play with for the rest of the day. 3x3 competitions were played, as well as full court 5x5. The group of boys played their hearts out, each one of them desperate for a spot on the team. Sweat drops and bodies hit the floor as the second day of tryouts finished, and Coach Hoffmeyer told everyone the roster would be coming out within a day.

Anxiously, the boys waited all night and halfway through the following school day to know who made the team. All the boys who made it are eager to start a new season and to show the world what they’ve got. The men’s varsity basketball team will play their hearts out this year to represent Dalat and God and by being the best team they can be on the court. 

The Game of the Strongest

Linus Lim

Rugby. A sport only the strongest play.  As I watch players suiting up for practice and tackling dummies, I couldn’t help but think, “Wow, I can’t believe we’re having this in Dalat.” October 30, 2018 marked Dalat’s first ever rugby practice.

Nervous and excited, players started stretching and warming up before practice began. Eyes wandered around the field as players prepared for the coach’s arrival. Phreeeeeet! All students assembled to the sounds of the coache’s whistle. Coach Morgan congratulated players for joining him in this historic moment and started practice with the signature Eagles chant: “Eagles on three! One! Two! Three! Eagles!”

With that, Coach Morgan began practice with a wrestling drill. This drill required the toughest and strongest players. Well-built figures, such as Gavin Zimmer (11), stood out amongst the others as one of the most brawny and powerful players on the team. Next up was a drill of passing. Players worked on technique and form during this, and Coach Morgan continued his scouting for potential talents within the team. Finally, day 1 ended with tackling a dummy. Coach Morgan taught the team how to properly tackle someone. Standing in awe, most players are very impressed by how well Coach Morgan tackles, and everyone did their best to follow his teaching.

The first day of practice ended with smiles and laughter. After the coach closed the practice with prayer and the Eagles chant, chatter filled the field with whispers of who could be captain of the team and who stood out in every drill.

As everyone went to their lockers, I asked Trevor Ronning (12) on his thoughts of their first practice. Ronning said, “I became super excited for the rugby season the first day of practice as we began learning about what an incredible and complex sport it is. Coach Morgan did a great job of making practice challenging as well as fun.”

This day goes down as one of the special moments in Dalat sports’ history. As these young players learn the game of rugby, will they have a great season full of growth and development, or will their season end in flames and ashes? Tune into Dalat Athletics to find out more!

Picture of Mycah Winsor(10) and Gabe Roberts(11) preparing for practice. Photo Credit: Dalat Athletics Facebook



Bounce, Swoosh, Smack

John Cho

Drip, drip: sweat slowly rolls off the players’ faces, as they will give everything they have to get onto the varsity basketball team. They will push and fight for every single ball like a warrior because, if not, there is no guaranteed spot. Try-outs were held during the week of October 29th.

Perhaps Dalat’s most popular sport would be basketball; girls and boys play this sport full of passion and desire. Samuel Castro (12), who didn’t make the basketball team in 9th grade, said that he practiced almost every day on the outdoor court, after he finished eating dinner with his Jaffray dorm family. As he practiced, he said, “I always thought I would get better playing scrap ball with my friends; however, I realized I am only going to get better playing against skilled players and high-level competition.”

On the other hand, some basketball players didn’t practice due to the volleyball or soccer season. The boys’ tryout was split over two days. The first day was showing their physical ability, such as agility and speed, and the second day was based on shooting skills and understanding plays.

Some of the athletes have been waiting for this moment, the start of Season 2 sports, since the beginning of the school year.  Well, part of the reason is that they wanted to show their skills that they worked on during offseason.

Along with basketball, another sport that excited most of the students was rugby, due to its first entrance as an official Dalat sports; even the teachers were excited about this. A future rugby player, Gavin Zimmer (11), exclaimed, “Dalat is blessed to have such a manly sport once in its lifetime!”

Corresponding to Zimmer, Onyu Kim (11) stated that “I think it is fortunate for people in Dalat to encounter a new sport that is not entirely friendly to them.”

As shown, it is obvious that they wanted to play rugby for Dalat desperately over the years.


Freaky Friday Fun

Trevor Ronning
 It was Friday night and the final preparations for Freaky Friday were falling into place. The anticipation was swirling in our hearts as seniors got ready to put on the event for the middle schoolers. We provided four stations: a dinner station, a flour bomb capture the flag station, a treasure hunt station, and my station—dodgeball. When it finally started, all I had on my mind was, “I hope the middle schoolers have fun.”

 I had whistles and dodgeballs, and I was prepared to ref the games; but when Mrs. Steinkamp saw me standing on the side officiating, she told me, “You should get in there.” So, I joined in the festivities. In the end, I may have enjoyed it even more than they did. Ashlynn Ruble (12), who was leading dodgeball with me, said, “I really enjoyed helping with dodgeball because it gave me the chance to interact with the middle schoolers and have fun with them.”

One particular group I remember better than the others was because Jeremy and Min Guk were the leaders. After warming up from playing with two groups, I was more than ready to take them on. I ended up on the opposing side from my fellow seniors and started picking them apart, one ball at a time. I was about to throw the kill shot on Jeremy when a stealthy middle schooler appeared out of nowhere and hit me square in the foot. The disappointment I felt in that moment was crushing.

After all the groups had come through, the middle schoolers gathered in the outdoor court for a variation of rock-paper-scissors called bear-man-gun. Mr. Steinkamp, along with Nick Khor (12), explained the rules of the game which happen to be in the form of a song: “The bear beats the man. The man beats the gun. The gun beats the bear. You tie, you die.” And then you proceed to turn around and use the action corresponding to either bear, man, or gun. The game happened tournament style, meaning winners progressed to the next round. I had high hopes for my chances but only made it two rounds in! In the end, I believe that Freaky Friday was a huge success and that the middle schoolers that came had loads of fun.