Tuesday 20 April 2021

A Week of Many Surprises

 By Sumin Lim

As staff and students entered the school campus on Monday, the school campus began to look like an airport. Starting from April 12th to April 16th, students and teachers were allowed to dress up according to the day’s theme as part of Dalat’s traditional fashion week. Each day had a different theme that was addressed to the Dalat community and challenged each grade to participate. The grade that had the highest proportion of participants would get to leave their D Block class five minutes early to get their lunch before everyone else. This caused each grade to unite and fight for the privilege of leaving class early.

The week started with the theme of ‘Tacky Tourist’. Students wore light and colorful clothes with shades and other accessories.

Tuesday was ‘Character Day’. Most students dressed up as their favorite characters from movies, shows, or even cartoons.

Wednesday was ‘Grade Rep Day’ where students had to dress up in their class colors. Every grade had a different color that was assigned to them and were encouraged to wear everything in their class color.

Next, my personal favorite, was ‘Crazy Hair Day’. Teachers and students all came to school looking completely different. A lot of people had extremely creative ways to style their hair while others looked like they had just woken up.

To sum up fashion week, the theme on Friday was called ‘Blast from the Past’ and made Dalat 2021 look like Dalat 1981.  Students dressed up very posh and vintage, while teachers looked like they were back in their teen years.

“I really enjoyed seeing everyone dressed in other outfits other than our uniforms. It was fun discussing ideas with my friends and matching on certain days” said Yebeen Kil (12). Fashion week brought laughter and unity to the teachers and students of Dalat during the trying times of COVID-19.

Trainer to Teacher to Both?

 By John Kim

As the second semester of the 2020-2021 school year arrived, so did Mr. Trevor Riffey and his wife. He is currently 26 and from Rancho Cucamonga, Southern California.

Previously working as a certified athletic trainer in a high school in Arizona and in physical therapy clinics, Mr. Riffey caught sight of Dalat and wanted “to do athletic training at a place that never had athletic training or sports medicine.” Mr. Riffey also wanted to try something new as he said, “I wanted to go into the teaching world.” Mr. Riffey teaches Human Anatomy and Physiology in high school and P.E. for Elementary classes.

With only a few weeks left of the second semester, Mr. Riffey, fortunately, adjusted comfortably to the new school culture. He says, “I like the Dalat community because people are inclusive. We were made to feel right at home as soon as we got here. And that was nice because it was my first time overseas. I also enjoy the support of the community.” Thanks to Dalat’s overall warm welcome, Mr. Riffey was able to transition smoothly into an unfamiliar land and culture.

Although Mr. Riffey already has jobs as an Anatomy and P.E. teacher, he plans for more in Dalat. As far as his plans go, he says, “I would like to start an athletic training / sports medicine program for Dalat Athletics which encompasses working after school and support student athletes with orthopedic injuries they have and be available to treat or rehabilitate if needed. I also want to build a sports medicine class at Dalat so that students involved in the class can help during athletic events for medical purposes.” A potential opportunity may arise for the Dalat community to learn how to treat injuries and help each other out.

“What would his favorite sport and team be?” you may ask. Here is your answer -- Mr. Riffey’s favorite sport is ice hockey and supports the Los Angeles Kings. In fact, Mr. Riffey was able to participate in competitive ice hockey games. He describes a proud moment in his ice hockey: “In 2013, I had the opportunity to play for the United States Junior Men’s World Roller Hockey team. We got the silver medal, losing to the Czech Republic.”

“What could his favorite animal possibly be?” you may wonder. Monkeys. Why monkeys? Well, Mr. Riffey reasons, “they are pretty cool and smart. They can do a lot of things. You can kind of communicate with them compared to other animals.”

As Mr. Riffey will work past his first contract and plans to see where God takes him, the Dalat community welcomes him and his passion for training and teaching.


Photo by Sean Park @ypic_moments



Thursday 15 April 2021

What the Freshmen Class Did on a Holiday

 By Ji Ah Choi

Resisting the temptation to stay in bed on a holiday morning, the freshmen class had a service project on Monday after spring break. They arrived at school at around 8:30 am for this service activity, and about half of the freshmen class participated in this activity where they cleaned cars. This activity took around 1:30 hours, and they served until 10:00 am. 

Right before their return to school after spring break, the freshmen did a meaningful activity. Numerous cars were parked in the parking lot, and the freshmen started to clean every one of the cars. From cleaning the exterior of the car to cleaning even the tires, freshmen have diligently invested their time into this service activity. 

Not only did they clean cars, but they also wrote encouragement letters and gave those to all the car owners. The freshmen class divided themselves into two groups, where one group wrote cards containing encouraging messages, and the other cleaned the cars. There were about four people writing the encouragement letters, and one of them, Haeun Jeon (9), said, “It was tiring as I had to write around 60 letters, but I had so much fun in this activity.”

By 10:00 am, the freshmen class had cleaned all of the cars that were parked all over the campus, including the ones in the parking lot. Although it might have been tiring at first, the freshmen gained memorable experiences through this activity. It is an experience which taught that service doesn’t have to be done far away, but it can be done within the community. These kinds of community service can also provide meaningful memories of serving others. 

As Julia Jang (9) said, “Although it was tiring at first, I was proud of the hard work after seeing the cars being all cleaned.”

 

 

Tuesday 6 April 2021

A Time for Soul Searching

 

By Zoey Ong

Spring, succeeding the winter and preceding the summer, is a season when life blooms with everything unleashing wonders. It has a touch of gentle spirit that warms up the heart and soul of all living things. When spring proceeds, the plants will sprout, the flowers will blossom, and the tree leaves will unfurl themselves. Likewise, spring break for Dalat is the time for replenishment, making connections and soul searching.

In Dalat's recent newsletter, Mr. Steinkamp shows inspiration as he writes that his "hope for the students, staff, and parents of the Dalat community is that over the next week we will be able to get the rest we need to let our souls catch up with us."

During regular school days, everybody who sets foot in Dalat carries a purpose that awaits fulfillment. The students work hard for challenges in their way of achieving academics and relationship goals. The parents make time for pick-ups and are selfless in their support for students' preparation for further studies. And the staff and teachers work and toil for the well-being of the student body. Amidst all the efforts each part of Dalat is making, people must recognize that there must exist times when each sector experiences exhaustion. In this regard, a break is well needed for the Dalat community to refocus, improve productivity, reduce stress and evoke new creativity. And so, spring break comes at the perfect time.

A reminder: The strong working of every mind and body requires rest as a replenishment source to fuel up again. Like a reset button that works wonders when experiencing faulty equipment or devices, a time to rest can replenish the souls to bounce back again. So what can we do to nourish our soul and allow us to renew and set for future encounters? Soul searching is the key.

Soul searching is the idea of stepping back from life to look within ourselves to replenish our souls. Often people soul search when they are amid a rusty experience or encounter emotions that are difficult to process. As humans are not invincible, it is encouraging to have times designated for the mind and body to wind down and reboot. The seasons in life will never fail to arrive, carrying much joy, fear, and contempt, but the most important is to learn how to strategize and gather in preparation for what's to come.

From the sweet time of spring break, I hope all have encountered an opportunity to improve self-understanding and relationships by carving time out for others. Whether it was a vacay to a resort in the tropical gardens on Batu Ferringhi beach or a round trip to Georgetown for a short branch or two, hopefully, each body had gathered enough rest and time for the "souls to catch up with their bodies."

The Blowing of the Last Wind

By Ziyu Moey 

What’s the difference between school breaks and online learning? The answer is that you actually have a break from all the burden that school might have given you. However, the definition of what a break really does to you might slowly be overshadowed by the experience that is online learning.

Back in the days when the world wasn’t in a dumpster fire, the differences between holidays and schooldays were easily shown. At the eve of the break, we would normally sigh in relief that school was over. This time though, some people might have had thoughts like, ‘what’s the difference between holidays and school days anymore?’ ‘What’s the point of having a break again if we can’t even do much now?’ With all these possible thoughts, there are still some people who think that breaks hold some value. Maybe it’s because these people have become numb to these kinds of situations, as a junior described it. “Holidays just don’t really have the same impact that they used to have. Doesn’t help that we still can’t travel too far. It’s a bit like I’ve grown so accustomed to having to stay at home for long periods of time that it just doesn’t really phase me anymore,” said Lee Anne Lim (11). 

If you are from the group of people whose breaks aren’t that special to them anymore, the people who don't notice about their aspects about them changing, or just a person who just doesn’t care about these things--comparing breaks to online learning, one thing is for sure: your views on breaks have to have changed over the course of this past year. The virus is still going strong in our region. These are desperate times; and with desperate times, comes changes to places that we can least expect them to appear.

March: Full of Enjoyment for Seniors!

 By Sean Park

Boom. Seniors were gone. March was an exciting month for especially the seniors because they had their senior sneak and mid-semester break. When seniors came back from their sneak, they only had one week of school, and they dove right into their one week of mid-semester break. The mid-semester break was full of a lot of different events.

Despite having a break from school, the seniors were still excited for the mid-semester break. “It was so relaxing, and I was even more excited to hang out more with my friends following my senior sneak. The one week of school felt very different because I was already ready to be done,” said Ally Kim (12).

Despite being restricted in many activities, people were able to enjoy their break in many different ways. One primary way was Easter. Families were able to glorify God and celebrate Jesus rising from the dead; churches had small gatherings. Some of the Dalat Senior boys with some underclassmen had the chance to play against the Penang State U19 Team and Penang Panthers, the best youth soccer club in Penang, last week. They got the win for both games, and these games were highlighted by many Dalat parents.

“Both games were of high quality; the games were fun. We got the win for both games, and I feel delighted; hopefully, we can continue this and get more victories,” said Sumin Lim (12).  This is not the end for them, and they still have more games against them.

T-minus around two months. It is almost time for the seniors to start the next chapter of their lives and leave Dalat. Senior students have different views on graduation, but all of them have one thing in common: they are trying to get the best out of what they can do and leave with no regrets.

What Students Think About Being Back in School

By Lydia Neeley


Recently students have been able to attend school once again in person. Since the beginning of 2021, students have been stuck in the online school. Just trying to get through the day. Online school was either something students loved or hated; there wasn't much of an in-between. Now that students have been back in school for over three weeks, we can hear their opinions about being back.

I've had the opportunity to converse with many different people and hear about their opinions about being back. Many have said both good things and things they have missed about being online. Overall the students have said that they are enjoying being back, just in other words.

In the words of Hailey Hofer (10), "I miss sitting in my pjs in class but I like being back in person." I believe that most of us probably miss something like that about being online. Many people commented on the best part of being in person was their ability to see their friends and interact with people they hadn't been able to interact with over the Movement Control Order.

In Danny Pham's (9) opinion the "worst thing is that we can't stay after school and hang out with friends. Also the fact that there aren't Friday nights. The best thing is we don't have to do 75 minute classes". Everyone I talked with saw the positive and the negative side but chose to focus on the positives and enjoy being in school.

Reflecting on what I've learned, I can see that being in person has been great for the sample of students I have talked with. They are enjoying being in person compared to being online. They like seeing their friends and being able to get help from teachers. Human beings long for interaction with others, and we can see this in how everyone I talked to enjoyed being at school with other students.