Thursday 8 December 2022

We're Halfway There

By Chris Bell

From the beginning of time, within our academic careers, we have all sought the highly acclaimed "best year of our life." That year is Senior year, and for the class of 2023, the end of that year is halfway there. Throughout this first semester, we have had many adventures and experiences chiseled in stone and placed into our memory banks. From the retreat at Telunas with the grainy white sands of the Indonesian Isles, including the stupendously long journey it took to get there, as well as the late nights spent at senior parties playing glow-in-the-dark tag and board games. These experiences will impact not only our perspective during university but our perspective for the rest of our lives. With seniors leaving in less than half a year, making sure we develop meaningful memories is more important than ever. 

To start off by understanding the perspective of the students, here is a quote from Bennet McIver: "The year seems to have flown by fast; it's been exciting to resume extracurriculars and sports." For most senior students, the year feels like a catch-up for all the sports, activities and memories they missed out on. Despite this, the students used their missed time to work harder than ever, with the varsity soccer boys coming home with the first-place trophy from ACSC.

However, senior year isn't all butterflies and rainbows; senior year carries a heavy toll. Seniors must find a way to balance their lives between the treacherous exams and their ever-changing social life without feeling overwhelmed. 

To better explain what these students are feeling, here's a quote by Trevor Nichols: "Hectically work hard to balance college apps, school, and extracurriculars, but I still take the time to enjoy and savour the last few months I have with my classmates."

With the realisation of these "last few months" and ever-growing pressure, students have sought ways to savour these last moments with their friends, whether continuing their Friday night tradition or hanging out together more frequently. 

Some have even sought to bring along new traditions such as BBA (Bozo Ball Association). BBA is a 1v1 between non-Varsity basketballers during lunchtime. Spectators gather around in the dozens and overlook a game where competition is overruled by the mood for just having a fun time. 

Half of the year to experience that fun has finished, and the realization has sunk into the senior's mind. Still, the abundance of great experiences and lifelong memories leaves students hoping for an even better second semester. We halfway there, and we're livin' on a prayer.

Wednesday 7 December 2022

Island Shootout: 1 Point

By Bennett McIver

Dalat hosts a basketball tournament every year called Island Shootout where teams from Penang and the capital KL come up to play a small two day tournament. Our biggest rival, ISKL also attended the tournament and played us in the opening game of the tournament. The result of that game would be a Dalat defeat by two points; however this was not the last time we would face this team in the tournament. We then went on to beat Gardens International School by a decent margin before having the rest of the night to rest. 

The next morning, with five of our players taking the SAT, we were scheduled to play two games in their absence. The first game was against POWIIS, another school located in Penang, which we handled, only conceding six points. Unfortunately, a recurring injury of mine flared up after this game and sidelined me for the rest of the tournament. That victory put us in the semi-finals against Garden International. We came into that game with high expectations, having already beat that team the previous day. However, in light of this confidence, we struggled throughout the first half of the game; we had only managed to get an eight point lead going into the second half. It was then that the SAT finished and our players, who had taken the SAT in their jerseys, joined the team and provided some fresh legs. We still struggled until the 4th quarter where we pulled away and secured the win. 

This semi-final victory put us in the finals against ISKL. After an inspirational speech by Mr. Tom Penland, we were ready. The stands were packed out and hype, having just witnessed the Dalat Varsity girls win their tournament. There were high expectations for our game; everyone was hoping Dalat could emerge champions of both the girls tournament and the guys tournament. However, this hope did not come to fruition, as we lost the final game…by one point. 

The last 2 minutes of the game were intense, with scoring going back and forth. In the final possession, SooWei Goh (12) took the ball down the court where he sized up his defender and called for a screen by Luke Ng (12). He drove right and put up a shot, which was rebounded by Noah Kaney (12) who put the ball right back up and got blocked by an ISKL defender. SooWei (12) got possession off this shot and went to drive around a defender but got kneed in the quad and went down. The ball rolled out of his hand and an ISKL defender burned the remaining two seconds by holding the ball. Whether or not SooWei getting kneed should have been called a foul, we will never know, but the final score was 40-41 with Dalat losing in the finals by one point. 

Our team was devastated, and the crowd was quiet. After the defeat, our coach commented, “Good work guys, I think we played hard, sometimes things just don't work out in your favor. We definitely had our chances so keep your heads up because that game could have gone either way. We will see these guys in January, so let's get them then.”

Losing by one point is hard because you were so close. I looked at my teammates who were silently reflecting on the game. I bet there were a lot of “if only I had made that shot” ideas popping into my teammates heads. Regardless of the outcome, it was a great tournament, and I think our team played very well although it shed some light on areas we need to improve in. 

Dalat Island Shootout Championship Game

By Luke Ng 

Throughout the two days at the Island Shootout Championship, both Dalat teams fought hard, with the girl's team having a perfect record and sitting at the first seed and the boys having lost only one game to be the 2nd seed.

Both Dalat teams were able to win the semis and advance to the finals. Once again, the varsity teams from ISKL and Dalat would face each other to determine who the Island Shootout champion would be. The girls played first and began the game on fire, hitting shot after shot. Midway through the game, Lauren Worten (12) got injured, and a sudden panic fell upon the fans and team: who would be without their primary scorer? However, the girls continued to persevere and showed grit, enabling them to finish the game strong and become the champions of the 2022 Island Shootout.

The final game of the entire tournament was the Dalat boy's chance at redemption after a first-game loss to ISKL. Dalat's starting five of Soo Wei Goh (12), Darryl Dwumfour (12), Noah Kaney (12), Sean Lee (10), and Luke Ng (12) stepped onto the court to battle ISKL for first place. 

Team captain Soo Wei (12) led the Eagles chant, which brought the crowd to its feet and got the energy going for the rest of the team. Dalat started the game playing hard and gained a 7-5 lead at the end of the 1st quarter. Somehow, ISKL still found a way to gain the lead on the Eagles, but the boys never gave up, and in the 4th quarter, Noah’s (12) defense caused ISKL to fumble the ball, which led to a big and-one put back by Luke (12) followed by a clutch three from Soo Wei (12), which gave Dalat a one-point lead. 

With only a few seconds left, the star of the ISKL team drove in, and a controversial foul was called that sent him to the line to win the game. With 13 seconds left, Dalat still had a chance to win the game but was unfortunately unable to due to a clutch block by ISKL and a possible missed foul call by the refs. Dalat fell short 40-41 and came in at second place.

Team captain Soo Wei (12) said in a post-game interview, "Although we fell short by 1 point, I'm proud of my boys. It's an experience that we can build on and learn from." 

Both teams will have a chance to face ISKL again next January, with the guys hopefully being stronger and better than their opponents. 

Co-Captain Noah (12) said, "There's still a lot of room for us to grow, but I'm especially looking forward to playing ISKL again in January.”

Sing-le All The Way

By Larissa Lee

It’s Christmas season, and with the choir concert over, the students of Concert Choir have been busy with a new, exciting project. For the past week, students in Ms. Joyce Goh’s choir class have been recording music videos for any Christmas song of their choosing. Split into groups, each group has until Friday to record vocals, film footage, and edit together a music video filled with Christmas spirit. 

Among the groups, the song choices vary. From Sia’s “Snowman” to Justin Bieber’s “Mistletoe,” each group is bringing something different to the table. My group, consisting of Hazel Chan (12), Adelina Chee (12), Alyssa Kwok (11), Arielle McIver (11), Sarah Loh (10), and myself, chose to cover a song from the movie Pitch Perfect 2 - “Winter Wonderland/Here Comes Santa Claus.” We quickly learned that recording a video isn’t as easy as it sounds, and that there are many different factors that go into it. Vocals need to be recorded, the video needs to be planned, footage needs to be filmed, and it all needs to be edited together cohesively at the end. This required teamwork, and for this festive time of year, it certainly felt fitting for us to all have the chance to bond. Turns out, that’s what Ms. Goh wanted. 

When I asked her why she assigned this project, Ms. Goh said, “I assigned this project because I wanted you guys to work on something on your own and just wanted to see your creativity … it’s nice to have you work together to showcase your talents, and everybody has something to offer.” It gave everyone a chance to shine, both individually and as part of a team.

Another group consisting of Ellie Guffy (12), Jasmine Hassan (12), Nicole Khor (12), Saidah Ly (12), and Anna Phuah (12) chose to do the song “White Winter Hymnal” by Pentatonix. 

When interviewed, Anna said, “I really do like the project. It’s different from most finals, but honestly, I'm pretty stressed because I want to impress Ms. Goh and I don't want to let her down." 

Ms. Goh is a teacher many don’t want to let down, not just Anna. Many feel like it’s the least we could do after she did everything in her power to make sure our choir trip to Bangkok and our choir concert both went smoothly. People want to make the videos the best they can possibly be, not just for the sake of their grades, but to thank Ms. Goh for the amount of work she’s done this past semester. 

Christmas is a time of year known for bringing about joy and togetherness, and that’s exactly what this final project did for Dalat’s Concert Choir students of 2023. These music videos weren’t just a project, but an opportunity to produce a work of art with peers and spread some Christmas joy.