Founder’s Message

By Cullno Mah

January 26, Friday was the birth of a new era in Dalat history: the birth of the long-awaited Marine Biology Club and its debut. Ms. Goh, Elizabeth, and I founded the Marine Biology Club with the goal of exploring a whole other world before us with a family-like community passionate about marine life and a drive towards a better world. Focused on the ocean’s unexplainable beauty and supernatural design, we created this club to nurture true love and values of marine bio capable enough to be passed on to future generations to come.

Although the club members had met once before, Jan 26 was the true debut where we ventured beyond land, to the beaches beating against the school walls. As the founder of the club, a heavy load of responsibilities lingered throughout the week, counting towards the inevitable debut. The introduction of the syllabus and the “World in Glass Bottle” project were among the list of objectives at this meeting. The top of that list was to create an environment where bonding and comfortability may thrive.

I remember being overjoyed as smiles began to light up when I finally revealed the fun and possibilities that were to come. Fishing, fish dissecting, boat sunset trips, and special guests brought a little excitement towards the foreseeable future. Next, the “World in Glass Bottle” project, where we hope to manifest a living environment within a glass bottle by capturing microorganisms as well as the opportunity to provide nutrients and habitat through one's own creativity-sparked passion emitted through their radiant eyes. Finally, moments where we marched toward the vast sea holding each other’s hands and got footage of us running around the sand were definitely moments that brought us closer to one another. The additional time given to begin gathering specimens within glass bottles also gave our members the chance to take a closer look and explore the beach where this very school is built. 

Sadly, this beautiful moment also came with terrifying consequences. Amidst the beauty of the club session and the extreme bonding, I found myself shoved into the salty water with a complete set of school uniform on without a single towel in sight. The bonding has led to a comfortability to bully the club’s founder and left me with an impossible confrontation. 

My mom had this to say, “Cullno, What happened?! Oh my Gosh! Now I have to clean the car already! What happened?” As I explained the situation, my mother added, “I’m so proud of you, Cullno, good job Mr. Founder.” 

I would say Friday was a success, wouldn't you?

Home of the Eagles

By Popi Grous

Over the weekend of January 26, the Middle School Island Shootout was held at Dalat. Basketball teams around the island and Kuala Lumpur competed in hopes of securing the win.

In basketball, where every pass and shot is vital to their wins or losses, playing Friday and Saturday, battling it out, Dalat came through at the end, winning it all. With eight teams in the tournament, both the boys and girls teams were smiling brightly after earning gold medals.

The crowd was electric, chanting and cheering, pushing both teams to do their best. The players were gaining momentum and motivation, allowing for an intense game. Both the boys' and girls' finals were against ISKL, creating an intense atmosphere. 

Tony Boyd, assistant coach to the Middle School Boys' basketball team, says, “My favourite was winning in double overtime the first time we played ISKL! The boys played hard and better than I have ever seen up to this point, all of them from the 7th graders up to the starters. So proud of how each one has improved and how they work together.  The environment for both ISKL games was electric. I appreciate having our fans going nuts, cheering, and supporting the home team.  One thing about sports is that the team with the momentum almost always wins, and the power of cheering your team on cannot be underestimated!” Being there with his team from the sidelines, he supported them throughout the weekend.

Both teams are excited at the prospect of future games, eager to learn from their mistakes and grow stronger together. They are ready to use all of their skill in their next tournament on February 16 in KL.

Rugby Girls in Bukit Mertajam: Our First Penang Tournament!

By Michelle Morrow

This past Saturday, while middle school basketball had their Island Shootout, the rugby girls headed to Bukit Mertajam on the mainland for our first Penang tournament this season. Twelve teams were competing in our division, and after 13 long hours of both playing and waiting for the pouring rain to stop, we finished first in the silver bracket. 

We dominated in pool play, winning our first two games 3-0 and 2-0. We fell to the eventual tournament champions in the next game, sending us to the silver bracket. Commenting on the team’s resilience after this upsetting loss, Tia Emmanuel (10) said, “I really liked how after we lost our match and were all really sad and down, we prayed as a group about the next one and came back stronger.” 

Although we faced challenging opposition in our third game, we persevered and learned from our mistakes as we won our final two HSBM National Touch 3.0 Tournament games by scores of 3-0 and 1-0. 

After everyone’s games were over and the awards had been distributed, we met the other girls not as competitors but as fellow rugby players who, despite various cultural and religious backgrounds, shared a love for the sport. Besides the games themselves, meeting and interacting with those Malay girls was my favorite part of the tournament. Some were even players I had connected with last year, so it was fantastic to see them again. 

My co-captain Kathryn Boyd (12) also shared these sentiments, and as she reviewed our season thus far, she said, “I’m going to miss this team, the coaches, the game, and also all the relationships we made with local Malay girls through rugby. This sport helped us connect, and it was so cool to see the girls interact with one another.” 

Reflecting on the trip and tournament, Emma Emis (11) said, “I loved how well we were all able to bond over the trip. From screaming Megan Trainor to winning gold medals, it was awesome. During trips like these, we can spend good quality time with our teammates and get to know them better.” 

I couldn’t agree more. We eagerly anticipate the following games and tournaments as a team and can’t wait to expand our rugby skillsets. 

Home of the Panthers

By Wei Ee Goh

This basketball trip was the last and long-awaited ISKL tournament for the seniors. On the way to our trip, the bus was filled with initial excitement, quickly followed by everyone falling asleep. 

Once we got to the school, our Varsity Boys team played a local KL team called Hatchers. It was an intense game, with the lead consistently changing by two points, but sadly, due to minor mistakes, we lost by two points. 

Thankfully, we bounced back during our second game against Davidson with an easy win of 58-29. After the long day of traveling and playing games, we ended it by going to the same mall we go to for every trip, Intermark Mall. The Varsity girls and guys' teams scavenged around the mall to find their favorite foods, varying from Nandos, Chinese food, McDonald’s, and baguettes. The night ended with heading to the hotel, waiting for our room keys, and getting ready for the next day.

Breakfast was at 7 am, and soon after, we boarded the bus, ready to play our first team of the day. The skill difference between Sonic's team and ours became evident almost immediately, with our boys jumping to a ten-point lead in the first quarter. The final game score was 58-29, with Dalat getting a comfortable victory. 

After this win, our primary focus became ISKL, our rival school, which was the school we were most excited to play since it was our last chance to compete against them. Both teams desperately wanted the win, and the tension was felt in the air. The game started with both teams making offensive mistakes, leading to low scores in the first quarter. However, both teams eventually picked up their offense, and the lead constantly shifted back and forth. Sadly, our team made some careless mistakes during the third quarter, which allowed ISKL to jump to a ten-point lead. The boys attempted to cut this lead short, but fatigue and mistakes made this comeback impossible. Our team ended up placing third in the tournament with our heads held low. 

On the ride back, our team captain, Josia De Jager (12), told the team, "This tournament shows us that we just aren't ready for ACSC. We need to learn from these mistakes and losses and be better." 

With a month left in the season, our team began practicing harder than before, looking ahead with hopes of winning ACSC in February.

Hard Fought Island Shootout

By Aidan Leong

Silas Latham (9) throws the ball up into the air over the heads of multiple Oasis players. As the ball seems to fall, two hands suddenly grip its leathery surface. It's Matthias Seevaratnam (10) floating in the air! He catches the ball and puts a shot into the basket before landing on the ground. 

Cheers and shouts echo throughout the court as the JV boys get back on defense. The spirit of the Dalat community comes alive with parents, middle schoolers, high schoolers, and teachers all cheering on the bleachers. 

Last week, the junior varsity boys and girls played in a two-day basketball tournament on Friday and Saturday. Multiple teams, such as ISKL, Oasis, Han Chiang, and Chung Ling, came to play. The JV (Junior Varsity) boys fought hard and experienced high and low moments. They had a massive victory over Oasis with a score of 66-8. They also fought ISKL at the start and had a good lead on them, but unfortunately, ISKL caught up and beat them by a few points. Then, in the finals, the JV boys fought against ISKL, only to miss the championship by a small margin. 

When asked how the game went, Timothy Hollon (11) says, "I think the game went really well; in the short time that our team's been together, we've really grown as a group, and it showed over the tournament. Also, I thought that the team took the loss well. There were definitely emotions and the loss wasn't easy, but the team took it like men and instead of complaining, turned their focus to winning next week." Fortunately, this is not the last of ISKL the JV boys will see; this Friday, they will rematch ISKL on their home court. 

Here is what Sam Yeoh (9) had to say about the tournament as a whole: "It was a great experience to play in a tournament with players who were mostly older and bigger than I am. It was tough to take a L against ISKL twice but it was a fun nonetheless to be able to play in 2 really close games." 

Even though they may not have won, this tournament pitched them against tough competition. It helped them continue to develop individually in their skills and as a team in their chemistry.

Timothy Hollon (11) says one thing that could improve would be "our team being healthy. By the end of the tournament, only 2 of our original 5 starters weren't injured or sick." 

During the games, many of their starters and players had fallen to injury and had to sit out the tournament. Despite this, the JV boys did their best and pushed through every game. But most of all, they always seemed to be having fun on the court. That's where the memories are made. That's the beauty of the game. 

Christmas Break Shenanigans

By Isaac Beaman 

After finals, students set out in an attempt to unwind from the semester. Traveling far and wide, seniors enjoy their last Christmas break and take the opportunity to grow closer to the people they will soon have to leave behind.

Over the hustle and bustle of getting back to school, the best stories of break often go untold. 

Reporting on the best stories was a burden that someone had to undertake. 

In the calm, quiet waters of the straights of Melaka, the Silverstein's band of buccaneers set sail early one morning. With the wind in their sails and break on their calendars, they headed off to Phuket for their family vacation. Despite all the thrill and adventure of their trip, they found that their favorite moments were a bit closer to home. Elizabeth Silverstein (12) said, “I really enjoyed working out with my dad each morning on the beach and having that time with him because I am really going to miss him when I go off to college.”

Elizabeth wasn’t the only one who had adventures over their break. Many students gathered their own terrific tales just a ten-minute drive away. 

Hiking in Penang always provides a good time, and the break was the perfect opportunity for students to hit the trails with their friends for the last few times. Noah Brooks (12) said, “My favorite thing I did this break was traveling around the forest with my friends.”

Rumor has it a multi-day cross-Penang hike was being planned. The route was picked, and gear was packed. Until the very same Noah Brooks got “sick.” the plans were called off, and the rest of his break was spent coughing. 

Students were able to reconnect with their peers on these hikes. Creating new memories. Savoring the time they have left before the great exodus of uni. 

Seniors & Ex-Seniors

By Lee Yee Tan

The start of the second semester always gives off a weird feeling: it feels like a new school year with the appearance of a dozen new faces, but at the same time, it also repeats a familiar cycle that students have progressed through in semester one. However, returning to school as a senior this semester felt especially sentimental.

The sensation of being a senior is more than just wearing light blue shirts now that it is officially the second semester of the 23-24 school year. “Coming back from break, it feels different as the realization that the start of semester two now means we are much closer to our graduation,” exclaims Jonathan Park, Class of 2024, a current senior. In the midst of juggling school and college applications, the class also has approximately five more months until having to part ways, moving into another milestone in our lives.

It felt as if we were still in middle school yesterday, admiring the upperclassmen, hoping that we could be like them one day. The term ‘graduation’ had never felt so near, yet so far. Fighting off senioritis, we often yearn for that day to arrive faster; however, we also struggle with the goodbyes of our dearest peers. 

Do we really have to say goodbye as if we will never see each other again? I don’t believe so. For the past Christmas break and the first few days of school, a resurgence of ‘Dalat faces’ have been summoned to the Dalat campus. 

Yebeen Kil, Class of 2021, remarks that visiting campus “felt very nostalgic and peaceful and it was nice meeting all my friends and catching up with them after so long.” 

Seeing the familiar faces and our ‘seniors’  we used to look up to felt like we time-traveled a few years back when they were still easily seen on campus.

The visits back were significant even for the alumni. “It’s good to be back, to see the new construction and to see some of the impacts our class made that has carried on. It’s nice to see familiar faces but also nice to see some changes too,” commented Adam Lim, Class of 2023. 

I believe these recurrences had culminated the hard goodbyes in our minds into anticipation that we, as seniors, can and will have a chance to meet again in the future. 

Although the beginning of the semester has just arrived, it will be in the blink of an eye that time will fly by. By then, it would be time for us to put on a graduation cap, ready to progress into another phase of our lives.

The Happiest Days Of Our Lives

By Josh Morrison

The show goes on! Welcome to semester two! All of us are returning for another semester of school, but for some of us this will be our last…

Getting back into old classes and starting new ones always takes a second to get used to. The first week of semester two often feels like the in-between state of sleepy awareness you get after hitting the snooze on the alarm clock: the teachers don’t give out a ton of homework, everyone’s still talking about what they did over break, and the coaches aren’t going hard on their athletes. It’s a good ease back into routine.

Despite the goodwill of teachers and coaches, the second semester naturally is when motivation amongst seniors is at an all time low. It’s like our attention spans have just snapped. So as a senior who often feels burned out with school, I decided to ask a couple seniors how they stay motivated to wake up every morning.

 “I think it’s about intentionality,” Caleb Jun said, “I try to be intentional with the people I spend time with because I know this will be the last time I see a lot of them,” 

“I just look forward to the Friday at the end of the week,” said Ryan Choi.

“It’s about making memories with friends, you’re only young once, so we might as well make it meaningful,” said Naomi Weidemann.

“Knowing it will all be over soon,” concluded Tia Moore.

I encourage all students reading this scribble to finish strong! A lot of us seniors have grown up and made a home out of the community here at Dalat. This is the place where we've spent our most formative years, we’ve built character at Dalat and made relationships to cherish forever. Dalat is our childhood memories and our high school experience and its ending soon. Dalat has given us so much and it’s important us seniors leave something for Dalat to remember us by. Second semester is about leaving a legacy.

So if you are a senior reading this, I implore you to go to school not for the sake of routine,  studying, or mindlessly busy work, but to leave your mark where it counts, whether that’s being intentional with who you spend time with, looking forward to a weekend, or making the best possible memories with your friends, because at the end of the day this is our last semester and it will all be over soon.