Dalat International School: Senior Scribble

Sweat dripped onto the floor of Dalat International School main gym on Tuesday evening as 15 hopeful athletes pushed through grueling sprints and high intensity drills, balancing intense competition and sheer will to make a spot on the varsity basketball team. Only 3 people were cut. With the first official game closing in fast only next week, the coaches put us through leg buckling conditioning, defensive drills, and different scrimmage scenarios. Despite our burning lungs and our muscles being tired, the atmosphere inside the gym remained light, filled with screeching shoes, whistles blowing, and teammates encouraging each other between each drill. Players across all high school grade levels came to participate, hoping that they can show the coach their true potential, and skills that they have gained over their years of playing basketball. The mix of underclassmen and senior leadership made a well paced game where every point was earned. “Tryouts were packed from the first day, many...

That’s right…the second season of Dalat Athletics has started! On the courts, volleyball has been swapped for basketball, and on the field, soccer has been replaced by rugby. Over the past week, season two has generated plenty of excitement, with more than 100 high school students trying out for varsity and junior varsity basketball and rugby teams.  Whether competing for a spot in their favorite sport or simply trying something new, students have poured their time, effort, sweat, and tears into this last week of tryouts. Now that the teams are finalized, they are all looking forward to turning that hard work into a successful season. For the varsity girls basketball team, that begins with blending new and returning players.  While only having two practices so far, Naomi O’Quin (12) can already “see [her] team playing to each other's strengths very well.” She is also especially “looking forward to bonding with all of [her] teammates,” showing the excitement of not only buildin...

I’ve heard it said that the end of one journey is often the beginning of the next. As a senior, I find this rings true. Having once looked up to the seniors, I am now the one people look up to. Having been mentored, I am now a mentor. And now, having been served by others at SEW, I am now the one serving. It’s strange, really, being on the other side of things now. But it’s very rewarding. While I can still receive from SEW as a guest, the week now comes with a different element. Serving at SEW allowed me to see God at work firsthand. In praying for the week, prepping for the worship team, and then serving others during the week, I got to see the impact that my work had (through the Holy Spirit, of course) on the Dalat community.  This made the week a super meaningful experience for all of us on LD: in particular, Nathan Evans wrote, “I loved seeing how people were affected and changed through SEW, and how they came closer to God.” There is something beautifully profound about obse...

Every student has always had that one thought where they want to vent on their teachers and throw something at them. Last Wednesday, all the students had that opportunity to put their money where their mouth was. The Juniors hosted a dunk and pie palooza, where students could pay to throw plates of whipped cream or dunk their favorite teachers in the icy cold water of the tank.  Students lined up in front of the gym, waving money in their hands, shouting and jumping around excitedly, wanting to dunk and pie their favorite teachers. There was a wide variety of students going from kindergarten all the way to seniors. Teachers were seated in a row, and students threw their plates of whipped cream onto them, some of them even going up to the teachers and smearing the whipped cream all over them. Students also lined up to take turns throwing a ball to dunk their favorite teachers. The teacher came out of the tank, shivering and soaked, while the students laughed joyfully at them. The wh...

The chants came before the splash. On October 28, Dalat teacher Robert Wong was the first to be dunked at the school’s Dunk-n-Pie-Looza event. Dunk-n-Pie-Looza is an event where Dalat students can make teachers fall into the water tank by hitting a target with a ball and throwing cream pie at teachers' faces and bodies. This event is not only for the Dalat community's entertainment, but also for Dalat's Annual Fund. Students could purchase their balls and pies to throw and hit. This traditional event happened many years ago, and this year’s Annual Fund has a fundraising goal of RM 150,000. Before Mr. Wong participated, he showed some excitement. "I think there are just a lot of people who would take special joy seeing me get dunked," Mr. Wong said. Simultaneously, he showed an appreciation of this event: "I think events like this help bring the community together towards one common goal. It's neat to see." When he climbed up onto the dunk tank, stude...

Stretching an exceptionally long string across Harbor Hall, guest speakers Ivan and Ashley demonstrated how brief earthly life is compared to eternity during Spiritual Emphasis Week (SEW). The annual event by the Dalat Spiritual Life Department and Leadership Development (LD) team featured guest speakers Ivan and Ashley, a married couple serving with Youth With A Mission (YWAM) who traveled all the way from the United States to Penang. The SEW week began on Wednesday with chapel and evening services. During Wednesday chapel, speaker Ivan emphasized the unique value of human life by illustrating how God intentionally crafted humanity in His image, contrasting it with the creation of the universe in Genesis 1:3. Later that evening, Ashley shared her personal testimony on the essential role of the church community in supporting emotional and spiritual growth. The key moment of the week arrived during Thursday’s chapel before lunch. Ivan called for a volunteer from the senior boys, bringin...