Dalat International School: Senior Scribble

Joseph Hsu   What’s better than playing baseball and softball on a school day? Playing baseball and softball on a school day in Bangkok! On Thursday, March 16, the Dalat varsity men’s baseball team and Dalat varsity women’s softball team traveled to Bangkok, Thailand for a weekend of games against the International School of Bangkok and other schools, being from within the area or even from Japan. While the baseball team was unable to win any of their games and the softball team only won one, the athletes still enjoyed their weekend in Bangkok, eating delicious local or western food, strolling through malls and night markets, and watching Beauty and the Beast. When Beauty and the Beast was released, Malaysia banned it in their cinemas, leaving many disappointed. But the softball team, took the opportunity to enjoy the new release at the cinemas in Siam Paragon Mall. In the words of Felicia Teoh (12), “ Beauty and the Beast was such a great movie, and what made it even ...

Tim Sasse   The boys’ baseball team and the girls’ softball team were brave warriors who strived to do what no man or woman has done before: battle at the International School of Bangkok (ISB) for a fastpitch tournament. Like all the best gladiators, they flew there on the wings of eagles (planes) to be met by charioteers (buses). The charioteers agreed to bring them the rest of the way. After a long chariot ride, these teams marched onto the expansive campus of ISB. Before they could get into the arena (the field) though, they had to admire it first. Who knew that something so beautiful could be so deadly? After pondering about their impending doom, they rushed to the arena. Immediately, they geared up on the battlefield: gloves in hands and seeds in mouths; what more could a person ask for? Both teams started to ready themselves by throwing weapons (baseballs and softballs) across the field. After five extremely short minutes of throwing, the team met in their dugo...

Sam Hofer Every March, a group of high schoolers pack into a van with hopeful hearts and full bags. The object of their expedition? The Malaysia History Bee and Bowl, a quiz competition that is mainly attended by schools from KL. Each year, we drive down to KL, typically spending the night, then we compete and drive back to Penang. The ride there is typically spent talking about history or politics, reading, or quizzing. This year’s group was a lot different than those used in previous competitions. For one, there were only two seniors, who typically form at least half of the group. Also, instead of two teams of five, which is normal, we had three teams of three. Despite the irregularities, Mrs. White, the leader and organizer of the trip, assured us that we would win. We had one of the best teams we’ve ever had, and Dalat has a long and proud record at the event. Dalat won the Varsity Bowl last year, and the JV Bowl for the past two years. In the individual competition, the B...

Aaron Chand Dalat students, staff members, and students’ parents participated in the Spartan race on Sunday, March 12 th . There were two types of participants within this group: the first type were the competitive runners who desired to achieve a good time and get through the obstacles as fast as they could, and this meant they had to run alone. This article, however, will focus on the second type of participant: the ones who took their time and went through the course as a team. Their objective was being able to help each other and have fun as a team. We waited at every obstacle for the rest of our team to catch up. Among this group were Daniel Munson (12), Ke-erh Huang (10), Emily Chew (9), Aaron Chand (12), Alan Luchtenburg (12), and Paul Luchtenburg. We started off running at a good pace, with the rest of our team running relatively close…until we hit the first obstacle the terrain became more narrow and steeper. We tried to keep up with the others, dodging people and...

Daniel Munson Students and staff alike participated in the 2017 Spartan Sprint on March 12 th . A group of 18 bleary-eyed athletes piled into a single van that spirited them away to their d estination—Kuala Lumpur—to compete in the first of this year's Spartan race. This group of strong - willed individuals had been forced to wake up early for the past eight Saturday's to prepare for the grueling race. They were ready. The van rattled its way swiftly down towards KL, only stopping a couple times for gas and a bathroom break, and it arrived at the proper area for the Spartan Race. After driving around for what seemed like hours to find a parking spot, the group made their way towards the registration to get their numbers and timing band. The group then made their way to the special tent provided for the team they signed up with—the Penang Warriors—which was the largest team present, for their 11:15a start time. "Alright guys, for the first obstacle we shoul...

Jonathan Lafferty A bus full of yawning faces of the Dalat ‘Treagles” (Track and Field Eagles) headed off to an internal track meet at USM on Saturday, March 11. Once they arrived at the track, booming microphones, glimmering trophies, and four other teams met them. The only problem? Dalat was not a part of this track meet! “Not again!” Coach Grad groaned. “I confirmed with Coach Edman several times!” The track was taken, but this wasn’t the first time the Dalat Treagles had to unexpectedly switch venues. Two weeks prior, the Dalat Treagles had come to the same track right as the women’s 3k speed walking event had started for MSSPP. Accustomed to change, the team got back into the bus and drove to a huge soccer field on the other side of USM. They unloaded and started off with the regular warm-up lap. Next they did their form drills, which look quite humorous to outsiders.  The track team has become so familiar with drills, however, that when Coach Grad yells nicknames...

Jerald Lim   On the 11 th of March, the midmorning sun was a fiery ball of torment, blasting down wave after wave of its heat onto the dedicated members of the Dalat Track Team ( Treagles ). The Treagles were to have a track meet at the USM Stadium, or so they thought. Upon arriving, they were greeted by a stadium packed full of people. This wasn’t the first time that this had happened. At the track meet before this one, the stadium had also been occupied. After finding an alternative location, the Treagles relinquished their ever-so-desired coarsely paved track for a slightly dewy and bumpy grass field. Having already relocated once prior to this day, the Treagles had no problems with getting to the grassy field. At this rate, they might as well be renamed Dalat Grass Team (Greagles). Despite setbacks like this, the Greagles push forward, with the mindset of still getting a good training session. Around the green-bladed “track” the Greagles went, running the 100m, 200m, ...

Megan Chang As the crowd poured onto the outdoor basketball court on Friday, March 10th , upbeat music blasted through the big speakers, along with a hearty, cheerful welcome from Mr. Karl Steinkamp and Mr. Larry Chinn that commemorated the start of the 2017 Junior For Hire. This annual event allows juniors to earn money for other events, such as the Junior-Senior Banquet (JSB), by auctioning off their talents and capabilities. Along with this, the Parent-Teacher Organization (PTO) prepared an array of cuisines—from Korean to Malaysian to Western. With their coupons in hand, parents and students toured the food stalls surrounding the court and chose dishes to their liking. Moreover, the junior class store sold refreshing canned drinks and creamy ice cream that compensated for the hot weather. As the announcement was made for the event to begin, people settled down into their seats, and little children gathered at the front of the stage. The juniors presented their abilitie...

Dominic Fitzgerald The varsity baseball team is kicking it into full throttle to prepare for the Bangkok next Thursday. In front of the gym, you can see Sam Castro (10), Gavin Zimmer (9), Teddy Zimmer (11) and others practicing their throwing and catching while waiting for the coaches, Sasse, Maurin, and Edman. Practice usually starts at 4:30 or 5p depending on the day, and when it’s time for practice, the team loads up in the two vans outside the gym to go to College General. Once at College General, the vans are unloaded and I, the manager, set up the portable backstop with one of the coaches. As soon as the backstop is set up, I move up to the slope to set up a little “outpost,” so that I can encourage my teammates and retrieve stray balls. While this is happening, the team is warming up by practicing their throws and catches, after jogging for about two minutes. Coach Sasse usually starts the team off by making stations for them: a batting station where Coach Edman...

Andrew Kim Sacrificing their holiday for the National Honor Society (NHS), its members assembled on March 6 th to practice. The plan was easy. Welcome guests, throw a skit, and eat food. “Easy.” Easy was accurate until a piece of the layout stuck out like a sore thumb. They had a skit to perform. They had two hours for a 10 minute act. Filling that time with awkward pausing, bursts of laughter, and much roasting, the characters suited up for the worst possible season of The Bachelorette . The Bachelorette practice session began when Doug Yost, the head of the program, demanded, “Tell me your plan.” His reply was full on laughter—filled with the painful realization, this is actually happening . Mersades Zimmer (12), also known as “O Wise Mersades,” produced a plan that left the group stunned. Their blank expression was almost audible: I didn’t know that... After learning the layout, the skit began. “Welcome to The Bachelorette: NHS Edition.” The choice theme for the ...

Grace Lim The band often gives us a unifying experience, despite how different we are. Keito Watanabe (12), Emmett Balzer (12), and Kimberly Horton (12), along with Mr. Kearney, had a week they can never forget as talented musicians. These three seniors were selected to represent our school for the ACSC honor band which was held at Hong Kong International Christian School. As three of the best players in the high school band, they were extremely proud to have the chance to represent the school. Nevertheless, representing the school wasn’t easy; they had to spend countless hours practicing even before they went to Hong Kong. Although they practiced for a long time beforehand, they had to practice even more once they got to Hong Kong. In fact, they practiced about 8 hours on both Thursday and Friday for their concert on Saturday, March 4 th , at 4:30p.  As the most talented musician in the ACSC honor band, Watanabe was able to seize the solo position.  Keito said, “...

Kylie Toh On Thursday morning, March 2 nd , the students from the Anatomy and Physiology class gathered on Upper Field in anticipation for their trip to AIMST University in Sungai Petani. They were bursting with excitement and enthusiasm as they had been looking forward to this trip since August, when the course began. The students finally stepped onto the university campus after a one and a half hour van ride. “This place is so nice! It looks so new and legit!” said Joseph Hsu (12), as he looked around the entrance of the building. The girls brought their phones out for pictures, happy that today’s Snapchat streaks were no longer their boring lunches but rather pictures of the beautiful campus. After a career talk from the university officials, the students hurried to the anatomy museum where many different body parts were kept in different containers. The students explored the museum; what caught their attention the most was the section where fetus and infant bodies ...