Thursday 28 February 2019

The First Attempt at Service Day

Esther Ko                                                                 

“What are we doing?”
“I don’t know,” says Lydia Him (12).
“Guys, what are we supposed to do right now?”
“I don’t know, to be honest,” says Nicholas Khor (12) as he shrugs.

In the midst of the rowdy confusion, the crowd of students stands under the shade, awaiting instructions that seem to never come. Everyone appears lifeless and exhausted from the intense two hours of service at various locations, but the places the students served at emit a gentle glow—a glow of warmth, gratitude, and joy. Playing Bingo with the elderly people at the old folks home, painting buildings, singing and performing magic tricks for the children at the hospital, and crafting cards for the bedridden—the high schoolers have successfully delivered their kindness to the people in the Penang community.

After a long morning of service, the high schoolers gather with the excited middle school students, ready to launch into another afternoon of activities. The delicious lunch and desserts prepared by fellow high school students help them stay awake and alive for the next three hours of running, spitting M&M’s, and listening to testimonies.

The long wait finally ends. After receiving instructions about the final MEW event, the high school students scatter to their designated locations, the seniors huddling together with their team of middle school students to come up with irrelevant team names. With thirteen stations set up all around the campus, the students take off on their competition, most of them still unsure what the event actually is.

For the rest of the afternoon, the students breeze through each station with dreamy, out-of-focus eyes, the high schoolers zoning in and out of reality as sleepiness simmers in after a long morning of work, but the middle school students’ energy keeps them moving. One bizarre station after another, the teams swiftly finish each challenge the station has to offer, from spinning in circles with a bat held up to their forehead to spitting M&M’s as far as they can.

Halfway through the event, the teams are rallied together in the gym for a series of games involving student stampedes and a poor, helpless student in the middle responsible for tagging anyone running across the gym. Once the pandemonium finally ends, the students finish off their day with a series of testimonies under the comfort of the air conditioners, and with a tired but dreamy smile, the students thank each other and return to their homes.

It’s a day well spent.

Following God into a Week of the Unknown

Bethany Davis

Lights dimmed and music soft, the atmosphere reflected the mood of the people gathered in Harbor Hall. Mission Emphasis Week’s kickoff started with a night full of worship and time to reflect on personal relationships with God. Students gathered with friends and teachers, opening themselves up to receive prayer and encouragement.

The other nightly sessions proved to be different but extremely beneficial. Instead of a whole night of worship, guest speakers, well known around campus, came to share their experiences and advice about following God into the unknown. Mr. Strong gave a great analogy about what to put in and take out of our “backpacks” as we prepare for our journey into the unknown with God. Other speakers chose to entertain the crowd with personal stories or encouragement to follow God with support from Scripture. These night sessions helped the students have a chance to meet with God for a longer period of time, rather than the short 45-minute time allotment during the daily chapel.

The chapel sessions, although short, were packed with action. Ranging from worship to skits and sermons, the midday sessions helped students remember the purpose of MEW. “I liked how the students were able to share about the spiritual life so openly. It really inspired me because I found out I’m not the only one going through troubles,” said Timothy Lin (11).

On Thursday, the students ditched their books and instead armed themselves with Bingo cards and instruments and made their way to different areas to help serve the community. Including a service day was a new addition to MEW but was very well received by students, staff, and the community. After a morning of service, the high schoolers enjoyed a lunch on the Deck and then hurried to serve the middle schoolers. As the juniors and seniors went around playing games organized by the sophomores with their buddies, they took the opportunity to form new friendships with the middle schoolers. An afternoon together benefited both middle and high schoolers, and everyone went home tired but fulfilled.

As the final worship session drew to a close and students began winding down for the night, it was clear that the Holy Spirit was present. Not only was He changing lives during Missions Emphasis Week, but He would continue to do so through the seeds planted during these very extraordinary four days. 

Week of Worship

Tim Baek

“In Jesus name, Amen!” After Mr. McClary ended the beginning prayer, the worship team announced the beginning of MEW with the drummer leading everyone into the worship songs on Tuesday night. Full of excitement, worship team members played their parts with all their heart.

For MEW, there were two worship teams: one being in charge of morning chapel and one the night sessions. For the morning team, they had to come to school at 7:00 am for practice, perform in both middle school and high school chapel, which were held at 8:25a and 11:30a respectively. John Cho (12) responded, “You can wake up early and praise the Lord” to the question “What is the advantage of being in morning session?”

On the same question, Nathan Chand (12) answered, “the advantage of the morning team is that we get to have breakfast because Mr. Ronzheimer gives us donuts and curry puffs. I also really enjoy everybody’s morning voices. It is very nice.”

On the other hand, for the night team, they had to come at 3:10p and practice until the MEW session started at 6:30p. Unlike the morning team, the night team had more songs to play but only played through one session. For the long rehearsal, Esther Ko (12) said, “the biggest challenge has to be being patient through the rehearsals when people are not focused and doing their own thing.”

This year, the worship team created a third team, which involved students who would continue to be part of the worship team in the future, unlike most of the other worship team members. They had their first worship performances during one of the MEW night session, which brought nervousness to all the members but amused everyone in the audience. Mycah Winsor (10), new worship team drummer, said, “I am most looking forward to being a part of such a wonderful environment that is worshipping God as a high school.”

Putting all the differences aside, there was one thing all the teams shared: tough practice. Despite the sessions they played during, all the worship teams had to practice. Every practice began by Mr. Franceschi checking everyone’s sound level, to make sure that no one stood out and the worship team stayed balanced. After the sound check, the worship team went through every song, repeating one if necessary. However, practicing wasn’t the favorite part of the worship team for some students. Albert Jeong (12) commented, “our performance is good during the practice, but it gets shaky during chapel.”

Although being part of the worship team was tiring and nerve-wracking, the students put their heart into the worship team to glorify God during the MEW.

Tuesday 19 February 2019

The Tournament of Words and Expressions

Su-Ji Lim

While February 14-18 of 2019 was another normal school week for Dalat students, a group of high school students had a completely different experience consisting of a whirlwind of stress, nervous energy, and chaos, but also a time of forming and deepening relationships.

The 41st annual Forensics tournament had started.

Held at ISKL (International School of Kuala Lumpur), the forensics tournament consisted of a serious of competitions in the categories of debate, oral interpretation, original oratory, solo acting, duet acting, impromptu, and extemporaneous speaking. Dalat students each competed in two categories.

Although it may seem like a tournament is one of the last places to make new friends, every Dalat student did just that. According to Raven Chua (11), “Meeting new friends is always the best part about the tournament. It always feels awkward to initiate conversations, but I always get reminded of how friendly everyone is when I try to talk to them.”

And indeed, the students from other schools were very friendly and easy to talk to. A simple “Good job! You were so good!” could easily turn into a fifteen-minute conversation. Every Dalat student made at least one new acquaintance or friend. Those who had Instagram followed each other, while those who didn’t just treasured the names and faces of the new people they met.

The tournament also helped deepen existing friendships between the contestants. Elizabeth Horton (11) commented about how friendships deepened even in the midst of overwhelming stress. “Though there was constant pressure, it helped solidify friendships. People’s true colors show when they are under that amount of stress,” she said.

Three days of consecutive stress normally makes people lose their tempers and show the less desirable sides of themselves, but forensics students pushed through and bonded as a team.
All in all, the forensics team came back to Penang with new and deepened friendships. What made the trip so special was not the competition aspect of the tournament, but the relational side.

Forensics 2019 students and coaches. PC: Mrs. Lydia Roberts

A Day to Pray

Zhi Yi Saw

At 8:25a, A-block, students from all over the school diverged from their path to their regularly scheduled classes, and all collected in the Harbour. It was time to pray.

On 12 February 2019, many Christian schools all around the world prayed for various people groups. Dalat was among them. All students met on the Deck and then received a slip with a group of people written, in which these particular students were supposed to pray for. Such a group, for example, were refugees. Announcers instructed the students what they were doing and why. A moment of silence for fifteen minutes was given to pray. After that, the students departed for their regular A-block classes.

Dalat is filled with well-off, fortunate souls, but this isn’t the truth for the entire planet. With such prosperity concentrated in one place, it was a logical conclusion for the people to give something back. Even if students are to be too busy or uninfluential on the global stage, they can at least pray for the unfortunate of the world. Another reason for events like this is to feel more connected with one another and those in society, along with the other Christian schools united around the world who were participating in this single effort.

Such an activity allowed most school students to at least help—or at least think about—the sufferers of the world, with relatively little effort.

Many of the students generally felt that the prayer achieved something, like Xu An Lim (12) who said, “Honestly, I feel great that people in the school get to pray for the various people groups around the world.”

Another such local student, Alex Shing (12), felt that the universal day of prayer better connected our own society with many others around the world. He said, "It was inspirational in that we were able to connect to the community around us and that the Christian association we are a part of is able to impact the wider community, thereby carrying out God's will."

As children, we may feel like we are unable to help others around the world, but as evident through this experience, we can help by being aware and praying.

We Are No Longer 0 and 3

Sam Castro

The Dalat men’s basketball team was in a familiar situation at the ACSC tournament of 2019. The team didn’t have a good start, and it was only then that God gave them a miracle.

During the week of February 11th, ACSC basketball began for both of Dalat varsity basketball teams. The boys went to Seoul, Korea, and the women went to Manila, Philippines. The boys spent their free day by sightseeing and adjusting to the cold temperature. The following day, the tournament pool play started, and Dalat’s first match was against Grace. It was an intense and well-matched competition that could have been anyone’s game, but Dalat fell short and lost their ACSC opener. The second and third game came, but to no avail, and Dalat was without a single win. We were 0-3.

That night, everyone’s head was down when a notification popped up on my phone, which said, “Dalat plays Morisson at 10:30 tomorrow due to a team that did not follow the rules and has forfeited their games. Dalat’s record is now 1-2.”

Instantly, the entire team found out, and we began to celebrate the turn of events. The rest of the night, the team was dancing and listening to music on the roof of our guesthouse, thanking God for giving us another chance. Linus Lim (12) said “God gave us another chance boys. Let’s take it!”

The following days, Dalat played extremely well thanks to Aaron (10) and Jeremy Worten (12) having some career high games, and the team continued through the tournament by winning several key games. We ended up getting 3rd place after beating YISS in an extremely close game that was saved by Aaron Worten in overtime.

“A sudden adrenaline rush hit my body, and I was super grateful to God,” says Ruben Nyul (12) after the final buzzer rang.

The Dalat men’s varsity basketball team had a bumpy start to their tournament, but with determination and grit, they finished 3rd, which is higher placing than any other men’s Dalat basketball team has gotten. We are extremely proud of ourselves and of our coaches for fighting the whole way and never giving up. 

God's Plans

Ruben Nyul

This week we made Dalat basketball history. We were the first team in Dalat men’s basketball to ever place at an ACSC tournament. It all started at the YISS campus in Seoul, South Korea. The first day, when we arrived, was about negative two degrees Celsius. I love the cold weather, so this trip could have not been any better. The second day was when the hard competition began; we played Grace International School and Faith Academy.

Starting off against Grace, we played an ultimately perfect first three quarters but, unfortunately, let the game go in the fourth and ended up losing the game by ten points. Then against Faith Academy, we started off on the right foot, leading by more than fifteen points. Unfortunately, they cut the lead in absolutely no time, and we ended up losing by seven points. Regardless of those two losses, Eddy Seong’s (11) uncle took us out to the best Korean BBQ I have ever eaten in my life. We had taken two losses on the court, but one very big win off the court.

Thursday, we played against a new school from Seoul called APIS, which stands for Asia Pacific International School. We played a very good game, but somehow, we ended up losing that game by two points, which meant that we would drop down to the last place in our group pool play. That also meant that we would have to then face the defending champions, St. Paul, in the elimination rounds. However, something happened that absolutely nobody saw coming, which is why the title is ‘God’s Plan.’ A team had to forfeit their three wins because they were playing an ineligible player according to their school rules, which meant that we have that as a win and they would automatically drop down to the last place with a record of 0-3. We then had a record of 1-2, which meant that instead of playing the big bad defending champions we would play Morrison Academy. We got so much energy from knowing that God had a plan for us.

We also played that song by the rap artist, Drake. That next day, we were finally victorious at a score of 65-60. Although, we then lost to Grace once again, which meant that we played Faith Academy again for the 4th place game. And if we won, we would play YISS for the 3rd place game. We beat Faith by a score of 49-40, which meant we were about to play the home team in front of their home crowd for a spot in the semi-finals and a third-place finisher medal.

What a game of ups and downs it was. Dalat was down 44-42 with six seconds to go when Aaron Worten (11) made a clutch layup to tie the game and sent it to overtime. We were leading by two points with fourteen seconds remaining, and once again, he hit another marvelous layup to make it a two-possession game and close it out. Worton said, “I felt like it was a movie, such a great finish.”

We had just clinched a top-three finish, and it meant a lot to all of the team because we knew we had made history. No Dalat men’s varsity basketball team had ever placed at ACSC. 

ACSC Girls Basketball

Annabelle Teoh
One of the last moments of a two-month journey occurred in the rustic Dalat gym, where all the hard work and sweat had been expended: it was the last practice of the season. The girls sat around in a close circle, listening to Coach Steinkamp debrief the upcoming trip.

The mood was...chill. The team was laughing and joking around, as usual, but there seemed to be hints of other emotions: fear, sadness, anxiousness…

Sensing the whirlwind of emotions around us, Coach Steinkamp gave us a talk about what playing basketball (or any other sport, really) has taught and will continue to teach us. “It takes weeks to climb Everest, and if you do happen to make it up, you only get 5-10 minutes at the top of Everest... it’s the journey that matters, not the end product...no matter what the outcome, smile because you got to experience the journey that comes with playing basketball,” said Steinkamp.

With those words in mind, the varsity girls basketball team flew to Manila, Philippines on a cool morning on February 12th to compete in the annual ACSC conference. Our team had been preparing for this week since November, and we were ready to fight, tooth-and-nail, to earn a medal. But if we didn’t, we’d remember what Coach said and still smile because the journey was the grand reward...not so much the end product.

Out first game was against St. Paul: the best team in the conference! We were nervous and scared but also determined to play.

The game started, and we fought, one basket at a time. When the game ended, we came 8 points short and lost the game. Though the loss was disappointing, we were proud of how we played. The opposing team had beat every team the previous year by at least 30 points, so coming in 8 points short this year was definitely significant: it set a precedent for the other teams that St. Paul could definitely be beaten.

As we went on to play our games, we realized that the competition this year was pretty close; every team was around the same level, and it almost seemed as if the only factor that determined the outcome of the games was simply which team could play a better game during that moment. Unfortunately, we lost a few crucial games and were out of the running to earn a medal.

It was a crushing moment for us. We came into the tournament, hungry for a medal, and we had just lost our chance to win one. Now, we only had the chance to fight for 5th/6th place.


We had one of two options: 1.) To let that loss affect us and lose our final game, or 2.) To smile and find comfort in the great things we have learned and experienced this season, and let that help us to get the 5th place title.

Thankfully, we were able to do the latter. We sprinted up and down the court, intercepting passes, blocking shots, running plays, and sinking buckets. We ended our last game of the season (sadly, for seniors, the last game of our high school basketball careers) with a humble but proud 20 point lead and placed 5th out of 8 teams in the tournament!

Even though we weren’t able to place this year, we were still able to have a great time all because we, as a team, found joy in the journey of basketball that began two months ago in our own rustic Dalat gym.

Monday 11 February 2019

Dalat Students Should do More Service Work

Elisabeth Kilgo

Coming to Dalat was one of the best events in my life, because it really helped with college applications. Foreign international experience? Check. Higher academic standards? Check. Extensive service work? Check- well, kind of.

Dalat, unlike many other schools, requires and encourages its students to participate in community service work, which is fantastic, and it truly shows the Christian values this school strives to display. However, aside from what Dalat requires of us (only ten mandatory service graduation hours a year), Dalat students don't participate in service as much as they should.

Students should help others more because, a. we are privileged compared to many around us, and we should use our advantages to help others, b. it's the Christian thing to do, and c. service work might benefit you more than those you're doing it for.

“I agree that Dalat should require us to do more service work,” John Cho (12) said. “I really want to help others more and make sure they’re not left out.”

Studies show that people who give service to others are emotionally healthier than those who don't. It can ease depression and relieve stress—both of which some students suffer from. Now, I’m not saying that people should serve others for selfish reasons (if that even exists); however, some need more incentive than just the idea that they’re helping people who need it.

It may sound shallow, but can you blame busy students who are told all their lives that school is the most important thing to them, and it should come before anything else?
Many don’t participate in service work because they’re “too busy.” Many are willing to spend hundreds of hours studying for quizzes and tests, but won’t consider giving up their Saturday to work in an orphanage, for example. Instead of dismissing them as lazy (which they clearly aren’t considering their academic drive), they need to be educated. Skip the academics, let’s take a reality check.

We are among the top 1% of privileged people in the world—yet most of us suffer from mild to severe depression. How is that possible? My theory is that it’s because we don’t know what suffering and real need are. I know people who cry when they get a B on a math test or get stressed when a pair of Nike shoes they want to buy isn’t in stock. 

We have it so easy, our idea of suffering is staying up a couple more hours to study for that annoying test or write that essay. My point in writing this is that Dalat students need to focus on helping others more. Everyone loves to comment on how great our school community is, and it really is, but our students could do more. 

Imprints on the Heart

Shannon Frohlich

With dark eye bags and disoriented minds, the Central Java Impact team met at 5:15 A.M. by the anchor in front of the new Harbor building, excited for what was to come, but also feeling rather exhausted.

“I never thought I would get closer to this team so much! Everyone bonded with each other and had so much fun,” said Dael Kim (11).

 Throughout the trip, students had plenty of time to bond, creating lasting memories with one another as well as with the locals, of whom they made meaningful relationships with through their different ministries.

The girls on the Impact trip had the opportunity to go to Ruma Ruth, a center for pregnant women and newborn babies. There they held and took care of the babies and interacted with the women through crafts and conversation. When it was time to say goodbye, many tears were shed, and on both ends, hearts were touched.

Suji Lim (12) said, “When I heard the trip descriptions from Mr. McClary, the Central Java (but actually West Java) trip really stood out to me. My heart just went out to the pregnant girls and abandoned babies, so it was super cool to actually be there interacting with them.”

The boys on the trip also had opportunities to reach out. For the first two days, while the girls were at Ruma Ruth, the boys went to a local Juvenile Detention Center and played futsal against the prison teams. In-between games, they conversed, played volleyball, and even got new haircuts from some of the boys in the prison.

But, when the Impact team met back at Green Gate each night, things got wild. Team members pulled pranks, exchanged stories, fired banter, and truly experienced Christ through the relationships they deepened.

“It was just a great trip of deep, meaningful connections that helped glorify God, which I thought was pretty awesome,” commented Isaac Kelly (11).

Besides working at Ruma Ruth and the prison, the Impact team also helped to throw futsal tournaments for the local kids in Bandung at Green Gate, as well as play games at an English center nearby and hike with a local youth group. Two of the nights were spent with the local children after their futsal tournaments, where, even with a language barrier, everyone was able to connect through fantastic food and music.

At the end of the trip, as the Impact team met once again in the early hours of the morning, this time to head back to Penang, it was hard to say goodbye; it was hard to summarize all the heartwarming experiences they’d shared togetherbut they still tried. As Vivien Chang (12) summarized, “It’s honestly hard to put all my emotions for Impact into words, but overall, it was a great trip that allowed me to experience what I want to do in the future as well as to branch out and get to know people I never thought I’d talk to. Other than that, it was really cool to get to know a new culture and connect with the people there in meaningful and non-superficial ways. I think everyone grew emotionally and spiritually through this trip, too.”

Pounding on Tables: A Lesson in Loving Others

Isabel Smith

Thump thump thump clap. The reverberation of the beats slapping on the tables filled the room. I looked across to my teammates, the ones seated at my table, and we smiled at each other, knowing that if we tried to say anything it would get lost in the echoes created by the dining room. This said dining room was, at that moment, filled with sweaty Indonesian kids and teenagers, making for a glorious combination of sounds and smells: loud, obnoxious, and beautiful.

On the Impact trip to Indonesia, not all of us could communicate in Bahasa Indonesia, so, one night, when having dinner with some neighbourhood kids whom we had played football with that afternoon, we used music, teaching each other different rhythmic patterns and handshakes that some grasped easier than others. Kids shouted back and forth to each other as they messed up beats and the slap of high fives in triumph added to the chaotic rhythm in the room. It felt like a blessing just to witness, because the pure joy and peace that we collectively felt descended the moment we decided to be silly and care more about connection than about maintaining any kind of image.

During the trip, the girls went to a home for pregnant teenagers, cast out by their families, and the boys went to a local juvenile detention centre to play football. As a team, we went on a hike with local youth groups, had neighbourhood kids over to eat and play football at the campus of the old boarding school we stayed at, and bonded as a team over awesomely bad singing contests and a lack of sleep.

“We are called to love God and to love people. I think that this year’s Impact team did that well,” says Jeremiah Worten (12), when asked what he thought about the trip as a whole.

The evenings were always rounded off with team meetings, worship, and a few minutes of goofy free time before bed (which we always went to on time, of course), which helped solidify the team spirit well. The team was encouraging, supportive, and easy-going, and if we hadn’t allowed the Lord to pour through us into each other, we would’ve been much more drained and much less enthusiastic about serving and loving the people we met every day. I am so thankful for the team and how much we all chose to serve, especially in the moments we weren’t asked to. Loving on each other and loving on the people we came across kept us seeking God’s heart for others and His eyes to see them; giving us moments like the one described above where we cared more about choosing to have fun and be silly with the people who were there than caring about looking put-together. This resulted in more peace and joy than we could ever have tried to conjure up ourselves. 

God’s Impact on Us and Them

Ashlynn Ruble

On January 30, an amazing group of students embarked on a trip to Bandung, Indonesia for an Impact trip. We were there for one week, a week full of life changing experiences, fun memories, and team bonding. The girls got the chance to go to a home for pregnant women, who have often been disowned by their families, and babies, of which the majority were up for adoption. The boys went to a local prison to interact with the prisoners, where they played volleyball, soccer, and got new haircuts.

This trip was unique because none of the students were allowed to take their phones, making for a very interactive week. Photos were taken on a camera that we rotated between student photographers. Although this may keep some people from going on the trip, everyone saw it as a positive experience. Dael Kim (11) said, “I loved how we didn’t have any devices, which made us naturally spend more time with each other and create new friendships.”

Our team was very special because everyone was constantly interacting. That’s something that I haven’t found to be very common in many large groups.

For the girls, the women’s home was a very large highlight. “Loving on the women and babies and forming relationships with them was one of my many highlights from the Impact trip,” said Suji Lim (12).

We split into two groups and switched each day, so everyone got a turn in the women’s section and the babies’ section of the home. We found art, such as henna, drawing portraits, coloring, and making friendship bracelets, to be a very enjoyable way for us to interact through cultural, age, and language barriers. While spending time with the babies, many of the girls noticed that their love for the babies reminded them of God’s unconditional love for us—His children whom He has made innocent.

Thankful for the Unseen

Matthew Strong

Because of God’s graciousness, community members have achieved excellence here at Dalat—socially, academically, and physically, and we rightfully celebrate these people. But there is a group of people at Dalat which, may I say, are the key to which the door of opportunity unlocks, the background from which the embossment of excellence shines, and the foundation on which the house of profitability lies.  These people are yet to be venerated.

My grandpa passed away a month ago. He spent 19 years at Dalat as a house parent for elementary students and his legacy still lives on. It lives on because he built relationships with this group of unseen people. My grandpa knew Aunty Ah Mooi from the registrar who first greeted us when we arrived in Penang. My grandpa always thanked Uncle Ravi, the yardman, who to this day, dutifully still sweeps the leaves the wind blows from Dalat’s beautiful trees. My grandpa loved Uncle Rajen who rarely takes a day off from work in the maintenance department. My grandpa savored the food that Uncle Kumar makes in the cafeteria. My grandpa honored Uncle Sundaraj’s loyalty in protecting the school as a guard. These people are some who hold in their hand my grandpa’s legacy—they hold it ever so fondly.

But, the national staff are only a small sector of this group of people. I asked Ashley Kim (12) what people make Dalat special, and she thought it was those living outside of their home culture. One characteristic which makes Dalat beautiful is its cultural diversity, and many Dalat people have joyfully paid a price to bring about the intricate aromas of multiculturalism on campus by setting aside their own culture to be open to others. It isn’t easy for individuals, but for a community, it is highly rewarding.

At the end of a probably long and tiring day, when a lot of homework still awaits, a Dalat student should be very thankful. We are to be thankful for every teacher who laid down a fashionable career to mentor and develop the lives of those under them. We are to be thankful for peers who, though perhaps not the best musicians, are still in music making a beautiful collective sound, or who, though lacking athletic ability, still encourage the team with broad smiles and hard effort. We are to be thankful for every middle schooler who still has the joy to wave and smile to everyone they know. We are to be thankful for the people who Amanda Low (12) thought made Dalat special: “Those who will always try to be nice to you."

We are to be thankful for all of these people because they truly make Dalat that special place we have all known it to be. But, ultimately, we should be thankful for God, who has shown us grace by pouring down His Spirit and protection on Dalat. He has been our Providence.

Students Gather Weekly to Break Their Legs

Seth Kelley

Every Friday during X-block, a group of students meet in the Harbor’s Auckland room to learn more about theater and its many facets.

Supervised by Mr. Doug Yost and headed by Dalat upperclassmen Kristiana Phillips (12) and Daye Jung (11), this X-block provides a stress-free environment for students to explore drama without the pressure that comes with memorizing lines or anticipating a performance.

“Drama Club started out at the beginning of last semester when Mr. Yost came up with the idea of doing some drama-themed club for an X-block,” recalled Jung. “In the end, Kristi and I came up with the idea to have a student-led learning club where students gather and teach each other things about drama that they were particularly interested in.”

This after-school club always welcomes newcomers, inexperienced actors, and future thespians to join in on the fun as well.

“I’ve never done drama, and [Drama X-block] is a nice and non-stressful way to see what it is like to act (at a beginner’s level),” said Hannah Lawrence (12). “The improv drama games are my favorite.”

Another regular member, Corinne Fraley (11), agreed, “The utter joy and laughter from a dimension inside an oven, the vivacious cheer of discovering the fun of pretending to be disabled and a hit song from an undead heart can’t be beat. I thoroughly enjoy the spontaneity of the moment and the way it bonded random persons together, having them rely solely on their wit and each other to create a masterpiece.”

But Phillips and Jung aren’t the only leaders; often, they will call upon members of this club to step up and lead their own unit.

“I approached Kristi about leading a stage combat unit,” said Joel Kelley (10). “I had never done anything remotely related to stage combat, but I knew it sounded interesting, so I decided to give it a shot. We had a great product, a fun class, and a good time fake beating each other up.”

During the club’s brainstorming session in September of 2018, the leaders and members put their heads together to explore different ideas; and since then, they’ve had a plethora of units to keep them going for the rest of the year.

“Within our club, we’re currently completing a scriptwriting unit and hope to explore a musical theater unit later on,” commented Phillips on the future of Drama Club. “Beyond that, we also have a couple of really fun ideas for how to wrap up Drama Club at the end of the year that may involve reaching out to the larger Dalat community.”

Eagles Ready for Take Off!

Karl Chan

After a five-day Chinese New Year break, everyone is excited to be back in school to see all their friends. However, the varsity basketball players’ thoughts might differ from the rest.

On Monday, February 11, we, the varsity basketball boys, headed to Korea to compete in the biggest tournament of the season: ACSC; the same goes for the varsity basketball girls, but they went to the Philippines on Tuesday, February 12. Given that it’s the biggest tournament for our school, it’s not surprising that the varsity basketball players, including myself, are very nervous.

Out of the 8 schools in the conference, there has only been one time in Dalat’s history when we got first place in ACSC (which was in soccer). All the varsity sports teams would try to rewrite history by getting first place. Unfortunately, the varsity soccer and volleyball boys, as well as the varsity volleyball girls, couldn’t get the job done this year (the track team competes in ACSC in March and the varsity soccer girls in April). Now, it’s time for the varsity basketball players to make our shot at it.

With this year’s basketball rosters, the dream for reaching first place in ACSC could be a reality. Both the varsity boys and girls have trained extremely hard just for this annual tournament. While thinking about the team’s capability this year, the boys’ varsity basketball captain Sam Castro (12) said, “I think we have the opportunity to perform really well this year with the men we have. Our confidence grows as the tournament comes closer. I have faith in all the men that step on the court representing Dalat.”

It cost us lots of time and sweat to make these teams reach for its maximum potential; ACSC is the best place to show the results of our training.

If the varsity basketball team doesn’t come back with any medals, just know that we gave everything we could. Anyone who is involved in Dalat’s sports programs would know that we, as Dalat athletes, fight until the game ends. We would never surrender to any team, regardless of the score. Even if we’re down by 10, 20, or even 100 points, we’ll still give the opponent a hard time. Our mascot is an eagle for a reason: we don’t look down onto the ground, but we look upwards and soar up high through the sky—above all others.

ACSC logo. Photo Credit: ACSC main page

Wednesday 6 February 2019

It’s Story Time!

Courtney Soon

Quoting Garfield’s saying, “I hate Mondays”; the senior class, on the other hand, had a dose of “cuteness overload” to kick-start their usual Monday morning on January 28, 2019.

Added with the joy of escaping B-Block for the first fifteen minutes, seniors from choir class received the opportunity to spend time with the preschoolers and read some stories to them. It was one of the last service projects from the Class of 2019, a way of giving back to the school before they leave.

When the seniors proceeded to the preschool rooms, they were approached by adorably shy, little blue “minions”, each holding a couple of children’s books, waiting for them to be read to. One by one, each preschooler’s name was called and paired with a senior. Then, every senior led their little preschooler to a comfortable corner to begin reading storybooks that had bright, colorful pages of illustrations and engaging pullouts.

Sofia Park (12) recounted, “I was so touched because the little girl came up to me herself! I read her Dr. Seuss books, and she loved it so much! I loved reading my childhood books, too. At the end, she gave me a HUG and that absolutely made my morning.”

The preschoolers were very affectionate and looked up to the seniors greatly. Seniors also automatically raised their voices to a higher-pitched tone when reading aloud to make the stories appear interesting to the preschoolers. Some seniors had preschoolers sit on their laps and interacted through the storybooks in order to get to know them. Lydia Kim (12) and her preschooler were enjoying themselves and even singing nursery rhymes such as “The Eensy Weensy Spider” and “Happy Birthday” together in the midst of reading.

Unfortunately, good things always come to an end. Because of their short attention span, each preschooler jumped up immediately when Mrs. Anderson, the preschool teacher, told them it was their snack time.

“I really enjoyed reading with the preschool kids. I loved the fact that I got the opportunity to spend time with them because we usually don't get to hang out or play with the preschool kids since we have different schedules,” said Natasha Palanivel (12). “It was a nice way for the seniors to reach out to the youngest grades at Dalat.”

The service project was a precious time, not only for the preschoolers but also the seniors; it allowed them to return to their stress-free selves and lively express their inner children before the time of university and graduation approaches.


Reading to the Preschoolers, Photo Credit: Mrs. Jacki Steinkamp