Dalat International School: Senior Scribble

An unexpected growth in number of “N”s was found in seniors recently, as they failed to reach class before the second bell after lunch. This year the class of 2020 finally obtained the freedom of choosing their own lunch outside of school control. Many seniors rush outside the school gate every lunch time and purchase the food of their preferences. Some travel short distances to places like Chicken Rice, while some might undergo a long-distance drive to somewhere farther, such as Tesco. Unfortunately, student drivers who seek lunch too far away from school will sometimes not make it to class on time, receiving a penalty from the school. According to the school handbook, students who fail to arrive to class on time will receive an “N”. 10 of these “N”s results in a detention, and more could even lead to an in-school suspension. Recently many of the teachers who teach F Block right after lunch were very frustrated by this recent problem as valuable learning time of the ...

By Aaron Worten As I was coming back from ACSC volleyball, sad from a heartbreaking 15-13 loss to Faith in the third set, my mind suddenly switched gears, and I realized that basketball season was here. With season 1 sports coming to an end, new faces and new talent started flooding in for the start of the basketball season. There were 23 people on the list before I even signed up. Students that ranged from freshmen to seniors were all eagerly waiting for the chance to prove what they could do on the court. The day of tryouts finally came; many students were nervously waiting outside the gym. Then we were all called into the gym and started warming up. Kaden Keefer said, “I was nervous and didn’t know what to expect, but as we started getting into the flow of things, my mind cleared, and I just played ball.” Many students, young and old, were all fighting for 12 open roster spots. We were then separated into 4 groups, and the first day of tryouts finally began. The firs...

By Mary Lee As October slowly came to an end, the first quarter also came to an end. And sadly, the Dalat Makers Club also has had to stop for a long break. The Dalat Makers Club, started by Alex Shing, an alumnus, had been able to carry on this year, thanks to Trevor Nichols from the freshman class, Cecelia Sheng from the sophomore class, and Mrs. Jessica Morken, a physics teacher. Mostly student-lead, this club was for anyone who likes to deal with coding, devices, and also enjoys designing and problem-solving. It was also open for students with no prior experiences with such things. The Makers Club always started by learning to use programs/devices before getting into creative projects.   Last year, the club members got to learn how to use "Arduino" and a little bit of "Scratch," an online platform that allows us to make small games. This year, Trevor started teaching the members how to use "Processing," and got as far as creating circl...

By Ji Soo Kang The first week of the second quarter has passed. Although the first quarter of the 2019-2020 school year was just two months, the Dalat community enjoyed many memorable events. One of the events was Senior Sneak, a week for seniors to have some time away from their worries at school and relax. In Phi Phi Island, Thailand, seniors enjoyed a variety of activities such as kayaking, snorkeling, hiking, and swimming. Seniors also had a chance to spend time with students from a local school near the resort and helped with painting the wall and the ceiling. Although the class of 2020 broke a floor and a fence, it was an unforgettable trip to rediscover ourselves both individually and as a class. Shortly after, Dalat hosted the Spike & Strike tournaments over two weekends. The volleyball tournaments were during September 27 and 28, in which players from 7 different clubs, local schools, and colleges came and played. Dalat girls volleyball came in 3rd. The next we...

By Elise Johnson Excitement filled the air as the first quarter came to a close and the long -anticipated sports trips were finally here. The Varsity boys soccer and volleyball, and girls volleyball teams left school on Friday to go home and make final preparations for their departure on Tuesday, the 15th of October. The volleyball girls went to Taiwan, the soccer guys went to Chiang Mai, and the volleyball boys went to Bangkok. Each of these teams experienced opposition as they faced some really tough teams but they finished strong, losing with dignity and winning with humility. Jireh Ang (12), a senior on the boys Varsity volleyball team said, “The games we played had many ups and downs, but the only way to win was to work as a team and push through. In our games the hardest part was losing when we were so close, but we all played our best, so I am proud of my team.” Teamwork was a huge factor when playing against other teams with possibly more subs, more practi...

By Grace Wan Bandung, Indonesia: the week-long home for fourteen students gifted with the ability to weave the upbeat chorus of ‘One Way, Jesus’ into any song on earth. As these students spent their fall break on the service learning trip known as Impact, spontaneous karaoke sessions were not the only thing they enjoyed. Through activities such as hiking with the local youth, playing soccer with kids, visiting women and juvenile boys’ prisons, farming, and visiting Rumah Ruth (a shelter with babies up for adoption), the Impact team wove their anthem ‘One Way’ into all they did, loving and living for Jesus. Jesus’ transformational power was evident in the small yet significant acts of service the team carried out - one of which was holding babies who often didn’t receive as much love and attention as they needed. Although these acts were small, they were still important pieces that fit a larger puzzle that the team grew to understand more and more, as time went by. As ...

By Philip Yeoh I was on the verge of breaking down. My brain was on a one percent battery. School had just ended, and I was more than ready to jump right into fall break. “DING! DING!” My phone vibrated. “Bois it’s time for basketball season!” The end of football and volleyball season marks the beginning of the basketball season. With a new basketball coach in Dalat, students are unaware of the selection process. Questions began flooding through all students’ minds. “Will the new coach give us senior privilege?” asked Tien Min Tan (12). All students trying out are compelled to show their very best effort. Each student, whether good nor bad, has an equal chance of making the team. There are no presumptions on who’s the better player. In the coming Wednesday and Thursday, all students are given an opportunity to show their capabilities needed to make the varsity boys basketball team. With only twelve open spots in the team, and more than ten senior guys signed up for th...

By Luke Lindsay Students at Dalat are developing a strong mental toughness that will be a crucial factor in their future.             Mental toughness is the ability to cope with or handle pressure or stress. It is the ability to persist when times are tough; a refusal to quit when all others give in. There's no better gift you can give yourself, than to develop a robust undefeatable mind. A strong mind leads to a strong life, a life that will throw you struggles and then are easily overcome. The everyday mental struggle students face at Dalat can be overwhelming. However, we don't only develop mental strength in the classroom but the gym as well. Every day there are students in the weight room training. People go to the gym for what? A better physique? To perform better in a sport? Or to simply get stronger? It doesn't matter why you go to the gym, but if you want results, hard work and dedication is required. You cannot gr...

By Duncan Magruder October 4 - 6 was an eventful time for both the high school choir and the many 7/11s that had the joy of doing business with them. Breaking News! The high school choir is back and we are all happy that they have arrived safely. They were all wearing the same type of socks with different foods on them just trying to show their Choir section pride, after making an expedition all the way to Thailand have come back with a whole new view on life and music itself, really being able to experience the Thai culture by harassing every 7/11 employee they came across. Christina Beaman (12) had an amazing time on the choir trip for the second time. This is what she had to say about it. “Each trip had a uniqueness to it and I really enjoyed both of them a lot. One thing I loved about this year was that we had a small group so we really got to bond with one another during the trip. One of my favorite memories was going to seven eleven together. We probably went 7 times in...

By Maddie Rude This past week the high school choir took its annual trip to Bangkok, Thailand. Dalat and fifteen other schools came together to perform seven pieces. There were over 500 hundred students singing and having fun together.   They spent all of Frida y and most of Saturday preparing for the concert on S aturday afternoon. When they weren’t singing, they were goofing off in 7/11. We got to experience how amazing it is to be a part of a mass choir. It was incredible to see all of our hard work come together and to experience how beautiful it is when 500 hundred people come together and perform. Christina Beaman (12) notes, “I loved our first practice with the whole choir because we had just come from performing a concert in Penang and it was mesmerizing to hear the difference when you combine multiple choirs. One thing I loved was hearing the end result because we work hard the weeks leading up to the trip then we get to come together with a bunch of other choir...

by Jerald Ooi             In the aftermath of a fun, destructive Sneak, a new, threatening challenge emerges. Application season begins! Get ready to be judged based on your bland transcript and underwhelming SAT score! The week after Senior Sneak marks the end of relaxation and the beginning of frustration. With the bleak deadlines of early decision and early admission on the horizon, many seniors are now frantically scrounging for anything that may make them seem more appealing to their dream universities.             After a liberating week away from the stress and responsibilities of school, the thought of application season looms even greater. Application season is when Senior year goes from a stroll in the park scenario to a ‘sprint or you’ll do more burpees’ moment. The immense weight of performance in the next few weeks can make or break plans for the future. “...

By Jong Min Park On Thursday, September 26, during Dalat High School’s weekly All Hands on Deck session, the entire high school was given the opportunity to get a taste of the senior lunch privilege. The Eagle Express team, consisting of seniors Jordan Chang, Gloria Kim, Jerald Ooi, Philip Yeoh, and Jong Min Park, had announced the launch of the food delivery business. A three-minute video showcased the process the team would take to deliver the food. First, Jerald Ooi would call each of the vendors selling either chicken rice or fried rice with the order placed via a Google Form. Next, as soon as the lunch bell rang, the team would enter either Jordan Chang or Philip Yeoh’s speedy cars and retrieve the food – all with the promise of returning to school in under 20 minutes. The advertisement video, followed by a brief announcement, received enthusiastic applause from the high school crowd. Inspired by alumnus John Cho – who used his senior lunch privileges to bring back lunch...