Wednesday 18 March 2020

Mr. Roberts Prepares for Online Learning in Case Break Prolongs


By Jun Lee
 “All right, spread out across the library, we’re testing Zoom.” In case Covid-19 prolongs school shutdown, Mr. Roberts (Sr.) conducted a test-run of online video conferencing for his Web Design class.
As Mr. Roberts paced back and forth along the library hallway, checking if each student could connect to the conference, students explored various utilities of Zoom: the online video conferencing platform employed. Five minutes of clicking and giggling passed as students successfully logged-in and poked multicultural jokes at each other as usual.
Tien Min Tan (G12) called Nicole Lee (G12) “笨蛋 (idiot)” and Nicole replied, “愚蠢 (stupid),” while Seong Jin Kim (G12) and I (Junyong Lee, G12) exchanged Arabic greetings out of nowhere: “ٱلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ,” “وَعَلَيْكُمُ ٱلسَّلَامُ” (“peace be with you,” “you be with peace”). A cheery and jocular Dalat spirit never ceased as random laughing faces shined on the screen (although accidentally; they did not realize Zoom allows blackout).
Unfortunately, Mr. Roberts had to test-run the video conference because the very “cheery and jocular Dalat spirit” might not continue on campus. At 23:32:15 (MYT), Monday, 16 March 2020, Head of School Mr. Karl Steinkamp disseminated a notification to all Dalat parents: “According to the PM’s address this evening schools will be closed starting on Wednesday.” Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin declared in his Sarawak press conference after a full day of meetings that all schools and public facilities close until the end of March. In case students cannot return due to a potential extension of school shutdown or quarantine while returning from overseas, Dalat teachers prepared for online distance learning.
“In fact, we started preparing for this situation starting a week ago,” explained Mr. Roberts. After an extensive meeting on 10 March 2020 (last Tuesday), several teachers consulted Mr. Yost, sitting by his usual A-lab left-back corner. Despite the surprise-shutdown three days ahead, preparing a week ahead proved fruitful, as Mr. Brewster announced today, "Teachers will have work for you starting on Thursday morning."
While we cannot enjoy the stay on campus for a while, teachers’ prompt and dedicated preparation has prevented a potential absence of education for the rest of semester so feared by parents, teachers, and students alike. Now comes students’ time to contribute by “irrigating” the stream of “cheery and jocular Dalat spirit” to our online platform!

".. And Sold!"


By Onyu Kwak
Going once, going twice, sold!
Another year of Junior for Hire opened this week with a variety of bidders and ideas. Junior for Hire is an event that juniors open to raise money for their class to prepare JSB, senior sneak, and other activities. During the event, Juniors advertise themselves in front of the crowd to sell their services.
Just like every year, the juniors had millions of creative ideas starting from “Making Messi” by Andrew Kaney, Sumin Park, and Sean Park to “Shiny day” by Jiah Choi and Ally Kim, which earned the most money.
When I interviewed Jiah Choi (11) about her thoughts about the Junior for Hire this year, she said, “When I first came up with this idea, I never expected to earn this much because it was a typical service that anyone could do. As the price of my service excited the crowd and slowly went up, my heart started to pump faster and faster. Overall, it was an interesting experience.”
Junior for Hire not only helps the junior class financially, but it also helps them socially. During Junior for hire, students are encouraged to think of ways to serve the class and come together as a group for the event. While working on it and contemplating what to do for their service, a bond is created naturally between the classmates, which leads to a united class.
Daniel Choi (11), the class president, said, “I expected that there would be fewer people because of the coronavirus, but to my surprise, many people showed up. Also, it was nice to see our class together once again and working together to chase our goal.”
Personally, experiencing the Junior for Hire as a senior made me feel nostalgic and proud. It reminded me of the days when our class worked and bonded together to achieve a goal that we all wanted.

Tuesday 10 March 2020

Virus Attack and Impact


By Niki Tsumagari

Due to the fast-spreading of the Coronavirus all over the world, all international trips that were planned in the remaining time of this school year have been cancelled.

Just like it did to the rest of the world, the disease, COVID-19, has brought fear, worry, and grievance to many students and staff here in Dalat. The spreading of this virus has led to the cancellation of many festivals, concerts, sports matches, and flights everywhere; and all events that our school had a part in were no exception. These include honour choir ACSC, track ACSC, girls’ soccer ACSC, and impact trips.

On February 26th, 6:33 PM, honour choir students received an email from their choir teacher, Ms. Joyce Goh, saying that the honour choir ACSC 2020 had been cancelled. Merely two hours before this email was sent, honour choir students were in the choir room, talking about how excited and glad they were that this trip was going to happen. Many of them received this news during the seniors and middle schoolers’ activities event that was held that evening, in which several gloomy faces and sad voices were exchanged.    

Once the sad news had reached everyone in the team, it was time for each and one of them to accept the fact and move on. During the days that the trip was supposed to happen, MEW, Eagle Games, and a long weekend were planned.

Christina Beaman, a senior who is a part of the honour choir, said, “I was disappointed that the work and practices we put in for this (honour choir) didn’t pay off, but it was nice to be here for MEW and Eagle Games, which we would have missed if we had gone to Taiwan.”

Though the cancellation of this huge trip was extremely upsetting, with so many “my last in high school” events coming up ahead, as a senior, being able to attend these traditional, annual activities and events for the final time definitely felt as valuable as a big trip could be.
Still, of course, huge disappointments are unavoidable in these situations. Later in the week, when Dalat News announced that a decision was made to cancel all international trips, Liwei Koh (10), a member of the track team who was looking forward to track ACSC in Taiwan scheduled from March 18th to 22nd, was devastated.     

“After all the hard work that everyone put in for the team, we can’t go on the trip as a reward to compete with other schools. It’s disappointing. I feel even worse for the people who worked harder than me, and for the seniors, too,” he said.

The spreading of the coronavirus over the globe is obviously beyond control of anyone’s in the Dalat community. Each person has a different way of perceiving this destruction, but all we can do now as individuals is to be careful and conscious, and hope and pray that the virus will vanish as soon as possible.      



Let’s All Pause For A Bit


By Rebekah Lee
Pause, Refresh, and Play. The three banners hung high up in the Harbor Hall as the Dalat high school students were chattering amongst themselves, preparing for 2020’s Mission Emphasis Week (MEW). MEW week is a time where the whole Dalat community can learn how God calls us to serve Him by serving others. For three days, elementary, middle, and high schoolers go to the Harbor Hall to worship and listen to the words of God. Later, students, teachers, staff, and parents are also welcome to come to the night sessions.

For most, MEW is an exciting and relaxing week. Students are not given homework to encourage them to take a break from academics and attend the MEW sessions with no stress. MEW gives me a chance to breathe and lets me pause from my busy school life. I’m always rushing to finish my homework, submitting my assignments, and studying for tests. Thanks to MEW, I’m able to lay everything down and focus on my relationship with God. 

Sadly, for the class of 2020, this MEW was the last emphasis week that we experienced. Sheryl Ang (12) said, “As always, I appreciated the time and opportunity that was given to us to get closer to God and to release our pent up problems. With this MEW being my last one, I was more aware of what was going on, and I tried to be present in every moment of it.”

It will be rare for us to experience and participate in an event like this after we graduate. Sheryl is right about appreciating our given opportunities. Especially since this is our last year together, we should learn how to appreciate the things around us. Let’s appreciate the fact that we live on an island and can have lunch every day by the beach. We should also appreciate that we have the privilege to go to a Christian school and meet amazing teachers and staff. Most importantly, appreciate all the relationships we made in this class of 2020.

My goal for the remaining time I have at Dalat is to be intentional. To be intentional with every conversation I have because soon we will all have to say our goodbyes. Knowing that this is my last year in Dalat is scary and sad, but I hope to make even the slightest impact on someone’s life before I graduate. Although there will be a lot of “lasts,” it only opens up the doors of new beginnings. I encourage my fellow classmates of 2020 to do their best in being intentional with all the last’s we encounter. Let’s finish strong together!

“Pause. Refresh. Play”: More Than Just a Quick Fix


By Jong Min Park

The three words “Pause, Refresh, and Play” hung from the rails of the Harbor. With the purple, green, and orange verbs providing a striking entrance to the school, they marked the start to a new week.

To many, seeing this banner meant having a week with no homework at all. But more importantly, this banner signified a week full of intimate spiritual moments; it signified Missions Emphasis Week.

The dance team took the crowd by surprise with a pumped choreography of Francesca Battistelli’s This Could Change Everything on Monday night, earning the woos and cheers of the shocked spectators in Harbor Hall. On Wednesday night, the worship team opened the night with the classic One Way, followed by I’m Trading My Sorrows, both of which had the entire room standing and jumping on their feet. Seniors led the way as they courageously strolled down the Harbor Hall steps and gathered the rest of the crowd to worship with energy. 

Despite the uplifting energy, the true objective of MEW shone through in the more silent moments. As people of all grades shared deep and meaningful connections with each other and God, the Harbor Hall became a place not only of energetic singing; it transformed into a place of worship—in every way possible.

Celestine Teoh (12), one of the main vocalists in the worship team, stated, “I thought this MEW’s worship was the most authentic, especially for the vocalists as we didn’t bother to bat our eyes to what others thought. Instead, we all stood united with the same goal—giving all the glory to our all-deserving God.”

Julia Jun (12) boldly affirmed, “Throughout the week, I realized that it was really up to me. I had to take the initiative to invest my time in God to discover the truth for myself rather than having someone else do it for me.”

Middle-schooler or high-schooler, worship team leader or spectator, everybody walked through those doors with the same purpose—worshipping the Lord.



Tuesday 3 March 2020

Rafting Into the Future


By Maddie Rude

February 27-28, the seniors walked to Rainbow Paradise hotel in the scorching heat for the Senior Transition retreat. Once the seniors got there, they were able to sit and relax in the cold room, which felt good after the long, treacherous walk. The seniors started with some activities, they talked about the differences between the foreign TCK's and local TCKs, but with an added twist: as the students read the lists, they spoke in hilarious accents.

They discussed the grieving stages of transitioning and built little paper boats to help us say goodbye to people. "I've moved four times in the past two years, each time I've made a boat, and each time I've sunk; moral of the story: boats are pointless," said Georgia White (12).

After the morning session, there was a four-hour break for lunch; some people went swimming, chilled on the beach, went tubing.

After lunch, Mr. Brewster ambushed the seniors with a combination of physical exertion and financial stress in a well-crafted form of torture. "I ended with negative 20 Brewster bucks even though he forced me to do 50 push-ups," said Christina Beaman (12). After dinner, there were three panels of teachers and staff who answered questions directly asked by seniors.

The next morning, the seniors all had breakfast before the staff bombarded them with information yet again. They discussed their values and gave us their opinions and advice about college life in America and how to deal with finances as independent human beings. Lastly, they went over safety with Mr. Pagee: "Aim for the head," he said, telling Elizabeth Horton as he was teaching her to key someone in the head to escape attackers.

The retreat was very needed for many of the seniors; they learned a lot, some of them knew the information presented, but it was an excellent refresher. 

3 Meter Retreat


By Georgia White

In the experience of most, a retreat takes place somewhere a considerable distance from their place of work or education. In the seniors' recent experience, a retreat could be simply three meters away from school.

At 8:25 a.m. on Thursday, February 27, 2020, the senior class embarked on the long trek to Paradise Hotel. After their arrival at 8:27 a.m., all the seniors met up in the conference room, and Senior Transition Retreat had officially begun.

The purpose of the retreat is to prepare seniors for their lives after Dalat through a series of sessions. Some of which included lessons like life as a TCK (third culture kid), the cost of college, relationships, personal finances, and self-defense. Daniel Lim (12) said, "The session that taught me the most were the ones about learning how to say goodbye. Being someone who hasn't experienced leaving a place, I think it was good for me to know what to expect when the time comes for all of us to say goodbye."

In between these sessions, seniors played many games to bond as a class and took a short break from learning. Students also had free-time to build relationships with classmates and enjoy time away from the routine of school. Some activities that students participated in were relaxing on the beach, at the pool, and playing card games in the hotel lobby. After the night sessions, before curfew, students were seen sitting in groups debriefing from the day and discussing what they thought the next day might hold.

At 3:00 p.m. on Friday, students walked back to school and met at school for graduation gown fittings. This fitting turned out to be a bitter-sweet moment. Not only did it serve to remind them of what they'd accomplished, but also that their time at Dalat was fading away. Celestine Teoh (12), "...thought that the Senior Transition Retreat put us in the mindset of expecting a big change; it reminded us that we are all in this together."

Although the distance between Senior Transition Retreat and Dalat was small, the impact it made in the seniors' lives was not.



This Could Change Everything


By Nicole Lee

Eight girls from different grades started their dance journey since the beginning of 2020. Their passion for dance, music, and God made them more determined to perform a meaningful dance piece for Mission Emphasis Week (MEW) to worship God.

This dance club includes eight girls from four different grades. We have Nicole Khor (9), Helen Jang (10), Saebom Won (11), Mandy Liao (11), Anya Kaloo (11), Grace Wan (12), Nicole Lee (12), and Grace Moon (12). Practices were four times each week; two in the morning and two in the afternoon. Although we often complained about long practice hours, in the end, it was all worth the hard work.

We had been dancing contemporary style dance pieces for the past years, but we decided that this year was going to be different. We went with more of a hip hop mood with an upbeat song alongside some pop moves. We also added different steps that required some power, and we incorporated a little flashmob to create a lively mood for the ending of the dance piece and to start off MEW night session with a surprise.

We have worked all semester to prepare for MEW and to make worth of all the early morning practices, late afternoon practices, and rehearsals. We spent hours and hours sweating and panting to ensure that we learned every step of the dance by heart so that we could perform with confidence and a big smile on our faces.

We feel the accomplishment and a sense of peace when people were clapping for us, praising us, and acknowledging us for such a beautiful dance created to worship God. As Mr. Ronzheimer had said, “It’s so cool to come back in the evening; everybody in their street clothes, singing and worshipping- just seeking God together… It’s an amazing thing to be in God’s presence with our community. It’s why we’re here!”

It is not just about the joy of learning, but also sharing moments with the dance members and having all those practices that undoubtedly left an impact in our hearts. We would never forget about all those memories. It had been an emotional ride these three years with the dance club and all the members involved. We had many ups and downs, yet it was memorable for all of us. In hopes that the dance legacy will continue for the years to come.






She's Like a Bird


By Inkyul Kim
Silence rang through the air as Mr Dobson readied his hands on the play button. Our attention was driven fully onto the screen, as the sounds of 2000’s pop rang through the hall.

“I felt my heart suck into the music”, said Dael Kim as she reminisced on the beautiful moment. The song, I’m Like a Bird by Nelly Furtado blessed our Senior Transition Retreat during our first seminar.

“Honestly I was getting bored with all the talking but Nelly Furtado’s deep and thoughtful lyrics kept me awake” says Jong Min Park. And deep and thoughtful the lyrics were. The seminar was centred around TCK so Mr Dobson, being the absolute Chad he is, picked Nelly Furtado’s piece about her own background as a TCK. Some of the lyrics talk about how she is “like a bird.” This is a clear and beautiful metaphor on why she, indeed, feels like a bird. She comments on how she doesn’t know where her home is or where her soul is. I’m sorry folks, but if that doesn’t make you cry, then you’re all a bunch of heartless pillocks. I believe that every TCK in the room was avidly moved by the song, and there were even reports of our fellow student Dael Kim, letting out a single tear.

Being a TCK can be a very difficult experience, constantly moving from place to place and having to say goodbye to friends at a constant pace. It’s almost poignant that in a sense, when the end of the year draws close, everyone in our class will become a TCK of sorts, being pushed away from the comforting Dalat culture. I will admit, I even feel scared of what the future might awa- woah almost got deep there. Where was I? Oh yes! Nelly Furtado is probably the greatest artist of our time, and her lyrics have never failed to move me in the single week I’ve known her. Also she kinda cute not gonna lie.