Dalat International School: Senior Scribble

By Jeta Anderson Being a senior comes with many privileges; you get to look down on all of the underclassmen with a feeling of superiority, wear a pink shirt to school if you feel like it, and eat off-campus for lunch. This year, seniors have the privilege of leaving campus during the school day and eating out at one of the nearby restaurants. Seniors tired of the repetition of the same cafeteria lunches every day now have the opportunity to choose from various delicacies, cuisines, and restaurants. In previous years, this privilege has been either completely taken away or heavily restricted due to Covid regulations. However, this year we are finally tearing down past restrictions and giving the students freedom to eat lunch wherever they choose. With this newfound freedom, some seniors have been taking advantage of nearby restaurants and eating out lunch nearly every day. I wanted to see the most popular choices for seniors eating out, so I interviewed a few of my fellow students. I a...

 By Lei Tee The clock reads four, and as students go home or to their various sports activities, others have different plans for the evening. A small, lesser-known group of high-schoolers step into a white van. Instead of shin guards, soccer boots, and knee pads, students sport rubber shoes and bags of powdery chalk. They are the climbing team, an eclectic group of students who have chosen to hone their skills in this niche sport. While climbing may look like all upper body strength at first glance, climbers also use their balance, coordination, core strength, and creativity to find their way to the top. Mrs. Nichols, who has more than a decade’s experience in climbing, said that it “involves not only physical but mental components.” For many, this was their first time climbing, and for others, it was just another day at the climbing gym. The climbers had many reasons for choosing to join the climbing club, some more profound than others. Kiera Nichols (10) explained how climbing w...

By Olivia Elliott Moving schools can either terrify or excite students, but when you leave your home country to attend a school on a different continent- that’s a different story. Dalat hosts many new cultures, lifestyles, and people that can often intimidate new students. Transition is a difficult process to undertake, but one of the newbies, Luis Vieira (12), says that “Dalat and the community have helped a lot so far…and that everyone has been very welcoming.” Thankfully, Dalat conveys a kind and hospitable tone to the new students, including myself.  As a new student, there is much to consider: new classes, schedules, and relationships. One of the challenges new students face is they are given the last priority to choose courses. We are required to take the mandatory courses to graduate, like Media Literature and are given a list of all the available spots in the classes that have yet to be filled. This can be tricky, especially as a Senior, to create a schedule that works for ...

 By Lauren Worten Three years ago, Dalat was going to host ACSC (Asian Christian School Conference) for the varsity girls soccer tournament, but our best friend Covid came, which resulted in canceling ACSC,  shops shutting down, and going into lockdown. But now *drumroll* sports are finally back after three years! It's crazy how we were the last class to have experienced being on an actual sports team. Now things are getting back to normal despite Covid still existing. Seeing people putting on their sports gear and going to tryouts was nostalgic. Hearing the students laugh, people working hard, and people running out of the gym to fill up their water bottles brings back memories of what Dalat was like before Covid happened. These small things bring smiles to all our faces.   I remember trying out for Varsity soccer in 8th grade, and I looked up to many of the seniors. They were my role models, and I learned a lot from them. They taught me to stand my ground, not give ...

  By Grace Neeley “Oh no! We have to run again!” Sam Owens (11) said in response to sports starting up again. It has resulted in cheerful, enthusiastic attitudes all around. People were excited for weeks building up to it. Sports were a huge part of Dalat life before Covid and them finally happening has made it feel more normal .   Noella Seevaratnam   (11) said, “Sports being back excites me a lot because it makes Dalat feel like home again. Covid took away so much from us so it was hard going to school and having everything that was once free be restricted. Sports being back means that things are basically back to how it used to be, and it feels slightly even better since I’m more grateful. I love being a part of a team and being able to grow in my soccer ability. I’m super excited for this year!” Dalat with sports is more hectic and chaotic, but it feels like home.  On the other hand, even those less involved with sports for various reasons are excited they ...

By Natalie Khor Averaging approximately 3 hours of sleep between them, Tia Emmanuel (9), Ee Rynn Ong (9), Yewon Lee (9), and Jonathan Ooi (9) crawled up out of bed in the wee hours of the morning to watch the sunrise that other students who had previously been to the Lost Paradise resort vouched to be stunning—they were not disappointed. The sky was covered in swatches of purples and pinks, a sight they quickly captured with their phones, only to realize that the camera could never do it justice. Just the night before, students at the Leadership Retreat enjoyed dinner together in the conference room, followed by a session with Mr. Penland on effective and ineffective leadership. “[The talk] made me think a lot about why I wanted to be here,” commented Tia. “It helped me get more ideas on aspects I need to improve on.” On the morning of the second day, drowsy students who stumbled into the conference room were greeted with roti canai and milo, a satisfying meal that left them energi...

By Eleanor Emis “Open up the gates!” sang Anna in the Disney movie Frozen. The song “For the first time in forever” played repeatedly in my head while I surveyed the campus full of smiles. Students roamed the campus freely alongside their parents who walked the school halls to visit teachers. But instead of Elsa’s younger sister singing with glee, the Dalat community was rejoicing at the opened gates of the school. It has been three years since parents, students, and staff have been able to fellowship with one another in the comfort of Dalat’s campus. Due to COVID-19's mandatory regulations, the school had no choice but to close its doors to any socialization that required large amounts of people. Prohibited social gatherings include sports functions, fundraisers, food fairs, and especially open house.  Returning students felt a sense of DeJa'Vu and surrealistic emotions. Kathryn Boyd (11) expressed her moment of excitement: “It felt memorable and nostalgic because it ...

By SooWei Goh "Man, it's going to take so long to be a senior? And why are they so big?" In a blink of an eye, I went from being a small middle schooler to a senior. It still feels surreal, and most of us still need time to let it sink in. High school went by quickly, and COVID was a significant factor. Despite COVID still lingering around, this school year seems normal now. We finally have our sports, and it looks like we have no significant restrictions, which was a big sigh of relief. Sports is a major part of high school and having that aspect back is something we are all grateful for. As someone who genuinely enjoys school, I have mixed feelings about being a senior. On the one hand, it's a great feeling to finally be at the top. On the other hand, we'll be leaving this school in a few months and taking on new ventures in our lives, which can be daunting. As Dalat is an international school, some of us will be going back to our home countries. This ...

 By Ray Lee The pink masses filled Harbor Hall as the first day of the 22-23 school year had officially begun. The day is August 3rd. It’s a Wednesday, and it’s the first day of school. But how did this special day start, one may ask? With rain. Lots and lots of rain. The traffic was horrid as children were driven back to school after having their 2 months of freedom. To make matters worse, the u-turn near the school entrance that all parents had taken for granted had now been shut down! Drivers must now take the traffic light a few meters ahead, one that blinks from red to green then back to red in less than 30 seconds, allowing 5 or so cars through before another 2-minute wait. I remember the members of our car collectively groaning at this development, but we were fortunate that today was a special day. Once my sister and I were dropped off, we headed to the Harbor Hall for the High School Assembly, and the first thing I noticed as I walked up those stairs was the mass of ...

 By Michael Hsu A new school year brings a new color. Wednesday finds flamingos strutting into assembly, having visited school earlier to pick up their brightly colored shirts. But these pink shirts emerged only after a struggle against tradition, dark green, and the most unlikely foe of them all: parents. Last May presented the ever-difficult problem of choosing a class shirt. Ms. Shawna Wood announced that the school administration, having decided pink was no longer school inappropriate, would allow the class of 2023 this unprecedented opportunity. In the spirit of democracy, the class voted on which of the three colors to represent our final year at Dalat: to introduce pink into the roster of senior class shirt colors, to follow in the footsteps of another international school with dark green, or… maroon. Needless to say, the first round election left an improbable tie between pink and green. In a closely watched runoff, the Class of 2023 witnessed a historic moment as p...

 By Joycelyn Fung With the sound of paintballs whistling overhead, paint splattering on helmets, and thuds of bullets marking their targets, masked figures scrambled to claim a victory in a war that waged amongst a group of students who otherwise seemed to get along pretty well. Last Friday, the Leadership Development Class left for a retreat to bond, learn about leadership, and set their mindsets for the year ahead. The group of students, gathered in a questionable array of clothing, were ready to brave the first lesson of the trip: paintballing. Taking to the battlegrounds, students could let loose while firing enthusiastically at one another with no signs of remorse. Even Mr. Tom Penland, who joined them, fully embraced the ordeal and skilfully disposed of any unsuspecting victim. Cheerfully recounting the trip, Sharon Kang (12) boasted, "My favorite part of the trip was shooting my roommate in the head!" Following paintballing, the students shared a meal at Viva S...

 By Ellie Guffy For many of Dalat’s day-students, the life that happens on campus after school ends is something they know very little about, especially since the start of Covid. Unless you’ve been a dorm student at some point, experienced a “short stay,” or have close friends in the dorms, you probably don’t know that it’s not always fun and games. On Sunday, August 7th, the dorms had their first all-dorm meeting of the school year, a new experience for the 14 dorm students that have joined this semester. While habitual and, dare I say, mundane for those of us who are not new, this first meeting was quite daunting to many of the new students. We started the event with ice breakers and a game used to get to know each other in a playful but purposeful manner. We learned of Uncle Keith’s intense love for iced tea during this game. Jueun Seo (9), a new student to both Dalat and the dorms, described her experience, saying, “It felt nice that I met new people in other dorms… but I...

  By David Kilgo With the dawn of a brand-new school year upon us, many new students and returning students are left wondering what the 2022-2023 school year will look like. After more than two years of seemingly endless lockdown cycles, cancelled school trips, and missed time with friends, there is certainly great excitement among the student body regarding SOP changes that none of us ever would’ve imagined two years ago. I like to believe that we have finally reached the light at the end of the tunnel. When the COVID-19 pandemic first hit in March of 2020, the senior class were freshmen. I vividly remember some of us being kind of excited at the prospect of not having to come to school and working from home. A global pandemic was something none of us had ever experienced before, and the novelty of it was exciting in a weird kind of way. Besides, we all naively thought it would be gone in just a few months. That initial excitement quickly waned. The next two years were tough...