Skip to main content

Welcome: To the New and Not So New

By

 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 felt a little nervous.” 

This playful time was cut short as we quickly moved on to what needed to be discussed: child safety rules, emergency drills, and how to take care of ourselves physically and mentally as dorm students. In this meeting, we learned that it's totally acceptable to ask for help when needed and who to call during those times.

Though we are able to enjoy unlimited access to the ball courts, the opportunity to live with many of our friends, and the ability to leave 4 minutes (yes, I've timed it) before school starts and still make it to class before the bell rings, this experience was a reminder to the dorm students that all this excitement and fun is met with just as much seriousness.

With all the freedom, convenience, and enjoyment that comes with being a dorm student inevitably comes responsibilities, redundant dorm meetings, and some angst when experiencing new things.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

DINGBAT DALAT STUDENT SPENDS PRECIOUS TIME CONJURING UP SELF-REFERENTIAL SENIOR SCRIBBLE RATHER THAN GATHERING LEGITIMATE WORK

By Anonymous
Yusoof Monawvil PENANG, MA - As the deadline drew near and the stars aligned in the night sky above the majestic waters of the Strait of Malacca, one particular Dalat student—Yusoof Monawvil (12), despite a plethora of school events to select and report on—opted instead to spend a remarkably well-wasted 24 minutes staring at a blank Google Docs page, fruitlessly drawing up and shooting down brainstormed ideas.  In a moment of sheer and undeniable epiphany, Monawvil deemed it only fitting to self-referentially satirize his own ingrained incompetence and dingbattery. Commenting on the flash of insight, Monawvil quoted himself, saying: “It all just kinda made sense. I went on DISCourse to look at the little rubric thing Ms. Grad and Mr. Hieber posted, and I checked if I was following all of the guidelines... And I technically am/was; [N]ot like there’s any specific direktive [sic] prohibiting self-quoting.”  In a turn of events, Monawvil did come to find his self-quoting en...
6 comments
Read more

"Spikeball, Swimming, and Sickness: The Remnants of Senior Sneak" by Ee Rynn Ong

By
“Guys, I think we’re here,” said Jonathan Ooi (12) as he peeked out of the lorry to catch the first glimpse of our Senior Sneak location. This year’s Senior Sneak was held in Nomad Adventure, Gopeng, and the organizers planned many activities for the Class of 2026, ranging from traditional games like congkak and batu seremban to adrenaline-pumping ropes courses and whitewater rafting. These scheduled activities proved to be some of the best highlights of the trip, but top of that, the seniors were also given some daily free time to chat, explore, and relax. Josh Stevens (12) had come prepared for this with two spikeball nets, which immediately attracted attention from people eager to spend time in the outdoor sun. The next five days saw spikeball veterans and newcomers alike, spending their precious one and a half hours daily around the unassuming circular net, smashing the yellow ball in hopes of a victory.  Caleb Evans (12) was one of the newbies to spikeball, learning how the g...
Post a Comment
Read more

“I Miss Her” by Nikhil Pillay

By
While most people had a fun week for mid-semester break, whether it was spent with family, or with friends on impact trips, no one had a more emotionally confusing week than Judson Kenneth Robert Nosker (12).  In the light of recent events, Judson, despite all odds, had gotten in a relationship with one of his classmates, and as the break started, he had started to spend a lot of time with her. While with her, he started to experience a new level of joy and completeness that he had never felt before. In the words of Judson Nosker, “The first half of the break was good, but the rest of it was horrible.”  The reason for such a quote and the roller coaster of emotion was because half way through the break, disaster had struck. Judson’s girlfriend had gone on a trip with her family to Thailand, leaving Judson all alone. For the rest of the week, Judson was in a state of longing for her presence.  His friends have reported numerous occasions when Judson would be sitting with t...
Post a Comment
Read more