Dalat International School: Senior Scribble

By David Kim   2023 was a year that we seniors, the Class of 2023, thought would never arrive. However, to our collective amazement, it is already here, and nearly a month has already passed. In addition, with scheduling complexities (refer to "Scheduling Complexities!" for more details) resolved, the second semester of the 2022-2023 school year has officially begun. This semester is a time that seniors must decide on what we will study and where to spend the next four years of our lives based on our college decisions. This is a rather difficult and intimidating process for many of us, as evidenced by Michael Hsu's (12) remark, "Seniors deserve more respect, especially from freshmen who don't know what we are going through," or Noah Lee's (12) realization, "I have no idea what I'm interested in or what the future is going to look like." It is no secret that many of us are reluctant to leave our community here at Dalat; however, when a...

By Joycelyn Fung Amidst the lunch rush, blobs of Pepto Bismol forge their way, dispersing crowds of blue and displaying their senior lunch privileges for all to see. Braving through Penang’s scorching sun or torrential downpour, each senior has only one thing in mind. Despite the multitude of food choices, nothing measures up to the glory that is chicken rice.  The chili sauce perfectly scratches that unseen spot like an itch that can’t be reached. The rice bursts like popping boba, having been soaked in flavor, bursting with every bite. Meanwhile, chicken so succulent envelopes you in a warm embrace from the horrors of the math test or Krebs cycle just moments before. Each morsel of chicken rice opens a pocket of sunshine tuning out the downpour or unrelenting heat each senior had to face to reach this treasure. While no argument stands against the greatness of chicken rice, a highly debated topic remains: Boon Kee or Beng? The journey to Boon Kee requires more action and risk cal...

By Jasmine Hassan Stepping foot back onto campus grounds would have felt exhilarating during the years leading up to this one – the nervous anticipation, giddy excitement, and newfound motivation forms one giant homogeneous blob – yet, for a senior, the final semester feels undeniably different.  “Where did all the time go?” Nicole Khor (12) sighed, sluggishly grabbing the same pink backpack she has had her entire high school career.  It almost feels as if just yesterday Christopher Jang (12) was having the time of his youthful elementary life, devouring vanilla soft serve, and strutting in his oversized cowboy hat. More than a decade later, he carefully evaluates the complex numbers provided by his Calculus class, a mathematical language most seniors as underclassmen used to find completely foreign.  Like Chris and Nicole, this semester conjures up a sentimental confluence of emotions, triggering reminiscence in many of us. Ten years ago, “ten years” would have sounded l...

By Michael Hsu New semester! New opportunities! This semester the influx of 7 new students completed placement tests and chose their courses well ahead of schedule. Mr. Dobson cites this earlier confirmation of new students’ schedules and an efficient “form and spreadsheet system” behind prompt responses from guidance to students navigating course selections. However, with a growing student body -- the Dalat High School community has never been so big before -- and more opportunities for those in Learning Support/Exceptional Learners, certain courses have inevitably been stretched to or beyond capacity, including A block Home Ec, B block Forensics, C block Spiritual Disciplines, D block Media Lit, among others. Seniors and, in particular, Juniors took advantage of the option to replace a study hall with an additional course, typically Media Lit. To accommodate this change, some students had to reshuffle their schedules. For example, Alicia Lim (‘24) switched from D block Bio to A b...