Dalat International School: Senior Scribble

By Danny Pham Last Friday, April 26, 2024, marked the last day of the 2nd Annual Island Throwdown, three rigorous cross-fit challenges set by Mr. Brewster for Dalat students to compete in a fun competition; this let students show off the improvement that they had made in the past year in their fitness journeys testing their newfound athletic capabilities and skills. All the workouts were programmed so that students of varying skill levels would be able to do the workouts in their category without having to scale it, meaning that it was open to everyone, whether you were just a beginner or a dedicated athlete. Over the course of two weeks, these students gave their blood, sweat, and tears in order to complete the three brutal workouts, pushing past what they previously thought were their athletic limits. Afterward, students would submit their scores to the websites to see how they compared to peers in their category for each workout on the leaderboards. The competition started out with ...

By Myra Lim At 8:48 PM on April 27th, in Harbor Hall, seniors Angel, Dora, Jun Sheng, Limey, Matthew, and myself bowed for the last time as Dalat drama students.   As early as January 11th, Miss Geiman had put out on the announcements board that drama auditions would begin. By the next day, the Home Ec. classroom was reserved especially for those who wish to audition (or to sign up as crew). On the brown tables outside the class, snippets of the semester’s script were placed and marked; accordingly, some were marked for “1 boy and 1 girl”, “2 boys”, and even “2 boys and 1 girl.”  By January 17th, those who had auditioned were able to meet in Harbor Hall to discover what roles Miss Geiman and Mrs. Ho had assigned them. We also discovered that this year, we would be performing two plays instead of one; The Emperor’s Nightingale was set in the east while The Emperor’s New Clothes was set in the west. Although sounding different, both stories included humor and the us...

By Amos Koay On April 22, the Varsity Sports Awards was held in Harbor Hall. This was when people who had joined a Varsity sport would get acknowledgment for all the blood, sweat, and tears they sacrificed to fight for Dalat.  Many amazing athletes got the recognition they deserved. Some notable people are Romeo Kontsas (11), Isaac Lee (12), Naomi Weidemann (12), Josia DeJager (12), Joshua Morrison (12), DJ Yost (12), Caitlin Chan (11), and Alexia Nyul (12), who all got awarded MVP in their respective sports.   Although many people got different awards, one athlete stood above the rest of the players. One exceptional athlete who was in soccer, basketball, and track, where he broke multiple ACSC and school records for his sprints—the Male Athlete of the Year, Kyle Tang.  The following quote is what Kyle Tang (12) had to say about his achievements: "Winning athlete of the year is an incredible honor, especially with the amount of sacrifices I've spent improving myself ...

By Anna Ruble Goodbyes are inevitable but yet incomprehensible for the majority of the senior class. We have all had our fair share of goodbyes, yet never with one another. We said goodbye as we all left during our 8th grade year, expecting to see each other again in 2 weeks. We said goodbye as Covid swept quite a few of us away to different countries. We said goodbye every summer, as we all turned our books into the library and got into our parents' cars. Each one of these goodbyes was sad, and had a lot of emotions tied in. However, none of these goodbyes were quite as impactful as the goodbye that is quickly tumbling towards us on June 6th.  In nearly one month, every senior will gather together in a room. We will take our seats on a stage where typically we watched PB speak every Friday. A stage where many of us have performed concerts, plays, and worship. A stage where bittersweet memories rush through our heads, as we watch Miss Wood hand each of us our diplomas.  There ...

By Yuna Lee In the midst of a truncated schedule and limited facilities, the Dalat International School (DIS) teams encountered various challenges during the 2024 Track & Field Meet season; nonetheless, both the Girls and Boys Teams showcased outstanding perseverance, culminating in a commendable 2nd place finish in their respective divisions at the Asian Christian Schools Conference (ACSC) held in Manila, Philippines. Illuminating the charge for the Varsity Boys' Team was DJ Yost, who not only earned the title of Most Valuable Player (MVP) and served as a co-captain but also showcased exceptional prowess, securing a coveted spot on the All-Tournament Team and clinching medals in three events, namely the 5000m (1st), 3000m (2nd), and 1500m (3rd), achieving personal best records in each discipline. In reflection, DJ Yost expressed, "It was by far one of the most enjoyable Asian Christian Schools Conference (ACSC) events I have attended. I am so grateful to conclude my senio...

By DJ Yost Two weeks ago, the Varsity Track and Field Team took a thirty-hour round trip to the Philippines to compete in the ACSC Tournament.  There had been many frustrations with the season, with spring break wiping out an entire third of it, injuries plaguing many, and some teammates not being able to participate due to visa issues. But despite these frustrations, the team pulled together and came out stronger and better because of it. Some of their strategies were running the same hill thirty-two times, buying 100-plus freezies from the Junior Class Store, taking pictures of Kyle’s toes, adopting a bearded seventeen-year-old from another school, diving down a water slide as a human train, and going viral on Instagram.  The night before the meet, the Faith Academy team (the host school) put on a boodle fight for the athletes. Dinner (consisting of mangos, grilled chicken, spring rolls, and rice) was piled on banana leaves in bundles and lined up in rows of tables, and the ...

By Sam Owen It’s football season.  Again. The international kind, not the American kind. At least, I certainly hope so, or else our girls are severely under-padded. Shin guards can only do so much against a linebacker. The team started the spring season at a disadvantage; many of the original fall semester players could not return, forcing the team to have additional tryouts halfway through the year to find fresh blood. And find it they did. The active selection of Laura Choi (9), Naomi Weidemann (12), Addie Elliott (9), Sophia Coker (11), and Isabella Coker (9), and return of Marissa Elliott (11) proved favorable as they are forces to be reckoned with and have greatly benefitted the dynamic of the team. But the provision of new players didn’t mean the transition was easy. Noella Seevaratnam (12), captain and footballer for over five years, explained that the gap between seasons presented a challenge as it required “learning to work as a team and rely on each other’s strengths in a...

By Noella Seevaratnam “It’s the end of an era, but I'm excited for what lies ahead,” said Alexia Nyul (12). Thursday, April 5th, 2024, was Varsity Girls Soccer Senior Night. For many seniors in sports, senior night and ACSC is their last time playing on a team. It marks the end of their 4-day-a-week practices, the end of developing their craft alongside their teammates, and the end of being an Eagle. Sick on the sidelines during my senior game, I watched my team face a combination of Dalat staff, spouses, and boys for their last home game. I took in the beauty of our community, appreciating those who came to play on the opposing team and those on the picnic blankets, and reflected on my years at Dalat. The outdoor court, gym, and upper field have watched me grow in interest and skill over the course of the last 15 years. They’ve seen me kick my first soccer ball in pre-school, shoot my first hoop in kindergarten, and continuously attempt and fail at racket sports. They’ve seen me d...

By Noah Brooks Spring break is a time of rest, pain, and fun. A break many have thought about as it was slowly approaching. People planning with their friends what to do during a two-week holiday, like multiple parties that may have happened, sports, and beach visits with family, friends and co-workers. Besides all the planning of events to do with some kids, plans were already set with an Impact trip. The locations were Chiang Mai, Central Java, Phnom Penh. Each location had a different set of activities. Two teams worked with kids, and the other labored on a farm.  Out of the many fun trips that Dalat hosts, Impact. One of the trips, Chiang Mai Thailand, was a hot and fun trip. There was lots of physical work like wheelbarrowing, hoeing, removal of a building, painting, and much more fun activities. One of the students who got to go on this trip, Himani Alagan (12) who is known for being outdoorsy, hard working, and constantly enjoying the sun, went on this trip.  Himani, fo...

By Kathryn Boyd On March 18, 2024, the Central Java Impact team embarked on a journey they weren’t fully anticipating. Upon landing in Yogyakarta, our team boarded a bus set for Rumah Boas (a home and school for children who have been abandoned by their families). After four hours, the eleven tired students exited the bus and were greeted by thirty-two children aged 3-17, ready to meet and hang out with them.  With a schedule pinned to the bulletin board, the students from Boas and Dalat awaited an exciting and busy week. The first full day was Sunday, which included church, games, and camping. Michaela Parsley (11) and I were asked to lead worship with some Boas kids. As we entered the room, we were met with some awkwardness and confusion as we didn't really know the children and some of the songs we were to lead. We were asked to help lead an Indonesian worship song, One Way , and Goodness of God . However, despite confusion and awkwardness initially, leading worship allowed us t...

By Caleb Jun Some dreaded coming back to school, others were excited to come back to a routine they were familiar with, but whatever we senior boys felt coming back, we all looked forward to one thing. DBA. The Dalat Basketball Association hails from the long traditional 3 on 3 lunch ball that we seniors have played since we wore those white and blue uniforms of our middle school days. Playing every lunch, even during the 10-minute middle school break times, was a time for our competitive spirits to clash with one another to bring the gold out of that furnace. Yet, after the academic challenges we faced during our high-school years, it slowly diminished as time could not be spared, and COVID disabled our talents. Yet what we thought was lost was saved at last by Adam Silver, aka Aidan Leong, reigniting the spirit of our middle school hearts. “At first, I wasn’t sure that people wanted it back, but when I released the DBA trailer, people got hyped and excited about it, which kicksta...