Dalat International School: Senior Scribble

By Dora Liu An intense game of Senior Assassin began on the 21st of May. The rules were simple: kill your assigned target with a water gun or sock bomb to acquire their target, and survive the week while killing as many players as possible.  While classrooms were mostly off-limits, students thought up creative ways to lure their target out of safe zones. Common tactics included alliances, betrayal, and deception; some players even went as far as waiting by or inside their targets’ houses, doing everything they could to win the game. As the week went by, the number of players dwindled daily as more seniors were assassinated. But what happens to their ghosts? Many were frustrated they didn’t make it through the week. “I was dead before I even realized,” said Heeeun Bang (12), the first-ever player to be assassinated on Tuesday morning. “There was no time to process anything, only the fact that I’d been killed before the first block even started.”  Another player, Anric C...

By Ha-Eun Jeon As stressful AP exams come to a close, clean sock bombs and water guns come into play. 51 seniors armed with floaties, goggles, life jackets, and other swim equipment set foot on school grounds. Their mission? Try to assassinate their given target and survive for a week without getting assassinated.  On May 21, 2024, the awaited game of “Senior Assassin” started. Elaborate plans, silent sabotages, and unexpected betrayals transpired here and there as the seniors scrambled to eliminate one another. However, some seniors watch from the sidelines, not participating in the game. What happened to them? Where did they go? Were they assassinated beforehand? Some seniors forgot to sign up, missing the deadline at 8 PM. Many expressed regret, but surprisingly, they all managed to get involved and enjoyed their time.  “I actually had quite a lot of fun watching people get shot. Since I’m not anxious about getting shot, I can wear goggles as a fashion item. I can also shoo...

By Savanna Choi The ten-day marathon of AP exams finally drew to a close. The now-lowered finish line, which seemed once miles away and another time chokingly close, is now smothered in jumping footprints, empty RedBull bottles, dried-up contact lenses, and ashes of burnt practice exams.  This marathon strikes a different experience for seniors than the adorably nervous sophomores or the pitifully anxious juniors. Seeing another finish line of graduation right behind the finish line of APs, the urge to limbo the first one and skip to the next consumes our being in the name of senioritis. With this inverse supply of AP difficulty and motivation, seniors literally had to drag their soulless bodies and fingers to the AP Classroom if they hadn’t given up already. As we got closer to May, more and more seniors began to disappear from campus in the false hope of studying at home like we once did as juniors. The local coffee bean has never seen such a crowd with a collective dark circle l...

By Aurelia Bernier  “Aurelia! What are you doing for lunch today?” asked Alexia Nyul (12) on Monday, the 20th of May at 10:07 am.  A sentence I have not heard since the start of AP season, the week after JSB (May 3rd), as everyone I knew either ordered in or had a test. After the juniors’ interesting masquerade-themed banquet, where we had breath-taking, eye-opening, and mind-boggling performances by Pope Marcus Lim (11), Opera-Singer Daniel Willoughby (11), Weird-Queen Kiera Nichols (11), Dancing Porkchops (Micah Pickett (11), Romeo Kontsas (11), Ting-Yi Huang (11), Sean Lee (11), Jason Choi (11), Andrew Tan (11), Darnell Dwumfour (11)), and many more, the AP grind started with only two days to spare until the first test: AP Chemistry.  Having taken it online last year, I was interested to hear the array of opinions and techniques this year’s students have learned with Dr. Schmidt. Some felt prepared for the test while others heavily under (but that’s what happens with e...

By Leyla Lee As we approach the end of high school and everyone has finished with AP exams, Mr. Kilgo, the AP Statistics teacher, takes his class on a golfing simulator trip to Gurney Paragon. A few days before the trip, Mr. Kilgo took the class up on upper field to practice some golf club swings. As everyone stood in a line, he laid yellow cones about ten meters away from the line and had us aim the golf balls at them. With no surprise, the golf balls flew in every direction, and standing in that line was not even safe. Although some people managed to hit the yellow cones and cheered like they had won the lottery, they were lucky shots by the way they swung their golf clubs. The class had a special guest, Mr. Knutson, a high school teacher of many great classes, who came in with a glove on his hand and swung the golf club like a pro with nothing but talent! No one there could describe the impressiveness Mr. Knutson showed. On the following Monday afternoon in May, Mr. Kilgo’s class ha...

By Jason Cho Advanced Placement classes have always been present since the start of high school. But this year, the Ap exams hold more pressure than ever with some seniors needing high scores for their university. This years preparation for Ap exams have never been so intense. With students studying so hard until they their nose bleed. But now they are all finished. And with the Ap exams gone, so were the stress and pressure. All they could do now is wait for their scores. Advanced Placement classes are classes that hold a rigorous coursework in comparison to normal classes. And the main goal of students taking this class is to take the Ap exam during May. In order to pass the exam students must work to get a score of three or above. Most universities/colleges accept a score of four or five, depending on their syllabus. The exam takes about three hours to complete it. With different sections covering the exam. In order to prepare the student for the rigor, teachers pour out practice ex...

By Yun Kil The chatter of nervous students filled the air on the second floor of the CASTLE. Some were talking to their friends in anticipation, others for relief. Most however, were frantically trying to get in some last minute studying to ensure they were well versed on every single piece of information on the study guide. I was one of these many, scrolling through my phone to make sure there wasn’t a section I was unfamiliar with. It was AP week, and I was getting ready to take my AP Psychology exam. As I stepped into the test room, I was asked to turn over my phone to the proctor and to leave my water bottle outside. Once doing so, I sat down and the proctor handed me my test packets. After a series of instructions and essentials, the MCQ exam finally began. As I read over the questions and filled in the circles however, my mind became increasingly blank. The test seemed to be significantly harder than the mock! I was at the 70th question when the proctor announced there was only 1...

By Packia Alagu Nagarajan The Theater Arts class has spent the whole semester preparing to perform two plays to the elementary school. Both the plays were originally written as books and it was part of the class to turn those books into an enjoyable play for the kids. We spent a whole quarter of the class figuring out sound effects to use for all the howling wolves and growling bears, and the interval music. We also spent the other quarter of our class, cutting patterns, sewing bits together, unsewing and adjusting our costumes for the plays. For most of us in the class, this was the first time that we’ve been involved in any sort of acting so it was relatively hard to project our voices and be confident. However, with Ms. Geiman’s help, all of us were able to do well during the performance. Wombat Stew started out in the outback of Australia, with a happy dingo trying to cook a wombat. To help the wombat from being eaten, all the animals of the forest come in to add inedible ingredie...

By Yeonsoo Kim As soon as the bell rang, the seniors ran out of their last classes to prepare for their last JSB - the Venetian Masquerade. Since it was a half-day, five hours was not enough to look their very best; we were all running out of school to get our hair and makeup done. On the other hand, the Juniors were all busy trying to prepare the perfect Masquerade for the seniors. Both grades were busy in their ways.   By 5:30 p.m., the school was no longer flooded with tired zombies but with stunningly dressed ladies and neat gentlemen. Friends gathered together; they were busy taking group photos. Dates exchanged gifts that each of them had prepared. On the Harbor Hall stairs, grade photos were taken to cherish that moment.  “It was really hot. I just couldn’t wait to go inside to feel the aircon- and see the decorations of course,” said Dora Liu (12). Despite the hot weather of Penang, smiles could be seen everywhere with a lot of flashes. People were posing for the ...

By Alyssa Kwok Cars drove up to the school entrance, waiting in the long queue, and when I finally came down from my car, I saw a beautiful sea of vibrant colors from all the outfits people were wearing: blue, black, red, green, and purple. Everyone happily chatted, complimenting each other and giving hugs all around. The crowds of parents, cameramen, and friends surrounded everyone with their phones and Canons, blinding me with flashy clicks of the cameras. Although I’ve been to JSB three times in my years at Dalat, it always amazes me how JSB can put me in awe and yet make me feel shy and self-conscious. I felt excited about the entertainment, the delicious food, and, most importantly, spending quality time with my friends every year. However, I felt shy about how beautiful everyone was, and I felt out of place. Soon we were all pushed and called onto the front of the stairs for a Class of 2024 group photo. Seeing the picture of all of us together, I could not have been more proud to...

By Kate Lee It was the Tuesday right after the Varsity Sports Awards when Senior Night for Varsity Track and Field was held (23rd April). Unlike other varsity sports, it was a historic night, because it was the first time in Dalat history with a senior night event for Varsity Track. Track and Field has always been categorized as an individual sport. But if it really was, why did this group of athletes feel more like a family, rather than merely a team?  Senior Night started off with various relay events planned by their captains: DJ Yost (12), Kate Lee (12) and Isaac Beaman (12). But to make it more unpredictable and engaging for the parent audience to witness, a twist was placed on the races with the anything-but-a-baton relay. The first “baton” was a shot put, followed by a human chain, a water bowl, and lastly, the team’s personal favourite: passing the phone while recording.  The night proceeded with tributes for the coaches and senior parents. Though the night was meant t...