Dalat International School: Senior Scribble

By Sean Lee The last year of my volleyball career couldn’t be better than this. It was one of the best experiences I’ve had in my life. Since the beginning of the season, I had the feeling that we could get gold for ACSC, as I have seen the teams last year. With that excitement for first place, we headed off to Indonesia, where ACSC was hosted. It was hosted by a school called SPH, and I was there for ACSC basketball months ago, so it was nice being back.  When we got there, we attended the opening ceremony. They welcomed us with traditional music and dances. The next day, it was officially when the games started. The tournament was designed in a round robin competition and whoever with the most wins gets the higher seed and from there, it is the double bracket elimination. In the span of three days, we played against every other team and ended the round robin with 6 wins and 1 loss, resulting in 2nd place. That one loss we got was against Faith, the one and only team that we had f...

By Josiah Blacklock I remember the games, the intensity with which we lunged for the ball and beat back the offense assaulting our line. I remember the triumph in our voices as we screamed to the sky after scoring a winning goal. I remember the joy on the faces of the people who we served the second day of that soccer tournament. But the thing I remember the most were the stories that come from the exploration of a new country, the inside jokes that spawned from random catchphrases, and the new connections that I formed not just with my teammates but between different teams and even locals.  I got the opportunity to attend ACSC in Taiwan last week and play soccer against seven other teams. I had originally signed up for soccer because I’d grown up playing soccer and had played it last year. I wasn’t in it to forge new connections or broaden my cultural palate, but fortunately, that’s exactly what happened.  The trip started with our team meeting in front of Harbor Hall and set...

By Vennie Wong "I think we would get last place or, like, second last," I said hopelessly to Zoe Wong (11).  She agreed with a sigh. Throughout a volleyball season with little to no wins, it was obvious to think that way. "On the bright side of it all," I said, "we are going to Korea." Korea, one of the highlights of this year's volleyball season… The plane's bumpy landing that rocked the entire cabin signified we had landed in Korea. Everyone on the team was filled with anxiety and excitement, not knowing how the week was going to go. As we went through immigration and reached the exits, bright lights illuminated every corner of the airport; a closer look revealed them to be convenience stores, the very convenience stores from which we ended up buying dinner. Dinner for the team consisted of kimbap rolls and a bunch of sweet, icy drinks, which was more than enough to end our day. Since it was late when we reached the hotel, we all retreated to our...

By Sam Boyle JV Volleyball Tournament It’s a Friday morning, the JV boys & girls are excited and nervous to participate in a tournament hosted by Oasis in KL. They entered the school at roughly 2pm after leaving at 8:30am and got prepared for their brief on the tournament. They went to the gym to warm up and prepare for the big upcoming tournament and to cool off from the long trip.  The boys' first game was a rough one. They were still warming up after a long drive, and all felt a little tired and stiff. However, they still put in their best effort and came together to snatch the win in their first game. Once they won the first game, there was no stopping them. The Dalat JV boys were a powerhouse that dominated everyone else and that couldn't be stopped by anyone, not even by Piza, a formidable team that was expected to go far in the tournament. At the hotel, the guys all had fun celebrating their victories on the first day. They had some team bonding time with their teamm...

By Eleannor Tang On October 11, 2024, sixteen Dalat students departed for six days of impact travel to West Java, Indonesia. Our purpose was to serve local ministries through sports and English.  The team was required to meet on campus at 4:30 am to leave for the airport. Everyone who was supposed to be there arrived on time, except for one person. At 4:35 am, I called Kiera Nichols (12) to ask if she was almost here.  She responded, “Oh my gosh, I just woke up. I’ll be there in 5 minutes.”  Our flight took off at 11:30 am, and after about 3.5 hours, we finally arrived in Jakarta. After immigration, the most dreadful part of our trip was approaching. We had to be stripped of our phones for almost a week. Some of us saw this as a detox opportunity; however, a couple were absolutely dreading it.  We started our deviceless bus ride from Jakarta to Bandung, which took about four hours. During the ride, three seniors decided to cope with the boredom by hosting interviews ...

By Sophia Coker Each click and flash from Rebecca Wong’s (12) digital camera framed our team’s spirit. From our long bus rides to post game dinners and mall runs, our captain’s camera became a silent witness to our journey. It became a staple on our team and was even used to capture the player’s individual pictures for player posts. Rebecca was great at pulling that camera out at the randomest times and catching funny candid moments that accurately represented our team. Not only did the camera capture our fierce determination, but it also snapshotted the friendship, laughter, and ambition that would carry us throughout the ups and downs of the season.   As the weeks unfolded, the digital camera captured our smiles post tough losses and hard-fought wins. But it wasn’t just about the games, this camera documented our growth beyond the field as well. It caught us together in the cramped van and on the bleachers. It caught team bonding over pizza. It caught our late-night laughs a...

By Zeke Croft Recently, the waves have been very rough. Storms have come at unexpected times, dousing the campus and sea with thick drops and crackling lightning. The storms seem to die down, so one weekend, several students decided to go out kayaking.  Out of the five students who decided to embark on this adventure, four lived in the dorm. We asked our dorm parents permission to use the kayaks before heading down to the new boathouse. The storage for the equipment is quite nice now, and our group took two paddle boards, one double kayak, and one single kayak.  Out on the water, the person in the single kayak, Caleb Evens, headed way out to sea before turning towards Rat Island. I was on a paddle board, and stayed with the rest of the group. As we approached Rat Island, the wind and waves started to pick up. We debated whether to go back, but when the sky thundered, our decision was made. We were quite close to Rat Island, but we turned around and started to head back. Caleb ...

By Sophia Teoh It was 8:20 in the morning as I entered the sea of bright-minded individuals in Mrs. Sara Kearney’s AP Calculus BC classroom. Waves of chatter greeted me about what my peers were engaged in, today's goals, whether they were nervous about any upcoming assessments, and all kinds of things - with over twenty of us in that single science room, anyone could talk about anything. With my posture straight as a line and my black eyes sparkling with the brightness of a thousand stars as I imagined the activities we would engage in, I looked at the giant TV projector screen which stated something out of the ordinary - function analysis yoga.   Function analysis yoga? Normally, I don’t think of the juxtaposition of mathematics and exercise. But still, being an enthusiastic math-loving student, I started to talk to the teacher about what “function analysis yoga” could be.   “Are we gonna bend our bodies to match the shapes of different functions?” I asked. The teac...

By Micah Pickett With a rough start to the season, the Dalat boys’ soccer team was heading into the tournament with doubts. But the team knew they had to hold their ground and show up ready to fight despite the low morale. On Friday, September 27th, 2024, at exactly 1:58 p.m., the majestic boys’ soccer team walked wholeheartedly onto the field… Let the games begin!  The whistle blew, and the ball was pinged around. Bodies were flying around the field here and there, fighting their hardest not to lose track of the ball. The game was tight, but it wasn’t until Darnell Dwumfour (12) played an exceptional ball to Adriaan Hueting (11) that a win was secured for Dalat on the first day. The player who ensured the win said, “My brilliant back heel was cold. It ignited excitement among the fans and my teammates” (Dwumfour). And that wrapped up the first day of intense labour out on the fields of battle. The team awoke early the next morning. The players were sore from the war that tore them...

By Peter Hsu “1, 2, 3, KAW KAW!” shouted Captain Aaron Andrews (11) with the whole team as Sam Yeoh (10) the setter, aced his serve against KCHS.  On September 28, the volleyball-loving Eagles left for KL to play in the Twin Tower Tournament hosted by ISKL. The Twin Tower Tournament started with a round-robin, in which all teams played against each other once before playing the playoffs. During the round-robin, the guys played against KCHS, JJHS, AVA, YIS and ISKL while the girls played against YIS, Horizon, ISKL, KCHS, and JJHS. With a 3:2 record, the boys were seeded third and faced KCHS for the third-place match. After a hard-fought battle, they emerged victorious in three sets, securing third place overall. Meanwhile, the girls, with a 1:4 record, competed for fifth place. Despite their determined efforts, they fell short and finished in sixth place. “Although I didn't get a ton of playing time, I hope to come back stronger next year and do even better with my team,”  said...

Juan Moon The Dalat Boys Varsity volleyball team finished 3rd at the ISKL Invitationals last weekend, a result that left the team with mixed feelings about their performance and future prospects. The Dalat Boys Varsity volleyball team showed both promise and room for improvement at the ISKL Invitationals held on September 27th and 28th. They competed against the top school, ISKL, and many other promising teams. The team's 3rd place finish was a respectable achievement, but it also highlighted areas needing improvement. The tournament provided an opportunity for the team to gauge their skills against solid opponents. Unfortunately, the team fell short of their own high expectations, leading to some disappointment among players and coaches alike. “We know we can do better,” remarked one of the players. This mixed outcome has set a reflective tone for the season ahead, especially with the ACSC tournament approaching. Although 3rd place is respectable, the team remains disappoi...