Dalat International School: Senior Scribble

By Michael Silverstein As the Class of 2025 crawls toward the finish line, a familiar foe has returned to Dalat International School’s campus: Senioritis—known in Latin as Procrastinativus Petrificus Morbus . It's an illness as old as high school itself, and this year’s seniors are no exception. With finals looming and university acceptances (or rejections) behind them, many seniors are falling victim to this notorious disease. What Is Senioritis? Senioritis is a psychological illness marked by a sharp decline in motivation and effort among students nearing the end of their high school journey. Once dismissed as myth, it’s now treated as a near-certainty—an unspoken rite of passage for many. Symptoms include: A rapid drop in productivity Extended naps labeled as “mental health breaks” Frequent use of phrases like “Due tomorrow? Do tomorrow.” Existential dread at midnight, followed by blind panic at 7 a.m. Alarming caffeine consumption patterns While rarely death-inducing, it’s know...

By Daniel Willoughby "I started DSA because I saw how much fun working on spaceflight projects is for people in real life. It takes a lot of effort and teamwork and has the power to bring people together. The best part about space flight is the rewarding experience of achieving something incredibly difficult and being able to say ‘We did that!’ I wanted to bring that spirit of tackling hard challenges and doing really cool stuff in space to Dalat. Our mission at the DSA is to get people excited about space flight to inspire them to pursue future aerospace careers and help educate them on some of the core concepts involved with space flight and space exploration." Iyan Sandahl (12), leader of DSA, or the Dalat Space Agency, founded his brainchild as a high-school club at the beginning of last year. The idea was to spend time teaching modern spaceflight, space history, and the engineering involved, to those who were interested. It started out with lessons, weekly updates, Kerba...

By Peter Hsu We won. After weeks of trash talk and fake confidence, the senior Porkchops finally faced off against the junior Big Birds in volleyball. The energy was loud. Half of us couldn’t stop smiling. The other half was trying to hide how nervous we were. First few points? Terrible. We fell flat. Missed spikes. Butter fingers. A bad receive.  Easy points lost. As coach Darnell Dwumfour (12) puts it, “We thought we would lose at the start of the first set in the first five points, but the seniors pulled through again and again.” And he was right. Gerald Yang found his serve. Ace. Another ace. Ting-Yi Huang stepped up too, with quite a few aces under his belt. Jaeyoun Kim, our king, was unstoppable at the net. Blocks, kills, aura. Repeat. We took the first set. Lost the second. Then regrouped and locked in. The juniors had their weapons. Mr. MVP himself, Aaron Andrews, was launching rockets. Braydon Lee and Josh Stevens kept the pressure high. They hustled. They hit hard. They d...

By Micah Pickett The games finally came after a long wait for the two strong teams, Porkchop FC and Big Birds. The crowds were in their seats, awaiting the entertainment that was to come. On Monday, May 26th, 2025, the first whistle was blown for the first sport in the competition between the Juniors and Seniors, which was volleyball. The atmosphere was thick with pregame banter and suspense, which had been built up before the first sport.  "Let the competition begin!" shouted Braden Abrams (12) with serious excitement.  The first ball was served over, and the crowds were already bound to their seats. As the game went on, the two main powerful hitters from both teams were lighting up each side of the court: Aaron Andrews (11), also known as Mr. MVP, and Jaeyoun Kim (12), also known as King Aura. Soon enough, it was a tied game, with Porkchop FC winning the first set and Big Birds winning the second. The question everyone is asking is, Who is willing to put everything on the l...

By Abraham Latham  Friday, May 23rd, was the last chapel service of the 2024-2025 school year, and as tradition goes, the senior class led the service. As the school rambled into Harbor after D-block, the seniors involved in the service nervously gathered on stage, circling for a prayer before worship started. The worship team started playing their music, and this year, a small choir was assembled in front of the stage to allow more seniors to participate in worship leadership. Allowing a place for all the seniors to lead chapel together was something really special about senior chapel, and allowed for a wholesome way for seniors to close out their time at Dalat in this last chapel service.  When asked about his experience in Senior Chapel, Andy Tan (12) said, “Senior Chapel was a fun experience to give some departing words of wisdom to the underclassmen. Whether or not they got much out of it, the meaning and intent of it was nice to be a part of.”  Next, a variety of se...

 By Sidharta Selvaraja A lot of us walk into an art exhibit without realizing how much work went into making it happen! I’m not talking about the paintings themselves—that part’s already acknowledged. Everyone assumes each piece took three months, and they’re stunned when they hear it only took two weeks instead. I’m talking about the entire setup of the exhibit. Mrs. Nichols had to coordinate with Mr. K for days, organizing the stage setup and lighting so we could have the perfect space to showcase our work. They collaborated tirelessly, making sure everything looked aesthetically pleasing and cohesive. Then came the preparation of the students’ pieces. We had to print out written descriptions for each one—titles, significance, and the mediums we used. That meant several trips to the staff office printer. I remember sitting on the floor with two other art students, backs against the cabinet doors, while Mrs. Nichols struggled to figure out how Google Docs worked. Once that was don...

By Anya Shanmugabalan The 5th Grade class displayed their hard work during the Living Museum in Harbor Hall on May 13th. Parents, teachers, and other students jumped from icon to icon, decade to decade, as they moved between students. From Saint Mother Teresa to Henry Ford, the 5th graders had them covered. The museum truly became alive with props, chatter, and storytelling conveyed by the students. The Living Museum represented the culmination of one of the biggest projects as a fifth grader. Each student picked a historical figure, read a book about their corresponding icon, and “embodied” them for their final exhibit. This “embodiment” included creating a poster, designing a costume, and delivering a speech summarizing their lives. Each student remained in character, offering visitors a glimpse into their contributions to society, as well as achievements and challenges throughout their lives.  Kieran Shanmugabalan (8) said, “I enjoyed walking around visiting all the living icons...

By Gabe Roylance After two long weeks, AP Tests are over. While underclassmen still have to worry about all their finals, many seniors, myself included, are freed from further tests. Whether none of our classes have finals, or we’ve qualified to be excluded from the finals, we are freed from the binds of standardized testing – for this year, at least.  And so we have the opportunity to spend our now more open schedule on the things that really matter – the people around us. This freedom allows for, hopefully, well-needed and well-earned time to spend the quickly dwindling time with friends. Or, as Eric Shyu (12) says, “APs are finally over. I can enjoy my time watching shows again.” Whether the new free time is used for socialization or relaxations, there is no doubt that the seniors are grateful for it. With AP Tests over, and most AP classes all but free blocks now, many seniors have also entered a strange, liminal zone somewhere between finished and finishing. As Daniel Willough...

By Zhong Xi Tan Schools typically offer a numerous range of different classes that cover different subjects, and Dalat International School is no exception. The school aims to give its students a high-quality education and the opportunity to take many of the classes offered. Middle and high school students there take classes that cover subjects such as Mathematics, Science, and English. A problem for some of the students, however, is that some of these classes are required. They might ask, “Why do I have to take these classes? I’m not even interested in physics or algebra.” During the lessons, they might find it difficult to concentrate and complete assignments, because they find the classes boring and don’t see the point in taking them or learning about the subjects discussed. It’s easy to understand why they feel this way and complain, since no student would enjoy a class they have no interest in.  One of the reasons the school makes these classes required is to broaden the persp...

By Eric Shyu AP Season has come around once again—the season of stress. The familiar rush and tense feel in the air. They come back again every year when everyone studies to do as well as they can on their upcoming exams. The stress creeps up on people slowly, but it becomes very noticeable over time. The first instance of this happening to me was when I wanted to go on a service project with a few friends, and then the phrase first appeared: “Sorry, I can’t make it.” “There’s no problem at all! I can find someone else to go with me.” And then I hear that phrase again. “Sorry, I can’t go this time. I have to study.” I managed to find people to go with eventually, but I knew what was coming. The waves of the phrase “sorry, I can’t…” It makes total sense that people are prioritising their studies over some of the extra activities that they were once doing.  The phrase doesn’t only occur here, though. It has found its way everywhere else as well. Text messages from friends as well. Th...

By Anna-Lynn Tamminga “Hey, are you free to hang out after school today?” “No, sorry, I have APs this week…” This is the most common phrase heard under the copious stress of AP exams. It limits high schoolers from enjoying their lives and hanging out with friends during the last few weeks of school. Fortunately for them, even though taking these AP exams may seem like a nightmare that only causes stress and keeps them from enjoying fun activities, it is actually very beneficial. AP exams are designed to help students build confidence, improve time management skills, and strengthen learning abilities. In a way, they prepare high school students for their next step: college or university. Another significant advantage of taking AP exams is the opportunity to earn college credits. This is highly valuable because it allows students to demonstrate to colleges that they have already mastered certain material and subjects. Additionally, this can enable them to skip some courses they have prov...

By Iyan Sandahl A low hum fills Harbor Hall as people slowly file in through the doors. We listen anxiously from behind the curtains. The final production is upon me. On April 25th and 26th, Dalat Drama put on a double feature featuring two plays by the famous playwright William Shakespeare. The plays in question, “The Comedy of Errors” and “The Taming of the Shrew,” represented the culmination of months of hard work put in by the entire drama cast and crew. It also represented the climax of the many hours we seniors had poured into Dalat drama over the years. As usual, the first read-through left everyone dying of laughter when Ms. Mary Geiman first brought out the scripts that we would be hearing over and over again for most of the semester. The Comedy of Errors is essentially “family reunion goes wrong” just with a lot more complex language, several arrests, two identical twin mix-ups, and a sword fight. The Taming of the Shrew tells the story of two sisters, one considered to be ...

By Emma Emis I looked longingly at all my friends, whom I had known well the semester before; sadly I left them to take another class. My voice in the high school choir had flown and fallen so that the current melodies could soar. The joyous faces fit the springtime performance, allowing the audience to connect with a pleasant landing to the second semester. Here are a few notable highlights from the variety of songs.  “Eleanor Rigby's” lyrics swiftly reminded me of how lonely I am, looking at my own choir friends. It’s a sad but fascinating tale that is eerie and peaceful at the same time.  “Summertime” Brought happy memories of the approaching months. Longing and hoping for the coming seasons, we seniors will soon know all too well. “Old Church Choir” Rekindling our souls, remembering those of us who sang this in freshman choir. Amazing performance, those who knew were singing along and clapping” “No Night  There” It was like a lullaby for a baby. Beautiful alto harmony...

By Gabriella Uzzle Clad in Green and Purple IMPACT shirts, nine students shared about their experiences on IMPACT Far trips at last Friday's chapel. As most of the Dalat community knows, every Fall and Spring breaks about 40 kids and 9 adults go on short term service projects known as IMPACT trips. This semester there were three trips, one to ECHO Asia in Chiang Mai, Yayasan Boas Orphanage in Central Java and to Outreach programs in Phnom Penh.  These trips allow students to step out of their comfort zones to serve others. I personally went to IMPACT Chiang Mai, and it was an amazing trip. The farm work we did while challenging at times was extremely fulfilling seeing our projects done and the workers happy with our progress. The knowledge that we were helping was enough to push us through each day. Each trip has its own challenges and highlights.  Olive Berends (10), who spoke for the Cambodia team during Chapel said “The highlight of the impact trip was definitely getting to...

By Sarah Loh Late nights, lost voices, and scrambling chaos, all bundled into Drama Production Week.  Opening night started with The Comedy of Errors, a fun play about two sets of twins who get mixed up in different situations and cause mayhem. “My favorite scene from the drama production is when in the Comedy of Errors, the sets of twins are revealed, and then everyone’s confused,” said Rachael Burley (10), one of the actresses. The Comedy of Errors was followed by a story about two sisters and marriage, called The Taming of the Shrew.  Playing the Courtesan, Evy Thompson (9) said, “My favorite part about performing Shakespeare was probably the period it was set in, because that let us have a lot of fun with the vibrant coloring and styles of the costumes and with the wording of our lines.”  I led the drama makeup crew and was able to watch the play three different times. Each time, it helped me understand the story more and see how the actors portrayed the same scene di...