Dalat International School: Senior Scribble

It was my last Leadership Retreat. The start of every school year always has me rearing to go to the retreat. Now it’s all over. But I’m not sad at all. This year was my fourth ever Leadership Retreat. I’ve been a member of PAL my whole time in high school, so these retreats were almost a routine (but one that I was absolutely optimistic about). I am always so excited to go for the retreat every year since it means spending time with some of my friends.  “The Leadership Retreat is one of those school trips that only a few can participate in, which makes it more special because our hard work for elections provided us with this opportunity to bond with our fellow leaders,” says Ee Rynn Ong (12). We got a lot of free time and many of us went to the pool or simply lounged around as we soaked in the fact that there was a whole year ahead of us. Because I’ve been to so many Leadership Retreats, I have a few traditions that have lasted since my freshman year. Every year, I would wake up a...

Do I have what it takes to make the team? Did my summer training help?  These were some of the questions many Dalat students had the first week of school. As students started their first week back from the summer break, many things were on their minds. Figuring out classes, trying to fix sleep schedules, but, for many, the most important thing on their minds was trying out for the first sports season. With certain tryouts starting the second day of school, those who had been preparing over the summer were waiting with anticipation to jump back into practicing and playing. That anticipation, for the athletes hoping to make volleyball or soccer, the Season 1 sports, made summer preparation crucial in order to jump into athletics with the best physical fitness levels. For those who had hopes of trying out since the previous year, summer had been a time to refine skills, increase agility, and maintain their cardio. For most who just joined the Dalat community, though, tryouts were just...

Sometimes, we students are asked to follow without question. This account from August 8 illustrates this while also showcasing the understanding nature of Dalat teachers. In the new Public Theology class, we explore how God's truth applies to every area of life and how Christians apply gospel in the public square. Guided by curiosity and mutual respect, students explore both non-biblical and biblical worldviews. Each student will be part of a Unit Presentation Team (UPT), Unit Debater (UD), a Unit Question Generator (UQG) throughout the semester, though hopefully not at the same time.  “Say something, say something!” Tia Emmanuel (12) gently urged me. I glanced often at Mr. Dave Nguyen (the Bible teacher) as I weighed my options in a few seconds. I was overcome with an irrational fear of being judged by everyone if I said something.  As I predicted, Mr. Nguyen only noticed this minor detail at the very end of using a random name generator for assigning our projects topics....