Dalat International School: Senior Scribble

  The hype for JSB started way before the actual night. For the whole year, I’ve been watching the juniors working in silence, planning every little detail for us. Seeing people get asked, and the creative ways they did it, really set the vibe. But as a senior, walking into Harbor Hall hits differently. It wasn't just another dinner; it was the realization that this was my last prom here. The night started with the usual chaos of getting ready; it was a half-day of school, so we had just enough time to glam up. My girls and I made sure the “fit” was perfect, minimal, and elegant. To be honest, we were there for the main three: the food, the aesthetics, and the pictures. Seeing all the stuff the juniors prepared made me realize how much work they actually put into making us feel special.  I spent almost the entire night with my girls. Sitting at our table with my friend group felt like we were in our own worlds. We were constantly taking pictures, trying to capture every angle ...

  Junior Senior Banquet (JSB) always starts with different expectations. Some seniors think their JSB was the best, while others simply expect something good from juniors. Either way, JSB is something everyone looks forward to. Here are some highlights from the night. Even before the doors were opened, the front of the Harbor Hall was already filled with students taking pictures. Everyone was dressed up nicely. At 6 o’clock, people began to enter the hall with their friends and partners.  As we entered the hall, we found our seats. This year’s theme was Hercules. The decorations definitely reminded me of the ancient Greek temples. The table decorations that represented different Greek Gods was an interesting idea too.  One of the main highlights from the night was the play based on Hercules. The juniors did a great job in making the play engaging and entertaining. The play was about the process of Hercules finding his power and love. The acting of Meg and Hercules was the...

  JSB this year was one of those nights that really captured what Dalat is like. Every year, people have different expectations for the juniors, but this year, I think the juniors exceeded everyone’s expectations for JSB.  It was creative, chaotic, and full of effort in the most unexpected ways. The juniors chose Hercules as their theme this year, and it stood out because it’s a theme that didn’t have to stay serious. Instead of just decorating around it, the juniors fully committed themselves to the theme, as it was very detailed and cohesive. Their play was easily one of the most memorable parts of the night. It wasn’t too serious, and that’s what made it so enjoyable. The juniors took something as grand as Hercules and turned it into something funny and genuinely entertaining. It showed how much thought and creativity they put into making the night special for the school. Another memorable moment during JSB this year was the dinner. Wraps were served for dinner, which was c...

  You hear the saying a lot: it's not goodbye, it's see you later. But what about those people you never really talked to but became a casual comfort in your life, that one person you’d smile at each day on your way to G block, or that person who always slept on your couch the studyhall before you so you’d have to wait around until they woke up and ran out the door for class? Those people are surely not a see you later--they are a goodbye forever. So, in the words of Deal Lewis, "How do I say goodbye?" I never really knew them, but they were in my life. How do I say goodbye to that one girl with purple hair who I thought was so cool, because it only looked purple in the sunlight? I never talked to her, much less smiled, but she was there. How do I say goodbye to the countless freshman I’ve seen and said, “I have never seen that person before” or “they go here?” How do I say goodbye to the teachers I never had, but would see them in their office now and then, reminding...

  The Class of 20206 Entertainment Committee entered Harbor Hall last Saturday with toes gripped and jaws set. They had reached their final test. The blood, sweat, and tears they had poured into their previous performances--High School Musical and Aladdin--had really just been preparing them for this moment: After JSB Dinner. After their sensational performance of Hercules the night before, the juniors were no doubt expecting something impressive in return. The seniors quickly settled on the theme Jerkules and got right to work. They had 9 hours to pull together a theater masterpiece. Time was as precious as gold and mistakes were not an option.  As if by second nature, everyone snapped back into their respective roles. Rebekah Wood (12) compiled everyone’s ideas into a rough script while Ee Rynn Ong (12) brainstormed tributes and others scavenged through costumes. Within a mere 2 hours, the script was written and cast.  Stepping into the roles of the title character, o...

Recently, I’ve been spending my free time reading quite a lot of books. With the end of the school year approaching, I’ve found that simply flipping through pages and reading words is quite calming and entertaining--especially amidst project deadlines and quick assignments. As I’ve been reading a lot more lately, naturally, I have also spent time reading book reviews. And it’s made me think about perceptions. I had recently finished a lengthy novel and was curious to see what other people had to say about it. I fairly enjoyed reading the book and had a lot of positive comments overall. When I loaded up my computer to read some reviews online, I was quickly met with one that caught my eye: a review that didn’t seem to enjoy the book as much as I did. I read through parts of the review and I had a few laughs here and there (whoever wrote that review wrote it very humorously). Though I personally liked the book, I could see that there could be multiple different perceptions. People have ...

At Dalat, the ACSC tournaments are the culmination of an entire varsity sports season. It is the tournament each Varsity athlete trains for and works toward during the on- and off-season for their respective sports. Yes, there are other tournaments, but a gold in those does not matter as much as winning it all at ACSC.  This is also very true for the Dalat Varsity Track and Field team, even though earlier in the season, they went down to ISKL for the Twin Towers Track meet and put on a clinic on how to beat the brakes off another team. The Track Eagles, or Treagles for short, had a taste of what it meant to obtain a complete victory over another team. But this didn’t faze the team; this didn’t get them on their high horse. The veteran athletes on the team knew that a victory at ISKL did not mean a victory at ACSC, and that to obtain a complete victory as they did at ISKL, they would need to work harder.  And that they did, tirelessly day after day, the track team worked their ...

Despite blistering heat and long travel times, the varsity track and field team secures a combined third-place finish at ACSC in the Philippines. The events were held on Brent International School's massive campus following an amazing opening ceremony, cultural event, and service project, situated at Faith Academy. I managed to set personal records in all my events, which was great, and won a bronze medal in the 4x100 relay. The 200m, however, proved to be a humbling reminder that speed and endurance are two very different things. Crossing the finish line felt more like finishing a marathon than a sprint, highlighting a noticeable lack of cardio as I collapsed onto the track. Teammate Zoey Dunham (8) understood the physical toll. "The 200m is one of the most competitive events at ACSC, yet it is also one of the most rewarding," she noted. "Achieving your PR is worth the pain later on, as Ethan learned while he laid on the track completely spent five minutes after his...

From Wednesday to Saturday, Dalat Eagles track athletes battled heat and competition in Manila, earning a combined 3rd place, multiple school records, and memories beyond medals. The four-day ACSC tournament at International School Manila saw the varsity boys secure 2nd place overall, while the girls finished 4th. Their combined score lifted Dalat to 3rd among international schools from across Asia. But the real story was the record board. Aaron Morrison (12) broke the school record in the 400m hurdles with a time of 1:02.8. Not to be outdone, Aaron Andrews (12) shattered the 200-meter record at 22.9 seconds. Meanwhile, Eliza Setzfand (11) took down the 800-meter girls’ record with an astounding 2:26.8. Even the relays joined the party: both the boys’ and girls’ sprint medley relay teams broke their respective school records, running 3:54.0 and 4:47.1. “My most memorable moment during ACSC was after both the 4x4 and SMR relays,” said Eliza Setzfand (11). “I was incredibly proud of our ...

As Dalat's Varsity Track and Field team stepped off the plane at the Ninoy Airport in Manila, Philippines, they were immediately met with a hot breeze and the blazing sun. Although the heat was similar to that at home in Malaysia, the dryness was a new condition they weren't used to.  From April 8 to April 12, the team of 26 athletes and 4 coaches traveled to Manila for their biggest meet of the season, ACSC Track and Field, hosted by Faith Academy and held at Brent International School. This is it: the team had trained and practiced hard for two and a half months, and everything they'd learned would now be put to the test. With multiple events lined up, each athlete had something to look forward to on Friday and Saturday. ACSC stands for Asia Christian School Conference, with Dalat representing Penang, Malaysia. Other schools competing in ACSC tournaments include Morrison Academy Taichung, Faith Academy of Manila, and more. The first activity was the cultural event at Fait...

I have loved being in every play here at Dalat, but this semester’s felt more important. It was my eighth and final play at Dalat. I never imagined this day would come, as it always felt so far away. I always had one more semester, one more thing I could do, but not this time. I knew I really needed to treasure this play, but as we got closer and closer to the performance day, it still hadn’t hit me.  I only really saw the finality of it on the Saturday of our performances. I was sitting backstage with my friend Edyn Roylance (11), waiting for my scene, when a thought hit me: “This is the last time I’ll get to talk with my friends backstage.” A heaviness sank over me, and I finally felt that sadness I knew was coming. I pushed these thoughts aside and focused on the play. The sadness lifted, and everything returned to normal, but not for long. After Yejii Lee (9) said the last line of the play, I looked across the stage and found my friends looking at me, tears in their eyes. The e...

Over the long weekend, my friends and I thought it would be fun to go on a hike to a waterfall. The hike was about an hour and a half from Permai Gardens. The only issue was that we did not know the trail. This should’ve been our first red flag, but we trusted in our sense of direction to get us there. We thought it would be fine as long as we knew where the start was and what we were heading towards. The plan was simple: start the hike at 9:30 am, hike an hour and a half to the waterfall, spend some time there, hike back out, and eat lunch together at the Permai Stalls. There should not have been any complications, or so we thought… The day did not start off to plan; some miscommunications led us to start the hike at 10:30 am, partly because of Suyoung Lim’s (12) genius idea to go to the Astaka Stalls instead of the Permai Stalls. We also thought it was a good idea not to have breakfast before the hike.  Fifteen minutes in, we faced our first fork in the road. We did not know whet...

Based on the title, one would think that an industrial accident had happened. Fortunately, what actually happened this weekend were back-to-back visits to the Penang State High Court and Sunway Medical Centre spread out across two days. The first day, April 3rd, was the State High Court visit organized by Zack Lee (12) and Nathan Ng (12). With Ms. Keister as their chaperone, the students were ushered into the heritage site and directly into the High Courtroom. For Aidan Boyd (12), just seeing the courtroom and having its functions explained were his favorite part of the visit as, “it was really different from what you see in movies and TV shows.” Then, through a subsequent Q & A with a state magistrate and former federal magistrate, the students learned about the inner workings of the legal system as a whole: Ms. Keister’s inquiry about how juries work here revealed that Malaysia actually abolished the jury system, and Zack Lee’s query on why Sabah and Sarawak are the only states w...

Dalat offers a unique transitional bonding experience for seniors called the Senior Transition Retreat. Basically, this retreat is all about leaving well and entering well. The first day of this retreat focused on leaving well, and the second day on entering well. The words "leaving" and "entering" stood out to me because they reminded me that we will leave this place soon.  As we, the seniors, leave our beloved place and start a new chapter in our lives, we can expect nothing about what will happen next. This Senior Transition Retreat held deep conversations between peers and the teachers, who thankfully volunteered to help us.  Chavelle Thornton (12) said, “It was really great to have one last opportunity to bond with our class.” It was an amazing experience to hang out with my classmates who will not be able to see each other often once we graduate. We went to the 1st Avenue mall to eat and do some activities together, which were the arcade and roller skating. Th...

  I hate the way I’ll miss this place,  I hate how I can’t eat at wooden wagon and no-eyed deer anymore. I hate how I have to leave the senior tables, the hut, and the ATSA room behind, I hate that I can no longer hear the leafblowers roar, or eat at the galley where I’ve always dined. I hate how I have to be a freshman again and have to start anew,  I hate that I have to plan my future, and I genuinely have no clue. I hate that I won’t be around my people, or as Ee Rynn Ong (12) said, “I hate not being able to see my classmates again.” I hate not being able to drive, while walking and taking the subway, making me think about back then.  I hate how I have to deal with the miserable cold; I’ll say I like it just for show,  But deep down, I’ll always miss home, where it never snows.  I hate how fast high school was over; it was the blink of an eye. It’s crazy how yesterday’s hello turns into tomorrow's goodbye. I hate everything about graduating; thinking abo...

  As the final quarter of the year approaches, April and May bring a shift in energy for the seniors. For many, the air is filled with content, as their post-graduation paths have been planned distinctly. Whilst for some, the atmosphere remains uncertain, it is a period of lingering anxiety. However, one thing primarily applies to all as of now: there is a future ahead of us that requires one to take an extra step in their life, one of the biggest steps we will be taking soon. For the last school-sponsored class event, the class of 2026 was stationed in Heritage Hall for two days during their Senior Transition Retreat.  From early morning, at 8:30 am, multiple speakers provided us with essential guides and useful information applicable to our time outside Dalat. On the second day, to balance the weight of our upcoming departures with the friendly community we have formed, everyone took a fresh break and made their way outside to the field for Mr. Riffey’s planned activity....

  Do you want to feel safe? Here at Dalat we want to make it incredibly clear that every child deserves to feel safe, supported, and free to explore the world. Child safety week is more just an event, it’s a commitment to nurturing awareness, building trust, and empowering the students with the knowledge they need to protect themselves. From interactive workshops to specially dedicated chapel time, Dalat makes an effort to allow students and parents to learn how to better protect themselves and their loved ones. This Child Safety Week, we were fortunate enough to have a guest speaker during a chapel talk to us about the importance of child safety and the problems that modern generations are facing today. Our speaker, Joanna Koning from the Child Safety and Protection Network (CSPN) talked predominantly about the superficial relationships that the younger generations are pursuing. She cited examples such as pornographic website usage of generations Z and Alpha. Additionally, Konin...

  While other students returned from spring break with the anticipation of an ending academic year, many seniors arrived with mixed emotions, feeling the weight of graduation on their shoulders. Spring break is a time of relaxation when students muster the last of their strength to push through the final quarter, which consists of a jumble of Advanced Placement and final exams. But for seniors who knew their graduation was only weeks away, they enjoyed it in diverse ways, from traveling with family to friend-group trips, bracing for the upcoming change. It was evident that this spring break was not just a simple pause but an indicator of an ending journey. About half a year ago, I wrote a similar Senior Scribble about how seniors were working hard to finish their applications over fall break. But now that quite a few seniors have made concrete plans for their future, it seems a small transition has already begun, bringing them closer to adulthood. When asked what had helped her pre...