Dalat International School: Senior Scribble

 By Alina Yeoh The first week of the fourth quarter ended with an email sent by Mr. Penland informing students that sports games during lunchtime are allowed once again. When I checked out this email, I was in the hallway waiting for the X-block to start. Quite a few students were preparing themselves for sports—some sitting on the benches simply for relaxing and having fun. I walked myself to the tennis court while a smell of vitality floated in the air. At that moment, this place suddenly brought such a freshness to me. Two years ago, I was lucky enough to come to Dalat, but I could also say that I had the misfortune of being enrolled during the pandemic. During these times, students have either had to follow the rules of not being able to participate in activities or take classes online. Even when we finally returned to school, we were unsure when we would be back to the computer and locked up at home. This back-and-forth created a lot of resentment among the students, includi...

 By Eugene Tee The end of the Class of 2022 is around the corner. The tormenting, agonizing, despicable academic school life is finally coming to a grand finale. Unfortunately, we aren’t yet granted the freedom of athletic lifestyles. March 2nd, the date I often recollect: the absence of intramurals’ presence. The day the Ministry of Education barged into our campus due to a sudden pandemic rise and halted all joy and wonders. Disappointment, misery, and unwillingness summed up the emotion of the conclusion. All ball sports were prohibited once again. That led to the top 3 popular sports in school, basketball, soccer, and volleyball, forbidden on campus. “Noooo, I wanna ball so badly during lunch, man!” Darryl Dwumfour (11) cried while munching on his sandwich. The sorrow continued as time flew by. Finally, on March 18th, Mr. Penland announced the plausibility of Intramurals after spring break. Last but not least, sports balls are back! The news was delightful, and students r...

By Alexa Chandra Every day we do our own things repetitively for the whole year. But this pandemic that started in the beginning of 2020 came by and ruined almost everything all of us had planned. We could not enjoy our life and experience as a teenager properly as we were wasting our time alone or together in our own house, quarantining.  All of us, the seniors of 2022, spent our first week and most of the first semester digitally, and time passed by really fast. Gabriel Kontsas (12) said, “Quarantine sets us back physically and mentally. For example, I have a test on Wednesday in my Math class. It feels like I have been in class for five days during the whole chapter.”  It feels like everything is dragged out for all of us. Some of us couldn’t catch up with the work given to us online. Some of us couldn’t pay attention to classes and get distracted with other apps on the computer while online. My GPA did not show good performances at all. It has been a hard time for all of u...

By Jaesung Kim As 12th graders approach graduation day and prepare to turn a new page in their lives, many adults and teachers attempt to assist them via the annual Senior Transition Retreat. The event took place on March 11 to 12, 2022, and answered questions about faith, fear, finance, relationships, sex, etc.  Following the pandemic and half a semester of online schooling (and taking place before Senior Sneak), the transition retreat was rather unusual and surprising. Many students were not able to be present due to the virus, while new students had few opportunities to make an impact in the class. Wayne Khor (12), who hesitated on going to the retreat due to a relative’s case, said, “The virus restricted me from going to school and half the senior retreat.” Students who transferred to Dalat during the pandemic were unable to reach out to all of their classmates due to the cancellation of extracurricular and social activities.  However, despite the oddities, the retreat sti...

By Marissa Yost  Every year, certain classes of Dalat participate in a worldwide – though little known – event called March Mammal Madness, named partly after the college basketball NCAA March Madness. March Mammal Madness places two different animals (not always mammals, contrary to the deceptive title) against each other in battle. The result is simulated based on both scientific research and situational chance. Winners continue, and losers are eliminated until the final animals battle it out for the championship. There are four categories of animals competing. The first is Mammal Collectives, where individuals from the same species work together to win. These groups, as students have found, can have humorous names, such as an embarrassment of pandas. The second category is Wild North America, which features fearsome animals like the grizzly bear. The third is Queens of Sea and Sky, which includes animals where the females of the species are bigger or in some other way supe...

 By Esmarie de Jager At Dalat, there has always been a focus on the spiritual development of students and teachers. We do that through Spiritual Emphasis Week (SEW) and Missions Emphasis Week (MEW). Last week was MEW, where the whole school had chapel time on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Although MEW was considerably affected by the current covid situation, a lot of good experiences came from it. MEW has always been an exciting week for me since I joined Dalat in Middle School. Not only are teachers not allowed to give us homework, but we get to go hang out with our friends till “late” at night: worshiping, praying, and listening to sermons. Some of my best MEW memories were in the vintage chapel before the Harbor Hall was even built. Listening to the teacher tell their stories about mission trips and how they live out their love for God struck an interest in me to want to pursue God that way. Every year MEW has a special significance in someone’s life. Covid has obviousl...

  By Grace Bae As an ordinary day after school, I leaned on the counter and ate the after-school snacks. As I started chewing on the cracker with the cheese on top, I heard a loud noise that sounded like rocks cracking. I stopped chewing and froze at that moment, and I knew this feeling because this had happened to me before.  When I was young, I wouldn't say I liked the taste of toothpaste. So I avoided brushing my teeth with the paste, which resulted in four cavities. Since my tooth was severely damaged, my dentist insisted that I should never eat hard food. But I never listened. Crackers, meats, and ice-creams are the love of my life that I can not give up. There was a consequence for following my heart though I had to visit the dentist every few years, and today was the day.  Since leaving the tooth with the cavity for long can end up with it breaking, I went to the dentist with Pastor Bob and Aunt Nancy to get my cavity filled. The process did not take long, and it w...