Eagle's Eye

Eagle’s Eye December 20121

Two seniors give their Advanced Merit Diploma presentations

Sticks & Stones . . . . 4President Obama wins sec-ond term in Dalat election

Note: This copy of the school paper has been writ-ten by the students in the English 12 class.

Writers: Shion Beak, Jar-rod Forsdick, Jeeho Han, Anna Hoffmeyer, Chanel Huang, Sol Jin, Sam Kes, Esther Kim, Grace Kim, Amanda Leech, Ooi Yung Tsen, Ji Won Park, Jake Smith, Jamie Thompson, Josh Thorne, Chareesa Usaha, Bertha Wang, Wei Ken Chee, Hank Wong, Jane Yook

Adviser: Mrs. Deborah Gray

December 2012

AMusical Beginning . . . 4Musical at Paradise helps raise money for Annual Fund

What’s Inside:AMDers Wow Audience . 3

Dalat International School, Tanjung Bunga, 11200 Penang, Malaysia

Turkey ShenanigansBy Jamie Thompson

$how Me the MoneyBy Bertha Wang

(Continued on page 2, col. 1)

Recitals wow audience

Giggles & Wiggles . . 7Fourth graders focus on kitchen chemistry

An Enchanted Evening . 5

Volleyball girls bump into Jonas Brothers in the Ma-nila Internatinoal Airport!

Unexpectd! . . . . . . 8

Storytelling Acts . . . 9RTL Players present chal-lenging stories at PPAC

Eagle’s Eye Staff

Sitting around the festively decorated table, Shawn Kim (11) reads aloud the question written on the paper leaf in front of him: What are you most thankful for? As his peers around him took a moment to deliberate their answers before sharing, Kim assuredly already knew his.

Thanksgiving took place in our very own Seaside Café on 22 No-vember. The feast consist-ed of all the traditional Thanks-giving delicacies such as turkey, deviled eggs, and pumpkin pie. Sam Kes’s (12) mouth started to water as his plate slowly piled up while walking down the food line. “Seeing the plethora of food sitting on the counter made me want to just jump on the table and start stuffing myself while simultaneously making a food angel from the joy I felt in my heart. However, I was just as content to stuff myself with seconds…and maybe even thirds,” said Kes.

Not only the dorms filled their tummies on this Thursday evening; staff families and day students joined the party as well. After Mr. Joe Young greeted them at the entrance of the caf-eteria, they were escorted mo-ments later to their designated spot. The seating arrangement created a network of both old and new relationships.

“The overall atmosphere of the evening was very comfort-able because everyone either knew each other or had the

opportunity to get to know each other on a more personal level. My favorite part of the eve-

ning was listening to people answer the

questions because not every answer was the same,” said Xiao Leen Siow (12).

Even though t h e Canad i an

Thanksgiving holi-day had taken place

a month earlier, a Canadian friend or two still showed up to

join in on the festivity. “Although many people poked fun that I was a Canadian celebrating an American holiday I knew it was only for fun and games. I really enjoyed the evening, and I also enjoyed having the opportunity to make people laugh,” said Reagan Mahoney (12).

One by one the people around Kim’s table gradually answered the question; soon it neared his time to answer. “I’m thankful for my wonderful sister Christina Kim (9) because she is the greatest,” said Kim. •

SPLASH! Mr. Larry Chinn, the Annual Fund coordinator, fell in the tank for the cause of the Annual Fund. Students cheered as they had hit the target. The 2012 Annual Fund kicked off on Monday, 8 October, with the goal of raising rm120,000. Mr. Chinn promoted the event by speaking to classes and holding up posters in the morning as parents dropped off students.

The Annual Fund last year brought greatly needed improve-ments to the school. The newly renovated cafeteria increased the students’ appetites. Much of the money was allocated to new band instruments. “I was very excited because I got a new oboe from annual fund last year!” said Chanel Huang (12). In addition,

the Annual Fund provided the Calculus TI-89 Calculators for the math lovers. Students of all grades also benefited immensely from the umbrella program, also funded by the Annual Fund, as they could stay dry during the rainy season.

The Annual Fund this year planned to purchase new lock-ers for middle school, new BBQ grills for the dorms, new library books, new sound equipment for chapel, and new musical instru-ments. Thrilled to know they would be getting new lockers as the current ones are over 30 years old, middle school students joyously threw their lockers off the building. Students in speech classes and dramas will also


Annual Fund...

(Continued from page 1, col. 4)benefit greatly from the Annual Fund with new digital recorders.

Many students have shown their appreciation over the An-nual Fund. “I am excited Dalat is being proactive about raising money to improve our campus and educational opportunities.” Ben Weidemann (12) exclaimed. “I think the annual fund is a very beneficial program that has been helping significantly for the development, and the im-provement of Dalat. I think this is a brilliant idea for school to hold an annual fund-raiser in order to raise money for more improvements for school, and

thus; students in Dalat now are able to study in a better place with a better environment, and this will eventually improve their ability to participate, learn, and prepare more beneficially and constructively for their future.” Jeeho Han (12) added.

Mr. Chinn climbed out of the tank soaked with water, but with a content smile on his face, knowing that we were closer to our goal. The projects not only benefit the school but also needy families and children in Penang. Although we were rm5,500 short from the goal, the Annual Fund proved to be not just a fund-raiser, but also an event that brought the school to work together. •

Gourmet a la Dalat!By Chareesa Usaha

On Friday, 16 November, the bell jingled and rang, signaling the end of school. Immediately, the floodgates of classrooms opened and a stampede of refreshed teenage spirits came bursting out of classes in a frenzy of adrenaline. Suddenly, the enticing aroma of FOOD overwhelmed their senses, and they stopped in their tracks. And then it hit them……PTO International Food Fair!

The aroma led students, teachers, parents, family mem-bers, and visitors to the trans-formed outdoor basketball court. Tables and chairs filled the court, banners and ribbons added color to the fiesta, and vamped up music created an up-

beat ambience. By the time the high schoolers arrived, parents as well as the junior class had already started selling.

Local vendors had already set up their stalls in front of the Jaffray and Ziemer dorms. Luke Martens (12) described his experience, “It was crazy busy as everyone was trying to get food and some people were rushing to get what they wanted. But there was a huge assortment of things to get as some sold pizza, others had kimchi, and the junior class even sold Dr. Pepper.”

Some high schoolers voiced that they not only considered Da-lat renowned for its soul food, but also considered Dalat renowned

for its entire community’s varie-gated, irresistible, scrumptious, mouth-watering, delectable, finger-licking good, and visually appealing REAL food. Before going for her second round, Sally Chang (11) commented that she found the Filipino dessert and Mexican fajita very “interesting and new.”

Enthusiastically giving two thumbs up, Wei Ken Chee (12) quipped, “It is great to see so many people selling tradi-tional food from their respective home countries. PTO gave me the opportunity to taste deli-cious pieces of my classmates’ cultures.”

Undeniably, PTO Interna-tional Food Fair boasted vari-

ety—foods of a semi-United Nations—to introduce parts of their various heritages to the rest of the Dalat community. People had a choice of Korean pancakes, bibimbap, kimbab, American favorites, Taiwanese chicken chop, dumplings, Mexi-can food, Italian food, Chinese BBQ pork rice, Japanese su-shi and soba, corn dogs, fish burritos, soft shell crab rolls, seafood sticks, fish & chips, Penang fried mee hoon, pulled shoulder BBQ, seaweed spring rolls, warm desserts, cold des-serts, as well as baked items from Dalat families and Rain-forest Bakery. Finally at 8:00 p.m., like chocolate topping that makes life complete, the movie Madagascar 3 sweetened and marked the end of the event, leaving satiated teenage spirits in a bubble of contentment. Yum! •

Let’s Kick It! By Jeeho Han

“Let’s go boys!” shouted Sam Eckman (12) to the boys on the varsity football team as they took off for Chiang Mai on 23 Octo-ber. The boys’ varsity football team traveled to Chiang Mai, Thailand, to participate in the Five Nations Tournament.

After a tiring seven hour journey to Chiang Mai, the boys arrived at Grace International School (GIS) which hosted the tournament.

“Wow, their facilities are awe-some! Let’s go work out in their weight room sometime!” said Sangjoon Lee (10) after a brief

tour around GIS’s campus. That night, the boys attended

the introductory meeting, where they received multiple goodies such as towels, flashlights, and a duffle bag custom made by Grace.

Dalat’s football team almost brought victory home; however, they lost the semi-final by two goals. Even though they did not win the tournament, they earned something worth more than vic-tory. As Ben Weidemann (12) verbalized, “I felt very grateful to go on this trip not only to play football, but also to connect

with some really neat guys from other schools. We played really well as a team and improved visibly throughout the tourna-ment and make some good friends along the way.”

Not just for enjoying sport, a footbal l t r ip increases team cooperation and harmony. “Our team slept on a squash court all together, and it was fun having to spend time with ev-eryone on the team. There is no better method to bond together than to have slee-povers,” Wesley Lee (12) added. Additionally, “The soccer trip was very insightful. Meeting different players of different cul-tures and backgrounds showed me how diverse yet similar people can be. It was definitely a great experience for me!” Yang Yang Sim (12) acknowledged.

“The experience was great and we got to interact with many of the players who participated in the tournament. However it

was quite disappointing to lose in the semi-

final to a team that we had beaten ear-lier in the tourna-ment,” Sam Kes (12) said.

Most students enjoyed their trip

until they came back to school and encountered tons of missed assignments and tests. Yet the football students caught up with work quickly and re-sponsibly. When they returned, they stepped down from the bus and received unstoppable applause from Dalat students. The team’s smiles did not fade for a long time.

The football team’s future looks bright and miracu-lous, and God will make itsparkle! •

Dalat Times By Hank Wong

“Hi, can I get a quote from you about the Southeast Asia Honor Band?” asked Ji Won Park as she tried to get a quote from Xiao Leen Siow (12). Every quarter, seniors write articles on events that have happened.

When the season of writing Eagle’s Eye starts, seniors go around frantically asking for quotes from people. Although

most seniors find it time-con-suming and challenging, the writers eventually get the hang of it and produce well-written articles.

“I found it really difficult to start writing but after the first few sentences of my article were written, it became really fun,” Sophie Ly’s (12) said.(Continued on page 3, col. 1)


AMDers Wow AudienceBy Shion Beak

On 27 November, after an early release from class, all the high school students rushed into chapel after H Block, curious and eager to see what Yang Yang Sim (12) and Yung Tsen Ooi (12) had prepared for their Advanced Merit Diploma (AMD) presentations. To earn the AMD, students start to prepare rigorously in their junior year. They need to work diligently to fulfill all the requirements—getting a certain GPA, preparing a research paper, and finally showcasing a presentation. Usually, 80 per-cent of the people who sign up for AMD drop out. This is not an easy task to complete; however, this year, two students success-

fully actualized their goal. Dressed in black, iPad in

hand, Sim articulated his point of view on Poi, a juggling prop swung rhythmically to form pat-terns. Talking about the origins, the influences, and the uses of Poi, he unraveled his find-ings on this product and finally performed a Poi routine. With smooth, circular movements, synchronized with the music, he twirled, swirled, and whirled the Poi. His fluid and agile move-ments, near to perfection, as-tounded the audience. After wip-ing his effort off his forehead, Sim summed up his reflection with a meaningful statement, “If there is a will, there is a way. The biggest thing I had learnt was to

not give up.”In the meantime, Ooi had

prepared a presentation on security systems for computer games. With humor and levity, he explained the intricacies of how the cyberworld stores and protects our personal informa-tion. He delivered his speech with clarity despite the com-plexity of the topic. Describing problems occurring in the cy-berworld, Ooi did not stop the audience from laughing with his funny remarks.

Even though the whole AMD process required a copious amount of work, both of them spent their time well because they learnt patience and time management skills.

Content and pleased, Sim brought the audience into a fit of laughter with a final witty retort to Mr. Brian Brewster, “Happy now?” •

Pois arcing gracefully through the air, Yang Yang Sim demon-strates his AMD project before a wide-eyed audience.

Dalat Times...

(Continued from page 2, Col 4)Surprisingly, some quite en-

joyed their time spent on do-ing it, like Luke Martens (12), who said, “Writing the articles was excit-ing and pretty chill; I got to focus on a cou-ple of really lighthearted and humorous topics which still had a deep a n d p e r s o n a l undercurrent of emotion.” Clearly Martens developed a heart-to-heart relation-ship with the articles he wrote.

Originally called Pine Echoes, Eagle’s Eye started in 1949 when Dalat still resided in Vietnam. First established for students’ parents who lived overseas to catch up with recent

activities and affairs of their child’s school, Pine Echoes progressed and became Eagle’s Eye in 1964. Eagle’s Eye con-tinues to serve and help students

as well as teachers gain perspective on different activities.

“It used to be a big job to write the articles, and it would come out every six weeks in-stead of each quar-ter,” Mr. Tommy Tompkins said as he recalled the old times when word processors and print-ers did not

exist. “Eagle’s Eye

gives us all a chance to learn what other students

really think of things. I remem-ber when I read about Jordan Strong’s articles last year about the girls’ soccer team; it was hilarious,” Kendall Thompson

PHO

TO: M

R. J

ON

ATH

AN S

TEFF

EN

PSALM

177

O PRAI

SE the

LORD

all ye

nation

s, pra

ise Hi

m, all

ye peo

ple. F

or His

merci

-

ful ki

ndness

is gr

eat to

-

ward u

s; and

the t

ruth o

f

the L

ORD e

nduret

h for

ever.

Praise

ye th

e LORD

.

SPIRIT

UAL AT

TENTIO

N

Studen

ts of

Dalat

of-

ten fo

rget t

o incl

ude in

their

letter

s litt

le de-

tails

in whi

ch par

ents a

re

intere

sted,

thus,

it has

been

decide

d tha

t the

re

should

be a

monthl

y scho

ol

paper.

Marian

and

Helen

May

deserv

e the

hono

rs for

sugges

ting

the n

ame o

f

this p

aper.

They w

ere th

e

winner

s in a

"name

con-

test"

open t

o all

the st

u-

dent b

ody.

Differ

ent st

udents

will

be sub

mittin

g art

icles

each m

onth.

(This

month,

we thr

ee, He

len, A

lberti

e,

and El

inor h

ave be

en re-

queste

d to t

ake ov

er the

majori

ty of

the r

espon-

sibili

ty as

an Eng

lish

assign

ment.)

COOKIN

G CRAZ

E

The gi

rls ha

ve gon

e all

out fo

r lear

ning h

ow to

cook,

but po

or Bep

, the

cook,

and hi

s thre

e sons

,

who all

help

in the

kitche

n, fou

nd the

girls

entire

ly too

much

in the

way. M

r. Dut

ton so

lved t

he

proble

m by

cleari

ng out

the ro

om one

of th

e anne

x

and se

tting

up a k

erosen

e

stove

and ov

en, an

d movi

ng

in som

e cupb

oards

and a

table.

The

girls

moved

things

aroun

d, pap

ered t

he

shelve

s, and

put a

way th

e

pans

, di

shes

an

d

silver

ware w

hich M

rs. D.

and M

rs. M

. pro

vided.

Since

the l

st day

the

kitche

n has

seen

much

activi

ty. On

ce the

proje

ct

wad d

oughnu

ts, a

nother

time a

cake.

Cooki

es and

fudg

e ar

e ge

nera

l

favori

tes.

Most

of the

time t

hey ha

ve tur

ned ou

t

delici

ously

delect

able!

The boy

s are

quickl

y

learni

ng to

watch

for

bustli

ng act

ion i

n the

genera

l area

of th

e new

kitche

n; for

, if f

ate so

decree

s, the

y mig

ht get

in on

the tr

eat.

WEATHE

R REPO

RT

Fair

and p

leasan

tly

warm;

cloudy

at

noon;

rainy

in the

afte

rnoon;

cleari

ng tow

ards n

ight.

NEW PR

OJECT

Childr

en’s S

itting

Room

The la

rge pl

easant

room

next t

o the

music

room,

which

in the

past

has be

en

used b

y turn

s as s

chool-

room

, di

ning

-roo

m,

librar

y, and

genera

l

catcha

ll, ha

s at l

ast co

me

into i

ts own

. Plan

s and

prepar

ations

are u

nder w

ay

to mak

e it

an inv

iting

plac

e in

whic

h to

congre

gate t

o talk

, read

,

or pla

y game

s. Mrs

. Dutt

on

and Mr

s. Mos

eley h

ave be

en

workin

g on a

color

schem

e

of gol

d, gre

en, an

d brow

n,

and a

s soo

n as

some

of

the gi

rls ge

t to w

ork, t

he

drapes

and

couch

covers

will

be cre

ations

of

beau

ty.

At pr

esen

t,

alth

ough

stil

l no

t

comple

tely d

ecorat

ed, th

e

room i

s a ga

therin

g plac

e

for al

l.

August

1949

Buddy-licious!By Samuel Kes

Every year, the senior class decides whether or not they will participate in having eighth grade buddies. This year, the class of 2013 voted “yes!” and assigned eighth graders to each senior. Due to the larger number

of eighth grade students, many seniors had to take responsibil-ity for more than one eighth grader. By doing so, the senior class managed to include all of the eighth graders, not leaving a single one out.

On Friday, 21 September, the seniors held a friendly dodgeball game in the gym after school to familiarize them with their buddies. As the eighth graders will enter high school next year, the seniors held this game to en-courage them on their journey. Josh Thorne (12) commented, “I think it’s a good opportunity for us to be good examples to younger students and build into

their lives.” Both the seniors and the eighth graders played ferociously during the dodgeball game. The intensity of the game increased as time went on, and the eighth graders showed their excitement all throughout the evening! At the end of the game, the senior class treated the eighth graders with some ice cream.

David Unruh (8) had his own thought over the mat-ter of senior buddies and the opening event that had taken place saying, “I think that the concept of senior buddies is awe-some because it brings both the twelfth and eighth grade classes together. Playing dodgeball with the seniors was really fun, and it was cool to see both seniors and eight graders connect through-out the event.”

This event inspired com-munication between eighth graders and seniors during and after school hours. “I had pre-vious experience with both Joseph Hsu (8) and Andrew Kim (8) on the baseball field. They are like little brothers to me,” said Jarrod Forsdick (12).

Senior and eighth grade buddies help create a healthy, treasured relationship between the two groups. “Josh Thorne sits with me in church, and he’s a pretty good person to hang out with. It’s also cool to watch him play basketball as well,” said Josiah Brake (8) about his senior buddy. Interactions such as this helped ease eighth graders’ (Continued on page 4, col. 1)

(12) said with a chuckle. Often, students run into diffi-

culties trying to find a well-suited title to catch the eyes of their readers. “It was hard coming up with a catchy headline for my article, but writing my article was such a fun experience. I felt like a real journalist!” Evelyne Kiiza (12) replied excitedly.

No matter how much stu-dents dislike writing essays, seniors enjoy producing well-written news articles for their fel-low underclassmen and teachers to read as Ben Weidemann (12) stated, “I’m privileged to inves-tigate and write about the many events that occur on our campus and in our community.”

The enthusiasm in students will always keep Eagle’s Eye ar

ticles absorbing and amusing. •


Eighth Grade Buddies...

(Continued from page 3, col. 4)transition into high school. Anna Hoffmeyer (12), a new student, gave her input on senior and eighth grade buddies by testify-ing, “The whole eighth grade buddy experience makes me feel like a kid again.” •

United as OneBy Grace Kim

With fluttering hearts, the Ambassadors headed to St. George’s Church one Sunday morning, 25 November. The warm heat of the blazing sun and long-distance drive made them tired, but their bright smiles remained. “We have f ina l l y a r r i ved !” exclaimed Elizabeth Brokaw (9) with ex-citement. Together as one, they rapidly unloaded the instru-ments, stands, and music from the van, and helped each other set up to get ready to worship God on stage. The congregation started to fill the empty spaces,

and soon the Sunday service began.

Wi th an i n s t r umen ta l introduction, followed by the vocals, the Ambassadors praised

God by lifting their voices and w o r s h i p p i n g with al l their hearts, souls, and minds. “I truly felt that the lyrics came alive and had more meaning to it

than just a song. It was great playing with the Ambassadors once more, and I believe that by His grace and favor, He is truly taking us to the next level of

worship,” said Zachary Tan (9). The Ambassadors didn’t just

sing the written words or play their instruments, but felt God’s presence enduring in them. Throughout the worship, they experienced God’s love and grace for having the opportunity to praise Him in St. George’s Church and share the happiness with others.

After praise and worship, they greeted some members and listened to the pastor’s ser-mon. Then, they sang the last song, “For All You’ve Done” and ended the church service. “Very different from what I would usually call “church” but altogether a unique moment that we all have to experience once in a while,” said Johnathan Tan (10). United as one, the Ambassadors discovered the true meaning of worship. •

Sticks and Stones...or Donkeys and ElephantsBy Jake Smith

“How can you ever manage our nation if you don’t even know what nation Benghazi is in?” spokeswoman Juliet Suen (10) demanded of her opponent, Ben Weidemann (12).

On 1 Novem-ber, both sides of the Dalat Presidential Debate passionately pontificated on their candidates’ posi-tion on various hot topics, such as: the economy, foreign policy, terrorism, the second amend-ment, and domestic policy.

Tensions reached an all new high as the Dalat Presidential Election had been scheduled for the next day. Each side dreamed about being able to sway enough votes to secure the election for their party. Could Obama, rep-resented by Weidemann, Sam

Eckman (12), Sam Kes (12), Anna Hoffmeyer (12), Bertha Wang (12), Jamie Thompson (12), and Amanda Leech (12), take the White House for a glori-ous four more years? Or would

the stunning Mitt Romney, repre-sented by Suen, Jennifer Vo (11), Justin Lao (11), Tesa Sasse (10), Kirk Ladner (10), and many, many others, finally pull ahead for a shock-ing victory?

“I really en-joyed the debates.

They showed me the true posi-tions of each candidate on all the issues I really care about!” said Josh Thorne (12).

Even teachers got in on the action. “I wonder if we are al-lowed to heckle the candidates,” middle school teacher Mr. Travis

Smith slickly asked. Those who came to the de-

bates eagerly listened as candi-dates presented their positions. All grade levels turned out in full-force to hear the telling debate.

When asked who had won, most people cited Obama as the clear winner. “Romney just didn’t have convincing answers or rebuttals for any of Obama’s questions! He just didn’t seem ready,” Representative Jamie Thompson (12) stated after the debates.

In the end, the final tallies for the election painted a clear picture as to who had taken the victory. Obama swept the Dalat electorate for an easy win and four more glorious years as the most powerful man on the planet. Now it’s time for Amer-ica, and Dalat, to unite behind and pray for our President, Mr. Barack Obama. •

A Musical Beginning By Josh Thorne

On 18 October, Dalat parents and students flocked to the Sandy Beach Paradise Resort to enjoy a delightful night of music. Once each person had found his or her seat, Mr. Kerry Mahoney rose to the podium to conduct

the Concert Band’s first piece. Each year, Mr. Larry Chinn organizes the Annual Fund to make the school better, and what better way to kick it off than with the high school concert when most of the students play instru-

ments provided by the Annual Fund? “It was a great time to see our school bond even more as a community,” noted Juliet Suen (10). Students, parents, and even some supporters from outside the Dalat community came to support the band members with their musical talents. “It was an exciting evening filled with ex-traordinarily great music coupled with delicious desserts and a great crowd that jump started Dalat’s annual fund,” exclaimed Reagan Mahoney (12).

The concert choir, concert band, and jazz band all per-formed a variety of pieces in-cluding “Flight of the Piasa,” “Amazing Grace,” “Deo Di-camus Gratias,” and “Basin Street Blues.”

One of the highlights of the evening came when Mr. Karl Steinkamp and Mr. Chinn stood up with the choir, each to sing a solo—both of them displaying quite a canny ability to sing.

Josiah Steinkamp (11) had this to say about his father’s impressive performance. “It was surprising to see my dad actu-ally sing in front of the crowd, but it showed how powerful the Annual Fund is that it got both the director and Mr. Chinn, the director of development, to publicly sing just for Dalat funding.”

In the midst of this impressive show of talent by the students (and staff), a silent auction for delicious-looking desserts and exciting excursions ensued to raise funds for the school.

“All the food looked really good; I wanted to bid on all of it,” said Jake Smith (12) as he admired the different desserts.

To cap off the night, Mr. Chinn introduced the winners of all the different prizes. With brownies and cookies from the PTO, to gold records from Hard Rock Café and a cruise from Star Cruises to choose from, almost everybody could find something to bid on.

All in all, this evening dis-played the students’ commit-ment to music and also the Dalat community’s commitment to improving its school. It brought around a truly musical beginning to the Annual Fund. •


An Enchanted Evening!By Anna Hoffmeyer

An expectant hush fell over the crowd. As the lights dimmed, Mrs. Valeri Brokaw introduced the first pianist. Parents watched attentively as their children played, filling the room with the melodious sounds of the p iano. The s t u d e n t s per formed the i r bes t p i e c e s t o show off for their fami-lies and their t e a c h e r , Mrs. Noreen Khoo, at the chapel on Tues-day, 26 Novem- ber. Two recitals, at 4:30 and 7:00 p.m., accommodated the multitude of talented pianists who showcased their abilities.

Excitement showed clearly on every face while the students awaited their turn at the piano. As each child finished, the next popped up with a nervous smile, ready to tackle the piece they

had practiced hundreds of times before. The audience exploded with applause as each performer bowed before settling on the

piano bench. After a s u s p e n s e f u l pause, the mu-

sic began. Tiny hands with a light and swift touch brought forth the strains

of classical, jazz, pop, and contem-porary tunes.

T h e majority of musi-cians in the first programme consisted of ES and MS stu-dents who performed admi-rably despite their youth. Be-

ginner tunes as well as more advanced melodies issued from the depths of the piano at the command of these small artists. “My heart was pounding and my palms were sweating, but I felt so relieved when it was done,” reported Carissa Hoffmeyer (6). Numerous sibling groups partici-pated in this first show, including

the White, Buhr, Trescott, Lad-ner, and Hoffmeyer families.

As darkness fell and the second recital kicked off, small moths joined the audience to hear the heavenly music. As Ke-Erh Huang (7) played “Kiss the Rain,” the translucent moths looked quite magical, floating around the piano like little fair-ies. One pianist did not enjoy their company and swatted an insect, sending it off to dance elsewhere.

In addition to the piano, the sounds of the trumpet, saxophone, and euphonium rang out, played by Elisabeth Brokaw (9) and Thizbe Balzer (9). Brokaw later exclaimed, “It was long, interesting, nice and enjoyable!”

Lana Brewster (3) added a touch of strings with her violin pieces. As Eunice Um (11) approached the piano, a loud cheer rose from her proud friends standing at the back of the room. Megan Sun’s (9) fingers flew off the

keys as she played “Rumba Toccata.”

Composing his own arrange-ment, Kyle Fischer (9) unveiled his contemporary version of “Dragonborn.” Sunny Kim (9) concluded the final recital with a special rendition of “Jesus Loves Me.”

Mrs. Khoo proclaimed, “Ev-eryone performed well. You could tell they were nervous; but in the end, everyone worked really hard, and it was a big success.”

Pride shone on the students’ faces as they came forward for their final recognition. Mrs. Brokaw presented each student with a rose, and they lined up for a photo.

At the end, the students surprised their teachers with bouquets of flowers to show their appreciation. Gushing parents then came forward to congratulate their musicians for a job well done. Taewoo Song (2) stopped eating a spring roll at the reception long enough to say he enjoyed the recital and loves to play the piano.

And the best part about the recitals? There’s one every semester. So come and watch it next time! •

Basketball BlastBy Jarrod Forsdick

On Friday, the 16 of November, in an exhilarating first game of the year, the varsity basketball guys came out with great fe-rocity, showing the rival team, Heng Ee High School, what Dalat basketball can ac-complish. Kicking off the first game of the year, Da-lat’s athletic director, Mr. Chance Edman, opened the gym doors at 6:30. Students swarmed to a new student section organized and named “The Crew” by Mr. Ed-man. The first 50 students to fill

“The Crew” received free bright yellow Crew T-shirts.

“The entire idea of The Crew is going to add an all-embracing

new perspective on coming to cheer in the gym,” stated Hank Wong (12), leader of the

group. The whole atmosphere of the

gym changed with the newly found student

section. At the end of the game, the thankful Dalat players faced the crowd and cheered back to their passionate and

enthusiastic fans. The game played at a fast

pace; the veteran state champi-onship winners took the game in their own stride, playing traditional Dalat basketball. The varsity team came out strong, defeating Heng Ee 45 points to 33.

Point guard, Shion Matsu-moto (10) said, “It was amazing to get back out on the court and win. It was the first game of the year, but we played really well as a team; we are a force to be reckoned with.”

Another quote, this time from Crew member Sam Kes (12), said, “I was so excited to see my friends get out and do their thing on the court. As part of the Crew, I can say that we all showed the boys our full support.”

Fans will have a lot more to look forward to as the year pro-gresses; the student section will grow, and the basketball teams hope they will only get better and more exciting to watch.

Only the beginning of a new era for basketball at Dalat International School, everyone —the students, the parents, the players, and the teachers who made the event possible—experienced a fantastic and fun-filled evening. •

Everyone’s a Winner!By Wei Ken Chee

“POINT OF INFORMATION!” requested Mr. Karl Steinkamp before sitting dejectedly back down in his chair as River Tabor (11) refused to answer any of his requests in the Staff vs. Student

debate clash on 15 November in Mrs. Debbie Chinn’s classroom. The sound of laughter echoed through the packed room as the audience witnessed this hilarious scene repeated several

times by Mr. Steinkamp during the remaining time of Tabor’s speech.Despite its humorous moments, the debate continued heatedly for one full hour as both teams rebutted against one another on the topic: “This house be-lieves the continuing introduc-tion of new technologies and

new media adds little to the quality of most education.” Throughout the entire de-bate, many of the young spec-tators believed that the student team had a good chance of winning the match. However, in a surprising turn of events, the judges decided 2 to 1 in favor of(Continued on page 6, col. 1)


Student-Staff Debate...

(Continued from page 5, col. 4)the staff team. Nevertheless, the student team humbly accepted their loss against the staff. Tabor said, “Even though we lost, I thoroughly enjoyed giving it my best shot!”

Thushara Kantimahanti (11) added, “It was really great! Even though we lost, I wholly enjoyed the debate. It was a great learn-ing opportunity.”

“It was a fresh challenge for the team because it was our first debate of the year against a ‘foreign’ opponent. It was even more surprising when we lost the debate because of one small problem,” said a disappointed Johnathan Tan (10).

Staff members had won the match but greatly praised the students’ debate and speaking abilities. Mr. Bob Pagee men-tioned, “Learning how to handle the pros and cons on a given topic or subject is a skill they will use in many life applications. I

must admit Thushara, River, and Johnathan made me feel a little n e r v o u s go ing i n there. The Opposition Team came ou t gun -ning for us, and they were de-te r mined to set the pace. The next team of debat-e r s t h e y meet bet-ter watch out.”

“ T h e student de-bate team did an ex-cellent job but River h u r t m y f e e l i n g s when he kept refusing my ‘point of information’ requests,” said

Mr. Steinkamp jokingly as he remembered his failed requests

to Tabor.“Our de-

bate team was a well-prepared, gifted group of students. I told them afterwards tha t they needed to t each me how to do d e b a t e , ” d e c l a r e d Mr. Barend Blom.

T h e d e b a t e s t u d e n t s should feel proud and h o n o r e d that the ir beloved staff had com-

mended them on their debate skills. Furthermore, this experi-

Standing in front of the audience, River Tabor addresses his question to Mr. Barend Blom during his speech as Johnathan Tan takes notes. Moments after his speech, Mr. Blom replied with an answer that satisfied the opposing team.

ence will help prepare them for the forensic tournament down in Kuala Lumpur in February.

“The students that partici-pated displayed a high level of speech and debating skills. Their thorough knowledge about parliamentary debate procedure helped to boost their overall confidence and presentation,” said Ms. Jasmine Frans, one of the forensic coaches. “This debate round will well prepare them to be more competent and qualified for the ISKL fo-rensics competition. The staff may have won, but both teams walked away having benefited from researching a topic to able to effectively debate how the quality of technology adds to education.”

Both teams delivered a strong and powerful message to the crowd. At the end of the day, the student debate team walked away knowing that they had done their best, and they had held their own against worthy opponents. •

PHO

TO: J

I WO

N P

ARK

Music, Techniques, and Harmony Through the

Art of Discipline By Ji Won Park

“This is the worst trombone slide I’ve ever seen in my life,” Dr. Timothy Salzman scorned publicly as he slid the trombone slide up and down to prove his point.

“It was so embarrassing when I realized it was one of our school members. I saw Dennis [Choi 10] laughing with others but he stopped when I told him that it was one of us,” commented Shelly Choi (10) as she recalled the event back in the Southeast Asian Honor Band (SEAHB). Students foresaw the hardship they would be going through for next 16 and half hours. This, however, changed as the time passed by.

Held at Faith Academy in Manila, Philippines, the SEAHB invited 88 outstanding students from twelve schools around Southeast Asia, including China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan, Thailand, and Singapore, to rehearse for two days and per-form on the evening of the second day.

“I am really excited to go and play,” started Evelyne Kiiza (12) before leaving. “I can’t wait to work with other people that I’ve never met before. It’s going to be so awesome!”

Opening doors for grow-ing musicians, the school held a concert for middle school honor band. Not only that, the program also included an ex-clusive Flute Choir opportunity, in which Kiiza and Sol Jin (12) participated.

In past years, Mr. Kerry Mahoney and Mrs. Robin Ma-honey took care of chaperoning; however, because of the growth in number of students and the involvement of middle school band, Ms. Laura Danneker joined the party.

About nine hours of practice, the first rehearsal went worse than imagined. Dr. Salzman, who expected every student to have practiced the music pieces at least for as long as they had them, about two months, grew frustrated as the rehearsal con-tinued. Unaware of the fact that some schools had just received their music pieces two days before the rehearsal while other schools had them practiced for months, Dr. Salzman expressed his genuine disappointment in the overall disharmony.

“It was quite weird because, even though I was one of the youngest players, I was the only one who knew how to play,”

said Rachel Halbedl (9), still struck by the moment.

“When he [Dr. Salzman] said, ‘you guys really don’t deserve this break. Take ten minutes and come back on stage,’ I felt so bad, for him and everyone else, because we really needed more practice,” commented Hank Wong (12) as he recalled the first day of the rehearsal.

As a professional conduc-tor, adjudicator, and arranger for bands in over 35 states in the US, Canada, South Korea, England, Indonesia, Thailand, Russian, Japan, and China, Dr. Salzman had high expectations for the “outstanding” students of Southeast Asia.

Turning the mood of the event, Dr. Salzman directed students with great tolerance and tenderness on the second day of the rehearsal. Much to students’ surprise, he expressed his appre-ciation for all the hours and time students put into the event.

“I think he was a great con-ductor,” stated Xiao Leen Siow (12). She continued, “He prob-ably was disappointed by how many people did not take the opportunity seriously and had high expectations for us. I, per-sonally, think that everything

that he taught was really inspir-ing, especially the way he impro-vised the music on the spot the way he wanted his music to be during practices.

Like a blink of an eye, the days passed by and the perfor-mance drew close. Nervous and excited, students sat on the stage and recounted what Dr. Salzman taught.

“What seemed like terribly long hours passed by so fast! I can’t believe it’s already our final session of rehearsing together. I wish I could’ve spent more time actually getting to know differ-ent people,” Choi expressed with regret.

“I think it was a great chance to learn cooperation and pro-fessional music. Even though it was challenging, I feel like I learned so much from this experience. It was definitely a life-long memory,” answered Wong, who joined the SEAHB as a saxophonist.

On the final session of the rehearsal, Dr. Salzman fondly pleaded, “As young leaders and musicians at your respective schools, I would encourage you guys to take in what I’ve taught, share it with your respective (Continued on page 7, col. 1)


Honor Band to Manila...

(Continued from page 6, col. 4)sections, and lead as you have learned, especially about tun-ing.”

For the students and com-munity of Faith Academy, the auditorium opened up and swarm of people came and went. Trombonists applied slide cream on their trombones, trumpets practiced breathing, and clarinets fixed their reeds in place. With a swoosh of the baton, music came to life, paying off the dedication and discipline that brought them together. •

Giggles and Wiggles By Jane Yook

Four days. Vinegar. Chicken bones. Rubber….what?! On 19 November, Mrs. Christina Orr’s class of fourth graders celebrated the end of their study of the skeletal system in the human body with a FUN experiment. Avidly, and slightly disgusted at the same time, the class successfully witnessed the miraculous work of a jar of vin-egar: flexible bones. Children went “ew” and “ooh” at their first sight—the fascination overwhelmed them; later, it all came down to wiggle dances or “sword” bone-fight-ing. Aria Tan (4) danced along and shyly claimed with giggles, “[They were] wiggly and felt like rubber band bracelets!”

The class took an empty ma-son jar and filled it halfway with white vinegar, then added some

raw, meatless chicken bones. Mrs. Orr left the jar, now replete

with sourness, in the classroom for four days, the right amount of time to completely soak the bones.

As it turns out, minerals in the vinegar dissolved calcium contained in the bones, but left collagen to stay, thus making the bones RUBBERY and WIG-GLY, hence the name Rubbery Bones.

Both the students and Mrs. Orr definitely enjoyed giggles on a Monday morning. She confessed with a motherly smile, “This experiment is always fun to show the kids. They love seeing how items in mom’s kitchen can be used in science experiments. The experiment hits many of the senses because the vinegar has a very strong smell. The giggles were comical as they shook the bones around in the air.”

What a way to start a new week for the young ones, end-lessly tired and wanting to break free and play! •

Jazzy Jenkins (4) and Isaac Uzzle (4) having a little “sword” fight as the rest of the class, absorbed by the uniqueness of the gel-like and “figures that can do beyond splits” as they call these bones, watched.

PHO

TO: J

ANE

YOO

K

Math MadnessBy Ooi Yung Tsen

Courageous students gathered after school in room 7 to con-front the intimidating math competition on Thursday, 8 No-vember. Two reasons motivated these students to stand up to this challenge: bonus quiz grades promised by Mr. Tom Miller and Mrs. Terresa Uzzle and a passion

for math. On one side, “cal-

culus quiz bonus,”

replied Franco Lee (11) with amazing swiftness when asked for his reason in participating in this competition. On the other side of the spectrum, Yang Yang Sim (12), the competition cham-pion, replied “Because I love it. I heart math.” Between both extremes, Derrick Lim (10) thought about the question inquisitively, “Why do I take it? For fun, but also extra credit—but that is just a bonus.” The competition brought students together and provided them with challenges not avail-able in regular math classes.

“The quiz encourages lateral thinking, not raw knowledge. It is not how much you know but how you use what you know,” commented Sim.

The quiz encouraged students to see how well they can apply their mathematical knowledge in unprecedented situations. “I find it interesting that some of the freshman and sophomores are better than the juniors. There are no juniors getting the top spots in the competition,” said Lee as he noticed the first and second rankings in the an-nouncement.

Although requiring only basic and general knowledge, the

quiz’s tricky questions did not guarantee a better score for students with more math classes under their belt.

Despite the difficulty of the competition, all quiz participants found it fun.

Students want more quizzes similar to this math competi-tion, and Sim coined the reason perfectly, “From a math lover’s standpoint, it is fun. From the point of view of a student in a desperate need for raising his grade, it is a great oppor-tunity.”

The competition not only brought fun and extra credit points, but it “...sparks interest in people for math,” commented Lim.

Through the competition, students explored fields of math untouched by regular courses. Although the quiz used simple algebraic and geometric con-cepts, it transformed the ques-tions in such a way that even top students found it difficult to apply their knowledge. The math competition might just pave its way into the long list of Dalat International School traditions. •

Unexpected EncounterBy Amanda Leech

“They’re coming!” several of the U18 varsity volleyball girls exclaimed in sheer excitement as the Jonas Brothers, a fa-mous boy’s band, made their way through immigration. Meeting the Jonas Broth-ers came as a shock to all who traveled to Manila for the Dan Landry Volleyball Tournament. Never had any of the girls ever expected to cross paths with such huge ce-lebrities. As Kassy Steinkamp (9) said, “It happened so fast, I never expected to see the Jonas Brothers. It was an amazing experience, and we will remember it forever.”

Making their way out from the airport, ecstatic from the unexpected encounter, the team hopped into vans where they blasted music and enjoyed each other’s company while consuming scrumptious pizza. What an amazing beginning to the trip to Manila!

The next few days pre-sented the girls with incredible experiences and blood sweat-ing battles on the court that ultimately brought us closer together as a team.

They also blessed local orphans on two separate visits. The first visit had them reading and teaching English; during the second encoun-ter, they swam and played with young toddlers. These extraordinary opportunities opened their eyes and gave each of them a hunger to help those in need.

As for the tournament, the team fought long and hard against each opponent, slowly winning their way to the final championship.

On the first day in Manila, they played against Kyoto In-ternational School and Inter-national Community School of Hong Kong, which both ended in solid victories.

The following day they won two more matches against Saint Michael’s Col-lege of Laguna and Faith Academy. But they ended up losing to Brent, an extremely competitive team that they faced once again in the final championship.

Though the girls did not win the final match against Brent, most felt sure that they(Continued on page 8, col. 1)


Volleyball in Manila...

(Continued from page 7, col. 4)had. They gave everything on that court and fought long and hard as a team. Reese Terry (11) summed it up in these words, “In the final game, it was so much fun to see us come together as a team, and even though we

Thriller in Manila! The volleyball girls bump into the Jonas Brothers in the Manila International Airport and pose for a never-to-be-forgotten photo: Joe Jonas, Kassy Steinkamp (9), Sarah Tan, (9), Reese Terry (11), Kevin Jonas, Lucia Combrink (10), Maddie Rust (10), Amanda Leech (12), Charlotte Combrink (9), Tayla Lee (9), Mrs. Lucinda Lee, Nick Jonas

PHO

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RS. JAC

KI STEINKAM

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lost that game, we really played our heart out and enjoyed every minute of it.”

The time spent in the Philip-pines grew each of the girls as players, teammates, friends, and individuals. They encountered something completely new and different, thanks to those that made the trip possible.

And even though they did not bring home gold, the silver that they won and the friends they made brought them satis-faction. Though the trip took a mere five days, the time they spent together at the airport, the orphanage, the guesthouse, and on the court, will remain long in their memories! •

Out or Gone?By Chanel Huang

“This is my last year participat-ing in DYLB. We must win!” said Sam Huang (8) to his other Lizard buddies. Last year, the Monitor Lizards won the championship against

the Javan Rhinos. This year, would the Lizards claim the title as league champions once again? Or would the Rhinos or the Kingfishers make an unex-pected comeback?

Every Saturday morning, a group of seventh and eighth graders gave up sleep and video

games to gather on the mos-quito-infested upper field for everyone’s favorite sport, base-ball. Bringing students together, Dalat Youth League Baseball (DYLB) provided a main topic of

conversation as the kids discussed new strategies for the upcom-ing game.

When asked why he started D Y L B t h r e e years ago, Mr. Mark Sasse an-swered, “When I was a boy, I de-veloped a love for baseball, and some of my fond-es t memor ies from my child-hood were the games I played i n . I s t a r t e d

DYLB out of somewhat selfish motives—I wanted my son [Tim Sasse, 8] to have an opportunity to play baseball; and seeing how Malaysia doesn’t have it, I had to do it myself.”

The most exciting part of DYLB—the championship games—took place on 17 No-

vember. In the third inning, the players, coaches, and audience stood still on their toes due to the extremely close scores. All eyes focused on the game as Joseph Hsu (8), Lizard catcher, stealthily exchanged signals with Huang. Huang nodded once at Hsu and within seconds, the ball flew full speed towards the catcher’s glove. “Strike Three! Batter’s out!” shouted Mr. Wayne Sa-watzky, the umpire, as he called the last out of the game.

The Lizards went wild as they had, once again, proved them-selves to be undefeatable.

“I can’t believe we won!” exclaimed Emmett Balzer (8), a rookie.

“Nah, it was an easy win,” Andrew Kim (8) as he received his plank of honor.

To some people, the plank may only represent victory, but to the players, it represented perseverance, dedication, de-termination, memories, and teamwork. Asked what else he wanted to say to the rest of the student body, Kim declared, “An enthusiastic sport like baseball can be played by anyone, so come join the fun!” •

With a big smile on his face absolutely ready to crush the ball with the bat, will Daniel Kim (7), Monitor Lizard’s fifth batter, strike out—or will the ball be gone—a HOME RUN?

House of FreaksBy Esther Kim

“Nathan, you’re so mean!” Ruby Noh (7) yelled. Noh threw the flour balls at Nathan Unruh (11). Unruh quickly ran away, but later brought his friends to at-tack those mischievous middle school students again. All afternoon, the junior class and middle school stu-dents filled the school with their laughter and cheers as they enjoyed Freaky Friday, a Halloween party that the juniors threw to raise funds.

On 2 November, the junior class invited the middle school students to participate in a F r eaky Friday event. The juniors divided the middle school

students i n t o

f o u r

teams: green, orange, purple, and red.

Attacking and racing, the students delighted in games of dodge ball, bell tag, and flour ball.

“Bell tag was the highlight of the event,” Eunice Um (11) said. “The four teams were supposed to find the words ‘Freaky Friday’ before juniors stopped them. The juniors had bells around their shoes so that their presence could be heard.”

“It wasn’t the usual junior class event because we did some-thing for the middle schoolers. I really enjoyed seeing them hav-ing so much fun when all we did was make an event for them,” Justin Lao (11) said.

As Lao mentioned, the Freaky Friday event gave an opportunity for middle schoolers to hang out with high school-ers. Thanking all the juniors, Noh mentioned, “It was really nice to spend time with older students outside school. It was also interesting to see my dorm siblings working and having fun outside the dorm.” •

PHO

TO: M

R. JO

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AN STEFFEN


Seats full, lights dim, stage with minimal props, the actors wait backstage for their cue.

Ten talented Dalat high school students, the RLT players, per-formed to enthusiastic audiences in Penang Performing Art Centre (PPAC) on 30 No-vember and 1 December. Incorporating genres from comedies to mu-sicals, the RLT Players performed a successive series of entertaining skits. Clearly enjoying their mo-ments on stage, students aptly drew the audience into the magic of the night.

An hour and a half of pure entertainment passed including story sketches such as “Archer,” “Drive All Night” (the Short and Sweet Penang Audience Choice Award Winner), “Jaggerjigjangle,” “Love Ruthless Love Love,” “iD-rip, Take Me to Your Rul-er II,” “Cow Sense,” and

“Disconnect: The Musical.” The actors then all came out

on stage to thank the audience and take a bow. Applause and cheers reverberated around the stage.

Afterwards Mrs. Deborah

Storytelling Sketches in the SpotlightBy Shion Beak

RTL Players: FRONT ROW: David Beak (10), Jaime Ooi (10), Fong Wei Ting (10); SECOND ROW: Shion Beak (12), Lexi Zimbulis (9), Jen-nifer Vo (11), Tesa Sasse (10); BACK ROW: Ciera Nash (11), Jackie Ashkin (11), Morgan Guthrie (10), Joseph Stoltzfus (10)

Gray enthused, “Original and captivating. The performers shone with passion and energy. It was a truly enjoyable evening which far exceeded my expecta-tions. It should be repeated for the entire student body!”

Ms. Teviot Fairservis, who ran East-West Fu-sion Theater in New York for 30 years before moving to Asia in 2005, added, “The writing was really clever. Student actors were focused and relaxed on stage. I was struck by their intelligent readings of the script.”

Mr. Mark Sasse, the director of the drama team, wrote all of the skits except for one col-laborative effort with Jackie Ashkin (11).

A stunning success, the RLT Players plan to wow their audience again next year with more original, enter-taining, and thought-provoking skits. •

Today, snow falls in Canada, the United States, Korea, Ja-pan, China, and Europe. Stu-dents in these countries walk on soft, crispy snow, breathe vapor out whenever they open their mouths, and wear warm coats, boots, scarves, and knit-ted gloves. Instead of snow and steaming breath to signal the start of the Christmas break, Dalat students kick it off with the Christmas Banquet (CB). The biggest event of first semester, students dress up, enjoy, and have dinner with friends. Throughout the years, CB traditions have changed constantly.

Students may wonder what the Christmas Banquet looked like in the past. Current students think that it has always been girls who had to ask boys to be their CB dates. But surprisingly, the asking tradition started less than eight years ago. Hank Wong (12) said, “When I was young, girls didn’t have to ask boys for Christmas Banquet. Girls

used to chase and tag the boys they wanted to go to Christmas Banquet with, and the guy had to go with whoever tagged him. Boys who weren’t tagged had a special podium to sit on like kings on Christmas Banquet night.”

Back even farther to 20 years ago, Christmas Banquet had different traditions. According to Aunt Mary Hawk, a Dalat alumnus and cur-rent Jackson Dorm parent, the Christmas Banquet back then resembled today’s Thanksgiving Dinner. Elementary students and parents joined the high school-

ers for a delicious Christmas dinner in the dining room and returned home.

“It was mellow,” she said; “there was no gift-giv-

ing, no ‘asking,’ nothing. It was just a dinner. If you had a date you would sit

at the same table, and t h a t w a s it.” She ex-

p r e s s e d shock at how CB has changed so drastically.

What did the CB look like more recently? Technically, it evolved into a mini-JSB. Fantas-

tic Christmas decorations made by StuCo, hang and shine in a hotel’s small ballroom. Students dress up formally. Throughout the years, the banquet’s stan-dards have become more and more extravagant. Asking a date became a BIG deal! Girls stressed themselves out, pondering whom to ask or whether to go alone. Some didn’t ask because of shy-ness or fear of rejection.

“CB should be casual,” said Aunt Mary. “Asking shouldn’t be a big deal.”

“Asking is a minor part of CB,” says Grace Kim (12). “CB is not about us. Its main purpose is to celebrate Jesus’ birth. We got off track.”

The emphasis on asking not only pressured students, but also became more expensive as students spent more and more money on gifts and outfits.

This year, the school reacted with change. Boys could ask girls, girls could ask boys, or stu-dents could go alone. Students could don less formal outfits, and dates should pay separately.

How did the student body react to these flexible changes? Most students had a positive re-action. Jessie Brandon (10) said, “I was really shocked because they were changing things so drastically. But, eventually, I saw that the change was necessary, because people were spending too much money and losing their focus on the birth of Christ.”

Some people, on the other hand, mentioned that it created confusion. Kim said, “I like the changes, but it creates confusion because there may be overlap-ping plans, where guy-A plans to ask girl-A and girl-A also plans an event to ask guy A.”

Esther Kim (12) said, “It’s too much pressure on guys because they have the JSB to prepare for too. And regardless of the change, there is still pressure to make the asking creative in order to make your partner feel special.”

Overall, students had noted that CB took away some of the specialness of the JSB. But recent changes made by the school and StuCo should relieve CB stress and help us focus on the joy and celebration of Christ’s birth. •

Changes in CB Traditions By Sol Jin

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