Junior Senior Banquet by Garth, April 19, 2013

     The highlight of the school year for Dalat International School is the Junior Senior Banquet. The Junior Senior Banquet is similar to a graduation prom. The Junior class (Grade 11) spend all year raising money and also planning the Banquet. To raise money, the Juniors have a class store where you can buy bubble tea, ice blended drinks, and a variety of junk food. They also have a Junior auction, where each Junior offers a service which is then auctioned off. It is quite a commitment for the Juniors, many of them coming in every Saturday to help get things ready for the store or plan the Banquet. The Juniors have 6 staff sponsors. The location and the theme of the Banquet is kept secret.

     The Junior Senior Banquet is a formal occasion, where only staff and students are invited. The event is a way for the Juniors to honor the Seniors (Grade 12). There is a lot of build up to the Junior Senior Banquet. This year, after a (fake) firedrill in March, the Junior class put on a flash mob to the song 'Thriller' by Michael Jackson. At the end of the flash mob, the Juniors handed out invitations for the Junior Senior Banquet to the Senior class. The Senior class could also now ask someone to the Junior Senior Banquet. Besides the Juniors, the Sophomores (Grade 10) also come to the banquet to see what it is like, because they will be putting it on the next year.

     The dress is formal, but I did not bring a suit to Malaysia. One option was to have a suit made in Malaysia. But it can be formal dress from any culture. I decided to buy a Malaysian silk batik shirt for the Junior Senior Banquet. Eileen went in a red dress she brought with her from Canada.

      The evening starts at 5:00 p.m. in the chapel at the school. In the chapel, the Sophomores introduce their staff sponsors for next year. Then we go on buses, which drive us to the banquet. This year the banquet was held at Traders Shangri La Hotel. The theme this year was Pirates of the Caribbean: Blackbeard's Revenge. The theme is used to introduce all the members of the Senior class. A story is told which gradually introduces all of the Senior class. The theme of the story was 8 ships full of seniors are fighting Blackbeard's pirates. Each of the pirate ships are full of teachers. The Juniors did a story of the Seniors fighting the teachers in the different ships. As each of the ships is introduced, with approximately 5 Seniors in each ship, there is then a photo montage of those students. Someone from the Junior class also does a 3 minute speech on why that person is special to them. I was very taken aback by the amount of time and energy that was put into the evening. I have never seen anything of that level at any high school in Canada.

The food was also excellent. I really enjoyed having salmon, something I have not had since I left Canada. There were also various stations that you could go and pose for pictures. The whole event lasted until midnight.