Boarding FAQ

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Click on a question heading below to view our answers relating to your selection. The following is a list of frequently asked questions about the Residence Life program at Dalat International School.

If you have further questions, please contact the Residence Supervisors.

Campus life is full and busy with an abundance of activities available for students including after-school clubs, sports, music, art, drama, and leadership and service opportunities. The student center which opens at lunch and after school also gives students a comfortable place to socialize.
The campus facilities include outdoor basketball and tennis courts, a playground, and an indoor gym.

The boarding program owns several kayaks and paddleboards that students may use on weekends. Students also visit local shopping malls, bowling alleys, and movie theaters on the weekends, as well as many local restaurants (including Malaysian, Indian and Thai cuisine, plus McDonalds, Wendy’s, KFC, Burger King, etc.) Dalat dorms are a great place to get involved in lots of different activities, while also developing close friendships.

Breakfast is served in each individual dorm, prepared by dorm parents. Lunches, suppers and Sunday meals are served in the cafeteria which has indoor and outdoor seating by the ocean. For Saturday lunch, dorm students receive money to choose their own lunch and a ride to local restaurants. For Saturday suppers, dorms either eat a homemade meal at home or go out to eat together at local stalls or restaurants. Sunday lunch is provided by the cafeteria but served family-style in the dorm.

Each dorm has 6 bedrooms with furniture for 3 students per room. Depending on the number of students in each dorm, each bedroom usually has between 2-3 students. Roommates are assigned carefully to ensure the best possible match. Roommate assignments sometimes change between semesters, depending on circumstances and student requests.

Dorm students are expected to keep their rooms tidy and to clean up after themselves in the public areas (i.e. – do their own dishes, tidy up their books in the study room, etc.).

Dorm students also do deeper cleaning of their bedrooms on Saturdays which includes sweeping/mopping their floor, vacuuming their rug, emptying their garbage, and cleaning their bathroom and sink area.

In the cafeteria, students help clean up after supper, led by dorm council reps. On Sundays, students pick up their lunch meal to take back to the dorms, so they can eat together as dorm families, in a more homelike environment.

Daily laundry service and general dorm housekeeping are provided for each dorm family. The dorm laundry room is available for students to use if they wish to do their own laundry.

Dorm families typically participate in a community service project together sometime during each semester, depending on the needs of local charities and the availability of dorm students

All of the specific dorm guidelines are outlined in the Residence Life Handbook which can be accessed online.

The handbook shows our commitment to developing and maintaining healthy guidelines and boundaries for dorm students and the boarding community.

The guidelines are designed to balance the needs of each individual with the needs of the community. Students are given as much freedom as possible while respecting and honoring the needs of others. We believe that the benefits of living in community far outweigh the personal sacrifices each individual makes out of consideration for others.

The following key values form the foundation for the dorm rules:

  • Spiritual growth
  • Respect for others
  • Personal responsibility and integrity
  • Healthy relationships
  • Reaching one’s fullest potential
  • Positive attitude
  • Personal health and safety
  • Community service

These values combined with personal integrity can help dorm students make wise decisions as they grow up and enter adulthood.

Our goal as caregivers is to mentor and disciple our students to deeper spiritual growth and personal responsibility. While we expect students to live within the boundaries of our community guidelines, we do not expect them to be perfect. While consequences are given for misbehavior, every student is treated with respect, dignity and unconditional love. The purpose of discipline is to help students learn from their mistakes and grow in maturity and integrity.

As a staff team, we care more about the heart condition of our students than their outward performance. We focus our efforts on spiritual nurture rather than behavior modification (within the parameters of community living). We guard against a legalistic approach to discipline; instead, we are committed to developing open and trusting relationships and guiding students to wise decisions.

Dorm students are expected to bring a phone to school, so that they can keep in close contact with their parents. If parents do not hear from their student at least once a week, they can inform the dorm parents who will encourage the student to communicate regularly.