D-E Middle Schoolers were busy with end-of-year projects to cap off a productive year! For their American History class, 8th graders were each tasked with writing and illustrating a children’s book, based on a historical event from the 1960s. This was a pilot project to teach students “how to create an engaging story… and take a complex subject and make it understandable to a younger audience,” said Mr. Gautham Akula, 8th Grade English/History Teacher. Topics included the story of Ruby Bridges (the first Black child to desegregate a public school in the South), 16th Street Baptist Church bombing, 1967 March on the Pentagon, first flight on a Boeing 747, and Apollo 11 space race.

Faculty also took advantage of a cross-divisional opportunity and invited third graders from the Lower School to participate in student-led reading sessions. “This gives our student authors an authentic audience for their work,” said Mr. Akula. Gemma A. ’29, whose book was about the Stonewall riots that sparked a gay rights movement, said she chose this subject because it “provides a good message for kids of acceptance.”

Meanwhile, D-E families visited 7th-grade classrooms to listen to students’ “Meet the Challenges and Make It Better” presentations tied to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, which seek to address global issues such as climate change, environmental destruction, poverty, and inequalities. For example, Soraya S. ’30 used her own experiences to speak on the importance of equal resources for all types of learners. Other presenters spoke on plastic pollution in the ocean and the effects of wildfires. “When presented with this project, students took it on with fervor, which gives me hope for the future,” remarked Ms. Pooja Patel, 7th Grade English/History Teacher.