Meredith (“Mimi”) Garcia had the unique challenge of teaching “Apocalyptic Lit” amidst the COVID-19 hybrid year. Still, the central questions of the course remained, “Will the apocalypse bring total annihilation, transcendence, bloodthirsty zombies, or all of the above? Will it bring people together or tear them apart?” As a medium, fiction allows for distance from both the material and reality, enough to critically engage with the text. Despite the fantastical, sci-fi qualities to apocalyptic literature, Mimi stresses that each text, from The Walking Dead to Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go, speak to questions of human nature and of hope.
Mimi’s new course offering, “Globalization, Literature, & Film”, investigates how globalization and media have come to shape each other and our everyday lives. The course utilizes films like Akira Kurosawa’s Rashomon (1950) and Walter Salles’ Motorcycle Diaries (2004) to discuss how politics, history, and cross-cultural encounters come to manifest in film. Mimi notes that the entire film industry and how we have come to watch film also plays a role in how we analyze and reflect on the relationship between literature and media—to be both critical of the past and the present.
Office of Engagement DEIB Program Highlights
D-E’s Office of Engagement has hit the ground running this year in terms of facilitating, developing, and hosting a rich array of DEIB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging) initiatives. Both Student- and Parent-targeted Affinity Groups have held a variety of...
School Life & Co-Curricular Highlights
School Life & Co-Curricular Highlights The 2022-2023 school year thus far has seen dozens of D-E co-curricular programs both by and for our students in all three divisions, many of which have been also enjoyed by D-E faculty/staff, families, and friends. We’ve...
Fred Fontaine P 20 22 , Upper School Math and Computer Science
Math can feel like a foreign language and for Fred Fontaine, it sometimes is! Students coming into his Programming course often have no experience with coding or computer language. Nevertheless, like any language, students learn the foundational principles first...
Linda Segar, Middle School 6th Grade Math Faculty Member
Math is Linda Segar’s “favorite” subject to teach. Before joining D-E’s faculty, Linda taught at the Town School in New York City for ten years and then was the math specialist at the Rockland County Day School. Now in her 11th year at D-E, Linda continues to find...
Jessica Massei, Lower School Math Specialist
This year will be Jessica Massei’s 19th at D-E. After working with mentor and math specialist, Cecily Gottling, for many years, Jessica felt inspired to take on the mantle of math specialist after the hybrid-learning year with her third grade class. In the Lower...
A Conversation with Patti Barrett: Mathematics Department Chair
What is your primary focus in your role? Our faculty, regardless of if they teach within the Lower, Middle and/or Upper Schools, are committed to student-based learning, problem-based learning, and student-focused interactions in the classroom. So, my primary focus is...
Investiture Ceremony
Honors Pat Boig, Welcomes Jeremy Gregersen The Investiture Ceremony for then- Head of School-Elect Jeremy Gregersen took place in early December in the Hajjar STEM Center. In attendance during this small, private, but very meaningful ceremony were members of the D-E...
Math Spotlight: “Problem of the Week” with Julien Ishigahara Charupakorn
As part of our Math Department Spotlight for this issue of D-E Today, Julien Ishigahara Charupakorn '24 talks about the email-based tradition of "Math Problem of the Week", a weekly challenge sent out to Upper School each week that encourages math for leisure! Get to...
D-E 360º Summer 2022!
Discoveries & Adventures Our youngest campers were immersed in exploring their “Hero’s Journey” through activities ranging from creating hero books for Story Week to designing their very own kindness capes. Surprise visits from the fire department, mentalist...
Faculty & Staff Celebration Lunch – Spring 2022
We honor those individuals who have dedicated 10, 20, 25, 35, and 45 years of service to D-E and its students. It is tradition for colleagues to offer a few words of appreciation to the honorees and to those who are retiring. The atmosphere was heartwarming as tears...
