Our youngest ones have so much wisdom to offer us. Former librarian and now 3rd grade teacher, Rachel Brainin carries on the legacy of Sheila Sienicki and maintains the publication’s spirit. Rather than having students strive to be published, D-Escribe is an open opportunity to explore writing prompts and styles. Teachers mainly submit work from the Units of Study, while also offering students creative prompts to play with style and content.
“Writing is sometimes very prescribed, so the open-ended prompts provide us with more exciting stories. I had a kid who didn’t like to write but then couldn’t stop writing about dinosaurs. In any free moment he had, he would say, ‘can I work on my dinosaurs?’”
Rather than having students strive to be published, D-Escribe is an open opportunity to explore writing as an artistic medium. Rachel hopes to continue to build upon D-Escribe’s wonderful history and to continue to inspire young students.
Garden Work Party Highlights
Our D-E Green Upper School student club and the Parents’ Association Garden Project Volunteer Committee co-hosted its final Garden Work Party earlier this season. This was a celebration of the D-E community’s shared efforts in maintaining the Nettie-Louise Coit…
End-of-Year Celebration Recognizes Faculty/Staff Service Milestones & Awardees, and Honors Retirees
The annual Faculty & Staff Celebration, held under the big tent on Leggett Field, closed out the school year in a meaningful and festive way, honoring both personal accomplishments and the work of our teaching and staff community as a whole. In addition to…
LS Last Assembly Celebrates Pride Month & Honors Departing Faculty/Staff
During the final Lower School (LS) Assembly of the school year, we celebrated Pride Month and wished farewell to faculty/staff who are moving on and our 5th graders who are ‘moving up’ to middle school. In the assembly’s Community Connections segment, LS students,…
History Department Spotlight: Taking Lessons of the Past Into the Future
Now that the 2025-2026 school year is in the rearview, it’s a fitting time to reflect on lessons learned and how they can impact the future—and to spotlight D-E’s distinguished History Department. “Students really try to think about historical questions as things that…
Girls Basketball Camp, July 20-23, 2026 & Directed by Coach Aaron Gratch
D-E Athletics invites girl basketball players currently in Grades 4-7 to their Summer Girls Basketball Camp, directed by Coach Aaron Gratch, newly-announced D-E Girls Varsity Basketball Coach & Upper School Athletics Liaison! This sports day camp is July 20-23,…
String Society 2026; Grand Finale Concert on Friday, June 26
This past week D-E enthusiastically welcomed a group of highly exceptional young musicians for String Society 2026. This intensive summer day camp program for “stringers” has been joyfully playing for nearly three decades, and in the words of the committed…
Spring 2026 Live Concert Performances Highlights
This spring D-E’s student musicians of all ages participated in live performances that were a culmination of discipline, training, and a deep-seated passion for music. They represented a journey of artistic growth, proving that in music the process of learning is just…
7th Grade “Make It Better” Presentations
How can we build a better world? This was the question posed to 7th graders tasked with selecting a pressing issue connected to one of the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development goals that was personally meaningful and presenting them as part of their “Meet the…
Third Graders Discover the Joy of Playing the Ukulele
Little hands, big sounds! For one of their final units in Ms. Fiona Crawford’s 3rd Grade Music class, students learned how to play the ukulele, which is among the most versatile instruments for musical beginners. “It is well suited for developing melody, harmony, and…
D-E Performing Arts Honored With Theatre Awards and Nominations
Bravo! Out of 107 participating plays, D-E Performing Arts’ production of A MONSTER CALLS earlier this year received the top honor of a “High Superior” rating at the Theatre Night Awards ceremony in May. “We were one of 16 plays credited with this honor, placing us in…