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.
MS Discovery Classes Explore Civil Rights Movements
This week, Middle School students in the Creative Writing, In the News, and Developing Leadership Discovery classes went on a field trip to the Museum of the City of New York. “We had a guided tour on activism in New York, specifically focusing on two movements—LGBTQ+...
D-E 360° Chess Team Competes Well in State Competition
The D-E 360° Chess Team is dominating the board! Twenty-one of our students attended the U.S. Chess Federation’s recent NJ State Championship Event at Brookdale Community College. “Overall, as a team, this was our most successful tournament yet!” exclaimed Grandmaster...
‘Gratitude Is the Word of the Day’ During the Thanksgiving Assembly
There were hellos and hugs all around during the Annual Thanksgiving Assembly on the morning of Tuesday, Nov. 25, where students and faculty/staff from each division gathered in the Myrna B. Sherman Gym to express their gratitude in a multitude of ways. The event was...
Get Ready for the MS/US Orchestra Winter Concert
Don’t miss a single note! The Middle School & Upper School Orchestra will perform their annual Winter Concert this Friday, Dec. 5, at 7:00 PM in Schenck Auditorium. The repertoire will include music from contemporary artists such as Eric Whitacre and renowned...
D-E’s Model UN Team Competes at Princeton
D-E’s Model UN team recently attended its first collegiate conference of the year: Princeton’s Model UN Conference. For the past several weeks, club leaders have mentored younger delegates in meetings and even hosted its own conference (D-EMUN) to get the team ready....
Thanksgiving Assembly Gratitude Reel
What a fantastic year so far! In the words of our Head of School, Dr. James Calleroz White, “Thank you for showing up every day!” We wish our incredible D-E community a Happy Thanksgiving—it’s always so nice to see ya! Explore this topic further with a curated video...
Art Comes to Life for Our Third Graders at MoMA
D-E’s third graders recently took a field trip to the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) to observe and discuss the life’s work of sculptor Ruth Asawa. “They were excited to see this retrospective in person, since they had studied her sculptures last year and explored a...
LS and MS Robotics Teams Finish Strong in Competition
This weekend, our Lower School (LS) and Middle School (MS) Robotics teams excelled at the FIRST LEGO League (FLL) Regional Tournament in Clifton, NJ, earning numerous awards! Team Nitro (Grade 8) won the Robot Design Award and placed in the top third of teams in the...
MS Robotics Showcase Preps Teams for Competition
D-E Middle School (MS) Robotics Teams recently presented a Showcase for faculty/staff, families, and friends, in preparation for their first official competition. The four MS Teams Apex, Nitro, Quasar and Rex each took a turn highlighting the process and motivation...
Thanksgiving Drive 2025: “Making It Better” for Local Organizations
D-E students, faculty, and staff across divisions made a difference in a big way as they participated in our annual Thanksgiving Food and Coat drives. In the Upper School, the Office of Student Life and members of the CODES and HOPE clubs coordinated the collection of...