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.
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...
MS Athletics Fall Season Highlights Reel
Way to go Middle School (MS) Bulldogs! Our MS Teams’ Fall 2025 season recently wrapped up after some fun and memorable moments. MS athletes finished strong in Field Hockey, Cross Country, Volleyball, Tennis, and Boys and Girls Soccer. Explore this topic further with a...
D-E Senior Shares Her Self-Published Book with PreK 4
In a continuation of the “Small Story” book project initiated by Grade 11 Dean Tuc for her Creative Writing class, Upper School students joined the PreK 4 class in the Lower School (LS) for a lesson on author pages. “In their small groups, students will learn about...
“Mostly Miles” Jazz Brunch 2025 is Sunday, Nov. 23, 12 PM!
Our jazz musicians are hard at work rehearsing for Jazz Brunch 2025! D-E’s Stage Band and Jazz Workshop ensembles will perform this annual concert on Sunday, Nov. 23, at 12 PM in Hajjar Auditorium. Director Rob DeBellis has shared that the concert theme is “Mostly...
D-E Faculty/Staff Reflect on the Idea of ‘Mattering’ by Author Jennifer Wallace
“Students are crushed by an unrelenting drive to succeed and then climb even higher...” A series of conversations about the book Never Enough, which delves into the pressure our kids feel to achieve and how a strong sense of “mattering” can act as a buffer to this...
That’s a Wrap on ‘A Monster Calls’
Bravo! The cast and crew wrapped up an amazing series of performances this weekend of “A Monster Calls,” in which the haunting set, created in large part by D-E students with symbolic elements to communicate a sense of entrapment, blended seamlessly with the artistry...
Mr. Daly Offers a Thoughtful Perspective on ‘The Merchant of Venice’
The 10th Annual Leggett-Umpleby Lecture was brought to us by Mr. Fred Daly, who is in his 46th year of teaching and 31st year at D-E, 20 years of which were spent as the English Department Chair. He also founded the D-E Shakespeare Society, now in its 17th year. Mr....
