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.
Making Cross-Curricular Connections in Grade 8
Knockout excellence! In an innovative cross-curricular partnership, Ms. Burnett, Grade 8 English Teacher, and Mr. Akula, Grade 8 English/History Teacher, whose students are reading “The Berlin Boxing Club” by Robert Sharenow, teamed up with the Health & Wellness...
Reunion 2025: Weekend in Review
D-E was thrilled to recently welcome alumni from the Dwight School, Englewood School for Boys (ESB), and Dwight-Englewood School for Reunion Weekend 2025, with special events for class years ending with 0 and 5. On Friday evening, October 24, 2025, there was a joyful...
Art and Design Students From Australia Visit D-E
D-E’s Art & Design Department hosted 11th- and 12th-grade students today from St. Mary’s Anglican Girls’ School in Perth, Australia, as part of a 12-day trip to the United States the school offers every two years. The St. Mary’s students, 18 in all, joined the...
Sixth Grade Food & Identity Unit Kicks Off
Today officially kicked off the Food and Identity Unit for this year’s sixth graders! The cross-curricular program is a D-E tradition for our youngest Middle School students within their MESH (Math, English, Science, and History) classes. “This unit is about building...
Calliope Earns Top CSPA Honors
Congrats are in order for the editors and contributors of the Upper School (US) English-language literary-arts magazine, CALLIOPE! Last spring’s issue was named a 2026 Crown Finalist by the Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA). Being a Finalist means CALLIOPE...
Jazz “Rocks” D-E!
Way to Rock, D-E Jazz Rock! The Upper School’s annual Jazz Rock Winter Concert was performed earlier today to a packed, enthusiastic audience in Schenck Auditorium. Scheduled on the final day of classes immediately prior to winter break, this year’s concert held up...
MS Paper RollerCoaster Expo Recap
The annual 8th Grade Paper Rollercoaster Expo rolled into D-E’s Middle School (MS) Building earlier today! This showcase event was the culmination of students’ hands-on study of (and appreciation for) the laws of physics and Newton’s Laws of Motion. Visiting fellow...
LS Holiday SingAlong Assembly Highlights
D-E’s annual Lower School (LS) Holiday SingAlong Assembly yesterday held up to tradition! With festive lights and hundreds of happy smiling families, the LS Gym was transformed into a lively, lovely holiday-esque scene. Students and LS faculty/staff sang seasonal...
TREP$ 2025 Was a Success!
The TREP$ program, which kicked off in September, culminated in the TREP$ 2025 Marketplace, where our sixth-grade entrepreneurs set up shop in the Wharton Lessin Dining Hall to sell the wares they’d planned, received feedback on, prepped, and learned how to promote....
English Department Spotlight
In continuation of a monthly series spotlighting D-E’s community of learners in every department, we had conversations with English Department Chair Mr. Jeremy Meserole, P’26, ’28, ’30, and other English Department faculty, who spoke on topics such as being inclusive,...