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.
D-E Celebrates the Legacy of MLK
D-E honored Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. across divisions. During the Lower School (LS) Assembly on Wednesday, students from each LS grade spoke beautifully about how MLK’s dream of racial harmony and equal justice connects to our School’s core values of community,...
National History Day 2026 Highlights
Our eighth-grade students nailed their National History Day (NHD) presentations! NHD projects require students to choose a topic related to a specific theme and conduct research, write a thesis, and create a project that supports their historical argument, shared Mr....
Performing Arts Spotlight: Bringing Passions to Life on Stage
“The arts are much more than simply memorizing lines or playing a song… They are representative of who we are as people, as a community, as a world,” said Mr. Adam Slee, Dean of the Performing Arts. “It helps them find their true selves that helps them find their...
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 Roller Coaster Expo Recap
The annual 8th Grade Paper Roller Coaster 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...
