Our Department of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Belonging (DEIB), often in partnership with our Parent & Caregiver Affinity Groups (PCAGs), brought so many distinctive, valued communities of D-E into the spotlight this spring. From hosting insightful speakers to remembering important historical events and recognizing holidays, here’s to the efforts of so many to follow-through on our D-E mission statement in tangible, meaningful ways!
Celebrating Lunar New Year 2025 at D-E
D-E celebrated Lunar New Year, the Year of the Snake, with a series of incredible events over the course of the week, including a faculty and staff luncheon, Lower School activity stations, and Middle and Upper School Assembly programs featuring a dragon dance, an all-division choral concert, an umbrella dance, and a pop-influenced vocal group consisting of Mandarin class seniors. Activities concluded with a dumpling-making demonstration in the Wharton Lessin Dining Hall as well as craft stations for students, faculty, and staff to explore. Katie Chen ’26 and Oriana Huang ’26 were at a station to translate fortunes written in Mandarin. “Lunar New Year is a huge part of our Chinese culture,” says Katie. Oriana added, “It was fun to see our classmates experience this [important] tradition together with us… a tradition that we have grown up with and have known all our lives.” Happy Lunar New Year to the entire D-E community!
D-E Students Prep for the US Lunar New Year Assembly
D-E student performers are hard at work preparing for our Lunar New Year Assembly programs later this week in Schenck Auditorium! Hosted by the East Asian Affinity group, along with the Chinese and Korean Culture clubs, this event will feature choreographed dancing...
The Spirit of Dr. King Inspires Community and Acts of Service at D-E
All divisions at D-E came together the week of Jan. 20 to celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. As an act of service, students enrolled in D-E 360°’s ACE program wrote letters of gratitude to U.S. service men and women, veterans, and first responders as part of Operation Gratitude. In addition, the Lower, Middle, and Upper Schools, respectively, held assemblies dedicated to honoring MLK. LS students shared what they learned from the book Say Something! by Peter H. Reynolds and what they did to make the world a bit better. Meanwhile, US students enjoyed two performances by renowned jazz violinist Kersten Stevens and heard from local artist Philip Smallwood, whose painting “A Life of Service” was on display. The work celebrates the life and contributions of Bergen County resident Dr. Theodora Lacey, a friend of Dr. King and a Civil Rights activist in her own right. Mr. Smallwood gave parting words to students that “Everybody possesses greatness… I believe in you.”
LEAD Students Visit Cooper Hewitt’s ‘Home’ Exhibit
In January, D-E Upper School students took two trips to the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum in Manhattan, as part of the LEAD (Leaders for Equity & Diversity) program, which provides opportunities for them to learn leadership skills and explore the world and its different cultures. The trip centered on an exhibition titled “Making Home,” focused on Black and Native American expressions of place, home, and belonging. “The purpose of the trip was to connect our November collage project’s theme of ‘home’ to real-world artists investigating that idea,” says Joel Lee ’17, US Assistant Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Belonging. In addition to getting a tour of parts of the museum, students were able to use their own creativity to make prototypes of homes designed for biomes such as tropical, arid, and tundra. Great job to our LEAD students for their thoughtful work!
Sixth-Graders Learn How Food Shapes Their Identity
How are we what we eat? This is the guiding question our sixth graders were asked to consider this morning as a new unit was kicked off in their MESH subjects (that is, Math, English, Science, and History). This first lesson centered around “how food shapes their identity,” said English teacher Ms. Macone. Students gathered in the Wharton Lessin Dining Hall, where Chef Alex and his team prepared breakfast foods representing the Dominican Republic (“Tres Golpes,” a trio of fried eggs, cheese, and salami), Colombia (beef empanadas), and Japan (miso salmon with steamed rice). “I got to try different things I’ve never tried before,” said Kayla S. ’31, who discovered she liked fried eggs. Students then moved on to Hajjar Auditorium to share food traditions within their own families. The unit will culminate on Tuesday, Jan. 28, with a cultural food festival, for which parents are invited to attend and bring in food that represents their family. Cheers!
