Drum roll, please! In his first year at D-E, Jean-Marie Collatin is teaching a group of 7th and 8th graders African Drumming, as part of our Middle School Discovery classes. Mr. Collatin brings to D-E more than 20 years’ experience in African dance and has studied music in India, Cuba, Brazil, and his native country of Senegal, in West Africa. Sedi A. ’30, a 7th grader, says she enjoys that she gets to be creative in the class. Also, her family is from Ghana, so she appreciates that she is “connecting with a part of my culture.” For 8th grader Harry York ’29, who plays several sports at D-E, “This is my way to play an instrument [as an extra-curricular].” “Students have to understand how important it is to listen,” says Mr. Collatin. “Each [instrument] is very important.” Seventh-grader Finn W. ’30 concurs: “[In drumming], everything is so simple, but fits together like a puzzle.” The class also teaches students coordination, to build confidence, and to not be embarrassed to make mistakes, says Mr. Collatin. Eighth-grader Ava M. ’29, muses that, “We all speak one language–drumming!” The class will culminate at the end of the school year with a concert on May 9.