Celebrating Lunar New Year 2025 at D-E

Celebrating Lunar New Year 2025 at D-E

Jan 31, 2025 | , , , ,

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 Finishes First in the State Ethics Bowl Championship

D-E Finishes First in the State Ethics Bowl Championship

Jan 31, 2025 | , , ,

We’re thrilled to announce that D-E’s Ethics Bowl Team are State Champions! At the New Jersey High School Ethics Bowl, hosted by Middlesex College on Saturday, Jan. 25, students debated real-world ethical issues. Our D-E Team, advised by Philosophy and Ethics Department Chair Mr. Joseph Murphy, will proceed to the Northeastern Division on Saturday, Feb. 15. Baptiste Louis ’25, a senior leader on the team, says, “The Ethics Bowl is a very special kind of competition…it emphasizes calm, nuanced, and good-faith discussions on issues. You are not working to tear another team down; rather, you are competing to show that you can add most effectively to an ethical debate.” Team leader Reya Shah ’27 adds that the most challenging part was “shifting our perspective on a scenario to move beyond our own viewpoint and find solutions that promote the morality of our greater global community.” Mr. Murphy concurs: “All of this is in the spirit of ‘cooperative competition.’” Congratulations to this remarkable team!

D-E Model UN Racks Up the Wins at YMUN 2025

D-E Model UN Racks Up the Wins at YMUN 2025

Jan 30, 2025 | , ,

D-E’s Model UN (D-EMUN) club had an incredibly successful trip to this year’s Yale Model UN (YMUN 2025) Conference, from Jan. 23-26—winning 13 individual awards and the award of Best Large Delegation! YMUN is among the most prestigeous Model UN conferences, bringing together thousands of high school delegates from across the globe to simulate the work of the United Nations. D-E was represented by 20 delegates that were subdivided into committees. “At YMUN, I got to participate in my first ever crisis committee,” says D-EMUN club member Hayley Fuld ’26. “My experience in crisis—from making countless speeches every committee session to working on how to solve the current topic—has taught me so much about working with others and instilled a sense of confidence for how I can perform under pressure!” Way to go D-EMUN and we’re SO proud of all our D-Elegates!

D-E 360°’s Fencing Program Provides Opportunities for Advancement

D-E 360°’s Fencing Program Provides Opportunities for Advancement

Jan 28, 2025 | , , , ,

En garde! Earlier this year D-E 360°’s Afterschool Programming Team (ACE) hosted a fencing demo in the Lower School, which was a big hit with our youngest Bulldogs. D-E partners with the Manhattan Fencing Center to offer classes in the LS gym. Registration for the 2024-2025 academic year began this month for students in grades 1-8; however, admission is rolling, so it isn’t too late to register. Student fencers practice on Tuesdays (Beginner, from 4 PM to 5 PM; and Advanced, from 5 PM to 6 PM). “[Fencing] is a gateway to personal growth, new experiences, and lifelong friendships,” says Ms. Julia Gelman, Executive Director for Manhattan Fencing. “Through this program, children can travel to competitions, challenge themselves in exciting new ways, and achieve their fitness, academic, and athletic goals.” Our current students’ enthusiasm for the activity is a testament to this mission. “This is awesome–I love this!” says Cedrick K. ’36, a first grader in the program.

The Spirit of Dr. King Inspires Community and Acts of Service at D-E

The Spirit of Dr. King Inspires Community and Acts of Service at D-E

Jan 24, 2025 | , , , ,

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

LEAD Students Visit Cooper Hewitt’s ‘Home’ Exhibit

Jan 24, 2025 | , ,

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!

Career Day Assembly Inspires Future Entrepreneurs

Career Day Assembly Inspires Future Entrepreneurs

Jan 22, 2025 | , , ,

On Thursday, Jan. 16, Business Leaders at D-E (BLADE) hosted a Career Day Assembly for the Upper School in Schenck Auditorium, where a panel of entrepreneurs from diverse backgrounds shared their career journeys. The panel consisted of Gautam Kumar, founder of Milu Health; Erica Schroeder, voice actress; Illana Raia, founder of Être; Heather Benveniste, an independent legal consultant; Shweta Parikh, plastic surgeon; and Bari Schorr, VP of business and category development at Orva. “Hearing about the various paths these accomplished individuals have taken to reach their current positions is important for students who might find themselves on similar paths in the future,” says BLADE club member Isabella Mayer ’26. “This diversity in experiences gave [us] a broad range of perspectives, showing that success doesn’t follow just one formula.” Thank you to our inspiring guests! Photo Credit: Grace Tomin ‘26.

D-E Students Explore Machine Learning at the Student AI Summit

D-E Students Explore Machine Learning at the Student AI Summit

Jan 21, 2025 | , , ,

On Saturday, Jan. 11, members of the newly formed D-E Student Committee on AI attended the Student Artificial Intelligence Summit at Newark Academy along with other schools to learn more about the applications of AI in a variety of fields. The trip was organized by Ms. Diana Gross, Chief Innovation Officer, and Mr. Bill Campbell, Associate Director of Technology for Academics. Five of our students—Soham Bafana ’25, Hudson Guzman ’27, Jason Lee ’27, Derin Sezgin ’28, and Sylvie Yao ’27—also volunteered to lead a session. Of the experience, Sylvie says, “I was aware of the extent to which AI was expanding but going to the AI Summit showed me how much AI has grown…[It] is constantly changing and inevitably will play a big role in the future.”

US Robotics Teams Are Positioned for State Competition

US Robotics Teams Are Positioned for State Competition

Jan 10, 2025 | , , ,

D-E’s Upper School Robotics Teams are halfway through the FIRST Tech Challenge robotics season! “Our varsity team, Critical Mass, and our JV team, Absolute Zero, have completed their first design prototypes and are beginning work on their new, improved robot designs for the second half of the season,” says Coach Chris Fleischl. Teams participate in meets in preparation for the Bergen County League Tournament in February. During a meet on Dec. 15, at River Dell High School, both our varsity and JV teams finished with 3 wins and 2 losses. Next up is a meet on Sunday, Jan. 19, at Blair Academy. The goal is to qualify for the State Championship and, ultimately, the World Championship. Critical Mass’ Jackson Chang ’25, says, “I fell in love with robotics because of opportunities to express myself through building components… We work hard every day to continue to iterate on our robot to even slightly improve our chances in competitions.” We’re rooting for all our future engineers and data scientists!

Sixth-Graders Learn How Food Shapes Their Identity

Sixth-Graders Learn How Food Shapes Their Identity

Jan 7, 2025 | , , ,

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!

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