Congrats to our Bulldog Bots, who are heading to the World Finals! Over the weekend, our Upper School Robotics Team, Team #207 Critical Mass, qualified to compete in the FIRST World Championship, which will take place Wednesday, April 29, through Saturday, May 2, at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston. “We will be one of 336 teams from around the world, representing the top 3 percent of teams that competed this year!” exclaimed Coach Fleischl. “Our students have collectively put in thousands of hours of work throughout a long season that stretches back to the start of the school year. In that time, team members designed and constructed numerous mechanical prototypes, programmed the robot to score autonomously, practiced efficient driving, and worked countless hours mentoring younger students both within the D-E community and in the community at large,” he added. According to team member Rajan Dhillon ’28, the competition was intense, but incredibly rewarding. “As a driver, there was constant pressure to perform my best for the team, and every decision mattered. Things didn’t always go our way… but those moments pushed us to think fast, problem solve, and adapt our strategy,” he said. “Seeing all our hard work pay off made it worth it!” Teammate Alexa Wanich ’28 shared, “It was always difficult to tell how the competition was going, but when they announced our team name [as the winner], I think that was the craziest part.” Good luck in Houston, Critical Mass!

TEDxDwight-Englewood School returned this year with another exceptional lineup of speakers from the Upper School (US) to give a TED Talk on a range of thought-provoking topics. The goal of this year’s talks was to tie their central points to the human experience. The event was facilitated by Chief Innovation Officer Diana Gross and co-produced by Anna Ibargüen ’26, Krishnav Tapuriah ’26, and Madigan Kacmar ’26. They were assisted by associate producers Sylvie Yao ’27 and Jared Mosseri ’27. In addition, each speaker was mentored by D-E faculty and staff. By creating a space for original thought and personal insight, TEDxDwight-Englewood School enables students to contribute to an ongoing, reflective conversation within our community about what it means to be human. Click the link in our bio to learn more and watch the presentations in full.

Cultivating creativity! D-E Middle School students in Ms. Miller’s Creative Writing and Ms. Scrivanich’s Art & Design Explorations Discovery classes recently teamed up to visit The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York as part of an experiential program called “Narrative in Art.” Ms. Miller said her students are learning to use anchor texts from prominent poets, such as Maya Angelou, as the basis for their own emulations. The day at the museum “had students using the artwork as a springboard to create, in small groups, a piece of writing,” said Ms. Miller. “It is a different kind of analysis and interpretation.” Similarly, Art & Design students were able to practice skills in responding to artwork by engaging in activities and discussions about select pieces with the educator at The MoMa. “In my Studio Art classes, I encourage students to let their voice inspire their art-making,” said Ms. Scrivanich. “Reflecting on the work of influential artists such as Van Gogh, Remedios Varo, and Archibald John Motley through the frame of ‘narrative in art’ allowed students to understand how artists have long practiced storytelling in their work.” Ms. Scrivanich added that viewing the artwork in person is extra special. “It was great to see the students’ genuine excitement about each piece and just being in the presence of art.”