The latest exhibition in the Swartley Gallery Series is a community art exhibition inspired by the theme “What Does it Mean to be Human?” D-E Middle School (MS) and Upper School (US) students, faculty, and staff contributed paintings, drawings, ceramics, collages, photography, textile art, and mixed-media work to this stunning showcase, which will be on view through Tuesday, April 14. During this week’s Artist Reception, Rachel Deutsch-Brusky, US/MS Art & Design Teacher, said the exhibit represents “many different perspectives across our community… as well as a wide range of mediums for expressing emotions, stories, and narratives.” Ms. Brusky presented an oil-on-canvas painting depicting her brother, who has struggled with mental and physical health challenges. “The piece has a feeling of sadness, but there is also a light of hope that shows his perseverance,” she said. Other works include an evolution-themed work by Jagger Ross ’30, “showing humanity’s unique drive to survive, build, and learn from past mistakes”; a collection from ninth graders on “the world around them through a microscopic lens”; and an acrylic painting by Catie Carnoy ’27, “inspired by the human desire for perfection.” Ms. Brusky noted it was also special to see the work of faculty/staff who the community may not be familiar with as artists. Don’t miss this impactful series!

Our Lower School (LS) Grades 2, 3, and 4 are practicing hard and eagerly anticipating their annual Spring Concert, scheduled for a week from today! The D-E community is invited to attend the LS Spring Concert on Tuesday, March 10, at 7:00 PM in Schenck Auditorium. According to LS Music Teacher Fiona Crawford, this concert will showcase our young musicians’ singing voices, part work, and instrument playing. “Students will present a variety of traditional folk songs from different areas of the world, as well as popular hits and settings of beautiful poems,” she said. The stage is set for a musical adventure! 

As part of a nonfiction writing unit, fourth graders in Ms. Watson’s class explored the research and writing process by studying an invention of their choice and developing a well-structured five-paragraph essay. “They began by generating their own subtopics, thoughtfully organizing their ideas around key aspects, such as the inventor’s background, the problem the invention solved, how it works, and its impact on society,” said Ms. Watson. Students presented their work on a wide range of topics. Diego H. ’34, for example, covered the evolution of telephones and was able to articulate how telephones changed the world. Mia G. ’34 said she researched the Sony Walkman because “I was curious how people listened to music before iPhones and iPads.” Liana G. ’34 said she was interested in the topic of tap dancing because she’d recently begun taking lessons and then “learned the whole story behind it.” Alexis K. ’34 fully committed to her chosen invention of clocks by wearing a clock tower costume and presenting on the most primitive sundial clocks to the highly precise atomic clocks. Joseph Z. ’34, whose project was focused on cars, said he learned that it was “important to understand what is going on in the world.” In addition to practicing taking detailed research notes, peer editing and mentoring was an important part of the process, said Ms. Watson. She noted that in a great display of cross-divisional collaboration, her students got presentation tips from eighth graders, who’d recently completed their History Day Fair. “These lessons connect classroom learning to the real world by illustrating how problems inspire innovation and how individual ideas can shape history,” said Ms. Watson. Bravo to our future innovators for all their hard work!