Valerie Berrios

By: Valerie Berrios •

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!

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By: Valerie Berrios •

Rehearsals continue in earnest and our vocalists can’t wait to share the […] Read More

By: Valerie Berrios •

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.

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By: Valerie Berrios •

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.”

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By: Valerie Berrios •

We caught up with Mr. Fleischl, coach of D-E’s Upper School Robotics […] Read More

By: Valerie Berrios •

Checkmate! Cheers to our D-E 360° ACE (AfterCare & Enrichment) Chess Team, which had two players compete in the U.S. Chess Federation’s 2024 National K-12 Grade Championships in National Harbor, Maryland, from Dec. 6-8. Third grader Adam Y. ’34 and 11th grader Anna Radchenko ’26 exhibited great sportsmanship and represented D-E well, says Coach Mackenzie “Mac” Molner. “In this tournament, participants only play other kids from their own grade level,” explains Coach Mac. “It’s a very difficult tournament, to say the least!” In the face of such tough competition, Adam scored 3.5 points out of 7 games and Anna scored 4 out of 7 games. “I loved meeting players from all over the country and challenging stronger opponents,” says Adam. “I’m really proud of myself that I had a draw with a much higher-rated player and earned respect from him.”

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By: Valerie Berrios •

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!

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By: Valerie Berrios •

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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By: Valerie Berrios •

’Tis the season! D-E’s students are fulfilling the school’s core value of […] Read More

By: Valerie Berrios •

D-E recently introduced our next Head of School, Dr. James Calleroz White […] Read More

By: Valerie Berrios •

D-E welcomed back Sophia Seriale ’22, a “D-E lifer,” as the Swartley […] Read More

By: Valerie Berrios •

Digital Wellness has been top of mind at D-E, just as it […] Read More

By: Valerie Berrios •

On Thursday, Dec. 12, the Middle School English Department hosted its MS […] Read More

By: Valerie Berrios •

We’re in business! On Thursday, Dec. 12, D-E’s 6th-grade enTREPreneurs successfully acted […] Read More

By: Valerie Berrios •

D-E’s Club Être recently hosted a Lunch & Learn with Yansi Fugel, […] Read More

By: Valerie Berrios •

D-E’s eighth graders made a mark with their research and presentation skills […] Read More

By: Valerie Berrios •

D-E’s Upper School students got a hands-on lesson about the science of […] Read More

By: Valerie Berrios •

Music ensembles—such as jazz, classical, handbells, and choir—have long been an integral […] Read More

By: Valerie Berrios •

On Saturday, Nov. 23, D-E’s Middle School (MS) Robotics Teams competed (and […] Read More

By: Valerie Berrios •

A rainy morning on Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024, didn’t dampen the spirits […] Read More