March 3, 2023
Dear Middle School Families,
The Middle School will be holding our annual special learning program, Diversity Day, on March 9 for all of the students in grades 6 through 8. We will work with the entire division to engage in learning and community-building opportunities that are important to the Middle School. From past and present experiences, we see that the opportunity for division-wide learning time devoted to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) will be a pivotal day for our students and faculty to learn and grow together as a whole community.
On Thursday, March 9, regular classes will be suspended for this important work, so that teachers can work across grade levels to engage students in conversations about community, DEIB, and opportunities to practice positive community interactions. We also thought that involving students in reflective conversations about their contributions to the D-E community will help get them ready for upcoming curricular units.
The ultimate goal of the program is to help middle school students in being reflective and mindful of all members of our community, and to prepare for rigorous conversations in their classes. We have the opportunity to give students tools and models for how to learn together in more mindful ways. As a school committed to developing curious, caring children who are growing into adults, we want our current students to expand their intellectual toolkits, particularly related to DEIB. Our hope is that this will be an important step in the growth of the Middle School students towards a fluency in topics that will serve them well in their Middle School years, in Upper School, college and beyond.
*The end of the Diversity Day features our MS Holi celebration, which is a festival of color that originated in South Asia, but is now enjoyed around the world (including the world’s largest annual celebration in Utah!) to celebrate the victory of good over evil, the beginning of spring and future harvests. D-E Middle School will celebrate with a brief color throwing activity where each student will be given one small pouch of colored powder to be thrown on Graham field. Students should be dressed in clothing that can get temporarily messy. Please contact Ms. Henry (henrys@d-e.org) if your child has skin allergies or other health concerns that may need to be accommodated.
*US Middle Eastern Affinity Group is leading the D-E program to support survivors of the tragic earthquake in Turkey and Syria. The Middle School is coordinating our response with the other two divisions to magnify our impact to benefit those affected. You will hear more about this soon.
*This week our assembly speaker was Alex Korel. He is a D-E alum and spoke to the students about design thinking and innovation. His three pillars: (1) you’re not the only one who has that problem (2) you can’t always solve a problem, but you can make it better, (3) once you have an idea, share it with others who have the same problem.
*Remember that spring break begins on Friday, March 17. If your student is going to miss days before or after spring break, please contact your grade level dean to arrange a planned absence. This allows students, families, and teachers to all be on the same page about any missed assignments or adjusted due dates.
*I’m excited to announce that Max Stossel is coming to speak on campus April 5. Max is an award winning writer and filmmaker, and he is also the Youth & Education Advisor for the Center for Humane Technology. He not only is speaking with students, but will be presenting to parents on campus 9:15-10:15.
I hope everyone has a great start to March, and I hope to bump into you on campus.
Regards,
Jonathan