Come spring under the Mountain, Bears anticipate the release of the annual edition of The Dome. As Berkshire’s longstanding art & literature journal, The Dome celebrates the artistic talent of our vast student body, comprising works of prose, poetry, and art. Students can submit works ranging from short stories, non-fiction essays, and poems to drawings, paintings, photographs, sculptures, and graphic designs.
The release of The Dome is undoubtedly a highlight of Spring at Berkshire, but this fall, the editorial team thought, “Why wait until Spring 2026 to see work from our talented writers and artists?” Thanks to their efforts, we can now expect monthly installments of all kinds of creative work in the series titled “Dispatch from The Dome.”
During the all-school meeting on October 9th, The Dome’s editorial team announced the first-ever “Dispatch from The Dome.” Selected works included Totally Failing Calculus, a parody of John Everett Millais’s 1865 painting of Joan of Arc, by Charlee Cate Cardot ’27; and “Yellow”, a poem by Kat Nelson ’27.
Cardot ‘27 shared her creative process with the community, explaining the relevance of her piece during the stressful crunch ahead of the release of progress reports. Her painting depicts a well-respected hero overwhelmed by something as small-scale as a graded assessment in Calculus. Cardot ‘27 sends the message that students should not define their worth by a single test grade, because that represents only a snapshot of their academic careers.
Nelson ’27 read her prose essay, “Yellow,” to the community. Her piece was a stunning exploration of the self, written in a humorous and reflective tone; the clever, consistent rhyme scheme also makes it unforgettable for readers. “Yellow” speaks directly to our school’s motto, ‘Learning, not just for school but for life,’ and perfectly illustrates that writing isn’t confined to an assignment or a classroom.
Together, Totally Failing Calculus and “Yellow” form a memorable first edition of “The Dispatch.” The next installment is due Nov. 10. Bears, take inspiration from your peers and submit your work! Reach out to Ms. Cooper (faculty advisor to The Dome) or Dome editors Chidera Okeke ’26, Georgina Clarke ’26, Molly Caesar-Kim ’26, and Lena Smith ’26 with any questions.
