A new head of administration arises. Barstow’s traditions, cultures, and experiences have brought the students, teachers, faculty, and staff all together as a community. At Barstow, some people are nervous about saying hello to others or continuing conversations. This is where Dr. Jenny Marien, the new head of upper school, has decided to step in. She hopes to not only help people be more curious and confident but also to deepen the roots of our community.

“I think encouraging everybody to get more curious and creative hopefully helps make it feel natural to ask more questions and to extend conversations beyond, ‘Hi. How are you?’ and to learn a little bit more about each other throughout the year,” says Dr. Marien

Dr. Marien had a colleague who was excited and studied the field of creativity and shared books and articles with her. This encouraged her to think of ways to become more curious and creative.

She hopes that students can engage in short, fun, and unexpected activities once a month or quarter to further strengthen their confidence.

“I so enjoy getting to know the students I’ve gotten to know and I can’t wait to get everybody’s name and get to know everybody;” she says. Dr. Marien was impressed with the mixer, describing it as relaxed and engaging, and observed how everybody seemed to enjoy the food and the conversation. She also thought that when people joined together in the Barstow Cheer, everyone was enthusiastic and in unison, showing the deepened connection of the Barstow students to their community.

“Oh, the faculty and staff are top-notch,” Dr. Marien notes. She explains that they are deeply dedicated to the excitement of learning, creating exciting experiences for all students, and caring for students as individuals.

“What I hope to learn this year is to learn about Barstow’s culture, to learn about the rich traditions, and then also just to hear from the students about what else they would like to see in Barstow’s culture; what do they wanna add or change,” she says.

Dr. Marien is taking fruitful steps toward achieving her goal. This goal was inspired by her colleague, who deeply studied the field of creativity. Her goal is to help students become a little more curious, creative, and confident. To do this, she will introduce unexpected activities to further boost student’s confidence. She is very impressed with the students and teachers and hopes to get to know every one of the people at Barstow.