Seniors who have spent 13+ years of their lives at Barstow get the recognition they deserve.

Barstow’s seniors have gradually been getting ready to depart from the school to embark on new adventures of their own, but a particular subset of these seniors have had a rare Barstow experience. Seniors at Barstow who have attended the school for 13 years or more are given the title of “lifers.” This term highlights their loyalty to Barstow as a school and community.

While all seniors get the wonderful opportunity of having a kindergarten buddy, lifers also get preschool buddies. Similar to kindergarten buddies, lifers are paired up with one or more preschooler(s). Over the course of this school year, the lifers engaged in various activities with their designated preschoolers. These activities included having recess together, decorating balloons, playing mini golf, and much more.

Recently, these individuals were able to participate in Barstow’s longest lasting tradition, Tree Day. While the rest of the school watches in awe, all of the lifers and their buddies from the preschool class took part in a beautiful tree-planting ceremony. The joining of members from Barstow’s lowest grade level and Barstow’s highest grade level symbolize, not only the beginning of an adventure for preschoolers who stand where the now-seniors once stood but also the end of a journey for the seniors. Complete with poetry readings and a musical performance by the Barstow Singers and Faculty Choir, the event went on without a hitch.

The one-of-a-kind tradition of Tree Day emphasizes the unity and kinship that the Barstow School manages to cultivate year round.