This new year brings us many new additions to the Sam Barlow staff family. Though there isn’t enough time to go over every single one, I will be highlighting three amazing new members in this article. We welcome you all with warm open hearts, and we hope we can make you feel safe and included. 

First up we have Eric Benvenuti, a new Integrated 2 and 3 math teacher at Barlow. Mr. Benvenuti achieved his Bachelor’s degree from Evergreen State College, and his Master’s from Warner Pacific University. Prior to joining our team, he worked full time at Gresham High School for a year and a half teaching distance learning. He hopes he can get everybody to help each other get to some semblance of normalcy. One of his favorite things about teaching is when he gets to see when something finally clicks in their mind, when they finally understand what is happening, those little triumphs. Outside of school Mr. Benventuti enjoys camping and hiking. We hope you have a great experience at Barlow!

Next we have Joe Orzali, the new Green Science elective teacher. He also teaches a couple classes of sophomore Biology. Mr. Orzali has taught highschool for many years and 7th grade science at West Orient middle school for 4 years. Ever since he dipped his toe in the teaching pond, it has kept drawing him back. He said it must be a sign that teaching is what he was meant to do. He hopes to help students figure out what is reliable information so they can make good decisions. And he wants to challenge them to be better critical thinkers, identify, and ignore false information. Mr. Orzali’s motto is “The only constant is change.” He believes that by utilizing science we can make better decisions. One of his favorite things about teaching is being connected to constant change and constantly learning. Outside of school Mr.Orzali has a wife and 2 young children, most of his activities have to do with them, such as going to playgrounds, and nature play. He really enjoys getting out in nature, mountain biking, and paddle boarding is kind of his thing these days. We love to have you as our new Green Science teacher!

Last but not least for today we have Shae Morris, a new school counselor. She spent her first two years of her undergraduate degree at Portland Community College, then transferred to the University of Oregon where she earned a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology with an area of concentration on Substance Abuse Prevention. She then got her Master’s of Education for School Counseling from Lewis & Clark College. She has been a school counselor for 15 years. She chose to become a school counselor for 2 main reasons: She had amazing middle school counselors that were there for her, and she served in AmeriCorp for a year where, in addition to teaching, she helped run some counseling groups with the school counselor and loved it. Mrs. Morris hopes to bring a sense of support for the community to Barlow and hopes that she can be seen as someone that people can come talk to. One of her mottos is a quote from Arthur Ashe, “Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” One of the best things about being a counselor in her opinion is being able to share negative experiences with students and also share the “wins” with them too. Outside of school Mrs. Morris likes to hang out with her family, do DIY home projects, and really anything crafty. Thank you for being a part of our community! 

To those who I have not mentioned, thank you as well. You are seen and appreciated. We welcome you all to our marvelous Barlow family! Feel free to ask any questions, we are all here to help you get situated.