A Salute to Mrs. Andrea Pennells

6 December 2011Rachael K

Students choose Brentwood for a variety of reasons. The studious select Brentwood for its keen fondness of academics; the artistic enjoy the different streams of arts practiced here; the athletic select Brentwood because of the school’s excellent coaches and sporting facilities. One of the main reasons I personally chose to attend Brentwood, however, deviates from these obvious, tripartite reasons. 

I chose Brentwood because of its Head of School, Mrs. Andrea Pennells.

In order to live the Brentwood life, a series of steps must be taken – this includes the initial tour. Now, a tour for any new student is a bit of an overwhelming experience. Said ‘tourist’ is surrounded by, quite literally, hundreds of unfamiliar people, and is expected to remain poised and calm, articulate and collected.

On the outside, perhaps a touring candidate can maintain this composed demeanor. On the inside, however, an overwhelmingly resounding ‘No, I am certainly not prepared for this day’ mantra may or may not be echoing off the walls of one’s psyche. 

This was my internal world when I first toured Brentwood. 

During my tour, much to my dismay, I felt extremely out of place, and very, how shall I phrase it…vertically challenged when compared to the many teenagers who surrounded me. Of course, adolescent girls generally feel self-conscious about a wide variety of topics every day…it is part of the “growing up girl’s handbook”, after all…but on that particular rainy day, my stress levels were completely out of whack – feeling like a short “fish out of water” barely even covers it. So there I was, a jittery, twelve year old girl who, at the end of Mr. Johnson’s spiel, was about to meet the Head of School of the “tall-people school”.

The intimidating title that Mrs. Pennells sported, of course, did absolutely nothing to calm my nerves.

But my fears were doused very shortly after meeting Mrs. Pennells. Instead of a frightening character I was met by an Italian, Scottish (not English, mind you) woman, dressed in bright, bold colors with a glowing smile on her face. She proceeded to immediately welcome me to the school, and take my hands in both of hers. 

Now, Mrs. Pennells has a very extensive list of credentials, one of which includes the reading of people, so it was unsurprising when, shortly after our initial greetings, she inquired as to why I was feeling so nervous. I meekly responded that I felt incredibly short in a sea of 6-foot giants. 

And then something truly remarkable happened. 

Mrs. Pennells immediately proceeded to put down the book she was holding, strip off her heels, and stand barefoot before me.

So that we were the same height.

And that was the moment when I decided that maybe things at Brentwood wouldn’t be so bad. 

As we all know, next year, Brentwood will lose its incredible leader, care-giver, and role model of the last twelve years. Mrs. Pennells is on to scaling new mountains…instead of new building projects, she will be tackling mountain ranges across Europe, fulfilling her dreams of the ultimate retirement with her husband, Gerry.

The assembly where students were told this news, in and of itself, was an exciting one. After the initial shock wore off, Mrs. Pennells concluded the segment by literally running around and hugging all the staff members (which included jumping up on a chair to hug Mr. Felix – that was hilarious) who had helped locate Brentwood’s new headmaster, Mr. Bud Patel. Plus two kisses for Mr. Pennells. Gather ye rosebuds! 

Obvious merriment all around. 

Mrs. Pennells, we will miss you dearly, but will always remember you, of course, through your numerous contributions to the school. Thank you for finding such an impressive new Head of School to fill the shoes you once took off in order to make a short student feel more comfortable.

Best of wishes on your new adventures, Mrs. Pennells and Mr. Pennells. Mr. Patel, good luck moving in over the summer. We’re all looking forward to meeting you next year. 

Rachael K