Photo: Ally Week poster, courtesy of GLSEN
Numerous student organizations are active this year. Staff writer Aude-Marie Ackebo ’18 provides this update:
Sustainability
Sustainability is supervised by Mr. Tyler Eaton with a main goal to “Save the Earth… or at least try to.” So far into the school year, they have focused on their reusable water bottle project. A project in which they have teamed up with Blender Bottle to create Northwood School themed shaker bottles. These bottles are significant because they will save hundreds of water bottles from being used. They’ve also been trying to emphasize the importance of recycling and have been talking to Mr. Maher about some changes they could make to really push our school over the “green edge”. Their next big project will be to work, along with the student council, on improving our food and getting more natural food for meals. It’s important we know where our food is from to have confidence in it. The Sustainability Committee has been working hard to spread knowledge on recycling, and to take action towards a more eco-friendly environment here at Northwood. Save the Earth!
Blue Key Society
The Blue Key Society is made up of students who have been selected to be Northwood ambassadors. Their job is to lead tours for the Northwood guests so that they get a real “feel” of the school while they look at the physical place. Tours have already started courtesy of our returning students and the new students will start touring in the next couple of weeks. The admissions office agrees that no one is better to give a sense of our community then the members of the community themselves. They believe that by letting the best faces of the school show our guests around, we are sure to leave a great and real first impression.
Student Council
At the head of the student council, we have Dillon Smith and Brendan Murphy. Since we are so early in the year, they have not completed any projects. However, they have started many and are always looking to more. So far, they are looking forward to working with the Sustainability Committee to improve the quality of our food so that we get natural food. They are also trying to improve our breakfast options. We have succeeded in getting real eggs three times a week. They are also planning the Halloween formal so that students can celebrate Halloween even though we can’t go trick or treating. StuCo is open to any suggestions from students to make this day memorable. We can also email them for any general suggestions at studentcouncil@northwoodschool.com and they will do their best to address any issue and take everything in to consideration.
C.A.R.E.
Ms. Edwards is at the head of the Northwood C.A.R.E Committee, which is a community that does charity work. So far, they have had forty students and faculty from Northwood participate in Relay for Life. They donated money, walked the oval and volunteered by making all of the luminaires for the cause. We also donated about three hundred and fifty dollars. They also participated in Lee Denim Day, a nationally recognized fundraiser that seeks to find a cure for breast cancer. Students could donate five dollars each to be able to wear jeans to class for one day. Students could also purchase a bracelet for a dollar to help the cause. In the past Northwood has raised more than a thousand dollars for this cause.
Math Lab
At the head of the math Lab is Mr. Vitale. It’s a place where students can come to get help with math from their peers. It could be help with homework, help understanding a wrong answer on a test or help making sense of what they learned in class that day. Mr. Vitale is currently trying to get the Math lab up and running and already has students that volunteered to be tutors. In the long term, he hopes the Math Lab will encourage students to take responsibility for what they are expected to know and to say “I need to figure this out” instead of just “I don’t get it”.
The Writing Center and WORD Studio
The writing center provides writing help to the whole Northwood community. It offers students the opportunity to meet with a tutor one-on-one and get help to improve their writing capacities. The WORD studio gives students the chance to discuss writing, oral presentations, research, and multimedia projects with students trained in communication and in the practice of tutoring. The WORD studio’s main goal is to help students become better and more creative communicators.They have students from different grades available during morning Flex time in Ms. Farmer’s Classroom (room 104). Students can also set up an appointment with a particular tutor by sending an email to writingcenter@northwoodschool.com
GSA
The GSA, Gay-Straight Alliance, is a group made of diverse Northwood students that welcomes members of any sexual orientation. Its goal is to make our school a more open and accepting community to all in attendance regardless of identity. So far this year, they have taken a group of students to attend Pride in Burlington. They also participated in ally week. This is a week dedicated to showing support for both those in the LGTBQ community and those who are friends, or allies, to that community. The week started with a small presentation at school meeting on Monday. On Wednesday, there was a rainbow spirit day and students participated and showed support by wearing bright colors. A showing of “Straightlaced”, a movie that discusses society’s gender rules and people that don’t conform, was also featured. A large poster where allies were to sign their names in support was also made and nearly the entire student body and faculty signed their names. Safe Space stickers have been distributed to all who wanted them so they could mark their room as a safe space for the LGBTQ community. Overall, GSA’s purpose is to make Northwood School a welcoming place for everyone and enhance our education by learning about others and their different ways of life.
