The new outdoor rink on Cobble Field (Photo: Northwood School)
The beginning-of-term quarantine is behind us and activities are again the focus of students’ weekends, especially when athletic teams couldn’t travel and play games. Although students are not yet allowed to go into town or take weekend trips home, the school is offering many fun activities for the students to participate in.
A new addition to our weekend activities is our own outdoor rink right in the front yard of school! Our staff has been working hard to open it for us and it is now ready for use. Hockey players are playing pick-up hockey and organizing 3-on-3 tournaments. Other students are learning to skate while enjoying fresh Adirondack air.
Cobble Hill, located on campus right behind the main building, is home to many activities for students. Recently, students were given the chance to snowshoe or hike up the mountain. We could also go cross-country skiing, sledding, or have a fire at the Bartell Family Pavilion with our friends.
Students have recently enjoyed sliding on the toboggan chute and skating on the Olympic speedskating oval, two classic Lake Placid events. A new event is the “Northwood Takeover” of Origin Coffee, a new locally-owned coffee shop in the Village.
Most Sundays, students go on “Jitney runs” to Hannaford and Marshall’s to restock on groceries and shop for clothes or accessories.
The organizer of all weekend activities is Ms. Leigh Riffle who told the Mirror, “My goals when creating and putting together weekend activities is to give the students a rich residential experience. At Northwood,” Riffle observed, “it’s a unique set up because in normal times we can do many activities that aren’t readily available at other schools,“ she said. “We live in a literal playground where there are so many things students will do for the first time,” said Riffle. “I want the students to have fun and be able to look back on the times they had here as great memories with great friends.”
Riffle doesn’t do the planning alone. “Every week I work with a group of students that signed up to help plan weekend activities and we talk through what the student body wants for activities,” she said. “Obviously, because of the pandemic…many activities that have been offered in the past are unable to be done this year so that we can keep the community, safe such as taking trips to Burlington, etc. With athletic restrictions as well and having everyone on campus, which I absolutely love, I do feel the pressure to make weekends and student life as great as I can for the student body and that’s definitely tough in these circumstances.”
Although this year has given us many challenges and restrictions, Ms. Riffle has done a very good job at keeping us all entertained and having fun here on the weekends.
