Stats class with Mr. Giacin. Photo by Justin McLeod ’26.
Two months into the 2025–26 school year, Statistics has become an unexpected favorite among Northwood students—thanks in large part to first-year teacher and assistant prep hockey coach Mr. Giacin, whose energetic and creative approach has made data come alive in the classroom.
Statistics teaches students how to collect, analyze, and organize data. The course covers probability, averages, graphs, and making predictions based on patterns. Overall, the goal is to understand how data works in the real world and to apply it to solve real problems and make informed decisions.
“The most fun lesson in stats class has been the educational movies. I have really enjoyed the movies Mr. Giacin picked for the class,” Harry Vant ’26 said. “The project we’re working on now—comparing Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid to find their Z-scores and determine who was more dominant in their MVP season—helped me understand Z-scores much more,” Vant added.
“Mr. Giacin’s teaching skills make stats class easier to understand through projects, speeches, and movies. I don’t seem to fail in his class,” Vant said.
Ryan Demers ’27 shared a similar perspective. “I like how I am learning to connect what we’re studying to the real world instead of just filling out packets and equations,” Demers said. “I learned how to use an Excel sheet for a Z-score project, and my group was able to get an A-,” he added.
“Mr. Giacin is a great teacher who makes stats class easy and enjoyable for many students like me. I am excited for the rest of the year,” said Demers.
Reflecting on his experience so far, Mr. Giacin said, “This first year of teaching statistics—two months in—has been a blast, with many students enjoying the class with laughter and smiles.” He added, “The stats teacher before me, Jeff Miller, has been very helpful in giving me ideas to make my class fun and enjoyable for my students.”
“I am very happy with the batch of students I have this school year,” said Mr. Giacin.
Overall, stats class has been a great experience for many students—and there are surely more good things to come.
