Seniors Impatiently Waiting for College Acceptances

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Director of College Counseling Mr. David McCauley worked with senior Matia Valenzuela at a college application workshop earlier this fall.

Northwood’s seniors are becoming anxious, waiting to hear about where they’ll be for the next four or more years of their lives. Several members of the class of 2020 heard good news in December from schools they applied to early, but most seniors don’t know what’s next for them and it’s stressing them out.

The college process is stressful for everyone involved–parents, faculty, and, of course, the students. While some students are done their college search and proudly wearing the sweatshirt to the school they were admitted to early decision, most are applying Regular Decision. Mixed emotions kick in around this time. Elias Fleischman ‘20 said, “Waiting for the schools to get back to me with their admission decision is nerve-racking. There are a lot of uncertainties. The closer I get to finding out, the more nervous I get.”

Some students have already been accepted into colleges. Madison Novotny ‘20 is a recruited hockey player. “I’m relieved that I’m done with the college process. I feel less stressed. Before committing, I played in a reserved way and tried a bit too hard. But now I have more fun playing hockey. Academics-wise, I’m still stressed out because I need to maintain my grades, but I’m glad I don’t have to take the SAT or ACT again,” said Novotny.

The staff of The Mirror wishes the best for all seniors. The efforts you’ve put in over the last four or more years will shine through.

Nashville Wasn’t All Business for Girls Hockey

Thanksgiving Break ended early for the Girls’ Hockey team as they traveled south on Thanksgiving Day for a major hockey tournament Nashville. The girls had just one thing on their minds: winning hockey games. However, after their business was taken care of, the girls enjoyed their free time exploring the city. Unfortunately, a winter storm made getting back to Northwood a challenge for the majority of the girls.

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Nashville’s Lower Broadway (Photo: globeguide.ca)

The girls boarded planes as most of their classmates bellied up to the dinner table on Thanksgiving Day. After a short break, the girls reunited and shared a Thanksgiving meal prepared and hosted by Milly and Jeff Smith, parents of sophomore Iliana Smith ‘22. The girls, and the many family members who joined them, are very thankful for the evening.

After getting another five games under the team’s belt it was time for the girls to enjoy the city of Nashville. On Sunday evening, the team and families took a trip downtown, where they were able to walk down Broadway, enjoy dinner with live music, and sing some karaoke in front of a crowd.

After some days in the warm Nashville air, the girls had a rude awakening when they started their journey home: a major snowstorm in the Northeast canceled or delayed nearly all of their flights. The team wound up separated and stranded all across the country at different airports. Nearly every player experienced significant delays or cancelations.

The entire team made it back to school safely by dinner on Tuesday and they all got right back to work with practice on Wednesday to begin preparation for a big tournament in Connecticut December 13-15.

Alpine Team Has First Races

After full preparation in the gym and on the mountains of Austria, it’s time for Northwood skiers to begin their long winter season.

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Gabby Cote ’20 (center) hopes for more podium finished this season (Photo: NYSEF).

Two weekends ago, Katie Gilligan, Alpine Ski Coach, and a small selection of NYSEF skiers hit the road for Sunday River in Maine. Besides the two seniors, Julia Geraldi ‘20 and Andrew Van Slyke ‘20, the other skiers, Audrey Higgens-Lopez ‘21, Gabby Cote ‘21, and Jaden Klebba ‘21 had their first FIS races ever. Cote said, “It went great for the first race of the season. We all skied up to our abilities and got a sense of what it’s like skiing at a higher level.” She added, “I’m very psyched for this season. The ski team’s got some really good training in, and we all continue to improve. Based on how we all did as a group on our first race, we’re going to kick butt this season!”

Now that skiing season is in full swing, Northwood skiers are out on Whiteface Mountain more than four days a week, traveling all across the country for races. Their second race took place this past weekend back in Sunday River.

Holiday Tradition Alive at Northwood

It’s time for Northwood to hop onto old traditions. Santa Claus is coming to Northwood’s living room this evening.

Once a month, the Northwood community comes together for a formal dinner often followed by a music performance led by students. Tonight, Northwood is holding its annual Christmas formal. For weeks, music classes have been preparing a concert with all the top Christmas hits. However, that isn’t the end of the night, as there’s more in stock(ing). After a celebratory dinner, students, faculty, and faculty children will await the arrival of Santa Claus at the living room, where a 12-foot Christmas tree stands and lights, menorahs, and tinsels add to the holiday vibe.

This formal will make special memories for everyone as the community prepares for a well-deserved winter break.

Students Experience First Snow. Ever.

’Tis the season to store away flip flops and beach towels and take out winter boots and Santa’s Sleigh.

Winter at Northwood looks something like this: cold students bundled up in winter jackets, hats, and fuzzy blankets, cozy pajamas worn all around the dorms, hot chocolate in the dining hall, and fire glowing hot in the living room fireplace. Lake Placid had its first snow of the year season back in November, after a brief spell of rain, the snow continues to fall. [Read more…]

Humans of Northwood: Aiden LaValley ‘20

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Snowboarding in the winter and being out on the lake in the summer are my favorite hobbies outside of hockey.  I’m from Champlain, New York. I made the decision to attend Northwood for my final year of high school because I loved the hockey program and the location of the school. I love the Adirondacks. Although I’m not too far away from home, I miss my friends and my family. I miss all the nights of eating out. I miss sleeping in my own room even though I’m really happy with my roommate here. And last but not least, I miss my puppy.

My experience at Northwood has been great so far. The students are super welcoming and accepting. The teachers and coaches have made the transition from my old school easy, and they’re willing to help with any aspect of my life. At my old school, there were about 50 students in a class. The average class size here is about 10 students or less. I think this makes Northwood unique and very different. Although my athletic and academic commitments don’t leave a lot of space for free time, I also love the excellent athletic programs here at Northwood.

Northwood is a unique opportunity for me, and here, I learn new things every day. I feel like it’ll be hard to forget just about anything about Northwood even after I graduate. After graduation in May, I hope to pursue my hockey career by playing junior hockey.

As told to Aimee Headland ’20

Humans of Northwood: Olivia McLean ‘21

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I am the only girl in the school who snorts when laughing. I’m from South Burlington, Vermont. I decided to come to Northwood because the hockey program at my last school collapsed, and I wanted to continue playing competitively. Outside of hockey, one of my favorite hobbies is kayaking, especially in fast-flowing rivers.

Northwood helps me balance hockey and classes, but I sometimes feel like I get too much work here. I’d much rather have less work that requires more thinking. Especially with all the traveling for hockey, it’s hard to find time to do all the work.

Since I’m living away from home, I miss my mom’s food and hanging out with my dad. I also miss the academic challenges and a lot of the connections I had with the teachers at my old school.

After Northwood, I want to go to college, then law school, then practice criminal defense for a few years, and eventually work my way into the political scene. But I’ll never forget the connections I’ve made here. At Northwood, I’ve learned to love the people around me, like my coaches, teachers, friends, and roommates. They’ve become my second family.

As told to Aimee Headland ’20

On “Testing Day” Seniors Focus on College

One of the most stressful years of high school is the senior year. But Northwood makes it easier. Last Wednesday, after Family Weekend, as the underclassmen took either PSAT and Pre ACT, seniors began their college application processes.

After enjoying a long weekend with families, seniors got together in the dining hall to fill out sections of the Common Application. The day was hectic–laptops filled tables, charging cords sprawled across the floor, and students called their counselors from the other side of the room for help. But it was a successful start to the college process.

Mr. David McCauley joined Northwood School this fall as Director of College Counseling. “The purpose of the whole drill was to make sure that everyone, by the end of the day, would be at a certain point of completion with their application,” Mr. McCauley said. “It was nice that I was able to connect with almost every student in the senior class,” he added.

Madison Novotny ‘20 felt that the day was very helpful. She said, “It kind of forced us to really zone in and move toward college.” She was happy with the progress she had made by the end of the day. “I managed to complete most of the Common App except the essay portion. I began to work on my applications. I also talked to my coach about schools. I enjoyed crossing items off my to-do list. It brought my stress level down a bit.”

Faculty from the College Counseling Department supported the distressed seniors throughout the day. “It really helped that Mr. McCauley brought us candies,” Novotny said.

With the deadlines for Early Decision and Early Action applications fast approaching, many seniors are getting ready to move on to the next chapter of their lives. We wish them all the best of luck.

Students Continue Halloween Tradition at Northwood

The trees have lost their leaves and the temperatures are getting colder. Snow is in the forecast. Fall is coming to an end at Northwood and it is time for the tradition of celebrating Halloween.

Halloween began as a Celtic festival Samhain, an event for people to dress up and light bonfires in hopes to scare away ghosts. Over time, some of these traditions were integrated into All Saints Day, November 1st, which slowly evolved into Halloween. Through the years, Halloween in America has become an entire day of activities like trick-or-treating, carving jack-o-lanterns, festive gatherings, donning costumes and eating treats.

Northwood students look forward to celebrating Halloween. “I mainly like Halloween for the movies and the good food around this time of the year,” said Michael Leone ‘21.

Celebrating big holidays while being away from home can be a challenging time for Northwood students, but the school organizes many fun activities. From the start of breakfast, students will attend classes and walk the campus dress in all types of costumes. Then, during community time, there is a costume contest with the following categories: Funniest, Scariest, Most Creative, Best Duo/Trio, and Best Group.

When the sun goes down, the lights come up, and the fists start pumping, The Halloween disco features the funky beats of DJ Hilaire. Northwood’s newest hockey coach and math/robotics teacher, Mr. Keanu Hilaire, will get the school dancing.

Another Halloween tradition is CandyGrams. Northwood’s community service organization CARE offers the opportunity for students to send each other small bags of candy with personalized messages. The fundraiser raises hundreds of dollars for worthy causes each year.

Not everyone enjoys the Halloween tradition at Northwood. Daniel Colabufo ‘20 said “ I don’t like it because I don’t see it as a real holiday as I don’t see a real meaning behind it. It’s a way for little kids to get candy.” Despite Colabufo’s skepticism, the tradition continues and Northwood still finds a fun way for all students to enjoy the day.

Celebrating Halloween is a way for the school to come together as a community.  For some, it is the scariest time of the year and for others, it is their favorite time of the year.

Details of this year’s festivities were outlined in a recent email from Ms. Mavis Agnew:

From: Mavis Agnew <agnewm@northwoodschool.com>
Date: Fri, Oct 25, 2019 at 12:12 PM
Subject: Halloween
To: FacultyStaff <facultystaff@northwoodschool.com>, students <students@northwoodschool.com>

Students & Faculty:

On Thursday, October 31st we will have a Peak costume contest and runway walk at a special all school meeting during community time at 10:25am.  Students are permitted to wear appropriate costumes on Halloween or they may be in class dress. This is not a “dress down day” and students cannot dress as a “yoga instructor”  or a “rugby athlete” in order to just wear leggings, or shorts and t-shirts to class. Please have fun, but make costumes both respectful and specific and do not abuse the privilege to wear costumes to class.

Thursday evening we will have a Halloween Dinner.  Dress is either costume or class dress:

Rainbow Carrot Slaw
Green Salad
Green Curried Shellfish (shrimp, mussels, clams)
Tri-Colored Tortellini with roasted tomato sauce and fresh basil
Cheddar Stuffed Meatloaf with tomato glaze
Crispy Waffle Fry Poutine
Fresh Tuscan Bread
NY apples with Caramel Fondue
Sundae Bar

Dinner will be followed by a Dance in the rear of the Dining Hall featuring DJ HIlaire

Some Peak Events including a balloon stomp and hide & seek will take place.

The festivities will commence by 8:15 and study hall will resume by 8:30pm.

Please let me know if you have questions.  If you have ideas, please reach out to our Halloween Spirit Chairman, Addie Castillo.  We will be looking for student volunteers to help with decorations and clean up.

 

Girls’ Hockey Still Undefeated

A large Family Weekend crowd saw Northwood girls hockey take two crucial wins against New York State rivals Syracuse Valley Eagles. One game at a time, the girls are seeking to continue their win streak, which currently stands at 12 games.

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Girls huddle before the first game of the season against OHA (Photo: Mr. Aldridge)

[Read more…]

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