Lucas Smith

Chile Training Camp Opens Ski Team’s Season

October 12, 2025 by Lucas Smith

Some of the boys during the Chile training camp. Photo: Northwood/NYSEF (Facebook)

The alpine skiers kicked off their season this week with their annual two-week camp to Valle Nevado, Chile. They departed on September 21 and returned to campus on October 6th. All the student-athletes are excited to be skiing again!

Once the skiers arrived, they went right into freeskiing. “The freeskiing was good and felt nice to get my feet back under me,” Jackson Magnus ’27 said. “There was not much time to free ski since we got to the hotel so late, but it was good,” Magnus added. This was their only free ski day, so they had to use it to get as warm as possible before a big day of training ahead.

The first day of gate training arrived quickly and early. They woke up at 5:30 to get out in time for early morning sessions. “The first day of training went well,” Hudson Marshall ’27 said. “The snow was softer than I would have expected, but it was a good tone-setter for the camp. The early wake-ups and dryland training are really bringing the whole team closer together. The food is also noticeably better than last year,” Marshall added.

Alpine skiers at their 2025 Chile training camp. Photo provided.

The terrain at the alpine training camp in Chile. Photo provided.

The second day of training came easier with better conditions and the routine becoming more familiar. “Today was perfect GS,” Anja Robertson ’26 said. “The snow held up perfectly all day on Foxtrot, and we were able to get a lot of volume in a short amount of time,” Robertson added.

Friday, the final day of the week’s block, got cut short because of bad weather. They are expecting to get more than a foot of snow! This is the first of three blocks, so there will be many more updates of what our skiers are up to in Chile! Next up SL training.

Filed Under: Northwood Life, Sports

Northwood Welcomes Back Shashwath Sunkum ‘22

September 25, 2025 by Lucas Smith

Mr. Shashwath Sunkum ‘22. Photo provided.

Northwood School has welcomed a new member of the Mathematics and IEE departments: Shashwath Sunkum ‘22. Mr. Sunkum teaches Pre-Calculus and helps with the robotics team.

Mr. Sunkum was a student at Northwood during the 21-22 school year. This was one of the pandemic years, and now that he’s back, he sees that many things within the school are different from when he was here. “The living room was kind of dull compared to now, where everyone is hanging out in there,” Sunkum said.” Everyone was much more separated. Hockey players with hockey players, skiers with skier, soccer players with soccer players. The community I have now found here is unlike anything else,” he added.

In addition to teaching precalculus, Mr. Sunkum is assisting Ms. Fagan with the ski and snowboard club, which was one of his favorite activities during his student days. When asked how his colleagues look at him, their former student, he said, “They looked at me with the same amount of respect then as they do now, and they treat every student and faculty member with that respect.”

Now, being on the teacher’s side of things, he discusses the relationships he has been able to build with his students. “I almost have half of the school between all of my classes, so the number of students that I get to interact with is special. I am close with you all in age as well, so I have some of the same perspectives, but then you also bring so many new perspectives for me every day.”

Ms. Carmichael, Academic Dean and Dean of Faculty, shared her perspective on hiring Mr. Sunkum. “He was a standout student when he was here and then graduated with a double major in 3 years, so he obviously continued to be a serious student. The biggest thing, though, is his eagerness. He could have gone anywhere. He could teach back home, he could teach at Trinity, where he was as a TA, but he said, ‘I want to go back to Northwood and get my teaching experience from Northwood.’”

Ms. Carmichael considered Mr. Sunkum’s age to be his biggest challenge. “Something I challenged him the most on was his age. I was like, ‘You were just in high school a couple of years ago; can you really hold the line if some older high schooler is giving you a hard time with homework or whatever? Can you see yourself now on the other side of the coin?’” Carmichael asked.

Throughout his high school and college career, he has consistently excelled academically; now it is time for him to do the same on the other side of the classroom.

Filed Under: Northwood Life, People

School Improved with New Main Entrance

September 23, 2025 by Lucas Smith

There is a new entrance to the school, and it looks great! The construction of the new entrance began at the end of the previous school year and continued throughout the summer. It’s a good thing it was done in time for the start of the new school year! They have also remodeled the dining hall, making it more accessible to the rest of the school by replacing wooden walls with windows. Mr. Spears’ office was also moved to open the space even more. There are now many more windows, which provide much more natural light to the entire main area of the school. New Head of School Mr. Gino Riffle is exceptionally excited about the new entrance and how it attracts more people to the school’s lobby, now that there is more room.