Maegan Byrne

Students Share Summer Plans

May 18, 2023 by Maegan Byrne

With the school year coming to a close, Northwood students are getting excited about summer. Northwood students have a variety of plans for summer this year.

Aidan Laskey ‘23 plans to work for his dad’s roofing company this summer. He is also going to see Luke Combs in July.

Trey Zeren ’25 is going on a cruise this summer to Bermuda and the Bahamas. After that, he plans to play hockey and work.

Caroline Purcell ‘24 is spending her summer working at the Lake Placid Pub and Brewery. She is also going to Seattle in July to visit family.

Wolfgang Lux ’25 plans on going to gym, doing luge, and hanging out with friends this summer. He will also work with his dad.

Nora Fitzsimmons ‘24 is going to spend her summer working at the Cottage in Lake Placid and touring colleges.

Cecilia Keller ’25 is going to Norway this summer, as well as lifeguarding. She also plans to see Pitbull in New Jersey.

Brian Brady ’24 is working at Origin Coffee this summer and interning with an environmental non-profit. He is also going to Rhode Island and hopes to travel more.

Jack Kroll ’25 is going to mow lawns before going to Norway to ski jump in August.

Pedro Gonzalo ’23 is going back home to Spain to hang with friends. He also plans to go to Italy to visit a Northwood alum and friend, Dado.

Sebastian La Roche ’23 is going to do an internship at a dentist’s office as well as skateboard and hang out with friends.

Filed Under: Northwood Life, People

Luxurious Prom Planned for May 18

May 8, 2023 by Maegan Byrne

The 2023 Northwood Prom will be held on Thursday, May 18th. The theme for this year’s Prom is “Masked in Luxury.” The Northwood Prom committee wanted a luxurious Prom with black, gold, and pearl decorations. The idea behind this theme was to have it look like a gala from the 1920s. It will be held under a tent on campus on the upper field.

There will be a photo booth for picture opportunities, food, and dancing. The menu for this year’s Prom will have a burrito station as well as a pasta station. The pasta station will have salad, pasta, and rolls. A playlist of students’ recommended songs will be played throughout the evening, along with Adam Stewart taking requests for song choices.

The Prom will start at 6 pm and end at 10:30 pm. Tickets are $60 per person. Day students will not be able to drive to or from the prom. This year’s Prom will be a fun evening and a great way to wrap up the year.

Filed Under: Northwood Life, Top Story

Playlists: What Northwood Student-Athletes Are Listening To

April 25, 2023 by Maegan Byrne

Students from Northwood listen to a variety of songs while working out, practicing, or preparing for games and competitions. Here are some of their playlists. Warning: some songs have explicit content.

The girls’ hockey team listens to a lot of rap, pop, or 2000s songs. They like upbeat, fun songs to get them ready to play. Before a game, they listen to their pregame songs to get them going.

Both the boys’ Prep and Varsity hockey teams listen to a lot of country and have recently been listening to Morgan Wallen’s new album, along with some rap or pop songs. They like to listen to country because it has a good vibe, and they can sing along or chill out.

The soccer team enjoys Spanish music, which according to Nico Cedeno ’24, “is the best music ever.” Spanish music has a good vibe and gets the soccer boys in the mood to play

The Alpine ski girls listen to a variety of music, including country, rap, pop, or throwbacks. They like upbeat songs that put them in a good mood.

The Alpine ski boys like to listen to Hardstyle and 90s rock. They like this in the gym and on the hill. They enjoy songs that are really loud and high-pitched to keep them energized while training or racing.

Filed Under: Northwood Life, Sports, Top Story

Senior Abby Sinclair’s Favorite Place

April 23, 2023 by Maegan Byrne

“My favorite place in Lake Placid is in the breakfast room at The View. It’s really calming, and the food is good. My favorite thing on the menu is the chocolate chip cookies. Since I work there, I get to be there after all the customers leave. I find it very relaxing when it’s empty and I can take in the view.”

As told to Maegane Byrne ’24. Photo provided.

Filed Under: Northwood Life, People

Dorm Room Tour: Sophia Sherman ’25

March 14, 2023 by Maegan Byrne

Welcome to Sophia Sherman’s dorm room. Sophia Sherman is a sophomore at Northwood from Virginia. She is an independent student who does NOC and ski club. Sophia lives in a single on 2nd west.

Sophia has used a variety of colors and fun lights to make her room bright and fun. She acquired most of her decor at home from a surf shop on the beach, while other things are more personal decor items.

On the wall above her bed, she displays her prayer flags from Nepal created by monks who live near Everest and other big expedition locations. She also has the certificate she received for hiking Mt Kilimanjaro and some stickers from things she has collected.

Sophia has a record wall at the end of her bed with all her favorite albums or artists. She has a larger collection of records by her bed and a record player on the shelf by the window.

On the bulletin board at the back of Sophia’s desk, she has a variety of plane tickets from all the trips she’s done this year and polaroid photos of her friends taken from her trip to Red Rocks.

Sophia also has a trunk from her stepdad when he was in the Marine Corps. They were all issued trunks, and this trunk was given to Sophia’s mom when she was on deployment and later given to Sophia. She brings the trunk to summer camp and now to Northwood, where it serves as a storage space and a seating area.

Filed Under: Northwood Life, People Tagged With: DormRoomTour

Kroll Gains International Experience at FISU Games and World Cup

March 13, 2023 by Maegan Byrne

A ski jumper on the 90-meter hill at the Olympic Ski Jumping Complex. (Photo: Lake Placid News /Lou Reuter)

Sophomore Ski Jumper and Nordic Combined Athlete Jack Kroll had the opportunity to forerun for both the FISU World University Games and the Lake Placid Ski Jumping World Cup. Jack’s forerunner job was jumping before all the competitors to help officials decide where to put the start gate. He helped determine how much speed was needed to jump specific distances, and how much was too much speed to prevent athletes from overjumping and getting injured.

Jack foreran all 10 days of the FISU games, a total of 14 jumps. He foreran a mixture of official training and competitions. “I had fun, and being around many international athletes was cool,” Kroll said.

Jack also jumped at the World Cup. He foreran for four different competitions from February 10^th to the 12^th. Because of the level of the athletes, they were started at a lower start bar, which means they have less speed, making it harder to jump as far as possible. “It was a good experience to be around a higher level of competition and to see what the future holds,” Kroll said. Jack also got to meet and get his bib signed by athletes he had been watching and looked up to for years.

Filed Under: People, Sports

Alpine and Nordic Racers Gear up for Championships

March 10, 2023 by Maegan Byrne

Julianne Brochu ’25 at Sugarloaf in 2023 (Photo: Northwood/NYSEF).

The month of March is an important time of year for Northwoods skiers. The Nordic and downhill skiers are both finishing off their seasons by heading to their final competitions of Nationals or Easterns.

The Junior National Cross Country Ski Championships run from March 13th to March 16th in Fairbanks, Alaska. To qualify for Nordic Nationals, you need under 300 points, or you need to compete in the Junior’s National qualifying race. On March 8th Sophia Kelting ‘23, Bella Whistler ‘23, Daven Link ‘25 leave for Alaska to compete in nationals. They will compete in three races while they are there and return to school on March 17th. They are really excited to go and compete in Alaska. “The snow is going to be good, and it will be cold, I like to race in the cold,” said Wissler. The team is also hoping to see the northern lights while they’re there.

Over the weekend of March 3rd through March 5th the U16 alpine athletes competed in the U16 State Championships. States were held at Whiteface Mountain and consisted of one Super G race, one Giant Slalom, and one Slalom. In the super g race Cara Dempsey ’25 got 1st place, Julianne Brochu ’25 got 2nd, and Sydney Kuder ’25 got 4th. For the boys, Aston Ferillo ‘26 got 10th, and Cole Van Etten ‘25 got 3rd. On the second day, they competed in the Slalom where Cara got 1st, Sydney got 7th and Aston got 5th. On the final day they competed in Giant Slalom where Cara was 1st Sydney was 3rd, Aston was 3rd, Zack was 4th, and Cole was 9th. At the end of the weekend Cara was the overall New York State Champion. These results also decided who would be going to Easterns. To qualify for Easterns you need to have one top-5 result and another top-10 result. Cara, Sydney, Julianne Aston, Zach and Cole all qualified for Easterns, which will be in Sugarloaf Maine from March 13th through March 17th.

The U18 men’s alpine team is also headed to nationals at Mittersill in NH. Nationals consist of the top-20 athletes from each region. These top 20 are determined by results at the national qualifying race. Sam Rudy ‘23, Ed Brochu ‘24 and Pedro Gonzalez ’23 all qualified. They leave on March 8th and will return on the 15th. There are 5 races total. There are two downhill races, 1 super g, 1 giant slalom, and 1 slalom. They are all excited and ready to race, “I wanna go fast” says Pedro, quoting Ricky Bobby.

Filed Under: Sports

My Favorite Place in Lake Placid: Morgan Smith ‘24

February 27, 2023 by Maegan Byrne

Oakley at the dam off the Jackrabbit Trail in Lake Placid. Photo provided.

“I’m a day student at Northwood, and my favorite place to be in Lake Placid is in the water at the dam off the Jackrabbit Trail. I like to get sandwiches at Simply Gourmet, then hike up the trail and sit at the top of the waterfall at the dam. I like swimming there, playing fetch with my dog, Oakley, and hanging out with friends or family. It’s my favorite place because I get to spend time with my favorite people, and it reminds me of the summer.”

As told to Maegan Byrne ’24

Filed Under: Northwood Life, People

Students, Staff Volunteered at World University Games

February 27, 2023 by Maegan Byrne

Maegan Byrne ’24 and Nori Fitzsimmons ’24 present the medals at a medal ceremony at a FISU World University Games Nordic event at Mt. Van Hoevenberg.

During the extended Christmas break, Northwood offered a LEAP course to volunteer in the FISU games. Five students volunteered: Nora Fitzsimmons ’24, Maegan Byrne ’24, Morgan Smith ’24, Griffin Beam ’25, and JT Wint ’25. Three staff, Mrs. Wright, Mr. Shergold, and Mrs. Wint, helped volunteer during the games and coordinated for students.

Northwood was given the opportunity to be a host for the ceremonies. Some of the group carried the trays with medals and mascots, while others were athletes’ hosts or flag raisers. “It was a great experience to put yourself out there in front of all the cameras. It was interesting because a lot of volunteers were less visible, and the students got to go out there and represent the community and FISU,” Mrs. Tara Wright said.

The students were allowed to choose which days they wanted to volunteer and where they wanted to volunteer. Maegan, Nori, JT, and Mrs. Wint volunteered at Mt. Van Ho.

Nori and Maegan were mainly in charge of carrying the trays that had mascots and medals. They were able to meet athletes from all over the world and get out of their comfort zone by being recorded for television.

JT helped as an athlete or presenter host. He would give guidance to the athletes or guest presenters and direct them through the ceremony.

Griffin Beam ’25 presents medals at the ski jumps during the FISU World University Games.

Mrs. Wint raised the flags for multiple Nordic events. “I wanted to support the community and athletes. I never got to go to the 80’s Olympics, so it was cool to experience something similar,” Mrs. Wint remarked. She was also very proud that out of the three gold medals won by the U.S. in Nordic, she was the one to raise all three flags for the ceremonies.

Morgan volunteered for FISU as one of the mascots for the games. Morgan wore a Mac the Moose costume to all the venues to take pictures with athletes and spectators and promote the games. Morgan worked the whole two weeks of the games but also helped do work before and after. Before the games, Morgan went to Rockefeller to skate as Mac the Moose and help promote the games. She also met the governor as well as Miss America. Morgan describes her experience: “It was a lot of fun, stressful at times, but in the end, it was enjoyable.”

Northwood was given a lot of responsibility during the games; everyone acted maturely and did a great job. It was a great experience for the people involved and helped FISU and the community.

Filed Under: Northwood Life, Sports

New Security Cameras Installed

December 31, 2022 by Maegan Byrne

Nori Fitzsimmons ’24 points to a new security camera recently installed on the Second West dorm landing (Photo: Maegan Byrne ’24).

Northwood School has significantly increased its campus security with the installation of additional cameras in several indoor and outdoor locations. The cameras, which are only triggered by motion and do not record audio, will be used to investigate past damage, vandalism, and rule-breaking incidents and serve as a deterrent against future incidents. The cameras, which are placed in public areas where students and staff do not have an expectation of privacy, are part of a pilot project, and the school will determine in the future if additional cameras are necessary.

Security cameras are currently located in the Bergamini lounge, student center, main entrance, Second West dorm landing, fitness center entrance, and the indoor turf field.

Northwood installed the cameras for multiple reasons. At most educational institutions, it is standard to have security cameras on campus. Due to past damage, vandalism, and broken school rules, a group of faculty decided cameras may be an excellent option to investigate such situations. School leaders also hope the presence of cameras serves as a deterrent against poor behavior.

Before approving and installing these cameras, the school had to ensure they obeyed legal guidance for student safety. The cameras do not have audio due to laws that prohibit recording audio. Furthermore, the cameras are placed in public areas where students and staff generally don’t have an expectation of privacy.

School employees do not monitor cameras 24/7, but they are always on and record when they are triggered by motion. School staff will use the cameras primarily to determine what has happened rather than monitor what is happening.

In the future, Northwood expects to install more cameras in various outdoor locations, such as on the walkway between classroom buildings. Assistant Head of School Mr. John Spear described the new cameras as a “pilot project, and based on how these cameras work out, we will determine if installing more cameras would be helpful in upcoming years.”