Maegan Byrne

Girls’ Lax Shows Improvement in Scrimmage

May 15, 2024 by Maegan Byrne

Members of the girls’ lacrosse team. Photo provided.

Northwood girls’ lacrosse has returned after taking a year off last year. Ms. Raychel West and Ms. Hannah Rose restarted the girls’ lacrosse team this year with around 20 players. Ms. West says, “I didn’t play lacrosse at all growing up. I’ve never held a stick until this year, but it’s been a lot of fun to get to know the other girls from the other sports teams and get to do something alongside one of my coworkers I wouldn’t normally work with during the school year. Another highlight was seeing the girls improve their skills and improve every day.”

The Northwood girl’s lacrosse team played their first game against Saranac Lake/Lake Placid’s team (SLP). After less than two weeks of practice and only a few girls who had played lacrosse before, Northwood lost in a scrimmage 11-0. “I think that the score didn’t represent the quality of the game. I feel like our girls really improved in a lot of areas just from the first half to the second half so I’m proud of the hard work they put in and the focus they brought to the game,” Coach Raychel said.

“For only having one full week of practice and a few classroom lessons about the rules, all of our girls showed a different side of themselves to come together to play an actual sport that many of us didn’t even know, even including myself and coach Raychel,” Coach Rose added.

Filed Under: Sports

Midsummer-Themed Prom Will Be Fun

May 14, 2024 by Maegan Byrne

Prom-Goers pose for photos before the 2018 prom. File photo.

The theme for Northwoods 2024 prom on May 16th was recently selected by the prom committee as Midsummer. The theme follows the color palette and decoration style of the midsummer festival tradition in Switzerland. There will be lots of colorful pastel flowers with fairy lights, making it a very spring-themed prom.

There will be a photo booth and a mirror for pictures. For food, there will be a burrito station and a pasta station with salad and gluten-free options. The reception in the living room starts at 5:45 p.m. and goes on until 7:00 p.m. for photos. Dinner and dancing will follow that until 10:30 pm. From 10:30 until midnight, there will be lawn games on the turf and gatherings in the living room.

For our day students, please note that driving to the prom is not permitted. You must be dropped off and picked up at the main entrance. If you’re planning to participate in one of the after-prom gatherings, you’re welcome to stay on campus until midnight. However, if you choose to leave campus after the prom begins, re-entry will not be allowed.

For boarding students, you cannot leave campus after prom begins. If you are participating in one of the after-prom gatherings, you’re on-call time is midnight. If you leave any gathering, you are to stay on your hall for the rest of the night.

Guests attending prom are allowed to participate in all prom-related activities until midnight. They are not allowed to drive themselves or on the dorm halls.

Prom is a night filled with excitement and a perfect way to wrap up the year. We encourage all attendees to have a fantastic time while making responsible choices. Your safety and enjoyment are our top priorities.

Filed Under: Northwood Life, Top Story

Senior Spends Spring Break with BCHL Junior Team

May 12, 2024 by Maegan Byrne

Sam Lyne ’24. Photo: Instagram/samlyne_

Sam Lyne ‘24 spent his spring break playing for a British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) team in Cranbrook, British Columbia. The Prep team power forward was there for three weeks and had a great experience.

Sam is widely known at Northwood and beyond for his fitness account, where he posts fitness plans people can purchase and follow during hockey season and the off-season. He uses Instagram to share content and influence people to try his program.

During spring break, he spent a lot of his downtime working on that Instagram content, filming videos, and editing. He spent the rest of his free time going to the gym and playing basketball with the team. But most of his time was spent playing hockey.

He enjoyed the fast pace and skill level in the BCHL. “It was faster, more competitive, and much more skillful,” he said, “but a lot of fun.” Sam is going to play for Cranbrook Bucks next year before heading off to Colgate. He’s excited to be living out West and playing in a good league. Sam played in four games with the Bucks, tallying one goal and two assists for three points.

Filed Under: People, Sports

Peak Pathway Portrait Project Supports Refugees

May 9, 2024 by Maegan Byrne

Samuel Knauf is a Northwood senior doing art for his Peak Pathway this year. He started getting into art last year in a class with Mrs. Van Slyke. Sam says, “When I came in here last year, I started to paint using oil with the help of Mrs. Van Slyke. Last year was my first time getting into art, and painting,” he added. “It’s very calming to paint. After a long day of schoolwork, I come and paint. It’s quiet, and it’s just time by myself, and that’s why I like it.”

Sam Knauf ’24 with some of his portraits at the Celebration of the Arts event earlier this month.

As part of his Peak Pathway, Samuel is currently painting portraits of faculty members’ children. “Portraits are my current forte, and the idea to paint faculty’s children and collect donations was suggested by Mrs. Van Slyke,” he shared. All the proceeds from his project are dedicated to supporting refugees from Thailand. The funds will be sent to Albany, a city with a significant refugee community. As a former refugee, Sam understands the dire need for support in such communities.

Sam works on his project during E period, which is a very busy class in the art studio, with kids always busy working, and things usually get very loud. Mrs. Vanslyke says, “Sam sits by himself on the other side of the room and is very focused and nothing seems to bother him. He lets the whole world go by and he concentrates fully on his painting when he’s here.”

As Samuel nears the completion of his project, his aspirations are clear-to bring joy to people through his art, to see the faculty delighted with their portraits, and to further hone his painting skills. Looking ahead, Samuel envisions a future in college where he can continue his artistic journey, expand his skills, and most importantly, continue his philanthropic efforts to support the refugee community.

Filed Under: Northwood Life, People

STEM Research Explores Diet-Seizure Link

May 8, 2024 by Maegan Byrne

Sophia Schupp ’24. Photo by Mr. Michael Aldridge.

Each year, Northwood students find new and exciting topics to research for their Advanced STEM Research class. Sophia Schupp ‘24 spent her summer looking for a topic she was interested in researching for her project.

She studied how different dietary supplements can reduce seizures in epileptic fruit flies. She was influenced by her cousin, who has epilepsy and has tried some of these diets and wanted to learn more about them.

Schupp is testing the effects of both CBD and a keto diet on the flies’ seizures. To do this, she feeds flies their respective diet for two days before she tests them. To test them, she puts them in a test tube, which is put on a vortex to shake them. She records their activity through a program that tracks their seizures and allows her to see if their seizures are increasing, decreasing, or staying the same while on their diets.

“It’s been really interesting watching the flies seize,” Schupp said.

Filed Under: Northwood Life

Bucket List Activity: ECAC Championships

March 30, 2024 by Maegan Byrne

Each year, Lake Placid holds the ECAC Men’s Hockey Championship. There were two semi-final games on Friday and the championship game on Saturday. This is a must-attend event for Husky hockey fans.

The first semi-final game featured Quinnipiac University against Saint Lawrence University, and the second featured Ivy League rivals Dartmouth College against Cornell University. The winners of those games (Cornell and SLU) faced off on Saturday for the championship.

Former faculty member Kelly Carter (left) visited with (left or right) Audrey Bartlett ’23, Nora Fitzsimmons ’24, and Maegan Byrne ’24 at the ECAC Championships. Photo: Maegan Byrne ’24/

These games are a great activity to attend, even for non-hockey players. This was my first year attending these games. I brought Nora Fitzsimmons ’24, Teegan Wardlaw ’23, and a Northwood alumni Audrey Bartlett ‘23. The games were fast-paced and fun to watch. The ambiance in the arena also made the game fun. There were lots of people cheering along with marching bands, cheerleaders, announcers asking attendees questions, and music.

Many of the Northwood students sat together and hung around town in between games. “I had a lot of fun at the games because I was sitting in the Northwood section,” said Wardlaw. “It was nice to be around my friends in a non-school environment,” she added.

“This weekend was so fun,” Fitzsimmons said. “I was on the edge about going to the games, but I’m glad I went and got to spend time with my friends. The energy was great, and it was cool to experience college hockey.”

“It was an exciting game, and awesome to see Cornell win again,” Bartlett added.

This article is part of a “Bucket List” series cataloging things you need to do before you graduate.

Filed Under: Northwood Life Tagged With: BucketList

Students Looking Forward to Spring

March 26, 2024 by Maegan Byrne

Playing Spike Ball under the sun — or the moon and stars — is a favorite springtime activity for students. Photo: Maegan Byrne ’24.

As seasons are ending and spring is approaching, students are getting excited about all the fun things Northwood has to offer. After spring break, Northwood will switch to the spring schedule with classes in the morning and co-curricular activities (cocos) in the afternoon. Most student-athletes, other than soccer players, will have finished their season and be able to try a different coco for the spring, such as golf, intramurals, volleyball, NOC, lacrosse, and more. There are a lot of things students look forward to in the spring, such as senior privileges, which are chosen by Heads Council, and weekend activities like paintball, mini golf, canoeing, kayaking, and rock climbing with Bobby, as well as the bigger events like spring fest and prom. Returning students at Northwood were asked what their favorite things to do in the spring are to help get students excited for the last few months of school.

Sophia Schupp ‘24 looks forward to “Hanging out outside and going to the beach. I’m looking forward to getting tan and hanging out with friends.”

Junior Teegan Wardlaw agrees. “I like to go to the beach and hang out outside.”

Teegan’s brother, Wyatt Wardlaw ‘24, looks forward to spending more time outside. “I like to exercise a lot, we have a really nice outdoor community, so I like to go on runs around the lake. I’m going to do intramurals because it sounds like a lot of fun,” he added.

“I’m excited for intramurals. I like playing soccer with everyone,” Eduard Broche, a senior, said.

“I like to hang around with my friends outside and play golf,” added Julianne Broche ’25.

Junior Sydney Kuder enjoys “Going to the beach and playing golf with my friends.”

“I like playing Spike Ball out on the upper turf,” Cara Dempsey ’25 added.

“I like to play golf, go to the gym, and hang out at the beach,” senior Alexis Trudeau said. “I also like to have a morning [class] schedule because we have free time in the afternoon,” he added.

“My favorite thing to do in the spring is play golf or go to the campfire on weekend nights,” said Trey Zeren ’25.

“I’m excited for golf, spike ball, and hanging at the beach,” added senior Owen Flynn.

Sam Lyne ’24 is a Senior hockey player, and his season just ended. “I’m excited to play golf this spring,” he said when he was asked about his co-co plans.

“And I’m going to continue with crew,” said Gus Garvey ’25. Gus is an independent student. The crew team runs during the fall and spring.

Jenny Tran ’25 is also an independent student at Northwood. “I’m not sure what will be offered yet this spring, but I will want to participate in the Northwood Outing Club (NOC).” NOC takes students on fun adventures in the Adirondacks, and spending time outside in any capacity during the spring is a great way to elevate your Northwood experience.

“I will also do NOC,” said Ashley Guevara ’24. Both Ashley and Jenny have been NOC members for their tenure at Northwood, and they recommend it to anyone who has a free spirit and wants to get outside.

The students’ consensus is that the spring co-curriculars will be a nice refresher and a good way to cap off the year. The full list of activities will be out soon.

Jordan Shullenberger ’24 contributed to this article.

Filed Under: Northwood Life

Humans of Northwood: Ms. Tara Wright

March 15, 2024 by Maegan Byrne

“I’m originally from Long Island. I lived there for 19 years but moved to Lake Placid with my family so they could grow up here. I like that my kids grow up in this extraordinary, tight-knit community, with lots of fun stuff to do and lots of sports and outdoor activities that keep them busy. I like the little village feel of Lake Placid and all the events that come to town. I live in the middle of town, where it gets noisy during all the events, but it’s fun to see all the people who come here excited and happy to be in Lake Placid.

“I have been working at Northwood for six years as the school psychologist and the director of the Learning Center. I counsel kids, and I work with students to help build their academic skills so they can be more successful in their classes. When I was younger, I didn’t plan on being a psychologist. My early degree was in human development, then I went for my school psychology master’s and liked it. I was a school psychologist before I came to Northwood. When I arrived, I started working with Brenda Coton who previously ran the Learning Center and helped create the program before I took over.

“My favorite part of working at Northwood is helping students build academic skills and then watching them do more on their own and be successful. It’s fun to be able to watch the progression. I enjoy seeing how the skills they learn in the Learning Center can be useful throughout their lives. I also enjoy the colleagues I work with. They are all fun, probably the most out of any place I’ve worked.

“Outside of being at Northwood, I like to hang out with my four kids, visit my family, run, and travel sometimes. My favorite place to travel is in Europe, the city, or back to Long Island to visit the beaches I grew up on.

“My favorite food is probably pizza. And a fun fact about me that most people don’t know is that when I was a young adult I worked for an artist and painted pottery, which is not like me at all because I’m not very artsy. I did that for almost two years, and it was a funky weird job that I really liked and was totally different from anything I’ve ever done or probably ever will do again.”

As told to Maegan Byrne ’24. Photo by Maegan Byrne.

Filed Under: Northwood Life, People

Humans of Northwood: Halle Mules ‘24

March 8, 2024 by Maegan Byrne

“I am from Boston. I grew up in a different situation than most kids. I got lucky enough to live with my grandparents, my younger sister, and my 3 aunts, who are basically my sisters. My whole childhood, from when I was 4 until now, has been spent playing hockey. I first started skating when I could walk, and I knew I wanted to play hockey as soon as I knew what it was.

“I came to Northwood 3 years ago as a sophomore. I had been to boarding school before, but I wanted to focus on hockey. A friend of mine had gone to Northwood and recommended that I check it out. It was during COVID, so I wasn’t able to tour, but I had called Gilly a couple of times and heard nothing but great things from my friend. My family and I decided to apply, and when I got in, I knew I wanted to go.

“Outside of hockey, I love to bake. Whenever I am home, my sister and I make cookies or whatever dessert you can think of. It doesn’t matter how late or how early it is; whenever she asks me if I want to make cookies, I always say yes.

“I couldn’t ask for a better Northwood experience; I have had so much fun the past 3 years and have too many memories that I will never forget. But I’m also excited to go to St. Lawrence University next year and I plan to go into nursing.”

As told to Maegan Byrne ’24. Photo by Mr. Michael Aldridge.

Filed Under: Northwood Life, People

Northwood Community Conflicted About Phones

March 7, 2024 by Maegan Byrne

Students on their phones in the living room. Photo: Mr. John Spear.

Phones are an important tool used in everyday life, but they are being used less as a tool to improve productivity and becoming a bigger distraction for students. People are spending more time on their phones than studying, doing homework, or even socializing. Phones have helped make finding knowledge easier as well as bringing a form of entertainment into your pocket. They can connect the user with people from all around the world. However, they are also becoming overused. Because you can “socialize” so much over the phone, kids spend less time talking IRL [in real life]. Phone use also takes time away from studying or training for athletics.

The Mirror spoke with students and faculty at Northwood about their phones and how they were being used. Here is what we learned.

Morgan Smith ’24 on her phone in the living room. Photo: Maegan Byrne ’24.

“I mostly use my phone for communication,” Morgan Smith ’24 said. “I use Snapchat, text messages, and phone calls to talk to friends and family. I also use my phone to keep organized and keep schedules.” Smith sees some problems with her phone use. “I think there are major downsides to phones, like how distracting they are and how they limit socializing with people outside of phones,” Smith said. “My phone also keeps me up at night and can mess up my sleep schedule,” she added.

Scout Oudemool ‘24 thinks that phones are both a distraction and a useful tool. “I mostly use my phone for texting people, and to Google things for schoolwork. I think I should use my phone less when studying and not get as distracted on social media or watching shows,” Oudemool said.

Eduardo Campos de Aguiar ’25 also sees the pros and cons of his phone use. “My phone is both a distraction and a tool. For me, it’s a distraction in my free time, but when I need it, it can be a good thing. I use my phone for schoolwork and talking to friends and family back home. I think I spend an okay amount of time on my phone and think it’s useful,” he said.

“I think that phones can be a good resource, but you need to learn to navigate it,” Ms. Leigh Riffle said. “There are a lot of benefits to phones but also a lot of cons,” Riffle said. “One of the stinky things about phones is when you walk into the dining hall or living room, there’s not a lot of conversations, just everyone sitting there on their phones,” she added.