Liz Creighton ’24 on the phone with Amelia Brady ’21 during the recent Ring the Bell alumni phone-a-thon. (Photo: Maisie Crane ’23)

Ring the Bell is one of the most significant events held annually at Northwood school, as it serves as a fundraiser for the annual fund. This fund helps pay for various experiences and activities that benefit Northwood students. By donating to the annual fund, individuals can provide Northwood students with more experiences and memories they will cherish forever.

In the weeks leading up to Ring the Bell, the advancement team, students, and faculty prepare for this important day of giving. The social media pages of Northwood are flooded with videos of students and faculty, reminding everyone about the upcoming event. Moreover, alums and people with connections to the school receive letters reminding them to contribute.

Jackson Smith ’23 (left) and Turner Jackson ’23 speak to alumni during the recent Ring the Bell alumni phone-a-thon. (Photo: Maisie Crane ’23)

On February 15th, the head of the annual fund, Thomas Broderick, or Brody, hosted a phone-a-thon at the Innovation Hub on Main Street. Five Northwood students from different cohorts, grades, and places came together to make calls, leave voicemails, and write emails to alumni, reminding them to donate to the annual fund on March 2nd.

Current ski racers were able to speak to graduated students. Liz Creighton ’24, a Northwood alpine skier, had the opportunity to call Amelia Brady ’21, an alpine skier currently attending the University of Virginia. Amelia stated that it was great to hear from a current student. She remembers her days at Northwood on Ring the Bell, working on the advancement council, connecting with alumni, and building connections. All student volunteers returned from the call-a-thon laughing about the funny conversations that lasted up to an hour with people who had graduated from Northwood many years ago. Thus, Ring the Bell raises money for the fund and brings back fond memories of Northwood school to people who may have forgotten the small things they experienced.

Izzy Boehm ’26 connects with alumni during the recent Ring the Bell alumni phone-a-thon. (Photo: Maisie Crane ’23)

On the day of Ring the Bell, all students during their English classes will bus to the hub and call and write an alum. Brody believes that bringing students into the school’s philanthropy process gives them access to connections and new life experiences for their future lives. This approach encourages students to realize the value of giving back to the community and building long-lasting relationships.

In summary, Ring the Bell is a day that represents the essence of Northwood School’s community. It brings students, faculty, and alumni together to support the annual fund, which helps students create memorable experiences that will last a lifetime. Additionally, it allows students to develop a sense of philanthropy, fostering their ability to make a difference in the world.

Click here to Ring the Bell for Northwood and show your support for the school’s continued success.

Maisie Crane ’23 (left) and Sophia Schupp ’24 with gifts purchased for the North Elba Christmas Fund (photo provided).

CARE is Northwood’s community service club organized and led by students. It started in 1996 and has continued through the years. The club organizes small fundraisers within the school that are fun for Northwood students and that raise money for outside groups.

During Halloween and Valentine’s Day, we usually sell candy grams. Students can buy small bags of candy to send to peers, and the money raised is given to a cause determined at the time.

In December, the club goes to local clothing and toy stores to buy gifts for the North Elba Christmas Fund, an organization that provides clothes, blankets, and winter coats for people in town who don’t have the ability to buy them. We also helped one of Mrs. Van Slyke’s art classes make a blanket for an elder in a Lake Placid assisted living facility.

Pink the Rink is a long tradition that hasn’t been organized in a while. It is a hockey-style fundraiser where teams of 3 to 4 play in a bracket-style elimination championship and eventually win a prize. The proceeds are sent to the Breast Cancer Awareness Foundation.

Over the winter, we work towards more relaxing fundraisers for the community because it is stressful for everyone. So, we try to do bake sales and decorate the living room for the holidays.

As one of the few CARE leaders, I hope to get the Northwood Community more engaged with CARE and work on some more projects communally.

Students started this school year with sixteen new course offerings. Some of the new classes replace courses that were eliminated, and a few new classes were designed by teachers. Every year Northwood alters the curriculum to accommodate students and teachers, and this year the school has the largest number of new course offerings in recent history.  

The school now offers apprenticeships, basically on-campus internship-like courses that give the student academic credit. Apprenticeships happen asynchronously outside the normal academic schedule. In one apprenticeship, dancers have the opportunity to work as dance instructors for young children in the local area. Two other apprenticeships include editor positions for The Mirror, the school’s newspaper, and Epitome, the school’s yearbook.  

A relatively new program at Northwood, introduced in 2020, is the English short courses. Juniors and seniors have the option to take short courses, which means every semester they are taking a different type of English that is based on certain themes. Two popular recurring short courses are “Shakespeare” and “Word to Essay.” This year, new short courses include “Voices of Environmental Justice in Literature” and “Gender and Representation in Literature,” which are both created and taught by Ms. Elliotte Lee made to teach and speak to students about real-world situations in literature. Other new short course titles include “Chronicles of Imperial Delusion: A Novel, a War Memoir, and a Hollywood Blockbuster” created and taught by Mr. Howard Runyon.  

More recently most independent schools around the country have been decreasing the number of APs in the school’s curriculum. This year Mr. John Spear decided to replace “AP Psychology,” a course he has taught at Northwood for over ten years, with “Psychology of Performance,” which introduces students to psychology through a thorough investigation into the way humans achieve optimal performance.  

“AP Environmental Science,” formerly taught by Ms. Kelly Carter, has been replaced by “Adirondack Sciences,” which was created by Ms. Marcy Fagan and Ms. Kelly Carter. The course is a hands-on study of the Adirondacks, exploring topics in geology, environmental science, ecology, biology, and life science.  

Three new offerings introduced and taught by Mr. Ben LeBlanc are “Principles of Engineering,” “Applied Physics,” and “Data Science.” The latter is a quantitative course that combines math and science.  

Two new elective courses include Introduction to the “Financial Markets,” taught by Mr. Jeff Miller who before Northwood had a distinguished career on Wall Street and brings a vast knowledge of investing. “Game Theory,” taught by Mr. Bob Emery is a new math offering.  

Finally, Northwood is also offering a modern languages program in conjunction with UC Scout, operated by the University of California, to offer level 4 and Advanced Placement in French and Spanish.  

The Headmaster’s Council is a group of about eleven returning students in the senior class. A unit selectively chosen by Head of School Mr. Michael Maher, in consultation with former students, administrators, and teachers, to ensure that it is a hardworking and diverse group of students working cohesively to make Northwood a more positive environment.  

The purpose of this group was introduced by Mr. Maher when he began in 2015, an idea he brought from previous schools he worked at. He thinks that to run a high functioning school it is important to have a group of students helping. They give honest insight into what is seen from their peers and their own perspectives, with the goal of helping the constant development of Northwood’s values.  

James Schneid ’23

Abby Sinclair ’23

The Mirror talked to a few people that work in this group and they had some interesting and different perspectives about the school, and how they believe it can be improved. Mr. Maher, the core leader of this council, uses this group to readjust the social dynamic of the school and to take charge of large responsibilities that we feel passionate about. Some current goals he mentioned that the group is working on: a safer environment where students can express themselves, reinforcing rules about a more respectful outlook of the beautiful building that we use, a smarter approach at the collision between athletics and academics, and some ways we can take better advantage of the surrounding areas, forests, and town our school is in.  

Abby Sinclair ’23, an independent from Long Island, said she wants a “good vibe” for the year. But she is also looking for a change in school dynamic and the way cohorts intermix. James Schneid ’23, a hockey player from Syracuse, is working to make a memorable senior year with his fellow classmates and is passionate about changing the meal plans at Northwood to better sustain athletes. It is important to make the Northwood community more inclusive and welcoming so that everyone is comfortable to be themselves. Hopefully, this strong group of seniors can work together to improve the already well-run institution that is Northwood School.