Last Wednesday was Winter Carnival, a fun annual event where students can showcase their talents and competitive spirit in various activities. The students were divided into four peaks, equivalent to houses at British schools, and composed of teams for each event. The captains of each peak selected their team members through a draft system. These diverse peaks allow students from various sports teams and cultures to bond over the goal of winning the Carnival. The Winter Carnival offers students a chance to take a break from their hectic academic and sporting schedules and socialize with a different crowd to have fun and ultimately win the traditional event.

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This year’s Carnival was undoubtedly entertaining. The stiff competition made every event crucial for each peak, and the captains did an exceptional job selecting the teams, because all four teams had a chance to win.

Skylight was the 4th place peak in the 2023 Winter Carnival and didn’t perform as well as predicted but they put up a good fight. In third place was Big Slide, who made a valiant effort to win but fell short. The peak that came second by just a single point was Wolfjaws. After strong performances in the talent show and echo pond snow race, Wolfjaws fell just short of winning. This leaves Gothics as the 2023 Winter Carnival Champions. Gothics was consistent in all events and deserved to clinch victory in the Carnival.

The diversity of the activities meant that every student was strong in at least one event. There were 14 exciting events, including Dodgeball, Talent Show, Tug of War, Curling, Broomball, Baking, Wordle, Snow Football, Northwood Trivia, Heads Up, Echo Pond Snowshoe Race, Dog-Sled Race, and the Obstacle Course.

The most popular event was Dodgeball, and every member of each peak participated in the heated tournament with the desire to defeat their opponents. Big Slide emerged victorious, with star player Noah Leddell ’24 leading the team. He expressed, “Dodgeball was the highlight of Winter Carnival for me. Big Slide was dominant, going 3-0 and sweeping the competition. It was also fun to compete alongside the hockey players, which I rarely get to do.”

As expected, the Talent Show surprised and entertained everyone. Members of each peak were selected to participate, and some surprising talents amazed the audience. Kiet Do ’24 had a stellar performance singing “Sway” by Michael Bublé. Sam Rudy ’23, a member of Wolfjaws, proclaimed, “That was one of the most impressive performances I’ve seen in ages. I respect the confidence he had to bring out those fancy dance moves on stage.” Many other talented and humorous performances made the Talent Show unforgettable.

The Winter Carnival was a tremendous success this year, and students could step out of their comfort zones to socialize with new people and compete in new events. Northwood is incredibly grateful for all the staff who played a role in preparing for the tournament. Without their help, it would not have been possible. Gothics emerged as the 2023 champions of the Winter Carnival with an impressive win. Who will win next year?

Northwood Confessions 2.0, an anonymous Instagram account, recently made an impactful return and has been the center of attention for students on campus. The original Northwood Confessions started last year and survived for over a month. At its peak, the account reached a point where students were non-stop checking it for updates. It seemed like everyone was a fan until they were exposed. And then, suddenly, the account was shut down.

Northwood Confessions 2.0, like its predecessor, was an entertaining but harmful account that appeared out of nowhere and gained popularity quickly and dangerously. The student responsible for the account is still unknown, but the Northwood faculty has done a much better job of stopping the account compared to last year. The account spread several rumors, and numerous people were offended.

The return of the account left many interested but skeptical. Maegan Bryne ’24 stated, “I thought it was funny at some points, but it also went a little too far and hurt some people. A lot of false information was spread, so it was important to get rid of the account.” Several students debated the way in which the school handled the situation. Maegan believes, “The school handled it well but did kind of make a big scene of it. In my opinion, they made it out to be a lot worse than it was.”

New students were confused about the account and didn’t know how the account was run or what it was about. Hamish Riddell ’26 said, “I was really confused about the account, but similar accounts were apparent at my previous schools. I heard previous rumors about Northwood Confessions, but they were mostly positive. After the first few posts, I thought the account was really entertaining. Eventually, I saw a fake post about me. I found it funny, but I could see how it would affect others, so in the end, it was probably better that the account was banned.”

The vast amount of mixed reactions amongst students made this account significant yet dangerous.

After the issues last year, Northwood knew how to prevent the account going viral. Student leaders were informed of the account and played an active role in reporting and banning it, given that it breached the school community’s expectations and was facilitating harassment.

Lohkoah Paye ’24 expressed, “I found the account quite entertaining, but I knew it was wrong, and I knew it was my duty as a student leader to act upon this.”

Northwood Confessions 2.0 was handled far better this year, and the school prevented a potential disaster. Sachiel Ming, a second-year junior, said, “The account had far fewer posts this year so fewer people were offended. The school got rid of the account very quickly before the account grew exponentially. It was reported and banned on Instagram, meaning it only lasted four days and the school managed to limit the damage effectively.

Northwood Confessions 2.0 appeared and then disappeared mysteriously. The account is officially banned and is now not affecting anyone. The school has handled this well and is constantly learning how to make Northwood safer.

Who knows if or when Northwood Confessions 3.0 will come out?

In January 2020, Northwood School announced a new dance program for the 2020-2021 academic year. The program was planned and executed in partnership with The Dance Sanctuary, a dance studio in Saranac Lake. The program was unique in that it incorporated both performance-based and academic components and allowed beginners and elite dancers with high aspirations to follow their passions. Much like the Hockey, Skiing and Soccer programs, the Dance program showcased Northwood School’s initiative as it attempted to provide a unique offering within the Adirondack region and allowed students to combine a passion with academics. Sadly, Northwood will discontinue the Dance program, as numbers were inadequate to justify its continuation.

Iva-Amanda Nelson is a senior in the dance program. “It is really heartbreaking. Although I won’t be there to experience not having a dance program, I have been involved since the start as a sophomore. It is still such a young program, and I feel like so much can still be done with it. It is sad to see what’s happening. I think there will still be classes offered at The Dance Sanctuary and hopefully Northwood can provide transportation for dance students, but I guess they will have to find another co-curricular. It will be really hard for the girls because all of them are so passionate about dance.”

As expected, there has been a lot of discussion amongst the dancers. Many are upset and feel that the school should have waited 5 years to allow more time for the partnership to succeed. Seeing the dancers perform at the LPCA is something Northwood students looked forward to, as well as the participating dancers themselves. Dance has changed many young women at Northwood for the better. The dance program has provided the girls with an opportunity to express themselves confidently and has allowed them to find meaning and passion.

“Dance has made a large impact on my life. It has empowered me, and I’ve been surrounded by such strong, caring and supportive people in my life who I have met through dance. I have built life-long relationships with people I never would’ve thought I would be friends with. I just feel that without dance at Northwood, my experience wouldn’t have been as good as it was,” Nelson laments.

Why did the dance program close? According to the Head of School Michael Maher, “The dance program continues to be important and is just going to be reclassified in a co-curricular format. The reason for that is that in a small school with limited resources, we have to direct those resources to some of our marquee athletic programs that need nourishment. At the same time, because we think so much of the instructors, the company, and most importantly, the experience the kids have had, we want to retain it as an offering.”

Mr. Maher felt bittersweet about the decision. “I wouldn’t use the word closing because we are still offering it to students. We are just offering it on a different basis. I recognized that this ultimately means fewer kids participate in it. On that level, the decision comes with a hint of sadness.”

When asked what other new programs are being discussed, Mr. Maher said, “We are committed to expanding the NOC [Northwood Outing Club] program and feel we have a unique natural environment to support that program. Secondly, we are committed to improving the school’s gender balance and we feel our best opportunity to do that is in a number of areas, but our primary priority would be to increase our alpine girls’ skiing program. We have the staff in place and a world-class mountain to support that. It is a good decision financially and a good decision culturally.”

Will the end of the dance program affect the gender gap? “I think it will be minimal,” said Maher. “My understanding from talking to Mr. Riffle, the Director of Admissions, is that a good number, if not a very high percentage, call it 90% of the girls who participate in the dance program developed that interest after they arrived at Northwood. We continue to be enthusiastic about both the people running the program and the program itself, and we want to maximize it as a co-curricular experience,” Maher replied.

Members of the Hockey, Ski and Soccer teams had benefitted from dance classes, as dance develops flexibility, agility, and core strength in athletes.

After receiving the news about discontinuing the dance program, Northwood students were left wondering how the school will improve the male-female ratio after removing a full girls’ dance team. Lohkoah Paye ‘24 says, “It is quite sad that they’re getting rid of the program, and I think it will affect the girl-to-boy ratio negatively. I have heard rumors of a potential girls’ soccer team incoming, which I think would be great for Northwood.” The boy-to-girl ratio is 13 to 7 in favor of boys; this has been a recurring issue since the school went co-ed more than 50 years ago. As a result, students have constantly been gossiping about how the school could potentially even out the uneven ratio.

A girls soccer team seems to be the most popular idea in the Northwood community. The boys’ soccer program at Northwood has been an utmost success and is continuing to grow and improve. Adding a girl’s program would only enhance this reputation and benefit the school.

According to Gino Riffle, Head of Admissions, girls’ soccer is a possibility. “We are considering it and think it’s a great option as we’re always trying to grow the female population. However, it’s a long process to do a full assessment, and as we haven’t started a formal process yet, it’s not an immediate option.”

Unfortunately, some good things must end, and whilst the official dance program will soon be no more, the Mirror hopes to see the talents of Northwood students as they continue to perform on stage at future school events.