It’s the most exciting time of year: the NHL playoffs are going on and the anticipated NBA playoffs are just starting to heat up. With the addition of a new basketball program at Northwood School, many students are enthusiastic about the NBA. [Read more…]
Students Walk Out to Protest Gun Violence
April 24, 2018 by
Last Friday at Northwood School, 29 students and 10 teachers walked out of class at 10:00 am to protest gun violence, especially school shootings. Students in over 2,000 schools around the country came together to walk out of classes and mark the anniversary of the 1999 Columbine school shooting, which is considered the beginning of the modern era of school shootings.
Seniors Hannah Kessel (left) and Olivia Skriloff face the assembled students and faculty at the walkout on April 20, 2018. (Photo: Sam DiBitetto ’18)
The walkout at Northwood began at 10:00 am, five minutes into C period classes. Students and teachers gathered in the indoor tennis courts at 10:00 am where they heard a few people speak and observed a moment of silence. Seventeen minutes later, at 10:17 am, they went back to class. The demonstration last seventeen minutes in memory of the seventeen people killed at the school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida on February 14.
The walkout was led by seniors Hannah Kessel and Olivia Skriloff, and they both spoke at the tennis courts. Kessel read the mission of the national walkout:
National School Walkout is a movement powered and led by students across the country. We’re protesting congressional, state, and local failures to take action to prevent gun violence. America is the only country in the world where so many people are killed by guns, and yet our leaders do nothing about it. In many states, it’s more difficult to register to vote than it is to buy a rifle. Apparently to some politicians, a vote is scarier than a gun.
Skriloff read the names of the people killed in the Parkland and Columbine shootings. Skriloff also urged everyone in attendance to call their elected officials and urge them to enact sensible gun reform legislation. Click here to contact your legislators.
Every student who walked out seemed genuinely concerned about gun violence and moved by the event. “I think If we all came together we could put an end to gun violence,” said junior Barrett Ott.
Lax Trounces Plattsburgh
April 18, 2018 by
Sophomore Elijah Devereaux (left) and senior Jack Pensa on the turf field at Plattsburgh. (Photo: Sam DiBitetto ’18)
Northwood Lacrosse started out the year strong by beating Canton in their first scrimmage of the year, but the Huskies were still hungry and looking forward to picking up their second straight win to remain undefeated. Their next game was in Plattsburgh a couple days before spring break.
“We were feeling very confident and were looking to build on our recent success,” said Junior attack player Will Arquiett. With more practices together to work on their chemistry and sharpen up their skills, the Huskies were bound to take off. And they did just that in the 2nd game.
When the game started, the energy on the field was electric from both teams. Many big hits at the beginning of the game set the tone early. Jack Pensa ‘18 took the home crowd out of the game by scoring early in the 1st quarter and later setting up Drew Rose ‘19 for his 6th of the year. Plattsburgh got a couple of chances, but the play of Matt Shanklin ‘19 in goal was too good as he only let up 2 goals the whole game. Northwood fed off Shanklin’s energy throughout the game finishing on many opportunities as many players chipped in to help the team be successful. John Biechler ‘19 stood out scoring four goals in the performance. Elijah Devereaux 20’ was also solid, scoring a couple highlight reel goals faking one away and dancing to the other side to score. Arquiett added three goals to give himself his second hat trick of the year.
Northwood never let up and won 15-2. Sutton Allard ‘19 stepped up in the game by doing whatever he could to help. Whether it was playing forward, grabbing a long pole and playing defense or taking faceoffs: Allard did it all.
Describing his team’s early success, Patrick Callahan ‘18 said, “we have won a couple games and that’s been great, but we can not forget about the small details that it takes to be successful. That’s something a winning team never forgets.”
Northwood Lacrosse is hungry for games; however, with the unfortunate weather, upcoming games against St.Lawrence Central have been canceled due to field conditions. The team is looking forward to their next game and to continuing their early success.
Catching up with Jack Dugan ‘17
April 7, 2018 by
Jack Dugan ’17 (Photo: Hickling Images)
What have you been doing since you have graduated Northwood?
I have been playing hockey in the USHL for the Chicago Steel. [Ed. note: Jack’s being modest: he was also drafted by the Vegas Golden Knights of the NHL and represented the United States in the World Junior A Challenge in December]
How does the hockey compare to Northwood last year? [Read more…]
Boys’ Lax Off to Strong Start
March 28, 2018 by
A Northwood lacrosse player in action last season.
It’s that time of year: hockey and skiing have ended and spring sports have started back up. This means the Northwood lacrosse team is back in action. After losing many players from last year’s team to graduation, Northwood gained many new faces which includes Matt Shanklin ‘19, Elijah Devereaux ‘20, Drew Rose ‘19, Logan Stewart ‘18 and many others. After losing almost the entire defensive corps from last season, new and returning players might have to change roles in order to help the team win.
Tommy Bannister acknowledged that he might have to change positions from last year when he played midfield to perhaps playing defense this season. “It’s a good thing. I am starting to understand the game more, and I appreciate things from both sides since I formerly playing offense and now play defense.”
The squad had little time for practice with only two sessions under their belt before their first test: a scrimmage against Canton High School. a top team in New York State who trounced the Huskies 14-0 last season. Last season’s loss was a hard pill to swallow, but with many new faces and a handful of veterans, the Huskies were looking for a better result.
Veteran short stick Pat Callahan ‘18 said, “We are a completely new team, and we are hoping to go out there and surprise some people.”
“It was a light scrimmage and not a game,” said second year player Will Arquiett ‘19. “Both teams got to control the game by setting up different plays and practicing different setups, including man-up, and man-down. It was good practice for real game situations and for the new players to understand the rules and how to play,” he said.
The scrimmage started off with each team taking turns of playing defense and offense in four-on-four situations. Offense consisted of one midfielder and three attack players. While the defense would consist of 1 midfielder and 3 defenders and a goalie. Matt Shanklin was solid in goal for the first defensive possession not allowing a goal. The Huskies capitalized on their early offensive chances with new face Drew Rose ripping two snipes over the Canton goalie’s shoulders.
Throughout the game the Huskies kept the lead with goals coming from Jack Pensa ‘18 (3), Elias Fleishman ‘20 (1), Will Arquiett (3), Elijah Devereaux (1) and Drew Rose (4). Canton ended up scoring 9 goals.
Even though it was a scrimmage, the Huskies took it seriously and played hard right till the end, winning by a score of 12-9. Matt Shanklin and the rest of the defensive corps were huge difference makers. Matt Shanklin, playing lacrosse for the first time, reflected on the experience. “It was something I always wanted to try, and I figured why not? We needed a goalie and wanted to give it a try.”
The Huskies next game is March 28, against Plattsburgh High School on SUNY Plattsburgh’s turf field.
Catching Up with Wyatt Wilmshurst ’17
March 26, 2018 by
Wyatt Wilmshurst ’17
This is part of an ongoing series where catch up with recent graduates who postponed college for junior hockey.
What have you been doing seen graduating?
Since graduation I have been playing junior hockey in Rochester NY for the Rochester Monarchs in the NCDC USPHL league.
How does the hockey compare to Northwood? [Read more…]
Students Reflect on Trump’s First Year
March 9, 2018 by
President Trump in the Oval Office. (Photo: Carlos Barria/Reuters)
Donald Trump has been in office for more than thirteen months. It’s been an interesting year since our country elected the 45th President of the United States. It was one of the most surprising elections in the history of our country. Hillary Clinton was the favorite by a wide margin; however, reality TV star and real estate developer Donald Trump used different tactics and strategies such as his tax reform plan and promising to be different from former presidents, which led to his victory.
Politics is an important issue across the world and especially at Northwood. President Trump is a touchy subject with some students and teachers, but everyone has an opinion about our new commander-in-chief’s performance during his first year in office. Many students compliment Trump’s ability to enact what they call historic tax and regulatory reform, which they claim has resulted in an increase in our economic growth by 3 percent since President Obama left office. Other Trump supporters giver Trump credit for the ISIS’s diminished power in the Middle East.
However, many Northwood students have expressed anger and resentment towards the new president. Many students have opposed his Muslim ban, Executive Order 13769. Many students have felt scared by how the president reacts to adversity or threats. When talking about North Korea and the threats made against our nation, he displayed how he would retaliate” with a bomb and our bomb is much bigger than theirs.” Then a few weeks later, he agrees to sit down with the North Korean leader and talk. Not only would is the president saying unwise things, his critics at Northwood contend but he’s also suggesting that World War III is in the near future and he’s not afraid to start it.
When discussing with Northwood students how they felt about President Donald Trump’s first year, many seemed furious, while others seemed to tolerate his job so far (ed. note: this is a sampling of the author’s friends and is not an attempt to survey a representative sample of Northwood students):
“I don’t like the way he carries himself as our president. He is supposed to be a leader and someone we can all go to during a crisis, but I don’t think hes the guy. He has done some good things, but I don’t buy into everything he is saying. He’s a liar.” – Will Arquiett ‘19, Brasher Falls, NY
“Trump’s new tax plan is likeable to many, but to me personally I don’t agree with it. With his behavior and mannerisms, I believe we have taken a step back in the way we treat each other in this nation.” – Pat Callahan ‘18, Skaneateles, NY
“I know he’s not the most likeable person in the world, but at the end of day I believe he makes the right decision. He just doesn’t act the part.” – Tommy Bannister ‘20, Clayton, NY
“Being from another country I wouldn’t want him representing my nation.” – Sutton Allard ‘19, Kanata, ONT Canada
“He’s not the smartest, but you have to give the guy credit because he did turn some things around.” – Barrett Ott ‘19, Ketchum, ID
Stephen Panico ‘19, of Fairfield, CT, refused to talk about President Trump.
Donald Trump has had a unique first year in office. In many Americans’ eyes, his tenure has not been good, as he is one of the most unpopular presidents in the modern era with a 39% approval rating. We will see what year two has in store.
Is the Dawn of Soccer the End of Hoops at Northwood?
February 5, 2018 by
While Northwood School’s admissions team is recruiting student-athletes for the school’s new elite travel soccer team next school year, current students are starting to see changes to the facilities, including a new lighting system in what for decades has been known as the indoor tennis courts. Soon the concrete surface of the tennis courts will be covered in artificial turf, on which the soccer team will train. But this development brings questions: what will happen to basketball and tennis at Northwood? Both programs rely on the soon-to-be turf field for training. [Read more…]
Junior Team Can’t Three-Peat St. Andrews Tourney
February 1, 2018 by
The St. Andrew’s College Hockey Tournament is one of the biggest weekends of the season for the Junior Team. This season was extra special, because the Huskies were two-time defending champions of this tournament. The players knew they needed a strong start right away in their first game against Seacoast Prep. [Read more…]
Junior Team Splits with Gunnery to End Break
January 9, 2018 by
There was little rest for the Northwood Junior Team as they were set off to face Gunnery right after Christmas break. As other students were enjoying break, the Huskies were ready to go to battle, playing Gunnery at RPI and then Union College.
Senior Shane McGrath advances the puck.
