Northwood Life – The Mirror

Humans of Northwood: Miranda Bookman ’20

October 24, 2019 by Olivia Paul

“My name is Miranda, but my friends call me Bookie. I’m 18 years old, a 4 year senior and I’m from Syracuse, New York. I am on the Girls Hockey Team. Something I really like about Northwood is the town it’s in, Lake Placid. It is really beautiful and I love living in the heart of the Adirondacks. It’s really pretty. The people here have given me such a good experience here because of the connections I have made with people. I wouldn’t normally get that at a high school back home. I have met people from all over the world and people I wouldn’t expect to, so that’s been a really cool experience. After Northwood, I plan on going to college. I am applying to a couple of schools. Hopefully, I’ll go to Syracuse University by my house, but that’s not set in stone. I don’t know what I want to do yet, but I’m into psychology and criminal justice. When I’m not playing hockey I really like to run a lot, in the summer I love running with my dog and I also love biking.”

-As told to Olivia Paul ‘21

Filed Under: Northwood Life, People

[Takeover] Tuesdays are for the Students

October 21, 2019 by Luke French

Every Tuesday, Northwood students get to live a day in the life of another student. A student takes over Northwood’s Instagram account and posts stories throughout the day “to show what it is like to be a student here at Northwood,” according to Ms. Darcy Norfolk, Northwood’s Marketing and Communications Director.

I participated in Takeover Tuesday two weeks ago. When I first learned that I would have to publicly share what I do on a typical day, I was a little nervous. However, it was actually easy to find things to post. Starting with a post at breakfast with my friend Patrick Doyle ‘20, I uploaded a short video of myself in Journalism and pre-practice preparations with my teammate Nate Boak ‘20.

Takeover Tuesday not only allows current students to get to know their classmates better, but it also gives prospective students an opportunity to experience Northwood life before visiting campus.

With Takeover Tuesday successfully integrated into the school’s social media program, Northwood Marketing now looks forward to introducing another initiative called Faculty Friday. Also, some of the future participants of Takeover Tuesday will be able to go live on Instagram, which will make the program more engaging for the viewers. “We welcome outside feedback on what else people want to see,” said Ms. Norfolk.

Filed Under: Northwood Life, People

Humans of Northwood: Andres Guerreiro Del Paso ‘23

October 21, 2019 by Bernardo Simões

My name is Andres, and I am from Mexico. I came to Northwood because I wanted to study in a different country, and after speaking with a parent of another student who already went here, I decided Northwood would be a good fit for me.

Since Northwood is a boarding school, my life here has been different from how it was back in Mexico. The only two things that I don’t like about Northwood are some classes that I don’t find so interesting and my room because it’s so small. But I think the location of Northwood makes living here a really good experience! What I miss the most about Mexico is mostly my family and the food. Our meals back home are really different from our meals here.

After Northwood, there is a small chance that I’ll attend a college in the U.S. I’ll probably go back to Mexico at the end of this school year. I’ll never forget some of the activities I have done here such as rock climbing.

As told to Bernardo Simões ’20

Filed Under: Northwood Life, People

Humans of Northwood: Pedro Bacci ‘23

October 21, 2019 by Bernardo Simões

My name is Pedro Bacci, and I am a soccer player from São Paulo, Brazil. I came to Northwood because when I played in Brazil, a coach from Black Rock FC watched one of my games and invited me to play here.

My experience at Northwood has been very good so far. I feel very comfortable here because all the faculty, students, and staff are very welcoming. The major difference between Northwood and my old school is the relationship between faculty and students. Here, students are much closer to the faculty.

After graduating from Northwood, I want to go to a college in the U.S., so I can study and play soccer [at the same time]. Things that I’ll never forget about Northwood are the friends I have made here and the amazing experiences I have had so far. I like almost everything about Northwood. The only thing I don’t like is that this place is very cold, and I am not used to it. Brazil is much warmer!

As told to Bernardo Simões

Filed Under: Northwood Life, People

New Musical Asks, “Which Decade Has the Best Music?”

October 21, 2019 by Hadley Swedlund

Drama at Northwood has been thriving after last year’s successes on the musical The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and the play Anon(ymous). Thanks to Theater Director Ms. Noël Carmichael, the first performance of the 2019-20 school year is, once again, expected to be outstanding.

The poster for “Good Old Days” was designed by Sara Ellsworth ’21.

The upcoming show, The Good Old Days, is an original musical written by Ms. Carmichael and Sarah Sheridan ‘21. “It’s a musical review that covers 99 years of pop music from 1920 to 2019. The premise of the show is a competition of which decade has the best music and which generation is right — because every generation feels as though music from their childhood is the best,” said Ms. Carmichael.

“What I want the audience to learn from our play is that every one of them is right. Every music is the best music because it reminds each of us of different events in our lives and the emotions we’ve felt,” she added.

Since auditions last spring, students involved in drama production both onstage and backstage have worked hard to produce this much-anticipated performance. Along with the original script, the play also features a performance from a live, professional band directed by Ms. Brianna Sanford, Music Director, animations created by Sara Ellsworth ‘21, and choreography designed by students. “The musical is funny and light-hearted. It’s about celebrating and enjoying music from every decade,” Ms. Carmichael said.

The Good Old Days will be performed at the Lake Placid Center for the Arts at 7 pm on October 29th and 30th. All Northwood students will attend one of the performances, and the public is welcome to attend for free.

Filed Under: Northwood Life

TikTok Takes Over Northwood

October 17, 2019 by Aimee Headland

At Northwood, no phones are allowed in the living room, the dining hall, or the main entrance. But that’s not getting in the way of anyone’s dream to be “TikTok famous.” Lately, Northwood students have been consumed in the latest teenage trend: TikTok.

Senior Danny Colabufo’s TikTok account has been blowing up this fall.

TikTok is a social media for making and sharing short lip-sync, comedy, and talent videos. Only a few of its users get famous, and most don’t. However, regardless of their popularity–or lack thereof–in the app, TikTokers at Northwood tirelessly produce short and fun videos daily, anywhere on campus. Whether in the dorms, the student center, the freshman lounge, the dining hall, or even the living room, where phones technically aren’t allowed, students balance their phones on ledges or prop them up on tables to film themselves.

Many students don’t create content but watch others’ videos on the app. Before, during, and after school, sounds from different videos played on phones come from all around the school. Much of Northwood’s free time is now spent watching TikTok videos.

Two of the biggest Husky TikTokers are Marina Alvarez ‘21 and Daniel Colabufo ‘20. Colabufo came to Lake Placid to complete his last year of high school at Northwood. When he first arrived, he had no interest in TikTok. Within days, he became obsessed with creating short viral videos. His most recent post has over 279,000 views.

Colabufo enjoys his fame. “It feels good. It’s nice to see everyone liking my videos and to watch the views piling up,” Colabufo said. He added, “I originally started using the app with some of my friends as a joke, but it turned out the videos were fun to make, so I continued to make them. Now, my goal is to go TikTok famous.”

Of course, TikTok isn’t for everyone. Cian Murphy ‘22 isn’t a fan of it. “When people are on the stairs making TikToks, they block my path. I have to stop and wait for them to finish, and that annoys me,” said Murphy.

But even the critics are known to watch TikToks. “I do sometimes try and get in the background [of videos]. I also watch them during my free time,” Murphy admitted. “They’re really time-consuming and fun to watch.”

Northwood students are always pressed for time trying to balance academic and extracurricular commitments. But just like Colabufo, they are finding time in between classes, before sports practices or club meetings, and after study hall to fit in their daily Tick Tok time.

This TikTok post by Colabufo has been viewed nearly 400,000 times in three weeks:

http://vm.tiktok.com/5qh3R7/

Filed Under: Northwood Life

Students, Teachers Compete in 90-Mile Canoe Race

October 11, 2019 by Olivia Paul

Two Northwood students and two teachers competed in the 35th Annual Adirondack Canoe Classic, a 90-mile race featuring 600 participants from 22 states, in 260 boats. Cisco Delliquadri ‘20 and Lars Kroes ‘21 were the students and and Jeff Nemec ‘05 and Tyler Eaton ‘00 were the teachers who competed in the annual paddling event from Old Forge to Saranac Lake. They placed fifth out of eight boats in their division, crossing the finish line in 17 hours.

Mr. Nemec, Mr. Eaton, Lars Kroes ’21 and Cisco DelliQuadri ’20 at the 90-Miler Canoe race in September, 2019 (Photo provided).

Mr. Eaton, Cisco DelliQuadri ’20, Lars Kroes ’21, and Mr. Nemec at the 90-Miler Canoe race in September, 2019 (Photo provided).

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Northwood Life, Sports

Naming Every Student: A Challenging Northwood Tradition

October 8, 2019 by Aimee Headland

In 1905, the doors of Northwood School officially opened, and everything within has been growing ever since. Each year brings change — new people come and others leave. But whether they’ve been here for a year or four years, all Northwood students experience Northwood’s original traditions.

Olivia Skriloff ’18 on stage completing the Name Game in the fall of 2017.

Throughout the school year, students have abundant opportunities to take part in the school’s traditions. Last Monday at school meeting, Ms. Mavis Agnew, Director of Residential Life, announced the first opportunity of the year: the Name Game.

When Mr. Thomas Broderick, Associate Head of School, first came to Northwood, he initiated the Name Game tradition. Since then, every year, during school meeting, a handful of students stand up and recite every student’s name and where he or she is from.

Though the task may seem pointless, it has profound significance to all members of the Northwood community. “The Name Game helps everyone at Northwood understand that although sometimes it seems like there are lots of people in our community, our community is tight-knit, ” Ms. Agnew said. She continued, “Doing the Name Game in the first month or two of school demonstrates that it’s not hard at all to get to know everyone in the whole school. It encourages people to reach out to others who they may not have had the chance to talk to.”

This year, Northwood has 192 students from 19 states and 24 countries. The student body is more diverse than ever.

Chelsea Smith ‘19 was the winner of the 2018 Name Game. Olivia Skriloff ’18 has the school record, naming everyone just one week into the school year.

Who will be brave enough to tackle the daunting task and follow in their footsteps?

Filed Under: Northwood Life

Get to Know Teacher Jacquie Lopez

October 8, 2019 by Hadley Swedlund

Jacquie Lopez joins Northwood as an instructor in Molecular Genetics. Jacquie received both her BS in Biochemistry and her Ph. D. in Biochemistry, Molecular and Cell Biology from Cornell University. She homeschooled her children and taught science courses ranging from the elementary school to college level. She is also the Academic Coordinator for NYSEF Winter Term student athletes. Jacquie, her husband Craig, live in both Ithaca and Lake Placid. She has three children, Alex, Avery, and her daughter Audrey who is a junior at Northwood.

That was the brief description of new teacher Ms. Jacquie Lopez on Northwood’s home page. The Mirror staff writer Hadley Swedlund ’20 tried to get to know her a little better and filed this report.

Ms. Jacquie Lopez (Photo: Mr. Michael Aldridge)

Tell me a little bit about yourself.

I’m from East Greenbush, New York, right outside of Albany. I live in Ithaca, New York, in the summers and in Lake Placid during the school year. I teach Molecular Genetics here at Northwood, and until this week, I’ve been teaching AP Biology and Human Biology because Ms. Jill Walker was away.

How did you first learn about Northwood? Why did you decide to come here?

I first heard about Northwood because my kids are skiers for NYSEF. They had friends who go to Northwood, and my daughter [Audrey Higgins-Lopez ‘21] goes to Northwood now.

I decided to work at Northwood because the opportunity came. I love science, and I love teaching. Northwood needed a substitute teacher for one of the teachers that was gone at the beginning of September, so I jumped at it.

When you first got here, what was your first impression of Northwood? Has it changed?

What I really liked when I first came here as a teacher was the support and welcoming environment that teachers have for each other. I also realized how much they care about the kids. These impressions haven’t changed.

How is Northwood similar or different from the schools you attended?

Northwood is different because it is a smaller school. There is also a lot of room for more creativity here.

What was your favorite day at Northwood so far?

My favorite moment so far was when my class isolated DNA from strawberries.

What are your hopes for the year? What do you want to get out of this year?

As a teacher, my goal is to inspire some kids to like Biology.

Filed Under: Northwood Life, People

Many (Not All) Like New Block Schedule

October 2, 2019 by Hadley Swedlund

Would you rather have seven forty-minute classes or five fifty-five-minute classes a day?

This year, Northwood has adopted a block schedule, and because of the winter schedule and the midyear opening of Northwood’s Main Street location, the school will have three different schedules–one of each for fall, winter, and spring.

The schedule is a seven-day rotation. Each day progresses in alphabetical order from A period to E period with five minute passing periods. Flex-time is still available if students need extra help from teachers, and Community time is now dedicated to not only school meetings on Mondays and Fridays but also advisor, faculty, class, and club meetings on other weekdays.