Northwood Life – The Mirror

Get to Know Ms. Franny Gerardi

September 17, 2024 by Eliza Quackenbush

Coach Franny Gerardi (Photo Provided)

Northwood, welcome Franny Gerardi, the girls’ hockey assistant coach. Originally a hockey goalie from Yonkers, New York, Franny was raised in a hockey family and started playing when she was two years old.

When asked what made her want to get into coaching, Gerardi referred to her father, who played an influential role in her decision to want to coach. “Hockey runs in the family,” she said. Her hockey journey led her to play for Bishop Kearny Selects in high school and then for the Manhattanville Valliant’s in college, where she broke numerous records, including single-season records (for saves, minutes played, and single-game saves) and career records (saves and minutes played).

Gerardi has come to Northwood as the girls’ hockey assistant coach, and her presence has already been noticed. Gerardi has a vibrant personality and a different view for many of the girls on the team.

Laura Dyke ‘25, captain of the girls’ hockey team, says: “Franny is a presence that any team would benefit from. She brings an energy that is encouraging and uplifting, while also demanding. She strives to make the girls around her better, and we are so excited to have her on the bench with us this year.”

Many of the girls on the team share this opinion. Autumn Kelley ‘26 states, “I enjoy the effect that coach Gerardi has on the girls’ hockey team already. I am excited to see what she will continue to bring to the culture of this team. She brings a good balance and is well-respected by the girls in this program.”

Kate Elbrect ‘26 agrees: “She is exceedingly knowledgeable when it comes to on-ice advice, giving a different perspective to girls who look for guidance.”

As an assistant coach, Franny is compelled to engage. Working alongside head coach Trevor Gilligan, she comes with a desire to learn and push the girls’ hockey team to their fullest potential. As Gilligan states, “She can relate to the goals and aspirations of the current players that we have, to help them to make decisions.” Furthermore, when asked to speak upon what he wants to teach Gerardi about Northwood girl’s hockey, Gilligan said, “The culture…you girls have a belief in how you carry yourselves every day and have a lot of pride in being at Northwood and representing the Northwood girl’s hockey team. While she has only seen a small sample size of that, she’s excited to help grow it.”

Welcome to Northwood, Franny!

Filed Under: Northwood Life, People, Sports

Weekend Bonfires Build Community

September 17, 2024 by Sasha Luhur

The Northwood community, captured at our most recent bonfire. Photo by Mr. Steve Mallaro.

Northwood students are often busy with sports and academic commitments, but the community still gets to unwind and hang out during their spare time. One of Northwood’s staple weekend activities is the bonfire, which is often accompanied by s’mores and music from one of the students’ campfire playlists. The bonfire tradition rekindled on the first Friday of the school year, and many students from all different sports, countries, and cultures stopped by and gathered around the firepit to enjoy the clear evening. Every year, bonfires are one of the best ways to establish Northwood student culture for both new and returning students.

The bonfire tradition is new to our first-year students, and the feedback has been quite positive. Penny St-Pierre ‘27 is a new sophomore, and she recounted a fun experience over the weekend bonfire. “A lot of people at Northwood are too shy at first to talk to each other, but at the bonfire with everyone, you have more confidence because we’re all gathered there. We had a lot of fun when we started throwing marshmallows at different teams,” she said.

Students moved around the fire throughout the night, getting to know new people. Photo by Sasha Luhur ‘27.

Unfortunately, the marshmallow fight eventually was shut down. She does have a few suggestions to improve the tradition: “We don’t have a lot of lights around the firepit, and we can’t see very well since it’s so dark outside. It would be easier to have fun if we could see around us better, so maybe we could have some activities with more lights around. But it was a really fun bonfire,” St-Pierre said.

Marie-Jeanne Cazes ’25 also had her first Northwood bonfire experience and said that it “was really fun and a good opportunity to meet new people. I would surely want to do it again.” Marie-Jeanne also recommends adding “more chairs around the fire and a big speaker” to improve the experience.

Bonfire nights have been a steady constant for our returning students, and they are known for connecting the community. Laura Dyke ’25 loved her first few bonfires right away, appreciating that “it’s a time where all the students at Northwood can come together.” She loves them as they are currently.

Returning senior Cedric Lemaire ‘25 has a similar point of view, with many fond memories of weekend bonfire nights. They are great opportunities for new conversations to him: “It always has been a time where I find people talking to others they wouldn’t normally talk to. I think they are great, and [we] need more organic events like it where Northwood students can be regular high schoolers,” Lemaire said. When asked whether he’d like to make any changes or additions to bonfire night before graduating from Northwood, Cedric said that he’d want more “events like integrating karaoke into the bonfire.”

The school year’s first bonfire was indeed a joint event with karaoke night, so it is great news that both events went smoothly and were appreciated by the community. Hopefully, there will be more of these weekend events to bring our student body together, and everyone is encouraged to show up and join in the fun!

Filed Under: Northwood Life, Top Story

Slagel Wins Filmmaking Award

September 17, 2024 by Jesse Schoch

Jacob Slagel ’26 (Photo: Moutain Lake PBS)

This past summer, Norwood student Jacob Slagel ’26 was presented with the Light and Shadow award by Moutain Lake PBS in partnership with the Beyond the Peaks Student Film Festival. As a project for the tenth-grade Integrated Humanities II, students were tasked to produce a film which would be entered in various categories for a chance to win a hefty sum of money. Students aged 13-18 from New York, Vermont and Quebec competed in this contest, which concluded with a premiere of the winning films in Plattsburgh, NY.

Slagel’s film covers a very meaningful and personal topic. “Even if I’m in a dark time I can always find the light, it’s all about how the way I look at it,” Slagel told Mountain Lake PBS over the summer.

In an interview with The Mirror, Slagel recalled a particular point that affected his athletic and social life. “When I was fourteen, I realized I had severe hip impingement, I had zero-degree hip mobility,” he said. He describes how his recovery not only took a physical but mental toll on his life.

Slagel said his film is a self-reflection on finding the small light no matter how big the tunnel is. When asked what he wanted his audience to walk away with after viewing the film he replied, “Everyone goes through dark times, but you choose whether you keep your head up high. If you keep at it and keep up the hard work, something will come out of it.”

Filed Under: Northwood Life, People, Top Story

A Profile of the 2024-25 Student Body

September 17, 2024 by Sophia Sherman

Northwood School has always been proud of their diverse community. This year is just another example of the impressive school profile.

For the 2024-25 school year, Northwood enrolled 195 students, 147 of whom are boarding students and 48 day students. To support and teach the school’s young minds, there are 40 teachers and coaches, and 10 other faculty and staff. 4 new faculty and staff are joining the community, and two returning faculty members (Mr. Gilligan and Mr. Biesemeyer) became parents over the summer!

This year’s student body is made up of 18 ninth graders in the class of 2028, 39 sophomores in the class of 2027, 57 juniors in the class of 2026, and 81 seniors and post-graduates in the class of 2025. This year takes the cake with the biggest graduating senior class recorded in the history books.

Any current student or Northwood alum can agree that there are many different experiences to choose from and plenty of opportunities to try different things here. As a baseline, 67 students play ice hockey, 53 play soccer, 32 ski race, 15 participate in the adventure sports program, 9 row crew, 8 are Nordic athletes, 6 are freestyle skiers, 5 are dancers, and 3 are figure skaters. Although students choose their co-curriculars for the school year, the opportunity to try different things is never lost.

A particularly uncommon thing about the community this year is that there is an even split between returning students and new. So far, it has been a refreshing and intriguing mix of new faces, and old wisdom. With such a diverse group, a new atmosphere and culture is introduced to the school. 115 students hail from the United States, spanning 23 states, and 78 international students come from 25 different countries. The most students (84) hail from New York, and 34 students are from Canada. This diversity of cultures and experiences provides many new stories and customs to be introduced this school year.

Elenor Mandigo, Assistant to the Admissions Office, says, “This is the biggest new class of students we have had since I have been here, and I have been here for 23 years. The new students do not feel overwhelmed with the fact that they are new. Half the school is going through the same experience for the first time, and you have the support of the kids that were already here.”

Gino Riffle, Director of Admissions, expects that the new-to-returning student ratio will allow returners to take on leadership roles. “It’s as simple as helping a new student find their way around campus, to leading them through a weekend at Northwood, to a late night talk in the dorm over a bowl of ramen or a bag of popcorn,” Riffle said.

Mandigo says that the record-breaking numbers of the student body will not affect how they do admissions in the future. “Next year will still have to be a year where we take a lot of new students, and then it will go back to the way it used to be. We are good at keeping the student body average around the same numbers. In terms of boarding students, we cannot admit more than what we average (147 this year), because we do not have the dorm space. However, we can admit more day students.”

The admissions office typically oversees 280 applications annually. For this school year they conducted 407 interviews, 100 of them alone in January. Elenor Mandigo thinks this shows a bright future for Northwood. “Things are looking good; there are other schools that have closed because they can’t get the students, but we must be getting something right,” Mandigo said.

Northwood School always broadens its horizons with new students, teachers, classes, and experiences. There is no doubt that this school year is one we are all anticipating being invigorating.

Filed Under: Northwood Life, Top Story

Huskies Train to be EMTs

September 17, 2024 by JT Wint

Left to right: Stephanie Gates, Colton Cushman ‘25, Alex Randall ‘25, JT Wint ‘25. Photo by Sasha Luhur ‘27

Northwood has four members taking part in an EMT class offered at North Country Community College. They include Alex Randall ‘25, Colton Cushman ‘25, JT Wint ‘25, and staff member Stephanie Gates, the Executive Assistant to the Head of School and Board of Trustees and HR Manager.

EMT stands for Emergency Medical Technician, a certification and training program for someone interested in the medical field. The basic certification requires about 180 hours of training with a mix of classroom and hands-on practical skills and time in the field to obtain 10 patient contacts. Someone who completes the course and passes the necessary exams for New York State and/or the national registry (NREMT) could get a job with any EMS agency, whether it be commercial, like American Medical Response (AMR), or private, like the Lake Placid Volunteer Ambulance Service, or to be a firefighter/EMT.

This year’s school theme is balance, and taking this course requires a lot of time and commitment during a busy school year. I asked my EMT classmates why they chose to take on this challenge and how they manage their schoolwork, co-curricular activities, and—in Mrs. Gates’s case—a full-time job.

“I was interested in doing the EMT course, because it is an opportunity to help people,” Randall said. “It is an opportunity to get knowledge in an area that I don’t have any other qualifications in. Through the National Registry, I can basically work anywhere, no matter where I go to college in the United States,” he added. On the question of balance, Alex also said, “It’s not that hard. I don’t find it that hard yet, just because school hasn’t really picked up. I view it as another class and so when I have free time to work on homework, that is one of the homework assignments I work on.”

“I’ve wanted to do it for a long time, and I’ve always put it off because I’ve been so busy with different things, but the last two years, I’ve been taking care of an ill uncle who’s had to have some amputations done, and he’s got major heart issues,” Gates said. “That has made me want to learn more, and I decided there’s no better time than right now.” Her comment about being both a staff member at Northwood and taking this life-changing class was, “I just have to make the time for myself if there’s something that’s important to me. It’s not easy. I think I’ve found that I have to make time for this because it’s so important to me, but yet my job is very important to me as well.”

They will be very busy with this significant commitment through the end of January 2025, and we wish them good luck.

Filed Under: Northwood Life, People, Top Story

Mike Maher to Retire as Head of Northwood School

June 11, 2024 by Mirror Staff

Bradley A. Olch ’69, Chair of the Northwood School Board of Trustees, announced Monday, June 10 in an email to the Northwood School community that Head of School Michael J. Maher will retire following the 2024-25 school year, his tenth at the helm of the school. The Mirror will have additional reporting on this news story when school is back in session in the fall.

The text of Mr. Olch’s message is quoted below:

Mr. Michael J. Maher (Photo by Mr. Michael Aldridge).

June 8, 2024

Mike Maher To Retire as Head of Northwood School

At the June meeting of the Northwood School Board of Trustees, Headmaster Michael Maher (“Mike”) announced that he will be retiring as Headmaster after the 2024-2025 school year.

Board Chairman Brad Olch noted that Mr. Maher’s retirement will conclude an “extraordinarily productive decade of thoughtful and purposeful leadership. Brad expressed great appreciation for his accomplishments since his arrival in 2015.”  In his final year, Mr. Maher will continue as Headmaster to operate Northwood at the highest level, remaining fully involved in the day-to-day operations and leading the school’s development outreach.

During Mr. Maher’s tenure:

Northwood’s enrollment increased by approximately 20% with students from 24 states, 24 countries, and six continents.

Major additions to the campus include a turf field for soccer, an indoor turf pitch, a health center, a new ski building with state-of-the-art tuning equipment, a learning center, and the Hub on Lake Placid’s Main Street which showcases Northwood and a variety of innovative offerings including a robotics laboratory, center for entrepreneurship, and design thinking. The Allyn building, which is the heart of the school and houses over 2/3 of the boarding population, has been substantially renovated.

Under Mr. Maher’s direction, the school’s curriculum has added breadth and depth to the innovative academic program, including Peak Pathways (Design your own elective program), Global and Cultural Lab (18+ languages offered), Challenge for Honors (available in 9 different courses), Dual enrollment courses, and L.E.A.P.  (Learn, Engage, Apply, Perform)

Mr. Maher has also overseen the most extensive and successful fund-raising period in the history of the school. which, under his direction, has tripled Annual Fund donations and raised more than twenty million dollars ($20,000,000) between the Annual and Capital Funds.

Mr. Maher noted that he has enthusiastically enjoyed his nearly forty (40) years in education as a teacher, coach, and administrator. Before coming to Northwood in 2015, he was the Headmaster at Berkshire School in Western Massachusetts. While noting that he looked forward to traveling and spending more time with family, he told the board, “I will always be indebted to you for giving me the opportunity to join such a special community, Northwood School. Be assured that I will do all I can to ensure the school’s success in the future.”

Board Chair Brad Olch spoke for the Board applauding “the amazing job Mike has done ensuring that Northwood’s academic offerings are relevant and contemporary and that its students are well-prepared for the excellent colleges they are earning acceptance to.”  Mike’s headship has been transformative in a decade seeing multiple inflection points for private secondary education.”  We are fortunate to have had his passion, vision, and dynamic thoughtful leadership.”

Thank you Mike for your dedicated stewardship of our Northwood School.

Sincerely,

Bradley Olch
Chairman of the Northwood Board of Trustees

Filed Under: Northwood Life, People, Top Story

Second Semester Honor Rolls Announced

June 7, 2024 by Mirror Staff

June 6, 2024 — Ms. Noel Carmichael, Northwood School’s Dean of Faculty and Academic Affairs, today announced the Honor Rolls for the second semester of the 2023-24 school year, which concluded on Friday, May 24, 2024.

DEAN’S LIST
Upperclassmen (Gr. 11 & 12): Minimum weighted GPA of 4.00 with no grade below B+
Underclassmen (Gr. 9 & 10): Minimum weighted GPA of 3.70 with no grade below B+

Mitchell Baker ’24	Nicholas Hayden ’24	Louisa Parsons ’27
Shreeniket Bhat ’25	Brac Kelley ’24	Elleanore Pelletier ’25
Julianne Brochu ’25	Dowon Kim ’26	Michael Peluso ’25
Leon Brody ’24	Colin Kis ’24	Alexander Randall ’25
Jacob Brunton ’24	Sydney Kuder ’25	Hamish Riddell ’26
Diogo Charraz ’25	Loélie Lachapelle ’26	Samuel Rudy ’24
Liam Connelly ’27	Léa Lambert ’24	William Schneid ’25
Elisabeth Creighton ’24	Charles Leduc ’25	Sophia Schupp ’24
Drew Donatello ’25	Cedric Lemaire ’25	Devin Shakar ’24
Leo Doyle ’25	Olivia Levesque ’24	Jordan Shullenberger ’24
Li Feng ’24	Sasha Luhur ’27	Jacob Slagel ’26
Aston Ferrillo ’26	James Martin ’26	Minh Tue Tran ’25
Owen Flynn ’24	Sophia Miller ’24	Renaud Trudeau-Lalancette ’24
Augustine Garvey ’25	Peter Moore ’24	Teagan Wentzel ’24
Gunnar Gleasman ’26	Halle Mules ’24	Matthew White ’25
Jersey Graham ’24	Sergio Neto ’24	Ilia Zhdanov ’24
Diego Green ’25	Maxwell Notley ’27	Ndhego Zikusoka ’24
Ashley Guevara ’24	Scout Oudemool ’24

HIGH HONOR ROLL
Upperclassmen (Gr. 11 & 12): Minimum weighted GPA of 3.70 with no grade below B
Underclassmen (Gr. 9 & 10): Minimum weighted GPA of 3.30 with no grade below B

Parker Asbridge ’24	Gavin Kruger ’26	Eliza Quackenbush ’25
Jackson Barbieri ’24	Niklas Loraing ’25	Morgan Smith ’24
Brian Brady ’24	Jackson Magnus ’26	Oceanne Thiffault Michel ’26
William Bujold ’25	Abby Monette ’24	Anderson Trider ’24
Gavin Carr ’25	Anna Monette ’26	Add Truscott ’25
Cara Dempsey ’25	Hayden Newman ’24	Abigail Van Dorn ’25
Trey Frantz ’25	Lohkoah Paye ’25	Anthony Wan ’26
Jack Kent ’24	Charles Pigeon ’26	Trey Zeren ’25
Jack Kroll ’25	Sebastian Pribula ’24	Jingxi Zhao ’27

HONOR ROLL
Upperclassmen (Gr. 11 & 12): Minimum GPA of 3.30 with no grade below B-
Underclassmen (Gr. 9 & 10): Minimum GPA of 3.00 with no grade below B-

Devin Bard ’24	Audrey Hurlbut ’25	Caroline Purcell ’24
Mathis Baril ’24	Kristen Kiggen ’24	Luke Salibello ’25
Liam Burk ’24	Roman Kravtchouk ’24	Jesse Schoch ’25
Maegan Byrne ’24	Uma Laguna-Curtis ’26	Alexis Trudeau ’24
Nico Cedeno Silva ’24	Daven Linck ’25	Wyatt Wardlaw ’24
Colton Cushman ’25	Hudson Marshall ’27	Zachary Wargo ’25
Victor Cutting ’24	Sadie Martin ’25	Hilary Wilkin ’25
Katie Demers ’24	Tereza Maskova ’24	JT Wint ’25
Laura Dyke ’25	Liam McGahay ’27	Maya Wissler ’25
Kyle Graddon Smith ’24	Sachiel Ming ’24	Nathaniel Wright ’25
Emma Hathaway ’24	Elm Pentinat Llurba ’24

EFFORT HONOR ROLL
Attained at least three “excellent” grades, with no effort grades below “good.”

Parker Asbridge ’24	Audrey Hurlbut ’25	Louisa Parsons ’27
Mitchell Baker ’24	Brac Kelley ’24	Lohkoah Paye ’25
Nathaniel Benjamin ’26	Jack Kent ’24	Elleanore Pelletier ’25
Shreeniket Bhat ’25	Kristen Kiggen ’24	Michael Peluso ’25
Julianne Brochu ’25	Dowon Kim ’26	Charles Pigeon ’26
Leon Brody ’24	Colin Kis ’24	Caroline Purcell ’24
Jacob Brunton ’24	Samuel Knauf ’24	Eliza Quackenbush ’25
William Bujold ’25	Gavin Kruger ’26	Alexander Randall ’25
Maegan Byrne ’24	Sydney Kuder ’25	Samuel Rudy ’24
Gavin Carr ’25	Loélie Lachapelle ’26	Luke Salibello ’25
Diogo Charraz ’25	Léa Lambert ’24	William Schneid ’25
Liam Connelly ’27	Charles Leduc ’25	Sophia Schupp ’24
Elisabeth Creighton ’24	Cedric Lemaire ’25	Devin Shakar ’24
Colton Cushman ’25	Olivia Levesque ’24	Jordan Shullenberger ’24
Victor Cutting ’24	Niklas Loraing ’25	Jacob Slagel ’26
Sophia DeAnzeris ’25	Sasha Luhur ’27	Oceanne Thiffault Michel ’26
Katie Demers ’24	Wolfgang Lux ’25	Minh Tue Tran ’25
Drew Donatello ’25	James Martin ’26	Anderson Trider ’24
Laura Dyke ’25	Sadie Martin ’25	Renaud Trudeau-Lalancette ’24
Li Feng ’24	Tereza Maskova ’24	Add Truscott ’25
Owen Flynn ’24	Sophia Miller ’24	Abigail Van Dorn ’25
Augustine Garvey ’25	Abby Monette ’24	Anthony Wan ’26
Gunnar Gleasman ’26	Anna Monette ’26	Matthew White ’25
Kyle Graddon Smith ’24	Peter Moore ’24	Hilary Wilkin ’25
Jersey Graham ’24	Halle Mules ’24	JT Wint ’25
Diego Green ’25	Isabelle Norris ’24	Maya Wissler ’25
Ashley Guevara ’24	Maxwell Notley ’27	Jingxi Zhao ’27
Arielle Haccoun Choquette ’24	Joaquin Ocana ’24	Ilia Zhdanov ’24
Nicholas Hayden ’24	Scout Oudemool ’24	Ndhego Zikusoka ’24

Filed Under: Northwood Life, People, Top Story

Meet the Class of 2024

May 17, 2024 by Mirror Staff

We celebrate and congratulate the Northwood School class of 2024! We will miss you. Best wishes, and keep in touch!

Parker Asbridge	Mitchell Baker
Jackson Barbieri	Devin Bard
Mathis Baril	Brian Brady
Edouard Brochu	Leon Brody
Jacob Brunton	Liam Burk
Maegan Byrne	Sheldon Cassidy
Nico Cedeno Silva	Elisabeth Creighton
Victor Cutting	Will Dallaire
Katie Demers	Shayna Deutsch
Li Feng	Reid Fesette
Nora Fitzsimmons	Owen Flynn
Elise Fraser	Kyle Graddon Smith
Jersey Graham	Ashley Guevara Jurado
Arielle Haccoun Choquette	Emma Hathaway
Nicholas Hayden	Arthur Kaufmann
Brac Kelley	Jack Kent
Kristen Kiggen	Colin Kis
Samuel Knauf	Roman Kravtchouk
Léa Lambert	Olivia Levesque
Samuel Lyne	Tereza Maskova
Tanner McFaul	Sophia Miller
Sachiel Ming	Abby Monette
Pete Moore	Halle Mules
Sergio Neto	Hayden Newman
Bella Norris	Avery Novia
Joaquin Ocana Leigh	Scout Oudemool
Elm Pentinat Llurba	Benjamin Plucinski
Sebastian Pribula	Caroline Purcell
Samuel Rudy	Sophia Schupp
Devin Shakar	Jordan Shullenberger
Morgan Smith	Jack Spiegel
Anderson Trider	Alexis Trudeau
Renaud Trudeau-Lalancette	Mitchell Tuttle
Wyatt Wardlaw	Teagan Wentzel
Jaron Wilkins	Ilia Zhdanov
Ndhego Zikusoka

All photos by Mr. Michael Aldridge.

Filed Under: Northwood Life, People, Top Story

Cultivating Knowledge: Exploration of Hydroponics in STEM Research Class

May 15, 2024 by Li Feng

Jenny Tran ’25 (right) explaining her research to Ms. Katie Weaver at the recent Advanced Research Poster Symposium at the Hub. Photo by Mr. Michael Aldridge.

At the heart of Northwood School’s educational approach is a deep exploration of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education. The school fosters a unique learning environment that not only encourages students to absorb knowledge but also to actively engage in research and critical thinking. This approach transforms education into a lived experience, setting the stage for innovative projects like the one led by Jenny Tran ’25.

Photo provided.

In one of Ms. Jill Walker’s STEM classes, Jenny Tran ‘25 stands out as a great example of student-driven projects. Jenny is dedicated to testing optimal nutrient intake while growing lettuce using hydroponics, which utilizes water-based nutrient solutions instead of soil. This process in a well-designed and scientifically formulated hydroponic system will ensure that plants maintain the same mineral content as those grown in soil, making farming more viable in areas with extreme droughts and low soil quality.

Witnessing the food insecurity issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in her hometown, Jenny ventured into this project with a mission in mind. “During COVID, I saw an article about food insecurity in Ho Chi Minh City, where I live. Many families couldn’t afford nutritional food. I wanted to see if hydroponics could solve food insecurity in urban settings,” she explained.

Photo provided.

Ms. Jill Walker’s class is not just about consuming information. It’s about actively engaging in the educational journey, fostering independence and adaptability. For Jenny Tran ’25, this approach has been instrumental in her pursuit of understanding hydroponics and its potential impact on food insecurity. She sees this project as a valuable learning opportunity, a stepping stone towards her future studies in biology.

The emphasis on student-driven projects like Jenny’s extensive project illustrates the school’s role in providing a platform where problem-solving and creativity skills are encouraged and expected. The journey through STEM education at Northwood is not limited to textbooks but allows students to navigate their paths, set goals, and bring their ideas to life.

Filed Under: Northwood Life, People

Van Slyke’s Painting Chosen for Permanent Collection

May 15, 2024 by Yosef Spear

Art teacher Ms. Ingrid Van Slyke’s painting, “The Road Home,” has been acquired to be included in the permanent collection of the Adirondack Experience Museum in Blue Mountain Lake, NY. The museum’s fine art collection includes artists such as Thomas Cole, Rockwell Kent, Winslow Homer, and many wonderful contemporary artists.

“The Road Home” is a painting of a location on John Brown Road that Ms. Ingrid Van Slyke walks by often. The painting was on exhibit at the Paul Smiths VIC. The art collection curator at Adirondack Experience Museum saw it while it was on display there. She called Ms. Van Slyke and asked if she could buy it for the museum.

Ms. Van Slyke is very happy about this because it’s one of her favorite paintings, and she now knows it will be in a place where lots of people can see it, and it will be taken good care of.