Photo: Mr. Michael Aldridge

This past weekend, six Northwood students performed in the Dance Sanctuary’s spring show, “Out of this World.” They have been preparing for this recital since we returned from holiday break in January. There were 27 dances, and our students showcased their abilities by performing in five different dance styles: ballet, contemporary, hip-hop, jazz, and junior and senior company.

For Teagan Wentzel ’24, this was her last recital with the Dance Sanctuary; she performed a solo during the Junior and Senior Company group dance. Dean of Academic Affairs and Faculty, Mrs. Noel Carmichael, even performed in a beautiful dance with the Adult Modern group. It was evident that everybody worked hard to put on a fantastic show. I asked one of our very own students, Jenny Tran ’25, a few questions about her experience, and here is what she said.

The Mirror: “How were your practices leading up to the show?”

Jenny Tran: “To be honest, practice was very chill. Because of how much time we put in, I have gotten used to the routine and knew exactly what I had to do to prepare for the recital.”

TM: “How did you feel about your performance?”

JT: “Dancing with my friends is an awesome experience I am grateful to have had. Even though I messed up at some parts, I felt great about my performance at the end.”

TM: “What will you miss about the seniors leaving this year?”

JT: “I am really going to miss Teagan. We always goof around during practice, and she has also helped push me a lot.”

Jenny said her favorite dance was their contemporary piece to the soundtrack from “La La Land.”

Another student, Ashley Guevara ’24, who came to support her friends, said, “The recital was amazing. I love watching my friends show off something they worked so hard at. They all did great, and I’m super proud of them.” She also agrees that her favorite dance was the contemporary piece.

Paulo Marcilio ’25 said his favorite dance was the hip-hop piece to songs from the “Barbie Movie.” He said that the show was great and fun to watch. He is not the biggest fan of stuff like this, but he had a great time and enjoyed it a lot.

Overall, this was a great night. At the end, we all ran up to give our dancers hugs and congratulate them on their accomplishments. We finished off by celebrating with pizza and wings. Good job, everybody; we cannot wait to see what you guys have in store for this fall!

Cole Van Etten with his catch during the 2023 Fly Fishing LEAP. Photo: Facebook/Northwood School.

This year, fly-fishing is a new co-curricular activity, part of the collection of activities offered by the Northwood Outing Club (NOC), which also offers whitewater kayaking and rock climbing in the spring. Mr. Aaron Garvey leads the fly-fishing co-co. Garvey offered a Fly Fish LEAP last year and will again this spring.

Mr. Garvey’s motivation for introducing the fly fishing co-curricular is rooted in its exceptional stress-relieving benefits. He believes it serves as a coping mechanism, aiding students in their school work. Additionally, the allure of the Adirondacks for fly fishermen was a significant factor in his decision to start this program.

Mr. Garvey’s fly fishing program is a journey of unique experiences. He takes his students to various locations, offering a distinct fly-fishing adventure. Every outing is a new and exciting adventure, from the tranquil AuSable River to the vibrant Chub Creek and even fishing on the scenic Mirror Lake.

Mr. Garvey says that his goal for this year is to teach his students more about “lake fishing than fishing small creeks and rivers because it is much easier to learn how to fly fish in a wide lake than a narrow creek, and that is what this program is all about.”

Mr. Garvey has two dedicated students, Aston Ferrillo ’26 and Luke Salibello ’25, who fish daily in the co-curricular. Aston finds solace in fishing as it helps him clear his mind from academics and puts him in a state of tranquility, almost like meditation.

Mr. Garvey has received many donations from community members to help him with the fly fishing co-curricular, but a lot of the money and funding comes from Mr. Garvey himself because he wants to share his passion with the students at Northwood.

During winter, Mr. Garvey ties flies that they use for lures during the season. In one winter, Mr. Garvey makes up to 400 flies, most of which take up to an hour and a half to finish.

Mr. Garvey is invested in sharing his passion with the Northwood community and has done a spectacular job so far.

Northwood had its second to last formal of the year on April 24, followed by an arts and music performance in the auditorium. In the past couple of years, Northwood has tried to expand into the arts and music by providing music classes, studio hours, and anything else for the kids who want to work on their musical interests. Traditionally, Northwood has put on a Holiday Season and end-of-year music performance. Kids always have a great time supporting their classmates and teammates, cheering them on from the crowd. We’ll hear from a couple of students who were in the recent performance.

Jack Kent ’24 on bass at the recent Celebration of the Arts music performance. Photo by Mr. Michael Aldridge.

“For the performance, I was in a band with a couple of other guys,” said Jack Kent ‘24. “We performed ‘I Remember Anything,’ by Zack Bryan. I played bass guitar. We decided to start working on this right around Christmas time. We all worked on it individually, then met twice weekly and practiced. It was super fun working with my friends and doing something outside of hockey. It brought us closer. Performing it live was the most memorable part. There wasn’t any time we struggled; we just wanted to have fun with it. I think the music program is a great part of the Northwood community. There are so many kids here that have a lot of talent when it comes to music and instruments, and we wouldn’t be able to appreciate them if the program wasn’t here,” added Kent.

Sergio Neto ’24 on drums at the recent Celebration of the Arts music performance. Photo: Mr. Michael Aldridge.

“I performed ‘Don’t Look Back in Angry.’ by Oasis,” said Gracie Hurlbut ‘25. “I played the guitar, Sergio [Neto ‘24] was on the drums, Lea [Lambert ‘24] was on electric guitar, and Ndhego [Zikusoka ‘24] was on the piano. This piece was fun to work on. It took us around two months to perfect it. The most difficult part about learning this song was learning an F chord, which is a bar chord. It took lots of practice to get it down and to be able to play it naturally. But besides that, I thought it was a great experience working on this song with everyone and then putting that hard work into performing it live. I love the music program. I love being able to practice hockey and then go and play on my guitar and get great feedback from [music teacher] Stew. I would be super sad if the music program left the Northwood community. I think a lot of people would agree. It brings a different side to the school, giving students the opportunity to have more than one passion,” Hurlbut added.