Northwood Life – The Mirror

Mr. Roger S. Loud (1935 – 2022)

April 30, 2022 by Mirror Staff

The Mirror learned today of the passing of legendary math teacher Mr. Roger Loud, who retired from full-time teaching at Northwood in 2018 and has led Northwood’s Math Lab on a part-time basis ever since. He was a teacher and school administration for 64 years.

Northwood will share a commemoration of Mr. Loud’s many contributions to the the school early next week. In the meantime, we share this “Exit Interview” by former staff writer JoJo Rosenbluth ’19 and the official obituary released by Mr. Loud’s family.

Roger Sherman Loud, 86

Roger Sherman Loud died April 29, 2022, at home in Lake Placid, NY.

He was born June 14, 1935, in New York City to Ruth Putnam McAneny Loud and Sherman Loud.

Roger received his formal education from the Dalton School (NYC), Fountain Valley School (Colorado), Phillips Exeter (1952), Amherst College (A.B. – 1956), and the University of Cincinnati (M.Ed.).

He began his long career in teaching at the Hillsdale School in Cincinnati in 1958, teaching history and math, and was Headmaster in 1969-70. He moved to Lake Placid, NY in 1970, joining the faculty of North Country School/Camp Treetops, and becoming Director from 1982-92. Then he began a lengthy stint teaching math at Lake Placid’s Northwood School, finally retiring in 2021 at the age of 86. He served on the Board of Trustees at Gould Academy (Maine) for six years in the 1980s, and also on the Board at North Country School/Camp Treetops from 1994 to 2022.

Roger’s greatest passion outside of family and teaching lay in the mountains, especially the Adirondacks. He was an Adirondack Forty-Sixer, #125, completing twelve rounds of the High Peaks, and he co-led summer hiking/climbing expeditions to Wyoming, California, Oregon, Washington, and Alberta in the 1970s. He strongly believed in connecting children to the beauty and challenges of the wilderness. He co-founded Camp Gawee in 1964 and began the Treetops West program in 1974 – both designed to immerse teenagers in intense mountaineering experiences.

Roger is survived by his wife, Patricia; his four children: David Roger Loud, of New York City, (Pedro Porro); Jennifer Vann of Longmont, Colorado; Patrick George Loud of Virginia Beach; and Brigit Loud of Colchester, Vermont; and his beloved grandson, Bodie. He was pre-deceased by his sister, Margaret Faron.

Gifts in memory of Mr. Loud would be warmly received by North Country School/Camp Treetops in Lake Placid.

At Roger’s request, there will be no calling hours. A celebration of his life will be scheduled at a later date.

Filed Under: Northwood Life, People, Top Story

Season Recap: All Three Boys’ Hockey Teams Have Winning Seasons

April 14, 2022 by Jack Kent

The 2021-2022 boys’ ice hockey season has been one of ups and downs for the three teams at Northwood School. Despite many struggles between these teams, the new three-team format was one of success on multiple fronts. With efforts from Prep, Varsity, and High School teams, there was no shortage of boys’ hockey this year at Northwood.

The boys Prep team, under new management from Head Coach Mark Morris and Assistant Coach Steve Mallaro, had a highly successful season in their first year with the Prep Hockey Conference (PHC). This team joined an exclusive group of Northwood boys’ hockey teams to hit 40 wins in a season, with a record of 41-19-2. In the PHC Playoffs, the Huskies defeated Culver Academies and South Kent Selects, while finishing second in their division.

Coach Morris was satisfied overall with the team’s progress and was happy with the way the season went.

Varsity goalie Ben Norton ’22 (Photo provided)

“It was great to work with this bunch, and I thought we got a lot out of it, individually and collectively. We were able to knock off some of the top prep teams in the country, and it was also a great league we were a part of this year with the PHC.”

With over a dozen seniors graduating at the end of the year, there are obviously some big shoes to fill in terms of players. However, Morris is more than ready for what is ahead.

“I felt like we accomplished a great deal as a group and look forward to the future with a lot of excitement and anticipation.”

The Varsity team was also treated to a winning season, going 21-20-2 with 113 goals on the year. Despite the loss of Head Coach Jeff Miller for most of the season due to health issues, the team continued to develop, with Tim Wolford acting as an interim coach. While not playing for league playoffs such as the Prep team, the Varsity boys continued to fight with every game, and were buoyed by the return of Coach Miller for the final stretch of the season.

The Varsity team also stands to lose a few players, however not as many as the Prep team. Despite the inconsistencies and changes, the team stayed strong, and retains a lot of hope for the upcoming seasons.

The High School team, which unofficially merged with the Varsity team throughout the season, also had a successful year, despite only playing 23 games. The team went 13-9-1, for a winning percentage of .587.

Despite all the changes from previous years to this year, it managed to be successful across the board for boys’ hockey at Northwood School. As the organization continues to go down this road, it is safe to say many of the challenges faced this season will be ironed out. There is plenty of hope ahead for each of the teams.

Filed Under: Northwood Life, Sports

Students Have Varied Plans for Break

April 8, 2022 by Jack Kent

This year, the school’s annual spring break is set to begin today, on Friday, April 8th. This period, consisting of nearly two and a half weeks of recess, is one of the most anticipated stretches of the year for many of the students at Northwood. This year’s spring break is the latest the school has seen in recent memory. With many different types of people and backgrounds at the school, there are a lot of different agendas for break from person to person. Here are a few different students and what their plans for spring break are.

: Jacob Jaslow ’23

: Shashwath Sunkum ‘22

: Gonzalo Munoz ’24

: Ben Norton ’22

: Sam Lyne ’23

Many students are taking the time off and using it for some much-needed rest, and a chance to go on vacation. “I’m going on vacation to the Caribbean this spring break,” Jacob Jaslow ‘23 said. “I’m excited to get out of the cold and into the warmth. Maybe tan a little bit. Who knows?”

For others, it is a much simpler matter. Many are content with being able to go home and spend time with those close to them, like Shashwath Sunkum ‘22. “I’m just going to be staying in Ohio, chilling with family, studying for APs.”

Members of the soccer team still have commitments during break. Gonzalo Munoz ‘24 will be spending his first week of break with the team, as they head to Texas for the Dallas Cup. However, after that, Gonzalo has plans for his time off.

“We are going [to Dallas] from the 8th to the 18th, so we will have a week left personally,” Munoz said. “I will go to Miami, to a friend’s house.”

Speaking of commitments, two members of the Boys’ Varsity Hockey Team, Sam Lyne ‘24 and Ben Norton ‘22 are representing Great Britian’s U18 National team, as they attend the Division 2A World Championships in Tallinn, Estonia, during the front end of break. After they get finished, Lyne plans to return home.

“I am going home after my World Championships and spending time with my family and friends,” Lyne said.

With many different agendas for students this break, a common theme seems to be rest and relaxation. Students are ready to enjoy the time off in whatever way they are able to.

Filed Under: Northwood Life, People

Luge Athletes Pursuing Their Dreams

April 7, 2022 by Colter Cheney-Seymour

Northwood school is widely known for its athletic success, especially in hockey, skiing and soccer. Two students are following a different path this year and pursuing Luge with the hopes of earning a spot on the junior national team, and eventually the Olympics.

Luge is a winter sliding sport where athletes (called “sliders”) race down an icy track on a small sled. The fastest time down the hill wins the race. The sport is not unlike sledding children do when they take their plastic sleds and speed feet-first down a snowy hill. But luge sleds weigh 50 pounds and can hit speeds of 90 miles per hour. Clearly bravery and adrenaline are involved in luge.

Sadie Martin ’25

Darryl Cooper ’24

Like many sliders, Darryl Cooper ‘24 and Sadie Martin ‘25 had interesting ways of finding the sport. “My parents saw an ad on Facebook to try luge,” said Martin. “The people that I met were nice and they told me that I could be good at it,” she added. Darryl came to the sport when he saw some people trying these plastic sleds one day while skiing. Both students train in Lake Placid, the home of USA Luge and one of only two luge tracks in the country. They occasionally travel to Park City, Utah for training and competition on a different track. They hope to compete internationally.

Both student-athletes have major goals for this sport. “My goal is to make it to the Olympics,” Martin said. Cooper has his sights set on the Youth Olympics “I am currently training and hoping to participate in the 2024 Youth Olympic Games. Also, I and hoping to be doing Youth World Cup races starting 2023.”

Overall, this introduction of a new sport at Northwood is extremely exciting and the community cannot wait to see where it takes them!

Did You Know? Kei Takahasi ‘98 competed in Doubles Luge for Japan in the Olympic Games in 1998 and 2002.

Did You Know? Current faculty member Mr. Raychel Germaine is a former member of the USA Luge National Team. She competed internationally for 9 years between 2010 and 2019.

Did You Know? Kei Takahasi ‘98 (above, left) competed in Doubles Luge for Japan in the Olympic Games in 1998 and 2002.

Did You Know? Current faculty member Ms. Raychel Germaine (above, right) is a former member of the USA Luge National Team. She competed internationally for 9 years between 2010 and 2019.

Filed Under: Northwood Life, People, Sports

Many Ski Racers Find Success at State and National Championships

April 7, 2022 by Lily Spiegel

This year’s ski season was filled with many accomplishments and lots of hard work. The Mirror recently caught up with Alpine Program Director Tommy Biesemeyer to get the highlights.

At the U16 level, Lincoln Norfolk ‘24 won overall New York State Champion at Bristol Mountain, while Cara Dempsey ’25 also podiumed (was among the top-three finishers) at States. Bodhi Boschen ‘24 became known as the “dark horse,” Biesemeyer said, because he had the ability to come from behind. Boschen started way back at 49th place in the Super G race at Regionals at Burke Mountain, but finished in 3^rd place. That performance qualified him for U16 National Championships at Sugarloaf Mountain in Maine. All racers in the U16 age group had a podium finish at the regional or state level.

The U18 FIS women were led by Elizabeth Creighton ‘24 who had multiple podiums at the FIS level, which lowered her points, leading her to be one of the top Canadian first year FIS athletes this season. This resulted in her getting invited to a prestigious training camp in Sweden.

The FIS boys were led by Dominick DeGuardia ‘24 who placed sixth at U18 National Championships in Vail, Colorado. DeGuardia was just three-tenths of a second off the podium. Kieran Delay ‘23 also showed a lot of promise and good results. Delay, along with Rowan Norfolk ‘22 Macie Eisenhart ‘23 and Pedro Gonzalez ‘23 all qualified for U18 Nationals.

Biesemeyer was impressed with the FIS racers this year. “When you start FIS-level racing, it’s a really difficult start because you are racing against guys that are in college,” Beisemeyer noted.

The Nordic program was led by Bella Wissler ’23 and Sophia Kelting ‘23 who both qualified for Nationals. Bella recently placed 3rd overall in her age group at Biathlon Nationals in Lake Placid.

The 2021-2022 Northwood Ski Team

Most of 2021-22 ski racers (Photo: Facebook).

Bodhi Boschen ‘24 (U16)

Kate Broderick ’22 (FIS)

Maegan Byrne ’24 (FIS)

Savanna Coppler ’22 (FIS)

Elizabeth Creighton ‘24 (FIS)

Leah DeFilippo ’22 (FIS)

Dom DeGuardia ’24 (FIS)

Kieran Delay ’23 (FIS)

Cara Dempsey ’25 (U16)

Edoardo Eigenmann ‘22 (FIS)

Macie Eisenhart ’23 (FIS)

Clayton Fuller ’25 (U16)

Pedro Gonzalez ’23 (FIS)

Karleigh Hollister ’22 (FIS)

Sophia Kelting ’23 (Nordic)

Sebastian La Roche ’23 (FIS)

Hillary Larsen ’22 (FIS)

Cilla Nee ’22 (FIS)

Lincoln Norfolk ’24 (FIS)

Rowen Norfolk ’22 (FIS)

MJ Prince ’22 (FIS)

Caroline Purcell ‘24 (U16)

Sophia Schupp ‘24 (FIS)

Denny Sebek ‘25 (U16)

Cole Van Etten ’25 (U16)

Teegan Wardlaw ’25 (U16)

Zach Wargo ’25 (U16)

Bella Wissler ‘23 (Nordic)

Filed Under: Northwood Life, Sports

Wissler 2nd in Biathlon Nationals

April 7, 2022 by Lily Spiegel

Bella Wissler ‘23 at the biathlon range in Lake Placid (photo provided).

Bella Wissler ’23 recently placed 2nd in her age group at the Biathlon National Championships in Lake Placid. Biathlon is a winter sport that combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting.

In a biathlon competition, athletes are required to Nordic ski a loop then go into a range to shoot 30 targets as quickly as they can using a .22 caliber long rifle. There are larger targets about the size of a dinner plate and smaller targets the size of a ping pong ball. When you shoot at the larger targets you are standing and when you shoot at the smaller ones you are in prone position, laying on your stomach. Each shot you miss you must ski a penalty lap, adds time to your race.

Wissler started as a biathlete from a young age going to kids programs her grandparents brought her to. From there she began going to Dewey Mountain Ski League in Saranac Lake, where she learned skate skiing and racing. She then had the opportunity to train at a biathlon camp at the Olympic Training Center, which led her to further pursuing the sport and eventually training full time.

Bella trains six days a week, usually resting on Monday. During the summer her training is most intense and during the winter the training is less intense as she prepares for competitions.

Going forward Bella is hoping to continue training with her coach in Vermont who is an Olympic gold medalist. For her next goal she states, “My soon goal is to go to junior worlds over in Europe, I would qualify for that in December.” After worlds, she hopes to join the International Biathlon Union World Cup, which has season-long competitions and is the highest level of competition for biathlons, even bigger than the Olympics.

Filed Under: Northwood Life, Sports

Images from the Spring Dance Recital

April 4, 2022 by Mirror Staff

Another fantastic performance on April 1-3 by Northwood’s dancers in the Dance Sanctuary production “Mix Tape Masterpiece.” Photos below by Mr. Michael Aldridge.

Filed Under: Northwood Life

Prom Committee Chooses Theme for 2022

April 1, 2022 by Mirror Staff

Get your fur on the dance floor! All the “fursonas” will be on display at Northwood’s prom.

(April 1, 2022) Members of the Prom Planning Committee today announced the theme of the 2022 Northwood Prom. Director of Student Activities, Ms. Carrie Donatello, was joined by student planning committee members on stage at school meeting for the big reveal, which was received with universal acclaim from the students assembled.

The theme of this year’s prom is “It’s a Furry World!” Students will be encouraged to dress as their favorite furry animal.

The choice of prom theme reflects the global furry fandom phenomenon. According to Wikipedia, “Furry Fandom is a subculture interested in anthropomorphic animal characters with human personalities and characteristics.” Examples of anthropomorphic attributes include exhibiting human intelligence and facial expressions, speaking, walking on two legs, and wearing clothes. Many students already have a well-established fursona, while others will create one for the event.

“I hope couples choose to go as the same species. I think it will be so much fun to see pairs of chipmunks and gerbils dancing their tails off at prom,” said committee member Jazlyn Lluberes ’23 (fursona: rabbit).

Bryan Jones ’22 (fursona: cat) is also on the prom committee, and he said the competition for themes was intense. “There were so many clever ideas,” Jones said. “My personal favorite was ‘Under the Sea,’ but there was a lot of enthusiasm for “2020, too” and “Mask-erade,” added Jones.

The dinner will be catered by local restaurant Dancing Bears and beloved pet shop Man and Beast. “There will be a DJ, photo booth, and yard games like Spike Ball and Corn Hole. A trailer with restrooms, including a litter box, will be brought in for the event,” said Abigail Sinclair ’23 (fursona: fox) a prom committee member.

While many students already have their own costumes, some will need to buy or rent their furry suit, and that could get costly. Senior Angie Gonzales (fursona: wolf) isn’t happy about buying her costume. “I don’t know how I feel about this theme,” said Gonzales. “I’ve outgrown my wolf costume and now I need to spend a ton of money on a new furry costume right before I go to college. I don’t need this expense.”

Pendragon Theatre in Saranac Lake, the longtime home of ADKFurries, has a limited supply of costumes for rent.

It’s widely believed that Mr. and Mrs. Donatello will wear the two Northwood Husky mascot costumes as they chaperone the prom, but the Donatellos couldn’t be reached for comment before deadline. Their son Drew Donatello ’24 (fursona: puppy) was not enthusiastic about the idea. “Eww. Gross,” he said.

When asked about the wisdom of wearing bulky and hot costumes to a dinner dance at a time known to be warm, Ms. Riffle (fursona: muskrat), also a member of the prom committee, said, “I guess we’ll rent some fans.” When pressed about what attendees will do during dinner, Riffle said, “We’ll take our heads off. Wait, furries can do that, right?”

It’s a Furry World! The 2022 Northwood School Prom will take place under a giant tent on MacKenzie Field at Northwood School on Thursday, May 19. See Ms. Donatello for tickets.

This article was originally published on April 1, 2022, also known as April Fool’s Day.

Filed Under: Northwood Life

Ring The Bell for Northwood Raises Record Donations

April 1, 2022 by Lily Spiegel

Mr. Tom Broderick, Associate Head of School and director of Northwood’s Annual Fund (Photo: Mr. John Spear).

On March 3rd Northwood School celebrated Ring the Bell, the annual day of giving that raises money for many different aspects of school, including scholarships, sports, winter carnival and many other activities.

The goal for Northwood’s annual fund is $1.6 million. Last year from the singular day of Ring the Bell, just under $300,000 was raised. This year, Northwood set a new record for the amount raised on the day of Ring the Bell. Associate Head of School Mr. Tom Broderick oversees the annual fund, and he is certain the school has passed the previous record of about $300,000 from last year, although the exact amount of this year’s donations is still being calculated.

“Our strategy with Ring the Bell is always to try and generate enthusiasm, and the enthusiasm is there,” Broderick said.

Mr. Broderick hosted a variety of student and teacher guests at the Hub and held a live video throughout the entire day of Ring the Bell. They discussed many different topics including the dance program, independent studies, the advanced STEM research program and much more. This helped create enthusiasm and demonstrate the different school programs supported by the money raised during Ring the Bell. Broderick also said that educating students, getting more sustaining gifts, and holding a phone-athon to get students more involved helps encourage people to donate.

The Northwood community is extremely grateful for every donation we have received this year. Each gift will help benefit the school in many different ways.

“People who give are basically becoming caretakers of the school,” Mr. Broderick stated.

Filed Under: Northwood Life

Robotics Team is Headed to Nationals

April 1, 2022 by Mitchell Baker

The Northwood Robotics Team has qualified for its first-ever national championship. The Huskies are headed to Houston during spring break for the 2022 FIRST Championship.

Some of the member of the Northwood Robotics Team (6300), including (l to r) Mr. Jeff Martin, Kirk NguyenLe ’23, Mitchell Tuttle ’24, and David Garvey ’22 (Photo: .

The Robotics team qualified for the national championship by winning the “The Engineering Inspiration Award” at a regional competition earlier this season. This award recognizes a team’s engineering and design skills for their robot; it also recognizes how well they work together and work with other teams. The Northwood Robotics Team showed great perseverance and resilience which inspired many Northwood students and staff.

The 2022 FIRST Championship is April 20 – 23 in Houston, Texas. FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is a robotics community that inspires young people to be science and technology leaders and innovators, by engaging them in exciting mentor-based programs that build science, engineering, and technology skills, that inspire innovation, and that foster well-rounded life capabilities including self-confidence, communication, and leadership.

“The Northwood students on Team 6300 always work to help other teams,” Mr. Jeff Martin, the mentor for the robotics team, said. “At this event they specifically gave a great deal of help (programming, parts, strategy, etc.) to the Lake Placid High School team,” Martin added.

Martin believes the Huskies deserved the engineering award. “The judges at the event were impressed by how well kids knew and understood their robot design and how well they communicated their ideas to the judges,” Martin said.

Earning a trip to nationals is a huge honor. “Winning this award qualified the team for the FIRST Robotics Competition World Championship in Houston in April,” Martin said. “Only 3 awards at any competition will earn you a trip to World Champs. They also earned a $5,000 NASA sponsorship,” Martin boasted.

“It was a fantastic tournament,” robotics team member David Garvey ‘22 said of the event that qualified the Huskies for nationals. “It was only our second tournament this year. It could have been better though. We got unlucky with some of our assigned alliances. However, we still succeeded.”

Garvey has high hopes for the Huskies in Houston. “We are excited to compete against the top 600 teams in the world,” Garvey said. “We are aiming to place really high in that tournament and potentially win it.”

Students interested in getting involved in robotics should reach out to Mr. Martin or Ms. Carmichael.

This Robotics Team has inspired many students and faculty around campus. Northwood wishes the Robotics Team good luck in Houston and hope they come home with a trophy.