Said El Eyssami ’26 taking in his first snow outside the Northwood School Innovation Hub on Main in October 2023. Photo: Maegan Byrne ’24.

“It’s really beautiful,” said Said El Eyssami ’26 on a cold Monday recently while seeing snow for the first time. The first snowfall is a big event on campus, and seeing snow for the first time is “exciting,” said Mr. Jose Coss, who also experienced his first snow.

When the fire alarm sounded at the Hub during a Language Lab event on Monday, October 30^th, students evacuated to the sidewalk and waited for the Fire Department to allow them back in. While outside, it began to snow for the first time this year, which added a celebratory vibe to the false alarm.

Mr. Coss is from Puerto Rico. This was his first time seeing really solid snow. He had seen snow briefly while living a year abroad in Spain near Sierra Nevada. While there, he had a day of snow that “wasn’t anything like the big snow that we saw a couple of days ago.”

Said El Eyssami ’26 (left) and Mr. Jose Coss during their first snow outside the Northwood School Innovation Hub on Main in October 2023. Photo: Maegan Byrne ’24.

“I have mixed feelings about the snow,” said Coss. “Being from the Caribbean, I’m used to very hot weather. Right now, back home, it is 95 degrees. I feel really cold, but it’s still exciting. I think there is beauty in everything, so when I opened the door the other day and saw everything in white, it was beautiful.” Coss is also excited to try winter sports, such as skiing and skating. “It’s exciting. It’s a new experience, and one should thrive in it.”

Said is from Venezuela and hadn’t seen snow before last week. “It was really fun!” he said. A few days after it snowed more during the soccer boy’s practice. Said described training in the snow as “beautiful.”

“It was really beautiful to see the town covered in snow, the pitch covered in snow, and the school covered in snow, and I’m really excited to see more snow.” As one of many students coming from warm-weather locations, Said is not looking forward to how cold it will get once winter sets in. However, he is excited to try new things this winter. “I want to try skiing, sledding, and maybe skating,” he said.

Chess Club founders Nathaniel Wright ’25 (left) and Trey Frantz ’25. Photo provided.

Chess Club is the newest addition to the Northwood extra-curricular catalog. The Chess Club was founded by Nathaniel Wright ‘25 and Trey Frantz ‘25, who said, “We wanted to start this club because chess has become a new passion for us both. We thought it would be a great way to be more inclusive in school and get some new bonds going.”

Chess is a game of strategy and patience; Nate and Trey have clearly mastered that as their 2-week-old club has over 50 members. Northwood School strives for unity and interdependence. Creating a new club shows the true spirit of Northwood. Nate and Trey spoke about starting a club for the educational purposes of the students at Northwood. They strive for excellence and thought that an addition of an extra-curricular that focuses on everybody talking and bonding is just what the school needs.

Members of the Chess Club play in the library. Photo provided.

“The Chess Club has gotten to an almighty start. We are holding a tournament, and I cannot be more excited. I honestly cannot believe how successful this club is, it is one of the greatest decisions I made.”

Chess Club participants are driven to get a higher rating so they can receive more prestige and a “Chess Club Instagram edit.” Some of the Instagram edit stars include Noah Moodey ‘25 and Jacob Brunton ‘25. The balance between socializing and getting better at a world-renowned game keeps bringing people to the chess board. Founders Trey and Nate are overjoyed with what has happened with the club so far and are excited for the future.

Kate Broderick ’22 (foreground) at the Pink the Rink game in October 2021 (Photo: Northwood School/Facebook).

The “Pink the Rink” event took place at the Lake Placid Olympic Center on Saturday, November 4. Pink the Rink is a student-led event that was created to spread awareness and raise money to fight breast cancer. Halle Mules ’24 and Owen Flynn ’24 came up with the idea and coordinated the successful event.

Throughout the school day, students were given opportunities to donate money to help the cause. The organizers also did a fantastic job marketing the games, and with the soccer teams in Lake Placid for the weekend, large crowds came to support the cause, all wearing pink.  

Ritter Coombs ’25 said, “It was a great experience playing for a great cause. It was also fun looking at the crowd and seeing everyone united.”

Halle Mules, the captain of the Girls’ Hockey team, is a key student-leader at Northwood. “We did Pink the Rink to hopefully make this event a student-led tradition at Northwood,” Mules said. “We wanted to play for something bigger than ourselves. We also wanted to correlate this idea to this year’s theme of unity,” she added.

Unity is something that is very important to the culture at Northwood and is something leaders at this school are trying to achieve. Diego Green ’25 expressed, “It was a great idea. Seeing everyone come together to support something that is bigger than sport is beautiful. Even [soccer Head] Coach Moodey and his family came to support.”

Halle and Owen would not have been able to produce this event without the help of several teammates, teachers, and students. The community didn’t only come together during the event but also during the process of creating the event. 

The event was one to remember and is something that will most certainly continue to be a tradition at Northwood. “The event went really well,” Mules said. “Everyone being able to come out and support something bigger than us shows the school culture is alive and well. A lot of kids donated, and a lot of kids learned more about breast cancer,” Mules added. 

As the community continues to grow, more and more leaders are trying to stimulate change. Northwood encourages these students to do what Owen and Halle did because it only brings positivity to the community. 

How would you feel if you became a person who organized and operated a business and took on greater financial risk? Wouldn’t it feel exciting and inspirational? That’s how Northwood Entrepreneurship students feel every day. Entrepreneurship is a Peak Pathway led by Mr. Thomas ”Brody” Broderick.

What really is Entrepreneurship? Why do students enjoy this class so much? What made me so captivated by this class? For this, I needed to write down my thoughts because I couldn’t find the exact little thing that made me excited to go to class every day.

Brody at the Hub. Photo: Lea Lambert ’24.

Students at work. Photo: Lea Lambert ’24.

Teegan Wardlaw ’25 at work. Photo: Lea Lambert ’24.

The Northwood School Innovation Hub on Main Street. Photo: Lea Lambert ’24.

After some reflection, I’ve concluded that it challenges me. In my life, never have I had the task to either create a project on my own, build a brand, or start something that could make the world better. The idea that we can change something gives me a purpose to keep my ideas going further. I was having a challenging time finding an idea at first. I tried creating an avalanche rescue kit but failed. I then tried cut-proof speed suits for racers, but it still wasn’t the one. When I went back home for Family Weekend, I had a Thanksgiving dinner with my family. We brought the subject up and that’s when I realized, I found my idea, and ever since, nothing has changed my mind about it.

In the first week of school, Brody asked us a question. I asked Teegan Wardlaw ’25 what challenges her the most in the entrepreneurship class, she said, “Thinking of an idea and sticking to it is hard because I often don’t have enough self-discipline.” Wardlaw also mentioned that the independent class felt different than a teacher-led class. Teegan is one of only two girls in this class with me, but that doesn’t bother her. She knew she would be out of her comfort zone, but most of the time, that’s a good thing.

I think this class only brings benefits for students. It will help students develop their entrepreneurship knowledge and, who knows, maybe one day we will be following the story of a Northwood entrepreneur.

Wissler on trombone at Lake Placid Center for the Arts on December 13, 2022 (Photo: Mr. Michael Aldridge).

Jazz Band was created five years ago by music teacher Adam Stewart and former student Bella Wissler ‘23. Bella had loads of musical talent but was frustrated that Northwood didn’t have any extracurricular activities for music.  Mr. Stewart asked her what they could do to get her to stay with the music “program.” She said her old school had a jazz band, and it would mean the world to her if they could add one to Northwood.

This is how Bella and Stewart came to form the jazz band. Today, there are five people in jazz band, each with a colorful personality. Band members include Alex Randall ’25 on trombone, Bella, currently on a gap semester before attending Middlebury, who also plays trombone, Sergio Neto ‘24 on drums, and Ivan Favreau ’26 on saxophone.

This band is casual and meant for the members’ personal development and enjoyment. Jazz band also has the opportunity to perform, but they haven’t played before an audience yet, and there is never any pressure put on the students to perform.

“We usually create the music that we perform,” Stewart said. “And if we want to perform it, then we can. But if we don’t, then we don’t.” Stewart says that the motto of jazz band is “if you play a wrong note, you play it twice, so then it becomes part of the music.” The jazz band is looking for more members to add to their ensemble.

Members understand that people have very big commitments at Northwood, so this is why the band is completely casual, but the jazz band is always open to new members. The group gets together most Mondays at 6:30 p.m., and anyone is welcome to join and jam.

If you are interested, chat or email Adam Stewart.