
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 30th, 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.