On the right side of the entrance into Northwood lies a large, often colorful rock. For most students, its origins are unknown, yet some recognize it as being a symbol of senior pride. Some have tried and failed to crack the history of the rock.
Senior Adrianne Cleven researched the origins of the rock but was unable to find concrete evidence.
“It feels like it’s just this huge mystery around the school,” Cleven said. “It’s like no one really knows what the rock means and where it comes from. It’s just sitting there and people drive past it.”
Assistant principal Valencia Toomer said at one time the rock was used as a prop during senior portraits.
“My older brother graduated in 1992, and the rock was painted then, but they used it more so during senior portraits,” Toomer said. “It wasn’t as it is now where each graduating class sort of owns the rock. It was just more so a nice area in the woods for them to take pictures.”
Eleven years ago, the rock served as a memorial for former Northwood principal Michael Trifaro.
In June 2004, Trifaro committed suicide in his Raleigh home. Visual arts teacher Leslie Burwell recalled the difficult time.
“It became a memorial that year to reflect the sadness that the school was feeling,” Burwell said. “It is a pride rock, but I think that year it was a way to commemorate someone who made a difference, because he was a teacher and then a principal at Northwood.”
Former Northwood staff member Debbie McKnight agreed that the rock took on a form of commemoration that year.
“An English teacher planted a garden around it in his memory, and I remember that she became upset that the seniors painted the rock,” McKnight said.
There has been speculation that as an act of school rivalry, Jordan Matthews recently vandalized the rock. Toomer said that she did not know the exact details of the supposed vandalism.
“I’m just glad it was cleaned up and it is back to its rightful owner of the class,” Toomer said. “I haven’t known anyone to have to paint it twice, so I hope we can get people to keep their hands off of it.”
Burwell saw it as an opportunity for Northwood to grow.
[The rock] helps [students] define what school pride is,” Burwell said. “In some ways, when people mess up things that are important to you, it makes you redefine what counts, so I think the pride rock is a really important aspect of building more pride at Northwood.”
McKnight is now a teacher at Durham School of the Arts. While she no longer works at Northwood, she looks forward to the tradition continuing.
“There aren’t many traditions left at Northwood, and I think that the senior rock should be one of them that stays,” McKnight said.
Toomer had similar views.
“If we make it a big deal now, it may be something that people will kind of want to carry on,” Toomer said. “Some people don’t know that classes before [them] didn’t even recognize the rock as being a deal.”
Toomer also said that the rock has definitely made a visual impression. It is now painted bright yellow with a zigzag design and the year of the current graduating class.
“Honestly, this [year] has probably been the most busy that the rock has been,” Toomer said. “It kind of reminds me of an [Easter] egg. I think it’s been pretty simple before, but this is the first time I have seen it like this.”
While the history of the rock remains largely uncertain, for Cleven it is a memorable part of Northwood.
“It’s such a cool tradition because all schools have different traditions,” Cleven said. “We might not remember everything about Northwood, but some of us might remember the rock and what it means. It’s just kind of a senior thing. It’s a cool experience.”