Gavin Kruger

Generations Tap and Grill Offers Good Food and Atmosphere

November 1, 2023 by Gavin Kruger

Generations Tap and Grill on Main Street. Photo provided.

With its unique and relaxed atmosphere, Generations Tap and Grill is hidden at the end of Main Street. The diverse, high-quality menu has some delicious offerings. This laid-back restaurant makes you feel at home.

After sitting down, I took in the surroundings. The open, spacious format was unlike other restaurants I have been to. Tables were spread out, leaving a lot of open space. At first, I was surprised by the setup; it felt like they could seat more people. The format played into the relaxed feel of the restaurant.

The service was great. The server was accommodating and came back frequently to see if I had decided on my order. The fantastic menu ranged from German soup and 8-ounce burgers to meatloaf. Generations had it all. I ordered the German dip, a sandwich that contained thinly sliced roast beef, caramelized onion jam, Swiss cheese, and roasted garlic aioli on a hoagie roll. In addition, the sandwich came with fries and a delicious onion jus dip. It enhanced the flavor of my dinner. The meal was appetizing, but it left me wanting more. Also, the fries could have been better. Overall, the food was good, but not amazing. It is a very good option if you’re looking for a bite to eat on a night out. It was priced at 17 dollars.

With good food and a great vibe, Generations is a restaurant everyone should dine in at least once. Personally, I will be returning to try some more of their food. I am looking forward to trying one of their burgers.

Filed Under: Northwood Life, Real World

Dress Code a Perennial Topic of Discussion

October 14, 2023 by Gavin Kruger

Students in dress code between classes. Photo: Mr. Michael Aldridge.

The Northwood School dress code has been a controversial topic over the years. Varying opinions are not hard to find.

Some students feel the dress code is a suppression of self-expression and identity. “You can’t have lots of clothes that are the same. After washing them a lot of times, they get uncomfortable,” Anthony “Tony” Wan ’26 said. Tony feels that clothing restrictions mean that the same clothes get washed too many times, which costs more money and ruins clothes.

Some students, however, feel the dress code must be in place to maintain the school’s standard. “It’s fantastic. [The dress code] makes me feel professional,” Mohamed Ahmed ’25 said.

Maintaining professionalism was a recurring response when I asked students about their opinions.

Ahmed would like to see some changes to the dress code: “I would appreciate an acceptance of any kind of cultural wear like cultural sandals or robes. I am from Kenya, and a change such as this would make me very happy.” Cultural clothing is a bit of a grey area surrounding some garments. Sandals and robes do not fit under the dress code, but the cultural context may bring up an interesting discussion. The dress code allows for “formal attire and shoes representing a student’s international and/or cultural identity” at formal dinners but doesn’t address cultural attire for class dress.

To the disappointment of many students, the school dress code will always remain in place. Having a dress code assures we treat our education like work and Northwood’s professional standard is maintained.

However, there may be room for flexibility. Recently, our student leaders reached an agreement with the Head of School Mr. Maher that leggings are now allowed. Northwood students are happy with this change. “[Leggings] are comfy, but still look like you are ready to learn,” said Anna Monette ’26.

In conclusion, Northwood has modified its dress code, and students feel an even stronger sense of trust between them and the seniors on the Head’s Council. Maybe we will see more changes in the following years.

Filed Under: Northwood Life

How Northwood Helps Students Get Into College

October 4, 2023 by Gavin Kruger

Halle Mules ’24 works on her application with Director of College Counseling Mr. David McCauley. Photo: Gavin Kruger ’26.

Northwood students are already committed to some big-name schools this year, including Georgetown, Middlebury, St. Lawrence, UVM, and Providence. The Mirror wanted to go behind these commitments and ask some important questions.How does the application work? How is the process broken down? What separates a Northwood Student from other applicants? What do some of our best student-athlete commits have in common?

In talking to Director of College Counseling Mr. David McCauley, I learned the steps of an application process.

First, the student has a self-assessment of their personality and traits. Once that form is filled out, there is a filtered list of schools that match their strengths and personality. This is a preliminary shortlist of schools.

The next step is for the student to contact the schools on their shortlist. If there is a mutual interest from both the student and the college, the application process begins. Mr. McCauley and our admissions team are helping in their respective ways all throughout this process.

What separates a Northwood student from any other student? “The size of our school is an advantage,” McCauley said. Additionally, he feels that our location allows us to have a unique set of place-based course offerings. “We have courses that few other schools have, and this separates our students during the application process,” McCauley observed.

Some of Northwood’s best student-athletes have already committed this year. Among them are Mitchell Baker ’25 (Georgetown), Sachiel Ming ’24 (Syracuse), and Leon Brody ’24 (Middlebury). I asked Mr. McCauley if he noticed any common traits or strengths the three soccer commits share. “They haven’t rested on their [athletic] talent,” McCauley said without hesitation. “They’ve done as much as they can to develop those talents.”

Something for Northwood students to take away: No matter how talented you are, do not get comfortable and do not rely on just being good. Instead, be like Mitch, Sachiel, and Leon and strive for greatness.

Filed Under: Northwood Life

College Application Landscape Changes

October 3, 2023 by Gavin Kruger

Recently, many changes have been made in the college recruitment and application process. Some of the major changes that have arisen are the inability to have race be a factor in admission decisions, SAT and ACT tests becoming optional, and a decline in acceptance rates at the nation’s most exclusive colleges and universities.

The college search and application process has changed over the years. Since COVID, schools have removed previously mandatory SAT and ACT test requirements, and some elite institutions have ended preferences for legacies, the term used for children or grandchildren of alumni.

Standardized tests like the ACT and SAT have continued to be optional for applicants for practical and social justice reasons. Practically, colleges found during COVID, when students often couldn’t sit for standardized tests, that they could reasonably make admissions decisions without the tests. Now that testing is widely available again, many colleges have continued to make the SAT and ACT optional for social justice reasons. Research has found that standardized tests usually favor wealthier applications, including white and Asian-American students. Many wealthier students take the tests numerous times, inevitably improving their scores. Further, wealthier students can afford private test prep tutors, which offer a huge advantage over those who can’t afford such test prep, which typically costs hundreds of dollars per hour.

Mr. David McCauley, Northwood’s Director of College Counseling, isn’t sad to see test requirements go. “I don’t like them at all,” McCauley said. He doesn’t like them because he does not believe a single test determines the work of four years of a student. The student’s academic record speaks far more than a single multiple-choice test.

College acceptance rates at the nation’s most selective schools have gone down in recent years. McCauley shared that acceptance rates for students at Northwood have stayed the same and, if anything, have risen a little bit. But on the national scene, McCauley believes the reason for the decline is that, since COVID, schools have removed standardized testing, which has created an uptick in applications at the most elite institutions. More students have applied who were never going to get in before because students believe it’s easier to get into a school without an SAT or ACT test. An uptick in apps will result in fewer students getting accepted. So, this is why there has been a decline in acceptance rates

Filed Under: Northwood Life, Real World

Humans of Northwood: Profé Jose Coss

September 21, 2023 by Gavin Kruger

Mr. Jose Coss. Photo: Mr. Michael Aldridge.

Profé Jose Coss is the new Head Coach of the U17 soccer team and an instructor in Northwood’s language lab. Coss was Born in San Juan, the capital city of Puerto Rico. Before coming to Northwood, he lived in Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico. He lived in Puerto Rico all his life except for one year when he studied abroad.

Coss worked as a lawyer in Caguas, located south of Trujillo Alto. He worked as a public notary. A public notary is the signature of a notary who approves and confirms that any legal document is real. His day job was going around the island and signing mortgages for people who wanted to buy houses. At night, he was a soccer coach, managing Academia Quintana’s first team.

‘’It was a really good experience, the closest thing I have done to managing pro football,” Coss explained. His main interest is football, but he also enjoys bird watching and being out in nature. He feels ‘’balance” in nature. Other than that, football is life for Coach Coss. On the pitch is where he is happiest. He grew up playing the sport in Puerto Rico, and is now a fantastic manager for Northwood’s U17 squad.

About a year ago, Profé brought a team from Puerto Rico to play in a showcase hosted by Black Rock Football Club. At the showcase, he met Coach Jon Moodey, who kept in contact with Profé. Moodey told Coss that he really liked his coaching style and the way he leads. Profé jumped on this opportunity immediately, asking, ‘’What do I need to do to be in a place like this?”

Coss says it wasn’t difficult to leave everything behind in Puerto Rico. ‘’It was the easiest decision of my life. I love Football. I love being on the field, and I love being with the players. I think that I can give them a lot and support them in their journey to become better human beings. It’s an easy decision to come and coach. I feel that where I am most in peace is in the field.”

Coss is optimistic about Northwood’s U17 squad. ‘’I think it’s exciting to have a group of players that can train day in and day out. [The team] is looking good. Once the year finalizes, I think that we will have done a lot.”

He wants the Northwood community to know that he is “a pretty open-minded guy, I like to be of help and of service. My door is always open to deal with any aspect, not only in sports but in school as well.”