Crescent School Past & Present - Winter 2018

A Magazine for the Alumni of Crescent School

Winter 2018

Wet Your Whistle

From craft soda and breweries to pop-up bars, Crescent alumni are making a big splash in the beverage industry. Page 12

PHOTOGRAPHER: NATION WONG

Page 20

Jay Shah ’06 takes Velocity —a start-up incubator—up to speed

Embracing Disruption

PHOTOGRAPHER: JEN MAGNUSON

Page 24

The journey of Reid McGregor ’00 across America for the True Patriot Love Foundation

Racing to Give

Crescent School Alumni Magazine 1

Words from the Alumni Chair

Celebrating Our Stories Being a Crescent alumnus means sharing traditions that feel like they’ve been around forever. Past & Present magazine is one of them. This fixture of our Crescent community, launched in the late 1970s by Bill Pedoe, has evolved over the years, from a typewritten newsletter to a glossy magazine. I’m proud to introduce its newest incarnation. (I hope Mr. Pedoe approves!)

With input from our talented editorial board – Myles Slocombe ’92, Tim Watson ’01, Philip Lloyd ’09, Jacob Barnes ’05 and Peter Aceto ’87, P’21, ’23 – Past & Present has been redesigned with an “alumni first” guiding principle. It will continue to be published twice a year, and it will prominently feature stories from and about our alumni community.

Many thanks to the editorial board and Crescent staff who undertook this major revamp of Past & Present.

You should be proud of what you have accomplished.

Whether your school days ended last year or several decades ago, I think you’ll appreciate the alumni achievements and milestones celebrated in these pages.

Enjoy the read.

Jamie Coulter ’87, P’21 Chair, Crescent Alumni Executive

Past & Present is published twice a year

by Crescent School’s External Relations Department to help all alumni stay connected with the Crescent community.

Cover: John McEachern ’98 by Nation Wong.

Editor: Leigh Bowser Editorial Committee: Leigh Bowser, Kathryn Foster, Lynda Torneck, Katie Watt Editorial Board: Peter Aceto ’87, P’21, ’23, Jacob Barnes ’05, Philip Lloyd ’09, Myles Slocombe ’92, Tim Watson ’01

Art Direction & Design: Aegis Design Inc. Senior Designer: Sabrina Xiang Writers: Leigh Bowser, Pat Morden Photographers: Betty-Ann Armstrong, Jen Magnuson, Nick Kozak, Michelle Siu, Nation Wong

Comments and suggestions about Past & Present are always welcome. Reach us at: Alumni Relations Office, Crescent School 2365 Bayview Avenue, Toronto ON M2L 1A2 e: alumni@crescentschool.org t: 416.449.2556 ext. 260

Upfront / Alumni Recommendations

“The skiing is amazing.”

—Recommended by Fraser Chapman ’93

“Whiskey-based cocktails in the winter are about as close to the feeling of a campfire that you can get.”

—Recommended by John Racioppo ’07

WINTER COCKTAIL: SAZERAC

FAVOURITE WINTER GETAWAY: KITZBUHEL Kitzbuhel, Austria, east of Innsbruck, hosts the World Cup Hahnenkamm Downhill race each January. During the five days of festivities, 150,000 people converge on the medieval town, which normally has a population of 10,000. And while you’re in Austria, check out St. Anton, known as the birthplace of modern alpine skiing. In Canada, you’ll find Crescent alumni skiing at Retallack Lodge, Whistler, Lake Louise, Mount St. Louis Moonstone and Craigleith.

“This talk is powerful.”

—Recommended by Bert Fielding ’13

The Sazerac is named for the Sazerac de Forge et Fils brand of cognac brandy that served as its original main ingredient. Ingredients: 1/4 oz absinthe, one sugar cube, 1 1/2 oz rye whiskey or cognac, three dashes Peychaud’s Bitters.

Rinse a chilled Old-Fashioned glass with the absinthe, add crushed ice and set aside. Stir the remaining ingredients over ice and set aside.

Discard the ice and any excess absinthe from the Old-Fashioned glass, and strain the drink into it.

Garnish with lemon peel and serve straight up, no ice.

ENTERTAINMENT Crescent alumni are watching: Retro ’80s horror on Stranger Things. Peaky Blinders, a 1920s English crime drama. Game of Thrones and Breaking Bad, of course. Investigating serial killers with the FBI on Mindhunter. The dark side of the drug world on Narcos and Ozark.

Then, for something more lighthearted, Mr. D with comedian Gerry Dee, and profiles of famous chefs on Chef’s Table.

“Sleep and water LOL. Does anything else really work.”

—Recommended by Max Liu ’15

COLD REMEDIES

FAVOURITE TED TALK Bowhead whales, penguins, narwhals, polar bears… wildlife photographer Paul Nicklen is fascinated by the creatures living in the coldest areas of the world. His TED Talk, Animal Tales From Icy Wonderlands, including his encounter with a leopard seal in Antarctica, will give you a new appreciation for these remarkable animals.

Oil of oregano. Cold FX. Scotch. NeoCitran.

Tylenol Cold. EmergenC. Berocca. Hot water with lemon and honey.

Rum with lemon and honey. Whatever remedy you choose, get lots of rest and you’ll feel better in about a week.

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Upfront / Alumni Back on Campus

Follow Your Own Path

Another Alumnus in the Classroom

Robbie Mitchnick ’09 shares life advice with Grads Former Head Boy Robbie Mitchnick ’09 spoke to the Grade 12s at Crescent in September. Mitchnick, who is in the top one per cent in his MBA class at Stanford University, spent last summer at Ripple, a blockchain and cryptocurrency startup. He also helped develop Naughty Otter beer (see “Wet Your Whistle” on page 12). “If you choose the path that works best for you, you will be exceptional at it,” Mitchnick told the boys. He said it’s essential to be an active contributor in the world, and to appreciate the present moment. If you are constantly looking to the future, he told the boys, you’ll miss out on what’s happening now.

Griffin Bush ’06 joins the Middle School faculty Griffin Bush ’06 is back in the Crescent classroom again, this time as a Middle School geography teacher. He joins the other alumni currently on faculty: Jeff Barton ’91, P’26, Ryan Bell ’98, Charlie Mills ’99 and Clark Davis ’02. Bush says that while many things have changed since he was a student, the sense of brotherhood is still strong. “The moment I walked in for interviews, I could still feel it and that’s how I knew this was the right place for me,” he says.

Better Late Than Never

Nicholas Latifi ’13 gets his Crescent diploma Due to his busy career as a Formula 2 driver, Nicholas Latifi ’13 missed his high school graduation ceremony. He finally received his diploma this October when he dropped by Crescent for a visit with Dean of Studies David Grant P’14. In July, Latifi was the first Canadian to win the Formula 2 race at Silverstone, England. He was a Renault Formula 1 Team test driver in 2016 and continues to train in hopes of joining the F1 circuit.

ALUMNI NOW

They graduated in three different decades, but the alumni members of the Past & Present editorial board have the strong bond of the Crescent brotherhood in common.

Turn the page for more.

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Griffin Bush Charlie Mills

Past /October 1979 The Grade 7/8 soccer team put the Crescent bus to good use.

Upfront / Crescent News

Olympian Visits Crescent Triathlete Simon Whitfield was this year’s Stransman Speaker

Triathlete Simon Whitfield, a four-time Olympian who won gold and silver medals, visited Crescent School in October. Whitfield spoke to students at Crescent’s annual Stransman Speaker Assembly about the mental and physical preparation required to compete at the top level. He told the boys that his boyhood pastime of playing Dungeons & Dragons and his lifelong love of reading fiction helped him develop a vivid imagination, so he could visualize all the possibilities in a race. He also said that it’s important to focus on what – not how – you’re going to do, so you can systematically improve all the details that contribute to the big picture.

Whitfield also joined some phys-ed classes that day, showing how his soccer skills measure up to his performance as a triathlete.

Whitfield’s visit was made possible by the Leadership in Sports Endowment, in memory of John Stransman, which supports sportsmanship, leadership and good coaching practices at Crescent. Thank you to the Stransman family (including alumni Steve Stransman ’03 and Peter Stransman ’05) and other generous donors for their important contribution to the education of Crescent’s boys.

ALUMNI THEN

We dug into the Crescent archives for yearbook photos of the Past & Present editorial board members.

Look how they’ve changed!

Philip Lloyd ’09 is the Communications Advisor and MPP Liaison for the Hon. Dipika Damerla, Ontario’s Minister of Seniors Affairs.

6 Past & Present / Winter 2018

Myles Slocombe ’92 is a sales representative at Royal LePage, Johnston & Daniel Division.

Upfront / Crescent News

Family Teaching Tradition Continues

There’s a new Mr. MacDonald at Crescent Ross MacDonald may be retired, but Crescent boys are now learning from a new Mr. MacDonald. Scott MacDonald, Ross’s son, joined the Crescent Lower School faculty in September as a visual arts teacher. His proud father joined Scott at the morning drop-off on the first day of school.

Crescent Unveils Its Portrait Of A Graduate Who am I? How do I lead? What is my legacy?

Those three questions, and the work of preparing boys to answer them, are at the heart of Crescent’s Portrait of a Graduate.

Work on the Portrait began in 2016, when over 700 Crescent alumni, students, parents and faculty contributed ideas to a crowd-sourcing website that asked, “What knowledge, skills and character strengths will a Crescent graduate need to achieve future success, wellbeing and purpose in his career, community and family life?”

Their responses were gathered and distilled into the Portrait of a Graduate: six essential qualities, falling under the categories of learning, leadership and legacy.

The Portrait is a tool that will influence Crescent’s curriculum, facilities planning and faculty development, ensuring that the school’s resources will give all Crescent students a strong foundation to become Men of Character. A new video, involving scores of Crescent boys, was created last spring to bring the Portrait to life.

You can see the video at crescentschool.org.

Peter Aceto ’87, P’21, ’23 is the proud father of a daughter and two Crescent boys, Matthew and Ryan. You can read his ideas about innovation on page 29.

Jacob Barnes ’05 is an account director at the creative agency Sid Lee in Toronto.

Tim Watson ’01 is legal counsel at OPTrust. You can read his interview with Bill Pedoe on page 36.

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Upfront / Alumni Giving Back

Giving The Inside Scoop On University Life Alumni ease Grads’ transition to life after Crescent

When you’re in high school, life after Grade 12 can be hard to imagine. Even if your university program is decided, there are still many questions: Residence or off-campus housing? Is the meal plan worth it?

How do you choose your courses? What clubs should you join? Where’s the best place to study? Where’s the best place to hang out after you study? And where do you do your laundry?

To help Crescent’s Upper School students find the answers, Crescent alumni who are now at Canadian and American universities return to Crescent in the fall for informal “lunch and learn” sessions about university life.

By sharing their time and insight with their younger Crescent brothers, these alumni ease the transition to the world beyond Crescent’s walls.

ALUMNI ON THE STREET

With accusations of “fake news” and the future of journalism in question, where do you go for reliable news?

8 Past & Present / Winter 2018

Jeremy Berke ’10, Associate Editor, Business Insider In today’s media environment, aggregation reigns supreme.

Go to the source to avoid the brokentelephone effect. The more original the reporting, the better.

Dave Bruser ’95, Reporter, Toronto Star In the face of hysterical “fake news” claims, watchdog media like NY Times and Washington Post are indispensable.

Predictably, I also get the Toronto Star for investigations!

Upfront / Alumni Giving Back

Kathy Porteous, a guidance and university counsellor at Crescent, says the information that the young alumni provide is extremely helpful for the students. “They get honest answers to their questions that are spoken in a language they connect with, from young men who shared their Crescent experience.”

Many young alumni also give back by participating in Crescent’s university mentoring program, which pairs an alumnus enrolled in university with a Crescent student who is entering his first year at the same university or in the same academic program.

Devan Hunter ’17 is in his first year of the commerce program at the University of British Columbia. His mentor is Jeffrey So ’16, who is a year ahead in the same program.

Hunter said this made it easier to adjust to university life, especially so far from home.

“It’s been like having a big brother to show me the little tips and tricks around many different facets in university life.” says Hunter.

“From teachers to essentials in my room and great places to eat on campus – Jeffrey has helped me to enrich my university experience.”

–Devan Hunter ’17

Spencer Belyea ’13, Intern, Beach & Associates The Globe and Mail is the one paper I read consistently. I get a lot of news from Twitter too. I like following journalists I trust on topics I care about and being able to easily access a wide variety of sources.

Devin Mutic ’17, Student, Western University I avoid “entertainment” style news, including many TV channels and platforms such as BuzzFeed. The best news providers are usually ones with dedicated investigative journalists who break stories that matter.

Graham Rotenberg ’12, Policy Analyst, Hamilton Place Strategies I turn to traditional print media. The Economist, NY Times, WSJ and Financial Times are among my favourites; I try to read different outlets for wide-ranging perspectives.

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Present /June 2017 Crescent boys in the Middle School/Upper School Library.

Perspective from the Headmaster

Enhancing Our Alumni Connections

T

his year, I celebrate my 25th high school graduation anniversary.

I look back with great respect and deep affection for those teachers, coaches and mentors who saw in me something I didn’t see in myself during those years. In fact, one teacher in particular helped me hear my call to become a teacher – a commitment that will forever keep me connected to my high school experience.

In a similar fashion, Crescent School pays close attention to supporting our boys on their path to character. Alumni play a special role in that journey.

And while we have been quite deliberate in enhancing our alumni programs over the past few years, our Strategic Plan 2015-2020 calls us to be more intentional in growing alumni engagement.

Specifically, this means developing an even more robust network of Crescent graduates to support one another and the school. Through connecting at events and online, mentoring and career development opportunities, Crescent alumni are already getting involved and giving back, and we are excited about seeing this network grow.

And so, I extend my thanks to the alumni editorial board who, in collaboration with Crescent staff, have enhanced our Past & Present magazine so that each alumnus can remain engaged with and connected to our Crescent family.

Veritate Stamus et Crescimus.

Michael Fellin P’24 Headmaster, Crescent School

Crescent School Alumni Magazine 11

“Beverage” – the dictionary says it means “a drink other than water.” But oh, it’s so much more! It’s conviviality.

Friendship. Morning or evening ritual. Break time. Celebration.

It’s a toast to the bride, the baby, the birthday boy. Raise a glass to Crescent alumni who are beverage entrepreneurs, producing delicious drinks with natural ingredients and unique flavours.

By Pat Morden

Wet Your Whistle 12 Past & Present / Winter 2018

PHOTOGRAPHER: NATION WONG

left to right:

Daniel Boyman ’06, Alex Boyman ’09 & Jack Boyman ’07 take a moment to celebrate at the site of an event that their company, Sipbar, is catering.

P op-Up Success

T hree brothers, all Crescent alumni. Two weeks at the family cottage. Big dreams.

That’s the genesis of Sipbar, a pop-up bar service that you can order online.

Jack ’07 and Daniel Boyman ’06 had just completed JD/MBA degrees in Australia. Younger brother Alex ‘09 had graduated from McGill and spent a year with Uber Toronto. “It was a unique moment,” says Alex. “We were all figuring out what the next big step would be.”

They decided to create a subscriptionbased app for driving traffic to local restaurants. To promote the app, they held free pop-up bars in downtown offices.

Soon they were getting calls from the same offices, asking them to do bars for special events. “We realized there was room for disruption,” says Alex. Sipbar launched officially in March 2017.

In addition to providing a service to clients, Sipbar works with several leading alcohol brands to promote their products.

The brothers have ambitious plans to expand within Canada and to New York City and Los Angeles.

Alex says Crescent supports the individual efforts of students, encouraging them to “follow their own path.” One of Sipbar’s first employees is Tommy Grand ’11, and the Boymans hope to hire more Crescent alumni as Sipbar grows.

And working with siblings? “It’s amazing,” says Alex. “We’ve really been there to support and push one another.

We’ve definitely evolved and learned.”

“We’ve really been there to support and push one another. We’ve definitely evolved and learned.”

– Alex Boyman ’09

14 Past & Present / Winter 2018

Organized Chaos The Boyman brothers’ Sipbar serves hundreds of guests at a business social event spanning six floors in a downtown Toronto office building.

Go Out, Drink Up, Stay In: Their Picks Favourite Restaurant Sushi, Mexican or tapas —anything in a shared food environment is more fun Favourite Beverage Caesars, but also whiskey and tequila 10-Minute Meal Pasta and salad, the quickest, easiest way to make something delicious —Alex Boyman ’09 Favourite Restaurant Lorimer Market in Brooklyn for an authentic experience and great sandwiches Favourite Beverage Grady’s and Mezcal (a Mexican spirit), separately or together!

Naughty and Nice PHOTOGRAPHER: NATION WONG

There are over 200 micro-breweries in Ontario alone, making a very crowded market for all-natural, small-batch beers.

But Naughty Otter has a special claim to fame. “We’re the youngest beer entrepreneurs in the province,” says Robbie Mitchnick ’09.

Mitchnick did a dual degree in commerce and economics at Queen’s University. From there, he moved to the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board for three years. But he wanted something more. “Much as I enjoyed the work, I had a yearning to do something creative, with a little more autonomy and a chance to be innovative.”

He and some friends from Queen’s began with the Ganonoque Brewing Company in eastern Ontario and developed the Naughty Otter brand. They built a strong presence on university campuses, leveraging a brand that Mitchnick describes as “loud, irreverent, playful and rebellious.” Eventually they split the company, with Mitchnick and his Queen’s partners focusing on marketing Naughty Otter and the brewing company focusing on new products and a brew pub.

While pursuing an MBA at Stanford University, Mitchnick is introducing Naughty Otter to California. “It’s such a dumb idea for a small Canadian craft brewery to come to California that no-one else is doing it,” he says. “That makes us unique in an otherwise incredibly competitive space.”

10-Minute Meal Tacos or an egg scramble —Kyle Buckley ’06 Favourite Restaurant Any that offers a chef’s tasting menu Favourite Beverage Iced tea 10-Minute Meal Stir-fry with lots of fish sauce —John McEachern ’98 Favourite Restaurant Bier Markt, for good food and the best beer selection in Toronto Favourite Beverage Beer of course— 50% Naughty Otter, 25% other craft beers, 25% international 10-Minute Meal A steak or seafood —Robbie Mitchnick ’09 Favourite Restaurant Mum and Dad’s house!

Favourite Beverage Steam Whistle 10-Minute Meal Rainbow trout, fresh from the pond —Cam Heaps ’92

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PHOTOGRAPHER: NICK KOZAK

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16 Past & Present / Winter 2018

PHOTOGRAPHER: NATION WONG

Joe Served Cold

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Pop Goes the Business

Set aside the familiar tastes of Pepsi or Sprite for a moment and think about this: peach with a hit of habanero, pear scented with vanilla, or apple spiced with ginger. Those surprise flavour pairings are from Just Craft Soda, created by John McEachern ’98.

McEachern attended Crescent until Grade 11, when he moved with his family to Hong Kong. After a degree at McGill, he worked in marketing in Australia and the U.K., including a stint with Pepsico. Back in Canada, he began to dream of a different kind of pop.

He started to develop the unique flavours at home and then worked with the Guelph Food Technology Centre to perfect the formulations. A small manufacturer in St. Catharines handles production.

Just Craft Soda is available in several major Canadian grocery chains and is beginning to expand to the U.S. McEachern has launched a new product, Blu-Dot Protein Tea, a fruit-flavoured green tea with 10 grams of protein and five grams of fibre.

In the works are two new flavours of pop and Steepwell Black Tea Lemonade, with half the sugar of regular lemonade iced tea.

McEachern is thriving on the entrepreneurial roller-coaster. “I love the product innovation aspect, the creativity of coming up with new products,” he says. “But most of all, I really like to set the agenda myself and be able to make decisions quickly.”

Kyle Buckley ’06 was working as a bartender in New York City and interviewing for jobs in banking and consulting. He was convinced that “the only way to be successful was if you wore a suit to work.”

Then he met a couple of guys who were experimenting with making cold brew coffee – a dark and delicious drink produced by steeping coffee, chicory and spices in cold water for many hours.

The partners launched Grady’s Cold Brew, working out of a 600-sq.ft. space, making five-gallon batches. They sold the concentrate in offices like Tumblr, Bloomberg, Conde Nast and Refinery 29.

“The tastemakers – people who influence what’s new and cool – were our super fans,” explains Buckley. Recently, the company moved into a 16,000-sq. ft. brewery, and its products are sold in stores from Whole Foods to Costco.

Bitten by the entrepreneurial bug, Buckley is now a partner in a food processing plant that makes specialty products for Trader Joe’s and celebrity chefs. He’s also experimenting with nose-to-tail meat processing.

Buckley says Crescent taught him an important lesson in team building.

“There was a certain level of comfort and acceptance there that I’ve looked to bring into every company I start. If people feel good and enjoy what they’re doing, they make better food.”

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01 John McEachern stocking a retailer’s shelves—building a company from the ground-up is a hands-on business.

02 John McEachern discusses business with his team at his Bloor Street office.

03 & 04 Business rests on the strength of the relationships with retailers, vendors and distributors. Just Craft Soda is a favourite at Farmr’s Eatery, Toronto.

Crescent School Alumni Magazine 17

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18 Past & Present / Winter 2018

Heaps of Fun

“We could see puffs of steam exhaust coming off all the towers. We thought, we have to put a steam whistle on the roof of our brewery and set it off every day at five, so the whole city will run out and drink our beer!”

– Cam Heaps ’92

Nuts on the Side

What goes perfectly with beer and many other beverages?

Nuts! Handfuel, the company created by Cole Richman ’10, started from a favourite recipe of his aunt’s: almonds roasted with freshly squeezed lemon juice and salt.

Richman came up with the brand name, a play on “handful” that also reminds customers his nut and dried fruit mixes are healthy fuel

for the body. Handfuel is available in Gateway newsstands and Mac’s Milk stores across Ontario, and larger sizes are sold in specialty stores like Pusateri’s and Summerhill Market.

Eventually he’d like to develop some new snack products and expand to the U.S. “There are days when I think to myself, ‘I don’t know what I’m doing, this is crazy!’” he says. “But there are many more days when I’m super happy and motivated. It can be stressful, but the risk is worth the reward.”

PHOTOGRAPHER: NATION WONG

On a still, clear winter morning, Cam Heaps ’92 and his partners stood on the rooftop of a potential location for their new brewery and looked out at Toronto.

“We could see puffs of steam exhaust coming off all the towers,” says Heaps.

“We thought, we have to put a steam whistle on the roof of our brewery and set it off every day at five, so the whole city will run out and drink our beer!”

Just as well. Until they changed their brand to Steam Whistle, it operated under the name “Three Fired Guys Brewing Company.” That’s because Heaps and his partners (Greg Taylor and Greg Cromwell) had all been let go from Upper Canada Brewing around the time of its takeover

by Sleeman’s in 1998. As Heaps puts it, “When a company puts you on the street because they think you have no value to them, it’s like rocket fuel.”

Sparked by the inroads made by European beer in the Canadian marketplace, the partners set out to create a world-class pilsner made in Canada.

Heaps says the goal was to “steal market share from the foreign raiders.” They flew in hops from Europe and hired a European brewmaster. The first batch of Steam Whistle hit the market in 2000.

The rest is history.

Heaps says the company’s mantra is “do one thing really, really well” and it’s paying off. Steam Whistle is now Canada’s largest independent craft brewer. In 2017, Canadian Business magazine named it one of Canada’s best managed companies – for the ninth year running. The company embraces green initiatives, including powering its brewery with renewable electricity and recycling its packaging materials.

The most rewarding aspect of entrepreneurship for Heaps? “The fun I’ve had with my partners and staff in tackling every challenge and building our dream.”

01 Cam Heaps at Steam Whistle Brewing production line.

02 Cleaning and maintenance of brewing tanks is an ongoing activity.

03 100,000 bottles of Steam Whistle beer come off the line every day.

04 Cam Heaps rarely has the chance to sample his own product; he is more likely to be serving guests at the brewery.

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Crescent School Alumni Magazine 19

Embracing Disruption Jay Shah ’06 knows what it means to be a successful entrepreneur.

Now he’s helping others achieve success.

By Pat Morden 20 Past & Present / Winter 2018

PHOTOGRAPHER: NATION WONG

J

ay Shah ’06 is very clear about his intent for this article. “This is not about me,” he says. “This is about entrepreneurship and creativity, and inspiring people to embrace the disruptive world where creating things is the new norm.”

And yet, it is about him, because his career perfectly sums up what it can mean to embrace entrepreneurship, creativity and disruption. And through his role at Velocity, the University of Waterloo’s entrepreneur incubator, he’s helping other founders wield these powerful forces.

Shah grew up in Toronto and joined Crescent in Grade 3. His parents, who immigrated to Canada in the 1980s, ran a business together. “I remember being five years old, going to my dad’s workshop on the weekend and doing whatever I could to help,” he says.

At Crescent, Shah fell in love with robotics. He spent hours in the robotics lab, and credits his teachers with giving him the flexibility to pursue self-learning.

The mechatronics engineering program at the University of Waterloo was a logical next step. Shah saw a future of building complex automation systems for large manufacturing plants.

But his perspective changed when he spent a co-op work term with a start-up company. “It was a really small team, and the work was fast-paced,” he recalls. “I felt empowered, and I loved the sense of being totally mission-focused.” In his next work term, he joined a company so small that it operated out of the founders’ basement.

He rented a room in the house, sometimes spending long hours in his pyjamas, hand-building robots.

During his fourth year at Waterloo, Shah and classmate Mike McCauley gathered a team and brainstormed business ideas. BufferBox, developed as their fourth-year project, was inspired by the frustrating experience of finding the dreaded “delivery failed” notice from a courier company.

“Entrepreneurship means being a good problemsolver, resourceful and able to adapt quickly. If you build those skills but don’t want to start a company, you’re still much further ahead.”

– Jay Shah ’06 22 Past & Present / Winter 2018

BufferBox customers used a convenient BufferBox location as their shipping address for online purchases.

When packages were delivered, the customers received an unlock code so they could pick up their package at any time of day.

BufferBox was incubated at Velocity and Google acquired the fledgling company 18 months after Shah graduated. Shah and the rest of the team continued to work on scaling BufferBox within Google, aiming for 400,000 locations across North America.

But a year later, Google shut BufferBox down. “We were convinced that Google was our best path to scale,” Shah says. “But ultimately winning in e-commerce faded as a priority for the company.”

Shah stayed with Google for another three and a half years, working on projects designed to bring more, better and faster Internet access to the world. Then he heard there was an opening at Velocity for the position of director. “I realized that if I could move the needle of success even two per cent for every start-up in the program, I’d have more impact than if I came up with another BufferBox,” he says.

Velocity offers free office space, a machine shop, an assembly area, scientific wet labs, coaching and a variety of learning opportunities. Velocity and the University of Waterloo take no equity in

The Hum of Ambition The Pit – a large open area at Velocity that houses dozens of new technology enterprises – buzzes with activity.

Leading one of the world’s largest incubators means being engaged all the time. Over a day, Jay Shah ’06 will interact with policy-makers, funders, entrepreneurs, educators and managers.

PHOTOGRAPHER: NATION WONG

Hatching Success Innovative brands that were incubated at Velocity include:

The mobile messaging app (created by Crescent alumnus Ted Livingston ’05) has 15 million monthly active users.

Provides digital maps and wayfinding tools for indoor spaces, including nine of Canada’s 10 largest shopping malls.

“I realized that if I could move the needle of success even two per cent for every start-up in the program, I’d have more impact than if I came up with another BufferBox.” – Jay Shah ’06

the companies and charge nothing for the support they provide. “We’re saying, if you have an idea, a team, and executional horsepower, come here and start a company,” says Shah. “We’ll give you the first two years of operational freedom.”

It’s working. There are more than 200 graduate companies that have secured private investment of more than $700 million and created 1,800 jobs.

Shah believes that every Crescent student should explore entrepreneurship as a career option. Whatever path they choose, adaptation to change will be an essential skill in the future. “Entrepreneurship means being a good problem-solver, resourceful and able to adapt quickly,” he says. “If you build those skills but don’t want to start a company, you’re still much further ahead.”

Its wearable armband was declared “the real revolution in how we control our computers” by the New York Times.

Customers of this innovative online video marketing platform include Boston University and Lenovo.

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24 Past & Present / Winter 2018

Racing to Give

Reid McGregor ’00 and his team set the Canadian record in the gruelling Race Across America (RAAM) and raised more than $130,000 for the True Patriot Love Foundation.

By Pat Morden

PHOTOGRAPHER: JEN MAGNUSON

F

ive thousand kilometres across 12 states. 137 hours and 55 minutes non-stop. 52,000 vertical metres.

43-degree heat. Rain. Wind. Sun. Relentless competition.

If you want a pleasant bike ride, RAAM is not for you. It’s one of the world’s most respected ultra-endurance events.

And for Reid McGregor ’00 and his Team TPL, it was everything they had hoped for.

McGregor grew up in Toronto and started at Crescent in Grade 7. “It was a great experience in terms of friendships, learning, and sports,” he says. After Crescent, he attended Bishop’s University and then began his career on Bay Street.

He now works as an equity trader with the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.

Starting out as a competitive swimmer and skier, McGregor then joined the Crescent rugby team. He played rugby at Bishop’s and then joined a club team in Toronto. In recent years he took up triathlon, achieving top-three finishes in his first two competitions and representing Canada at the world championships.

When a friend suggested that he join a cycling team preparing for RAAM, he jumped in. “We wanted to put something on the calendar that went beyond the group social riding we had done, something that made us really push and do something great,” McGregor says.

The team selected the True Patriot Love Foundation (TPL), a national charity that supports military families, as their team cause. “We wanted to choose a charity that had coast-to-coast reach, and in the year Canada turned 150, we felt the military was an appropriate cause,” says McGregor. “We ended up meeting several people who had served overseas and getting more insight into the challenges they faced.” The team also set a performance goal: to beat the previous Canadian record for an eight-man RAAM team.

The TPL team spent the next 12 months 26 Past & Present / Winter 2018

training, working with coaches at a training studio and outdoors at every opportunity. By the last two months before the race, they were putting in 15 to 20 hours of cycling a week.

That wasn’t the only, or even the toughest, challenge. The team also secured $110,000 in sponsorship towards the race costs and raised over $130,000 in donations for TPL. The secret of their fundraising success? “Hard work, commitment and a willingness to reach out and share our story,” says McGregor.

Team TPL consisted of eight riders and 16 crew members, 16 bikes, two RVs, two transit vans, and one mini-van. The crew members were responsible for driving, navigating, cooking, laundry, bike maintenance and more. They also ensured that the team observed the rigorous race rules, avoiding costly time penalties. The riders were divided into two groups of four, with each group covering a 10-hour shift while the other ate and slept.

The team battled extreme heat in Arizona and high altitudes in Colorado. A tail wind helped them move quickly across the Midwest. The final stretch through the Appalachians was “crushing,” McGregor says. Cramping and muscle soreness and tightness were constant, but he says lack of sleep was the toughest challenge.

The spirit of competition helped keep the team motivated. Almost from the beginning, they battled against an experienced RAAM team called ViaSat. “We went back and forth, head-to-head,” says McGregor. “The middle part of the race could have been boring, but we were racing all the time.”

All eight riders rode together for the last few kilometres. It was an emotional experience, the realization of months of training, fundraising and planning. After five days, 17 hours and 55 minutes, the team ended up a few minutes behind Team ViaSat, but more than eight hours ahead of the previous Canadian record.

McGregor says the experience taught him an important lesson about the value of friendship. “We could lean on each other when we needed to, and we were each other’s sounding boards,” he says. “That helped give everyone the confidence that we would be successful.”

McGregor still cycles regularly with the Morning Glory Cycling Club in Toronto, which was co-founded by alumnus Fraser Chapman ’93, and plans to get back into triathlons next year. Would he take on a challenge like RAAM again? “If the right opportunity presented itself and the goals were aligned, I wouldn’t hesitate!”

What is TPL? True Patriot Love (truepatriotlove.com) is a national charity that supports military families, funds communitybased programs, and contributes to the Canadian Institute for Military and Veteran Health Research. It focuses on four areas: family health and support, mental health and well-being, physical health and rehabilitation, and research and innovation.

12

states

43

degree heat

137

hours

55

minutes non-stop

5,000+ kilometres

52,000+ vertical metres

$130,792 amount raised

Crescent School Alumni Magazine 27

Expert Advice

How to spark your creativity in the age of artificial intelligence

Three steps to improve your creativity Don’t skimp on sleep

Give yourself the chance to experience creative problemsolving that takes place during REM sleep.

Get active and get outside Exercising in nature appears to be helpful for problemsolving. That can be as simple as a brisk walk in a local park.

Train your brain with meditation

Try apps like headspace.com or calm.com to add the benefits of meditation to your daily routine.

28 Past & Present / Winter 2018

By Dr. Greg Wells ’89 Greg is a physiologist and exercise medicine researcher at Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children, assistant professor at the University of Toronto, and author of Superbodies and The Ripple Effect.

We are living in one of the greatest revolutions in human history. Microprocessors gave us the Internet, mobile phones and artificial intelligence (AI).

AI has the potential to dramatically influence the workplace.

Self-driving cars are an obvious example, and AI will also impact law, banking, medicine and other industries.

With the advent of AI, creative thinking becomes ever more critical. The breakthrough ideas that will make the world a better place rely on us developing new strategies and techniques that leverage new technologies. As Bob Moritz, CEO of PwC, said at the January 2017 World Economic Forum summit, “We’re still looking for creativity, because that can’t be coded… The world we’re living in today is a lot more zig zag, and people are going to

be important to that equation to solve for those problems.”

Creativity doesn’t happen by accident. Advances in physiological research give us insights about how we can spark our own agile thinking and problem-solving.

A good place to start is to sleep more, not less. If you need to solve a problem or come up with a creative approach, reducing your sleep hours is the opposite of what your brain needs. Have you ever woken up in the middle of the night with an “Eureka!” moment? I certainly have – it’s one reason I keep a notebook by my bed, so I can capture the insights generated during sleep.

Creative problem-solving appears to happen during the REM phase of sleep, which typically occurs more in the second half of your sleep, if you’re getting the recommended 7.5 hours. At the University of California, San Diego, researchers found that REM sleep “directly enhances creative processing more than any other sleep or wake

state.” So, to build more creativity into your life, give yourself permission to sleep more.

Get active too. Scientists at the University of California, Irvine found that exercise can increase levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and other growth factors, stimulate neurogenesis, and improve learning and mental performance. As little as 15 minutes of exercise – particularly outdoors – can make a difference.

Go for a short walk before a presentation. Have a walking meeting. Or start your day with a workout – you’ll prime your brain for excellence and begin remodeling areas of your brain that will help you think more clearly. Research suggests that aerobic activities like walking, swimming, cycling and running are best for improving creativity.

Finally, consider adding mindfulness practice and meditation to your daily routine – especially on days when you need to spark your creativity.

Practising mindfulness and meditation has been shown to improve attention, problemsolving, concentration and creativity. Imaging techniques that show brain activation and the brain’s neural networks show that mindfulness and meditation can improve brain function.

Think of meditation as strength training for the brain.

Just as lifting weights builds and strengthens your muscles, you can use meditation to build and strengthen your brain and to control and sharpen your mind.

You’re probably already pushing the limits on a daily basis. Adopting practices that improve your creativity and mental agility will allow you to perform at a higher level more easily and more consistently.

This shift in mindset and priorities will be challenging in the short term, but the long-term benefits will be powerful for you personally and for your career.

Expert Advice

There’s no need to be intimidated by innovation

By Peter Aceto ’87, P’21, ’23 Peter, the former President and CEO of Tangerine and the author of Weology, is a globally recognized and respected business leader and a change agent for leadership.

If you ask 10 people what “innovation” is, you’ll probably get 10 different answers. Simply put, innovation occurs when either something new is created to solve a need, or when something existing is used to solve that need in a different way. Sounds straightforward, yet many people and companies of all sizes struggle with innovation. Some have it mastered, and they are redefining our lives and making traditional business models and long-standing companies vanish.

I’ve had the pleasure of leading businesses and teams who were truly innovative, even “disruptive” at times.

My perspective on innovation comes from years of testing, trying, observing and, every once in a while, succeeding.

My view is that technology cannot be a synonym for innovation. Innovation often does not need to involve technology at all. You can innovate in very “low tech” ways but to truly innovate, you need to be willing to test, to try, to be open and to be resilient – to not give up!

There are many examples of true innovators. One that inspires me most is Sara Blakely. The founder, CEO and 100 per cent owner of a company called Spanx, Blakely is the youngest self-made female billionaire in the world! Her “innovation” story is not a technology story. It is a story of vision, persistence, courage, resolve and resilience.

Blakely invented an undergarment that allows women to both look good and feel good. In the early days, she didn’t have the money for a patent lawyer, so she wrote her patent application with a textbook from the library. Her office was her Atlanta apartment and her fulfillment centre was her bathroom floor.

So when Oprah named Spanx as one of her favourite products and wanted to film Blakely at her office, she begged her friends to come over and pretend they

worked for her. She spent weekends driving to hosiery mills, persuading them to manufacture her product for her. Her hard work paid off. Not just for Blakely but for the millions of women around the world who enjoy her product. Low tech but very innovative.

I remember our efforts at Tangerine Bank to make our clients’ lives simpler.

Tangerine, then named ING DIRECT, was the first bank in Canada to allow clients to deposit a cheque simply by taking a picture of it with their smartphone. The toughest part of this was not the technology. Bringing this innovation to Canada was challenging because anything new can be difficult for people to understand.

It was new for the banking system, for the

Keys to innovation

It’s about the mindset, not the technology

BE OPEN

try and test new ideas

payment system and for our competitors.

It was new for Canadians who were used to bringing their cheques to bank branches.

So making the process so simple and safe, and explaining it to people, required vision, courage, persistence and resilience when obstacles were thrown in the way of progress. In the end, this innovation changed the banking business overnight and was a key for Tangerine’s continued success.

There is no need to be intimidated by innovation. It doesn’t have to be complicated or technology-laden. By challenging everything you do and how you’ve always gone about doing it, you too can bring innovation to your life and to your business.

BE RESILIENT adapt to change

BE PERSISTENT don’t give up, try again

Crescent School Alumni Magazine 29

Social Life

Together Again It’s always a good time when Crescent brothers get together. For more photos and upcoming event listings, go to crescentalumni.org.

Toronto

Vancouver

One of the most popular events on the calendar, the Downtown Networking Event on November 30 brought more than 100 alumni together in Toronto.

There was lots to talk about at the alumni reception in Vancouver on October 12.

Dublin

The Crescent Choir Tour to Ireland offered an opportunity to reconnect with alumni in Dublin on November 17. SlĂĄinte!

30 Past & Present / Winter 2018

Social Life

Toronto

Michael Tang P’19, ’21, ’22 was the guest speaker at the Alumni Breakfast Event in Toronto on December 5.

He leads Deloitte’s Global Financial Services Digital Transformation and Innovation Practice.

KitchenerWaterloo

Crescent faculty reconnected with alumni who are studying and working in KitchenerWaterloo on October 29.

Hong Kong

Ming Wai Lau ’97 hosted a reception for alumni in Hong Kong on December 1.

Crescent School Alumni Magazine 31

Life After Crescent

Milestones and Celebrations Have family or career news to share? Send your Life After Crescent updates to alumni@crescentschool.org.

1980s Alan Diner ’87 received the Pioneers for Change Award for Excellence in Social Impact. Presented by the Skills for Change organization, Pioneers for Change award winners are exemplary citizens who have an immigrant story to tell and who have made a significant and lasting contribution to Canada.

Evan Solomon ’87 is hosting The Evan Solomon Show, Bell Media’s first daily syndicated talk radio show, which premiered on September 5. He continues to host CTV’s Question Period, a weekly political affairs show.

Paul Joliat ’94, P’24, ’26 was named one of North America’s “20 Rising Stars in Financial Marketing” by the Gramercy Institute in New York City.

achievement

1990s

Martin Ritchie ’92 recently co-founded JCM Power, where he serves as Chief Risk Officer. Based in Toronto, JCM Power develops and operates renewable energy projects with a focus in SubSaharan Africa, Asia and Latin America. Ritchie is a Fellow (FCPA) of the Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario.

He lives in North Toronto, just steps from Crescent School, with his wife Natalia and their children: Scarlett, age 8, and Alfred (Alfie), age 4.

Geoff Pollack ’91 and his wife Evgeniya welcomed daughter Alexandra to their family in March. Big brother Daniel and big sister Elizabeth are delighted to have a baby sister.

32 Past & Present / Winter 2018

Ariel Vinizki ’92 his wife Erin and their son Oscar welcomed baby sister Violet Roberta Simone to the family on August 25.

James Blake ’97 and Alexandra Grand were married on June 17 at his parent’s farm in Millbrook, Ontario.

The groomsmen included Crescent alumni Patrick Osler ’96, James Burns ’97, Michael Phillips ’97 and Sean Fleming ’97.

weddings Mike McDerment ’94 Co-founder and CEO of FreshBooks, was named the Business Leader of the Year and presented the keynote address at the Toronto Region Board of Trade’s 2017 Business Excellence Awards. “Stay true to your vision; the world will catch up with you,” said McDerment in his speech.

Ryan Bell ’98 married St. Clement’s alumna Catherine Russell at Crescent School on September 30. A number of Crescent alumni attended, including Ryan’s brother, Sean Bell ’95, as well as Charlie Mills ’99, Tommy Blackmore ’99 and Ryan McAskile ’97, along with Class of 1998 members John McEachern, Conrad Riley, Dan Goldenberg, Josh Hanet, Brian Vistorino, Tom Dobson, Gord Eby, Brendan Spinks and Matthew Portner.

Life After Crescent

Ryan McAskile ’97 and his wife Kristen and daughter Peyton welcomed a baby boy, Lochlan, to their family in July.

Tim Usher Jones ’01 and his wife Jessica welcomed Samuel Cape Usher Jones to the family on July 25. Samuel is little brother to Theo.

2000s Dave Coleman ’02 and his wife Melissa welcomed their daughter, Charlotte “Charlie” Rae, on October 17. They live in Mountain View, California.

Andrew Riley ’03 married Havergal alumna Hilary Young at the Royal Canadian Yacht Club in Toronto on September 22. Andrew’s groomsmen included Mike Homer, James J. Watts, Anthony Clifford and Chris Dunlop, all Class of 2003.

A number of Crescent alumni attended, including Toni Toth ’03, Will Angus ’03, Kenny McLernon ’03, Mark Tonisson ’03, James Kilpatrick ’03, Tom Grant ’08, Shannon Grant ’10 and Chris Grant ’13.

Evan Lewis ’03 focused his PhD research on using nutrition as a therapy for diabetic neuropathy, the most common complication of diabetes.

His clinical trials at the University of Toronto and Toronto General Hospital showed that certain omega-3 supplements can regenerate damaged nerves in diabetics. He launched Nutarniq Corp. to market nutritional supplements based on his research.

Mike Homer ’03 married Veronika Tkach on June 24 at Rosedale Golf Club.

Two of his groomsmen were Crescent alumni: Andrew Riley ’03 and Anthony Clifford ’03. Their friendship began in Mr. Cranston’s Grade 4 class, and they commemorated that meeting during the wedding photo shoot at Crescent School.

babies Crescent School Alumni Magazine 33

Life After Crescent

Brandon Throop ’04 married Jessica Spratley on August 12 at Rosedale Golf Club and they went to Europe for their honeymoon.

Brandon works at Raymond James Ltd on the equity research team and is an avid triathlete /runner. He completed 10 races this year, including the Chicago Marathon.

Kyle Buckley ’06 married Gianna Tobani in Sonoma County, California on September 2.

Dan Moor ’08 is now at Oxford University where he is studying for a MBA at Christ Church college and playing for Oxford’s varsity rugby team.

Jay Shah ’06 married Sarah Ali on September 3 at Whistle Bear Golf Club in Cambridge. Crescent alumni who attended included Michael Yan ’05, Jonathan Norris ’07, Michael Kwan ’06, Fraser Gooderham ’06, Nithin Kadayli ’06, Cory Shankman ’06, Robert Amelard ’06, along with Dean of Studies Mr. David Grant P’14.

34 Past & Present / Winter 2018

Josh Chan ’09 recently completed his masters in biological engineering at the University of Guelph.

Jake Graham ’09 is a freelance photographer who documented his summer travels across the country in honour of Canada’s 150 birthday. CBC Television interviewed him about his project. You can see his work at jakegrahamphotography.ca and on Instagram (@jakegrahamphoto).

Riley Shaw ’09 was named by Canadian Business magazine as one of Canada’s top 30 developers under the age of 30. He is currently a software engineer for Khan Academy and living in Toronto.

Steven Huang ’10 is living in New York City, where he has worked at Stonehill & Taylor, an architectural and interior design firm, for the past two years.

Justin Pak ’10 dropped by Crescent in August during a visit back home from New York City. He completed his dual masters in sports management & global sports law degree at Columbia University in May and has spent the past few months working directly for Rashad Jennings, former running back for the New York Giants.

Jack Hayward ’13 joined Goldman Sachs in New York in July as an investment banking analyst. He recently graduated from Queen’s University with a bachelor of commerce degree.

Alex Turner ’11 is engaged to Camryn DeLooff; their wedding will be in September 2018. Alex lives in Toronto, working at FactSet Research Systems Inc.

engagement

career

weddings

Dan Pringle ’05 physiotherapist and owner of Endeavour Sports Performance and Rehabilitation, has opened his second physiotherapy clinic location at Bayview and Eglinton in Toronto.

George Gleeson ’08 joined Power Edge Pro (PEP) Hockey in May, after two and a half years with National Bank Financial. PEP provides a training program for hockey players around the world, based on Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid’s skills training. Although George runs the business operations of Power Edge Pro, he has managed to sneak onto the ice with McDavid and other NHLers once or twice.

Chris Pitfield ’12 recently graduated from Syracuse University with a bachelor of architecture and received his commission as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army, as an Active Duty Air Defense Officer.

He will be stationed in Korea. As an Army Officer, he completed the Army’s Air Assault course, which is a based on helicopter warfare and operations.

career

Life After Crescent

Matt Buckles ’13 is playing for the Springfield Thunderbirds in the American Hockey League in Massachusetts.

Jacob Green ’14 is the 2016/2017 winner of the Sir John William Dawson Essay Prize in Science and Religion.

His winning essay is titled “The AI Apocalypse and the Question of Dasein: The Demarcation of Meaning in a Mechanical Future.”

Ronald Chow ’16 and Drew Hollenberg ’16 co-founded Infinitas Research Group with two other Western University students to target research studies to the adolescent and young adult populations.

They have edited two books: Bicycles: Helmet Use of Adolescents at Independent Schools and Alzheimer’s Disease: Awareness Among Young Adults.

Jason Liebovitz ’15 and Ryley Mehta ’16 enjoyed a successful summer internship at the Blue Rock accounting firm in Melbourne, Australia with Chris Galt ’09 and Peter Lalor ’92.

in memoriam William Mills ’45 passed away peacefully at Victoria Village Long Term Care in Barrie on May 27, 2017 at 86 years of age. Loving husband of the late Marilyn (nee Bryce) and beloved father of Barbara Legault (husband Art), Brenda Duquette and Karen Van Wart. Proud grandfather of Kent Lennox (wife Melissa), Tammi Smith, Darryl Ziska, Wyatt Van Wart and greatgrandfather of Logan and Aiva Smith. He regularly attended Crescent School’s annual Dentonia Alumni Luncheons, and he will be greatly missed.

Stay Connected Join the Crescent Alumni Network Site.

Go to crescentalumni.org to find mentoring opportunities, internship positions, reunions and networking events, news from your former classmates and ways to get involved at Crescent.

Find alumni news on our social media: CrescentSchoolAlumni @CrescentAlums @crescent_alumni Crescent School Alumni Group Have questions?

Contact alumni@crescentschool.org

Crescent School Alumni Magazine 35

Catching Up With...

Looking back at where it all began Bill Pedoe began teaching at Crescent in 1975 and retired in 2001. In addition to his English classes, he launched Past & Present in the late 1970s as a way to keep in touch with Crescent alumni. As we launch the new Past & Present, we thought it fitting to meet with the man who got it all started.

TW: How did Past & Present come to be?

BP: I came to Crescent from another school that had a powerful old boys’ association. Crescent at that time had nothing. They didn’t even keep the names and addresses of the graduates.

I went to one of the secretaries and said, “would you please record the names and addresses of the graduating boys.”

The administration gave me a certain amount of criticism for that. I made a little masthead and produced a two-page typescript newsletter. Again, “Are we going to send that? That’s a lot of postage, you know.” It was funny, they didn’t seem to get it at first. They got it in the end. There’s no question, for schools like Crescent, the alumni are in many ways an enormously important part.

TW: So you were the founding editor and publisher and writer.

BP: Yes. Dick Howard was the Head of Athletics, a terrific soccer coach and a very nice fellow. I knew the old boys would be interested in how the sports teams were doing, so right away, for the first issues I asked him to write a little thing about what was going on in that field.

TW: Your articles were called Pedoe’s Page. Where did that idea come from?

BP: At Selwyn House School in Montreal, there was a teacher named Moodey.

After he retired, he wrote for their old boys’ magazine, something called Moo’s Memories. I took that idea and called it Pedoe’s Page. I always tried to think of some anecdote. The trouble is, towards the end I began to run out of anecdotes.

TW: You referred to Pedoe’s Page as a continuing series of letters between old friends.

BP: Yes, I liked to feel that I was chatting with people like you and reminiscing about things as they were.

TW: Your classes covered the English canon. Is there any literature published since you’ve retired that you would add to your curriculum now?

BP: No, I can’t think of anything written in this century so far that is going to be as influential. Among the 20th century books I taught was The Catcher in the Rye, which is an amazing novel to teach kids that they really relate to. There isn’t a book like that out there at the moment, but I don’t keep up. I would still teach Waiting For Godot.

I would still teach Hamlet. I would still teach Chaucer.

TW: You left Crescent before social media and smartphones took off.

Waiting for Godot would be different if it was just two guys standing around looking at their phones.

BP: That, as you probably know, was my favourite. I taught it every year from 1967 until I retired. I love that play.

Tim Watson ’01, the author of this article, is a member of the Past & Present Editorial Board. He says, “It was great to see Mr. Pedoe again and to be reminded of the genesis and spirit of this publication. We hope that the relaunched Past & Present is a worthy continuation of his legacy. I’m glad we still spring for the postage.”

36 Past & Present / Winter 2018

By Tim Watson ’01

TW: If you could distil what a Crescent education meant to you, what would it be?

BP: I thought Crescent was a great place to be a boy. There was a good rapport in the relationship with the teachers. My favourite students were the ones who would stand toe to toe with me in class and argue with me. I really liked that.

TW: What should I read to my children?

BP: Read aloud what you love then let your children’s imaginations go where they please. We have all had to read books we didn’t enjoy (curse those English teachers!) but budding readers must find their own happy place. I always felt that my job as a parent was no more than to share my pleasure and to provide opportunities. Not all children will arrive at Jane Austen, but if they find a private delight in reading anything, I share their joy.

Crescent School 2365 Bayview Avenue Toronto, Ontario M2L 1A2