Crescent School Past & Present - Summer 2017

past &present A magazine for the Crescent School community

Outreach and service: life-changing lessons outside the classroom

MeN of Character from Boys of Promise

summer 2017

BY ALUMNI

FOR ALUMNI

Share the Crescent experience and foster lifelong relationships You know how important Crescent School was to your life. Your connections with your Crescent brothers, mentors and teachers still influence you today.

Now you can help more boys benefit from the lifelong relationships that Crescent fosters. Your donation to

By Alumni For Alumni will provide needs-based financial aid to extraordinary boys, with a preference for sons of alumni.

ALUMNI

Donate today: crescentschool.org/alumnigiving

on the cover The March 2017 outreach trip to Tanzania. See story on page 17.

Past and Present is Crescent School’s official magazine, published twice a year for the entire Crescent community.

Produced by Crescent School’s External Relations Department

Crescent School 2365 Bayview Avenue Toronto, ON M2L 1A2 416-449-2556 info@crescentschool.org crescentschool.org Stay connected with Crescent School throughout the year: facebook.com/ crescentschool1913 twitter.com/ Crescent_School linkedin.com/company/ crescent-school

Design Chris Simeon September Creative Communications Printer Mi5 Print & Digital • Summer 2017 Past and Present

Volunteering at Holland-Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital

Contents Message from the Headmaster................2

Making A Difference..............................20

Showing Our Character............................4

A Crescent Moment...............................23

Staff and Faculty News ............................6 Retiring Staff.............................................8

Message from the Chair of the Alumni Executive................24

Faculty Profile: Sheryl Murray...................9

Extraordinary Men of Character.............25

An Extraordinary Evening: Luna Arts Night......................................10

From the Archives..................................28 Alumni Events.........................................30

Crescent Parents: Volunteer Award Becomes Even More Meaningful...........11

Reunion Highlights.................................34

Athletic Achievements...........................12

Life After Crescent.................................36

When The Headmaster Is Your Classmate...................................14

In Memoriam..........................................39

Learning Through Outreach and Service...17

Have Your Say: Looking Back at the Class of 1987.........40 1

Message from the Headmaster

Headmaster Michael Fellin with Class of 2017 Head Boy Andrew Youngson and Class of 2018 Head Boy Max Bennett on Prize Day.

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have spoken frequently over the past year about our Portrait of a Crescent Graduate.

The Portrait describes the knowledge, skills and character strengths our boys require to be successful men in the world. It answers three questions: who am I, how do I lead, and what is my legacy? It distills the answers to those questions into six essential qualities. In its simplest form, it can be expressed this way: we want our graduates to have received a strong foundation to learn, lead, and leave a legacy.

A specific area of interest for me in our Portrait of a Crescent Graduate is student leadership – the belief that

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all boys have the capacity to lead, not simply those who hold elected positions.

Canadian social visionary Jean Vanier argues that leaders lead at the point of their gifts. This mindset is consistent with what I have observed across our alumni network. Rarely are any of these men leading in elected positions of authority; instead they are leading through their unique giftedness. And so too, it is critical that Crescent boys explore and locate their unique passion and promise as part of their Crescent education.

Like most people, my own leadership style is rooted in my personal experience

as a youth. Throughout my childhood, teenage and young adult years, I was fortunate to be surrounded by people who called forth my vocation to serve – teachers, coaches, mentors, and bosses who saw in me something that I may not have seen in myself. In many instances, these experiences were grounded in service toward other people, especially those less fortunate.

Two particular experiences hold a deep significance for my life today. First, in the summer of Grade 10, I participated in a youth street patrol program which had us prepare and share food and Crescent School

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clothing packages with homeless people in downtown Toronto. I recall vividly how many of my own biases and stereotypes broke down when I encountered people living on the street. In some cases, they were people who grew up just like me but met with misfortune or life crisis.

Second, as a young adult and teacher, I participated in a Teachers Crossing Borders trip to Jamaica. My wife Heather and I volunteered at an orphanage, taught at a school located in a city landfill, visited children with physical and intellectual disabilities, and cared for the

elderly at a seniors’ home. I recall deeply how alive I felt as I assisted those with far greater need than myself.

In retrospect, both of these encounters taught me that to lead is an immense privilege because it often involves bringing people together who are worlds apart – physically, intellectually, emotionally and spiritually.

In the following pages, you will read about how outreach and volunteer experiences influenced the lives of many of our alumni, and also how we are

refining our service learning program to ensure that future alumni also have meaningful learning opportunities through service and leadership.

When I think about our boys, I think of their capacity to leave our school and our world better than they found it. I do not think of leadership as for the select few but for all boys who have promise to become Men of Character.

Veritate Stamus et Crescimus.

Michael Fellin, P’24 Headmaster

"We want our graduates to have received a strong foundation to learn, lead and leave a legacy."

With alumni at the Friday Night Lights Rugby match.

Jonathan Geisler '80, retired faculty member Steve Davies and Headmaster Michael Fellin.

Upper School Prize Day.

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Showing Our Character

Another Stellar Year for Team 610 Excellent Results at DECA Once again, students on Crescent’s business team held their own against the best in the world. After excellent results by the full team at the DECA Ontario provincial competition, six Crescent boys advanced to DECA’s international competition held in California in April. Competing against 200 teams, Ryan Boyd, Jake Erdman, Auston Xing and Elwyn Zhang all qualified for the finalist round, with Auston and Elwyn placing in the top 10 in their category. Of particular note, this was the third year in a row that Auston reached the international competition.

Team 610 is celebrating one of its most successful seasons yet. The Upper School robotics team brought home a silver medal from the FIRST Robotics World Championship in St. Louis in April. Over 400 teams from around the world were at the event, divided into six divisions. Team 610 placed second in the Darwin Division.

That followed their ranking as the top team in Ontario with a perfect 6-0 score at two regional tournaments and the District Championship. Mr. Don Morrison, Crescent’s Director of Robotics, noted that this year’s members continued Team 610’s reputation as a team of good character, with other Ontario teams thanking Team 610 for inspiring them and helping to improve their robots.

Crescent Boys Go To Washington Crescent’s Model UN club members were among the future world leaders at the North American Invitational Model United Nations Conference in Washington, D.C. in February. Out of 3,600 delegates, the Crescent boys had remarkable success. In particular, Sean Garner and Brock Mutic were officially commended for their refugee committee work, and Yale Sussman and Josh Limpert were among the top delegates for their legal committee work. Rohan Jain and Eugene Wong were praised for their efforts to establish a global framework to limit CO2 emissions.

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Next Generation of Crescent Robotics In their inaugural season, the boys on Crescent’s new Middle School VEX robotics team had a fine showing at their first-ever VEX World Championship.

Of the 308 teams at the championship, Crescent placed in the top 25% during the three-day competition in Kentucky in April.

Although only the top 20 advanced to the finals, the Crescent boys enjoyed the experience.

Mr. Tony Lam, the team’s mentor, says they are already working on strategies for next year’s competition.

Math Efforts Add Up to Success There are many strong math scholars at Crescent, but this year Grade 10 student Felix Yu stood out. He was one of only four students in Ontario who earned a perfect score at the Canadian Team Math Competition in Waterloo. At that competition, Crescent’s team of six Upper School boys placed third overall, against 32 other teams in Ontario. Crescent boys also finished well at the Canadian Senior Math Contest for Grades 11 and 12, and at the Canadian Intermediate Math Contest for Grades 9 and 10.

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Making a Mark Behind the Scenes Thomas Johnston, Grade 10, has been volunteering behind the scenes in school plays since Grade 4. His love of theatre production led to a stage management apprenticeship with The Sound of Music when it performed in Toronto in June – an opportunity not usually offered to high school students. Although unpaid, the apprenticeship earned him credits toward becoming an Equity union member. Thomas, who is also interested in business studies, hopes to work professionally in theatre productions on Broadway.

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Staff and Faculty News Exciting Opportunity for Don Haag ’86

A Man of Character is moving into a new position at a prestigious independent school in Vancouver. Don Haag ‘86 is joining the University and Career Counselling department at West Point Grey Academy. Haag has worked at Crescent since 2000, holding various roles as a faculty member, Head of Upper School, Director of University Counselling and Deputy Director of Athletics. Helping students determine their post-secondary choices has always been his passion, and West Point Grey Academy will benefit from his skills in this area. “As a teacher, a mentor, an advisor and a coach, Don has always given his best to Crescent School in service of our boys,” says Headmaster Michael Fellin. “We’re truly sorry to see him go, but we know this opportunity is an exciting one for him.”

Teaching Award for Michael Jansen Upper School teacher Michael Jansen was honoured as the 2017 recipient of the Beaumier Award for High School/CÉGEP Chemistry Teachers. Awarded by the Chemical Institute of Canada to a maximum of two recipients each year, this national honour recognizes teachers who demonstrate an exceptional ability to communicate knowledge and motivate students in chemistry.

English Teachers Converge at Crescent There was lots to talk about when 67 English teachers from 26 independent schools came to Crescent on April 8. Presented by the Conference of Independent Schools in Ontario, the event explored the theme of oral communication in the classroom.

Three of the workshops were led by Crescent faculty: Tim Evans presented on public speaking, Carson McGregor on peer feedback and self-evaluation, and Jonathan Arendt on whiteness and white privilege in the curriculum.

New Book for Music Teachers Stewart Hoffman, who has taught private music lessons at Crescent since 2002, has published The Band Teacher’s Percussion Guide, a helpful overview of teaching techniques and curriculum tools for instrumental music teachers and band directors. It’s available from Oxford University Press.

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Crescent Hosts International Wellbeing Summit More than 100 educators from across North America attended the Health and Wellbeing Summit at Crescent on April 28. Presented by the International Boys’ Schools Coalition (IBSC), the conference showcased Crescent’s “STEM 1.0” program, which launched in 2015 to foster a culture of wellbeing in the school.

Designed by The Wells Group, STEM 1.0 incorporates evidence-based knowledge about Sleeping Soundly, Thinking Clearly, Eating Smarter and Moving More to improve health. The summit was an opportunity for other schools to learn and share Crescent’s commitment to wellbeing. Alumnus Dr. Greg Wells ’89 was the keynote speaker.

Learning From Teachers in Haiti Middle School teacher Isabelle Moore was invited to present at the Rubicon Education Foundation’s Teacher Academy in Port-au-Prince in April.

The experience included a two-day professional development workshop for Haitian teachers as well as three days of visits to their schools. Moore says she was humbled and inspired by the warm welcome she received and by the teachers’ dedication, even in schools that lacked basic supplies and training.

Silicon Valley Offers Insight on Technology Education A tour of Silicon Valley in March offered Headmaster Michael Fellin, Crescent executive team members and Board of Governors member Kevin Tang a glimpse into the future of technology education. They visited Google, Stanford University and High Tech High. The latter is a network of charter schools established to reduce the “digital divide” by encouraging girls and ethnic minorities to enter science, technology, engineering and math fields. The trip provided useful insight for how Crescent can prepare graduates for the workforce of the future.

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Saying Farewell to Retiring Staff R

elationships are at the heart of Crescent School’s mission, and these three esteemed faculty members demonstrated a strong connection to others in every aspect of their teaching careers. Stuart Cumner, Sylvia Duckworth and Bernie O’Meara set an example of professionalism and caring that left a significant impression on the hundreds of boys they taught.

We wish them all the best for a long, happy and healthy retirement.

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Stuart Cumner

Sylvia Duckworth

Bernie O’Meara

Stuart has been teaching at Crescent since 1986, most recently in the role of Head of the Science Department.

His significant legacy includes having led the development of the Science and Technology Wing that opened in 1997. He introduced the highly popular marine biology trip in the early 1990s, which went originally to Jamaica and more recently to Belize, and he has been one of the most dedicated and successful soccer coaches in Crescent’s history.

Sylvia joined Crescent in 1996, teaching Lower School French and sharing her love of languages and technology. She has earned many awards, particularly the Prime Minister’s Teaching Award for Excellence in 2014. A Google Certified Innovator and Apple Distinguished Educator, she is a sought-after presenter at educational conferences and recently published a book, Sketchnotes for Educators.

Bernie joined Crescent in 1985 and held many roles during his 32-year career here. Most recently, he taught French, health and physical education in the Lower School, and also coordinated the Lower School Intramural program. Many Crescent community members remember his legendary sense of humour that made the annual Sports Banquets a school highlight for 25 years.

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Faculty Profile Sheryl Murray, Director of Outreach

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s the child of two teachers, a love of teaching has always been part of Sheryl Murray’s life.

“I guess I had teaching in my blood,” she says, given her mother teaches high school and her father teaches at the college level. Growing up, Murray volunteered and worked at several summer camps and outdoor programs, including at the Ontario Science Centre and the Toronto Zoo. It was while she was working at the zoo that a school principal suggested that she consider a career in education.

“She suggested that I go to teachers’ college, because she thought I would make a great classroom teacher,” says Murray. Murray was on the path to becoming an environmental scientist, having completed her bachelor’s degree in science at the University of the West Indies and her master’s degree in the Netherlands. She then changed her career direction, going on to complete her bachelor’s degree in education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education.

Murray came to Crescent in 2005, teaching science and geography in the Middle School while also overseeing its community outreach program. She Past and Present

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provided leadership to the student Outreach Council and connected the boys with opportunities to participate with local outreach partners, such as Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, Right to Play and the Daily Bread Food Bank. Murray also coordinated hands-on learning projects such as handcrafts and woodworking, ecology studies in the ravine and exploring the arts.

with groups of students in India and Australia. Hearing first-hand how people in other countries conserve water was eye-opening for the Crescent boys.

Many of Murray’s students experienced a change in attitude around their personal water use, altering their habits to use water more sustainably. Murray presented the results of this project at the International Boys’ Schools Coalition annual conference in Cape Town in 2015.

“One of the messages that we strive to impart to the boys is that what we do matters, and what we do makes a difference,” says Murray. She says projects that involve learning about community issues help students make the connections between school and the wider world.

In September 2016, Murray moved into her current role as Director of Outreach, applying her passion for service work to lead the evolution of Crescent’s outreach program. She’s excited about broadening the service aspect of outreach and integrating it more fully into the curriculum. (See page 17 for more about the evolution of Crescent’s Outreach program.)

“If your students understand that what you’re doing in the classroom has a wider application and meaning, then they’ll tune in,” she says.

An example of connecting the curriculum to real life was seen when Murray designed a water sustainability research project for her Grade 8 geography students. She arranged for her students to conduct video interviews on the topic

Whether it is happening in a Crescent classroom, with a community partner or on a service trip to a foreign country, all learning should be creative, fun and engaging, says Murray.

Most of all, “every child needs to know that you care. Caring can have a very profound effect on our students.”

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An Extraordinary Evening Luna Arts Night Celebrated Crescent’s Creativity

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nspiration and imagination were unleashed at Crescent School’s firstever Luna Arts Night on April 21. The extraordinary evening was a school-wide celebration of art, drama, music and dance. More than 25 performances, art exhibits and creative workshops took place throughout the campus. Boys from every grade were involved, along with faculty and guest artists, and hundreds of families attended. “Luna was designed to foster and encourage creative expression and collaboration between students and staff,” says Headmaster Michael Fellin.

“It showcased the importance of the arts in Crescent’s mission and brought our community together for a truly special experience.”

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Crescent Parents Volunteer Award Becomes Even More Meaningful

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ach year, the Crescent Parent Association gives special recognition to a “graduating” parent who has made an outstanding contribution to the life of the school. This special award was renamed this year in memory of Cathy Macdonald P’04, ’06, who passed away in September 2016. Cathy was a dedicated Crescent volunteer who served as the president of The Guild (the precursor to the Crescent Parent Association) in 2004-2005. The first recipient of the Cathy Macdonald Memorial CPA Volunteer of the Year Award was Carol Lloyd-Pinnington P’15, ’17. Cathy’s husband, Jamie, was there for the presentation, which took place at the Annual Parent Luncheon on February 14.

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Athletic Achievements Cross-Country Running

Basketball

Crescent continued to show fine form in cross-country events, with the U10 and U11 teams placing first in the CISAA championships. The strong U10-U14 team finishes secured the CISAA Overall Boys Cross-Country title for Crescent. At OFSAA, Matthew Lampard made his mark by placing 5th on the tough 5km course.

He’s only the second runner in Crescent’s history to finish in the Top 5 at an OFSAA cross-country race. The first was Will Gyles ’02, who placed 3rd when he was in Grade 9.

Crescent’s U13 D1 Basketball team showed character and strength this season, bringing home a bronze medal from the CAIS National Championships and then playing their way to victory in front of a home crowd at the CISAA championships.

The Senior D1 Basketball team, after reaching the CAIS national semi-finals, earned a spot in the OFSAA “AA” provincials for the third year running. Against stiff competition, the young team held on for the consolation round semi-finals.

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OFSAA Consolation Round Semi-Finalists Senior D1 Basketball

CAIS National Bronze Medallists U13 D1 Basketball

CAIS National Semi-Finalists Senior D1 Basketball

Hockey

CAIS National Consolation Champs

Our hockey teams enjoyed good seasons. The U12 team brought home a bronze medal from the CISAA Championships. Other highlights included victories by the Senior team at the De La Salle tournament, by the U14 team at the UCC tournament, and by the Junior team at the Lakefield College outdoor tournament.

U13 Soccer

CISAA Champions U13 D1 Basketball U10-U14 Cross-Country U10 Cross-Country U11 Cross-Country U10 White Soccer U11 Soccer Junior Squash

CISAA Silver Medallists

Soccer After a season of strong play, the U13 Soccer team tested their skills against some of the best independent schools in the country at the CAIS national tournament in Winnipeg. They finished the three-day tournament with five wins, one loss and two ties, bringing home the title of Consolation Champs. At the CISAA championships, the U10 White and U11 teams played with finesse and energy, each earning victory.

U10 Green Basketball U10 White Basketball U12 D2 Basketball U13 Cross-Country U10 Green Soccer Junior D1 Soccer U14 Squash Senior Squash U12 Volleyball

CISAA Bronze Medallists U10 Grey Basketball U12 D1 Soccer U12 Hockey

Squash The Junior Squash team played some of the best squash of the season at the CISAA championship, bringing home the championship plaque. The U14 and Senior teams also had strong seasons, finishing second in the CISAA championships.

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When the Headmaster is Your Classmate Boys Reflect on the Shadow-A-Student Challenge

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hat’s it like to be a boy at Crescent School?

Headmaster Michael Fellin found out when he took part in the Shadow-A-Student Challenge in February 2017. Over three days, he accompanied boys from the Lower, Middle and Upper Schools through their daily routines sharing their classes, lunch-hours and after-school activities.

“In all, I learned one important lesson,” says Fellin. “It may be more difficult being a student at Crescent than being a Headmaster.” You can read his reflections on his experience in his Open Mike blog posted at crescentschool.org.

But what did the boys he shadowed think? Here’s what Shawn Levine (Grade 6), Johnny Voutsas (Grade 8) and Jack Lougheed (Grade 11) told us.

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Keeping Up in Class “I had a biology test that day. He ended up writing all the tests that I did, all my quizzes and stuff. I thought he would just sit there and listen, but he actually did all the work, which was not what I was expecting. I think he gave up on the biology test though.” – JL “We had a Cue For Treason test, because that was the book we were reading, so Mr. Fellin didn’t know the

answers because he didn’t read the book. But he doesn’t get a report card, so it doesn’t matter.” – SL “We had to do a science lab using pneumatic hydraulic systems with syringes. Mr. Fellin was in my group and we let him put together the system and document it. He wanted to do it.” – JV “In math, we went upstairs with Mr. Ip for the enriched math. It was really hard. Mr. Fellin got a bunch of questions right, so that was cool.” – SL

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What’s For Lunch?

“When we were at our lunch table and we all had chicken fingers and stuff, Mr. Fellin came with this ginormous salad.

That was really funny.” – SL “Lunch was pretty nice because we got to have a serious conversation about what needs to be done about the school, what needs to be changed. He was at a table with a bunch of people who threw in their ideas.” – JV “It was a bit awkward at lunch because I don’t think any of my friends that I was sitting with were expecting it. We talked about the school and sports teams.” – JL

Sports Skills “It was kind of funny watching him trying to do the drills at rugby practice after school. I don’t think Mr. Fellin has played rugby before.” – JL “We played floor hockey in phys.ed. and he was participating in all of the drills.

One of my friends accidentally shot the ball and nearly hit Mr. Fellin right across the face, but he just dodged it in time.

Mr. Fellin was kind of showing off his skills from his previous years, I guess. We had a lot of fun with that.” – JV “I was surprised how good he was at badminton. He was really, really good. He was getting everything over, and so many points. That surprised me a lot.” – SL continued...

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Notable Moments Fellin participated in the “Friday Smackdown” at the Middle School assembly. “It’s kind of a ‘minute to win it’ challenge. We had to take these paper objects on the stage ramp, pick them up with our teeth and put them into a pyramid. Everyone was chanting, ‘Mr. Fellin, Mr. Fellin.’ I’m pretty sure he won the challenge. I think it was his height, though.

He didn’t have to run up the ramp.” – JV “In music class, there’s a bunch of steps, so we normally stand on the middle step, but Mr. Fellin had to go on the lower one because his head was hitting the ceiling.” – SL “He seemed a bit overwhelmed by the amount of stuff that you cram into one day. All the classes, and how intense the classes are, plus rugby practice after school, and studying before school.” – JL

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Learning Through Outreach and Service Memorable Lessons Outside the Classroom Crescent School Service Learning Trips for 2017/2018 South Africa Designing and implementing literacy lessons and sporting activities at the Vella School in Mthatha.

Tanzania Working with a rural Maasai community on a school building project in the shadow of Mount Kilimanjaro.

Middle School boys pitch in at the Daily Bread Food Bank.

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npacking cartons of donated food and seeing first-hand that not everyone can afford groceries.

Establishing a bond with a withdrawn student you are tutoring at an underprivileged school. Discovering that music crosses language barriers in a distant country. Adapting to challenging conditions in unfamiliar circumstances.

Learning that it’s easier to achieve a difficult goal as a team.

Some of the most memorable lessons at Crescent happen outside the classroom, through experiences with outreach and service.

For many Crescent alumni, outreach and community service experiences made a tremendous impact on their lives.

(See page 20.) Over the years, those experiences have included local charity fundraising, long-standing community partnerships and global outreach trips.

In every form, they have always reflected a vital aspect of Crescent’s culture: relationships.

others, will remain strong as the Outreach program evolves, says Murray.

Outreach will continue to be an intrinsic part of a Crescent education. Several qualities identified in the Portrait of a Crescent Graduate, the guiding framework for the school’s new Strategic Academic Plan, are closely linked to the Outreach program’s goals. The Portrait says that Crescent graduates should strive to be, among other things, “a positive leader who builds relationships and understands the importance of serving others to inspire action,” and “an engaged citizen who is both respectful of people’s differences and mindful about the interconnectivity around them.”

India Working alongside local families on a sustainable development project in a remote community in Rajasthan.

Ecuador Working on a sustainable development project with a Kichwa community in the Amazon jungle.

Superior North Partnering with a school board in Northern Ontario to learn about indigenous culture.

“The heart of our service programs has always been our relationships,” says Sheryl Murray, Director of Outreach.

“When I meet with alumni, they always talk about that - the relationships with people we meet, relationships with the brotherhood.”

That foundation of relationship building, along with a commitment to helping Past and Present

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Learning about indigenous culture in Northern Ontario.

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outreach experience was life-changing for the boys who did.

“When we go on these trips, the boys learn about themselves, about each other, about connecting with their peers in an entirely different environment,” says Parker. “All of these trips really speak to Crescent’s core values: respect, responsibility, honesty and compassion.”

Continuing the Salvation Army Toy Drive tradition.

“We always want our boys to be people who ask, ‘what can I give back?’” says Richard Prosser, Assistant Head of Upper School, “whether it’s to the Crescent community, the Toronto community or the global community.”

A Tradition of Community Service Outreach has always been valued at Crescent. Student involvement in community service projects increased after the school moved to its current Bayview Avenue campus and introduced high school grades. The enthusiasm of Upper School boys was channelled into the annual United Way campaign, which involved the students, faculty and families in creative fundraising for a good cause. In 1977, Crescent’s United Way results tied for first place among all Toronto schools. That same year, Crescent held its first Salvation Army Christmas toy drive, launching an annual tradition that continues today.

The emphasis on philanthropy and service continued in the 1990s. Crescent may have been the first independent school in Ontario to make community service a requirement of graduation.

In more recent years, international outreach projects for Upper School students took on a higher profile. The Demers Family Trust endowment established by Jacques and Susan Demers P’04, ’06 provided financial support for a student’s participation in an international trip each year. Crescent’s Global Outreach Program took shape, offering cultural, environmental and community service opportunities. The trips varied year by year, with South Africa, Tanzania, India, Nicaragua and Cambodia as popular repeat destinations.

While the cost, small group sizes and timing of the trips meant that not all students could participate, Crescent nurse Penny Parker, who accompanied five of the trips to India, says the global

Participating in the South Africa trip in Grade 11 made a big impression on Alex Johnston ’15, who was a recipient of the Demers Family Trust scholarship. As well as visiting significant historical sites, such as Nelson Mandela’s former prison on Robben Island, the Crescent travellers spent time working with children at the Bethany Children’s Home orphanage and the Vela School.

“I need to figure out a way to remember this experience in day-to-day life, and be happy and grateful for everything I have and focus on the positive like these kids can,” said Johnston in an interview after he returned.

Closer to home, local outreach opportunities continued to involve students in all grades. These included tutoring programs at schools in underserved neighbourhoods and programs for at-risk youth such as Right To Play and the PACT Urban Peace Program. Other experiences, such as the annual Grade 8 trip to the Daily Bread Food Bank, helped the students understand the larger issues of poverty and food security.

By the 1980s, community service was seen as an important part of Crescent’s mission. Faculty member Steve Davies helped the Upper School boys organize car washes for charity. By the late 1980s, a structured community outreach program was in place, with students volunteering at the Hugh MacMillan Centre and the Villa Colombo Home for the Aged.

The students gained as much as they gave to these experiences. “I learned the importance of being an involved citizen and giving back,” recalls Jamie Lougheed ’87, P’18, “and that you gain more happiness from giving than receiving.”

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Volunteering with Right to Play.

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a week, such as tutoring or visiting with seniors at a local nursing home. The faculty are also exploring ways that service projects can be more closely linked to the Middle School curriculum.

Spending time with seniors.

In the Upper School, the new Leadership curriculum will intertwine with the service learning projects. Grade 11 Leadership students will collaborate with community partners to develop solutions to local challenges using design thinking methodology. This involves “empathetic problem solving,” says Prosser, requiring the boys to listen and understand the challenges from the end user’s point of view.

Crescent’s Outreach program also responded to emerging social issues. In 2015, Crescent and Havergal College students partnered to help Syrian refugee families make an easier transition to life in Canada. The student-run Dignity For All group raised approximately $50,000 for refugee settlement programs and hosted recreation days for newly arrived families.

The Continued Evolution of Outreach Now, under Sheryl Murray’s direction, the Outreach program is evolving again, because it is so essential to the Crescent experience. She says the term “service learning” is part of that evolution because it reflects the program’s intentions.

“The goal of the program is to have every boy who enters Crescent exposed to working with and working for others in some capacity,” Murray says. “There are different types of leadership and there are different ways you can serve. Giving every boy the opportunity to discover that is the goal of the service learning program at Crescent.”

boys being responsible for carrying out a service project that’s linked to that theme.

“At the end of their Lower School life, the boys should be able to record, at minimum, one service activity that they participated in and how it affected them,” says Murray.

The Lower School’s popular Pyjama Day, says Murray, is an example of an ageappropriate outreach activity that should be celebrated in the context of the school’s overall service learning program.

For the past six years, the Lower School boys and teachers have collected new pyjamas and books for the Hope For Children Foundation. More than simply an excuse to wear pyjamas to school, it also helps boys understand the importance of sharing and generosity.

In the Middle School, the practice of allocating time during the school day for service work will continue. During the winter term next year, each Middle School boy will participate in an off-campus community service activity one afternoon

Michael Jansen, who has been on five outreach trips to India and Tanzania, agrees with this approach. “You have to do this properly,” he says. “We need to work with the people we are visiting and ask them, ‘how can we help you?’”

The global outreach program is also evolving. This year, the trip itineraries were reassessed to ensure that they offered rich learning experiences alongside local people. Two trips took place, to Tanzania in March and to Northern Ontario in May. Next year, five service learning trips are being offered: Tanzania, India, South Africa, Ecuador and Superior North (see sidebar). As well as the collaborative design challenges, the participating students will spend time before and after the trips learning about the social issues and histories of the cultures they visit.

“I want our boys to walk away from any service program understanding that it is about sharing and relationships, not charity,” says Murray. “As well, understanding that they have an opportunity to think about the mark that they want to leave on the world.”

“We’re trying to build good citizens,” says Prosser. “These are going to be young men who lead. We want them to be engaged citizens who lead for positive change in their communities.”

This shift includes aligning outreach projects with the curriculum. For the Lower School, this means introducing a service theme in each grade, with the Past and Present

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Tutoring younger children in public schools.

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Making A Difference

We asked Crescent alumni to share their memories of volunteer and service experiences that made an impact on their lives. Here are some of their responses.

“I worked with Habitat for Humanity for several years. The feelings of gratitude, community and love are so memorable that I can feel them as I write this. These are the moments I will never forget.”

– Peter Aceto ’87, P’21, ’23 “The Alumni Internship Program has been the most significant and meaningful philanthropic experience in my life. Changing the lives of 60 young men and setting them on career paths has been tremendously rewarding.” – Jay Mansoor ’92

“ The feelings of gratitude, community and love are so memorable that I can feel them as I write this.”

“ Those kids have taught me much more about persistence and generosity than I could have ever taught them.”

“Helping youth immerse themselves in science & technology: I’ve had that opportunity at the Ontario Science Centre with 5-to-8-year-olds and as a volunteer working with early-undergrads at the University of Waterloo.” – Jay Shah ’06 “Serving as the Vice-President of Internal Affairs at the Medical Society has taught me how to lead by working with different stakeholders to respond to student concerns.” – Marko Popovic ’12 20

“I have never seen such strong character from my Crescent brothers and teachers as I did on our Outreach trip to Cambodia in 2014. We created a tight family bond to ensure everybody was able to enjoy their time, learn about the country and push themselves beyond what is expected.

These trips allow individuals to show their true character and hopefully make a positive impact on each other and the citizens of the visiting country.”

– Petr Schumacher ’16

“ These trips allow individuals to show their true character...”

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“ I learned to view all decisions I make, as a citizen or as a leader, with an eye to how it affects others.”

“Volunteering as a KidCoach with an organization called Future Possibilities for Kids was a truly inspiring experience because kids at that age are so impressionable and positive. Those kids have taught me much more about persistence and generosity than I could have ever taught them.” – Dan Moor ’08

“ I was looking after a cabin of Grade 3s and I'll never forget the experience.”

“My Grade 10 Spanish teacher, Angie Beck, took a group of us to Santiago de Cuba.

We brought Windows 95 computers, which Crescent had donated, to a rural high school.

We taught the local students basic word processing and computer skills and in return, they taught us Spanish. ¿Cómo se dice ‘memorable’ en Español?” – Clark Davis ’02

“In university, I volunteered for the Run And Read after-school program in Guelph, encouraging kids to develop an active lifestyle and a love of reading. It was life changing. The program’s amazing community of students and their families, volunteers and teachers helped shape who I am today.” – Tim Martin ’07

“ This experience instilled a greater sense of gratitude, compassion and perspective in me.”

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“ It was life changing.”

“As a family, our efforts have largely centered on the outdoors: planting trees down by Lake Ontario, cleaning a river shoreline in the middle of the city or paddling the Don River.” – Jamie Coulter ’87, P’21 “Working as the director of Camp Maple Leaf changed my life forever. We worked with children from various backgrounds – foster homes, group homes, open/closed detention facilities, etc. We also worked with children of members of the Canadian Armed Forces, who were coping with the impact of the war in Afghanistan (parental death or injuries/PTSD). This experience instilled a greater sense of gratitude, compassion and perspective in me.” – Ryan Bell ’98 “Volunteering at Martha’s Table, providing meals to those in need, and Youth Diversion, supporting at-risk youth, allowed me to meet and work with a number of wonderfully diverse individuals.

Their stories – some heartbreaking, some inspirational, or both – reminded me that I was a part of something larger. I learned to view all decisions I make, as a citizen or as a leader, with an eye to how it affects others. Ultimately, these experiences exposed me to the joy of exploring and engaging with your community.” – Philip Lloyd ‘09 “In Grade 11, I was a camp counsellor for the Lower School’s Camp Tawingo trip. I was looking after a cabin of Grade 3s and I’ll never forget the experience.

The most memorable part of the trip for me was having a cabin full of restless kids and reading them a bedtime story by flashlight. It was special trip because they really looked up to us and came up to us in the halls during school long after the trip. In fact, I was back at the school last year and I was stopped by a student in the halls who remembered me as his counsellor from way back when. That was cool!” – Remi Ojo ’08 22

“ Serving ... has taught me how to lead by working with different stakeholders to respond to student concerns.” “ The Alumni Internship Program has been the most significant and meaningful philanthropic experience in my life.”

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A Crecent Moment “We do not remember days, we remember moments.”

– Cesare Pavese

Message from the Chair of the Alumni Executive Giving Back and Getting Involved as Alumni

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he recent alumni reunion was a special one for me and my peers in the Class of 1987. It is hard to believe that 30 years have gone by since we graduated from Crescent School.

In Crescent’s 104-year history, our time at the school was only a blip. But for us, that blip had a dramatic influence.

The friendships we made, the lessons we learned, the memories we shared these all helped form us into the Men of Character we are today.

What’s interesting to me is that alumni from the Dentonia era have very different memories of school life than I do, and indeed from what my son, Owen, is experiencing as a student now. Each alumni class experienced Crescent in a unique way. And yet, I believe all alumni share common values, no matter when we wore our school blazers. Among these values are a commitment to giving back and making a difference in society.

Giving back can be a great habit to get into when you are young. Like many parents, I’ve tried to instil a sense of giving back in my children, as I believe it is one of the most valuable and important things a citizen can do. I also recognize that giving back means different things to different people.

For some, it means making a donation.

Others give their time. And many do both.

We’re fortunate that, as part of the alumni network, we have many opportunities to get involved and give back to our Crescent community. And, I am proud to say, many of us do so.

Throughout the year, alumni connect with current students on campus. For instance, six alumni participated in the annual Grade 10 Careers Event in March.

They spoke with the boys about life after Crescent and how they reached their current roles. Thank you to Henson Tam ’11, Andrew Norris ’03, Remi Ojo ’08, Jeff McFarland ’08, Dan Pringle ’05 and Jeremy Millard ’95 for sharing their time for this important event.

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Alumni also give back by helping each other. Our Alumni Mentoring Program, with both career and university mentoring opportunities, has over 300 mentors signed up to assist young alumni as they transition into new domains of their life. Each of these mentors are eager to share their personal and professional experiences and help out their Crescent brotherhood.

Our reestablished Alumni Recognition Program now includes a special honour

for alumni who give back. The Alumni Community Leadership Award celebrates Crescent alumni whose tireless commitment has enhanced the overall experience for the alumni community. As you read about the inaugural recipient of this award, you can feel proud about being part of an alumni community that both fosters and celebrates this level of commitment.

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

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Extraordinary Men of Character The 2017 Alumni Recognition Award Recipients

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he Alumni Recognition Awards shine a spotlight on Men of Character who deserve special recognition for their exceptional achievements. The awards were revamped in 2016 to ensure that alumni are celebrated for their impressive contributions to their professions and communities. Congratulations to the inaugural recipients of the new awards, who were announced in May 2017.

Alumni Excellence Award The Alumni Excellence Award, previously known as the Alumnus of the Year Award, honours alumni who have distinguished themselves in their professional careers, personal endeavours and community service. The recipients are Men of Character who embody Crescent’s core values of respect, responsibility, honesty and compassion.

Peter Aceto ’87, P’21, ’23 A globally recognized and respected business leader, Peter Aceto was CEO of Tangerine Bank from 2008 to 2017.

He was honoured as the 2012 Business Person of the Year by Western Law School and he received the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Medal.

In 2015 he published Weology: How Everyone Wins When We Comes Before Me, about his “people-first leadership” strategies. He is a keen supporter of Crescent’s Alumni Internship Program.

How Crescent Influenced His Life “When I look back on my Crescent days, one thing stands out for me: the people! My memories of the wonderful moments and the tough moments all come back to the people who were part of those moments. Some of my teachers and coaches had a huge impact on my Crescent journey, and of course I made many deep friendships. All in all, because of these people, I left Crescent feeling strong and confident, which has had a tremendous impact on who I am today.”

Do you know an alumnus who merits an award?

Visit alumni.crescentschool.org for award nomination details.

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Young Alumni Excellence Awards Recognizing that some alumni distinguish themselves early in their careers, the new Young Alumni Excellence Award is for alumni who graduated from Crescent in the previous 15 years.

Jay Shah ’06 Jay Shah is a graduate of Velocity, an entrepreneurship program and start-up incubator at the University of Waterloo. He also served on the University of Waterloo Senate and Board of Governors. He co-founded BufferBox, which Google acquired in 2012. He worked at Google until 2016, when he took on the role of director of Velocity.

How Crescent Influenced His Life “My most memorable experiences at Crescent were around the extra-curriculars I was involved in, the robotics team being the biggest standout by far. Having the opportunity, flexibility and resources to use technology to build, make and create shaped the next decade of my life.

Those moments were the seeds of resilience, grit, persistence and scrappiness that I had the good fortune of growing further after Crescent and are ultimately a huge part of my post-Crescent journey. I look back on that experience and see an incredibly valuable life springboard.”

Dan Moor ’08 Dan Moor was a member and captain of the Queen’s University varsity rugby team and the Ontario University Athletics championship team, while studying finance at Queen’s Smith School of Studies. Since Summer 2016, he has been playing full-time with Canada’s National Rugby Team. Soon he will be heading to Oxford University for his MBA.

How Crescent Influenced His Life “When I look back at my time at Crescent, the experiences I most cherish were outside of the classroom in the form of sports or one of the other incredible opportunities you are exposed to at a young age, such as going on an outreach trip to Madagascar in Grade 11. I believe this showed me the value gained from those types of commitments and encouraged me to take those opportunities at university and now in post-graduation life. There were some amazing teachers who truly inspired me in the classroom and impacted my character for the better over my time at school. And I met some incredible people at Crescent, who I am still close with today. I am very grateful for those relationships.”

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Marko Popovic ’12 Marko Popovic is a second-year medical student at the University of Toronto and a Research Assistant in the Department of Radiation Oncology at Sunnybrook Hospital. He also serves as the VP Internal Affairs at the University of Toronto Medical Society and mentors younger alumni who are interested in medicine.

How Crescent Influenced His Life “My Crescent experience broadened my perspective and allowed me to explore the arts, sports, community service and research. An important example was the Model United Nations club, under Ms. Irina Efimov’s direction. I learned the art of debate and how to use sensitive, respectful communication with others who had differing viewpoints. I applied these lessons to Model UN conferences across Canada. This showed me how to balance intricate policymaking with interpersonal connection. Seven years later, I continue to refine these same skills in communication, collaboration and advocacy. And I give back to the Model UN community: as the Chief of Operations of the Ontario Model World Health Organization, I aim to inspire the next generation of leaders in international relations and diplomacy.”

Alumni Community Leadership Award The new Alumni Community Leadership Award honours alumni who have demonstrated tremendous volunteer service to Crescent School.

Jay Mansoor ’92 Jay Mansoor has shown extraordinary commitment to serving Crescent’s alumni community. A member of the Alumni Executive since 2011, he worked with Crescent’s Advancement office to create the Alumni Internship Program (AIP) in 2012. Since then, it has grown steadily into one of Crescent’s signature alumni programs. As of Summer 2016, 53 young alumni had been placed into summer positions through the AIP, and nine of those positions became full-time jobs.

How Crescent Influenced His Life “One of my poignant memories of Crescent was the leadership of former Headmaster Mr. Tansey. When I was in Grade 7, Crescent embarked on its first major fundraising campaign. They had an Past and Present

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audacious goal of, I believe, $5 million and they had a ‘thermometer’ drawn in marker, outside the staff room door to record their performance. I thought they were crazy and that this goal was unattainable. Seeing Mr. Tansey run around the school, always with a smile, nodding to every kid he passed, while the thermometer level kept increasing until he reached his goal, taught me a strong lesson in leadership.”

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From the Archives

1940s: Boy Scouts

1982: Charity Car Wash

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n campus, throughout the city and around the world, Crescent boys have been building character through community service for more than 100 years.

1989: Charity Car Wash

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1994: "Gladiator Wars" United Way Fundraiser

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2010/2011: Race for Dignity

2006: Global Outreach in Honduras

2012: Daily Bread Food Bank Trip

2011: Global Outreach in South Africa

2012: Global Outreach in Nepal

2015: Habitat for Humanity Build

We are always happy to discover more Crescent memorabilia. If you have vintage Crescent photos and keepsakes you’d like to donate to our archives, please contact us at alumni@crescentschool.org or 416-4492556 ext. 260.

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Robotics project at Sunny View Public School

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Alumni Events Toronto The annual Downtown Networking Event is always a popular date in the alumni calendar, and this year’s gathering on December 1 was no exception.

Kijiji founder Janet Bannister P’23, now a partner with Real Ventures, shared insights about career paths in the tech sector at the Alumni Breakfast on November 29. The event was hosted by Jamie Coulter ’87, P’21 at Raymond James Ltd. in Toronto.

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Hong Kong Arthur Wong ’93 hosted the alumni reception in Hong Kong on December 7.

London, UK Crescent alumni in England gathered on January 13 at the reception hosted by Basil Demeroutis ’87 and Jon Tredgett ’89.

San Francisco The San Francisco event on March 3 was a popular way to catch up with the many alumni working in the tech sector.

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Montreal Alumni who are studying at McGill reconnected with Crescent faculty in Montreal on January 26.

Kingston The Kingston reception on January 27 was well attended by alumni who are studying at Queen’s University.

Los Angeles The Crescent Hotel was the obvious place to host the March 5 alumni reception in Los Angeles.

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London, Ontario With many alumni studying at Western University, the March 31 reception in London, Ontario is always a popular event.

New York City Retiring faculty member Stuart Cumner was the guest of honour at the New York alumni reception on April 20.

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Reunion Highlights M

ore than 225 Men of Character were back on campus for the Alumni Reunion Weekend on May 12 and 13. It began with the Dentonia Luncheon on Friday for alumni who attended Crescent between 1938 and 1975, when it was located at Dentonia Park. Then, at the Friday Night Lights Rugby match, many young alumni were cheering as Crescent’s Senior Rugby team beat St. Michael’s College School 21-19. On Saturday morning, four teams of alumni took part in the Alumni Basketball Challenge, with Team 2013/2014 Grad Classes winning the Bidiak Cup. The Reunion on Saturday evening was attended by nearly 200 alumni, the largest reunion turnout to date. Special receptions were held for the Class of 1992, celebrating its 25th anniversary reunion, and the Class of 1987, celebrating its 30th anniversary.

Back Row (L-R): John H. Porter ’54, Douglas Kennedy ’57, Bruce Burgess ’57, David Varley ’63, John Cernik ’54, Allan Day ’75, Bruce Boyle ’61, Hugh Thom ’58, George Gardiner ’64, Fraser McKee ’38, Gordon Pritchard ’53, Fred May ’53. Front Row: Edward Saunders ’37, Fred Gaby ’75, Richard Wise ’41, Marc Joliat ’52, Allen Tweddel ’55, William Greer ’37.

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Life After Crescent 1930s Thomas Symons ’39 has been honoured with two prestigious awards: the Founders Award for Excellence in International Education from the Canadian Bureau for International Education and the Gabrielle Léger Medal from the National Trust for Canada

1970s Andrew Corolis ’78 retired in June 2017 after 34 years of teaching and coaching at Ridley College.

1980s Ernest Chan ’84 has published his third book, Machine Trading: Deploying Computer Algorithms To Conquer the Markets. Dr. Chan is a hedge fund manager at QTS Capital Management, LLC.

1990s Malcolm Berry ’91 joined St. Louis Children’s Hospital as their new Chief Development Officer in February 2017.

He previously worked at SickKids Hospital.

Ross Kerr ’91, P’24, his wife Sarah, and their children, Andrew ‘24 and Lauren, spent three weeks in Australia during the winter break. A highlight of their trip was spending 10 days with Drew Szandtner ’91, his wife Kristy, and their kids, Ruth, Dylan and Ben. Drew and his family live near Margaret River on Australia’s west coast.

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Paul Joliat ‘94 ran his 11th marathon at the Boston Marathon in April 2017, completing it in 3:35:00.

Cameron Levitt ’94 is working for The Richards Group, a boutique brokerage specializing in high-end homes. He is married to Danielle and they live in the Beaches neighbourhood of Toronto.

2 Hessam Ghadaki ’99 married Ana Aur on October 15, 2017 at Meditation Mount in Ojai, California. 3 Geoff Stoker-Lavelle ’99 officiated at the Romanian/Persian Aghd Ceremony.

2000s 4 Tim Watson ’01, his wife Caitlin and son Turner welcomed another baby boy to their family. Walter Scott Martin Watson was born on December 4, 2016. He is much loved by his uncles Scott Watson ’04 and Michael Martin-Evans ’04.

5 D.J. Lynde ’03 and his wife Jenna welcomed their first son, John “Jack” Mackenzie Lynde into the family on October 17.

Ryan Austin ’04 finished his Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery training at the University of Toronto and is now completing a one-year Hand & Upper Extremity Surgery Fellowship in Philadelphia, PA. Ryan and his fiancée Lauren Hanson Xuereb will be married in May 2018.

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He encourages his fellow ‘07 Crescent classmates to get in touch whenever they are in New York.

Tim Martin ’07 is starting a two-year Masters of Environmental Studies program at York University. Martin had been teaching at Crescent School since September 2015.

Chris Penner ’05 recently joined Amazon Media Group as an account executive in Toronto. He previously worked at Procter & Gamble for seven years.

Moritz F.W. Beindorff ’06 has been studying law in Munich since 2010 and recently wrote his first of two bar exams. He has also been working in the executive search and human resources sector.

Vitali Bourchtein ’07 graduated from Harvard Business School with his MBA in May 2017. He is joining Investcorp in New York City, where he will be focused on private equity in North America.

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Tom Smith ’06, co-founder and former CEO of Imoji, recently moved to New York City from California after GIPHY acquired Imoji. Tom is now working at GIPHY as the co-head of product.

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Derek McFarland ’08 will be pursuing his MBA at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. Derek has been working as a Senior Consultant, Strategy & Operations at KPMG and has spent the last year serving on the Alumni Executive.

6 Remi Ojo ’08 was honoured with a Youth Achievement Award in the 2017 African Canadian Achievement Awards of Excellence.

Photo: African Canadian Achievement Awards of Excellence (ACAA)

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David Cai ’14 spent the fall on exchange from New York University at the Peking University Guanghua School of Management in Beijing.

Henson Tam ’11 passed the CPA Common Final Examinations specializing in tax in September 2016. He will get CPA designation in January 2018 after 30 months of practical experience.

Cole Halbert ’14 was recently studying abroad in Geneva and Copenhagen. While on exchange, Cole studied international business, travelled, and worked on a consulting project for Carlsberg.

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FlightSquad Media, specializing in drone photography and videography, was founded in 2016 by Carter Smith ’13, Ryan Tam ’14, Jacob Kachura ’14, Baron Alloway ’14, Matthew Lang ’14, Matthew Cheung ’15, Jason Spevack ’15, Jonathan Libby ’16, Adrian Chan ’16, Thomas Herring ’16, and Thomas Johnston ’19. Other company members include Jordan Grant ’14, Charles Ju ’17, and Michael Levinson ’19. FlightSquad Media has completed projects for FIRST Robotics Canada and the Porsche Club of America.

Lucas Mandelbaum ‘14 is studying at Babson College Boston and spent the fall semester on exchange at Bocconi University in Milan. Last summer, while attending Horizons Schools of Technology in Philadelphia on an entrepreneurship scholarship, he learned how to build software applications and started his business called HERD (herdlabel.com).

Tim Melis ’14 is studying commerce at the Smith School of Business at Queen’s University. He will participate in a student exchange next year at Cass Business School in London, UK.

8 Troy Crema ’13 has signed with the

American Hockey League to play with the Rochester Americans. He was nominated for the NCAA Hobey Baker Award, which honours players who exhibit “strength of character both on and off the ice.”

Matthew Corolis ’13 will attend the Savannah College of Art & Design this September to pursue a MFA in dramatic writing with a focus on film writing.

Matthew’s first short documentary film, Alicia, premiered in April 2017.

Timothy Law ’13 will begin law school at Osgoode Hall in September 2017.

He earned his BA from the University of Toronto this year.

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Carter Smith ’13 was recently in Tanzania for five months while working as a clinical research assistant for a professor at the Queen’s University Department of Medicine. The research project involved using smartphone-based tools to improve the diagnosis and treatment of noncommunicable diseases. He will finish his BSc at Queen’s next year and then plans to study medicine and global/public health.

Dean Perlman ’15 is working at BMO as a summer analyst in technology and operations working closely with capital markets.

Ronald Chow ’16 was honoured as Canada’s Student of the Week in April 2017. He has completed his first year as a Medical Science and Scholar’s Electives student at Western University.

Tyler Hull ’16 won the Future Collegians World Tour (FCWT) golf tournament in October 2016. It was his first American tournament win. His final round score was 73, following the first round 70, and he finished with a three-shot lead.

Stay Connected Send us an update on your life after Crescent!

Email Kathryn Foster at kfoster@crescentschool.org Find alumni news on social media: CrescentSchoolAlumni @CrescentAlums @crescent_alumni Crescent School Alumni Group

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Keep in touch: Update your contact information at alumni.crescentschool.org

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In Memoriam

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We were saddened to learn of the loss of these alumni, and we extend our condolences to their loved ones.

Andrew Britnell Andrew Britnall ’84 passed away on October 24, 2016 in North Vancouver at age 51 due to complications from frontotemporal degeneration. Known for his zest for life and love of being active (especially golf and skiing), some of Andrew’s favourite memories were of spending time at Lake of Bays with his family and friends. He is also remembered for his strong work ethic and exceptional people skills. He was a proud member of Kiwanis and a generous supporter of the MS Society of Canada, spearheading a donation matching campaign with his company, Student Works Painting, which has raised $1 million to date. He leaves behind a wide circle of family members and friends. We extend our deepest sympathies to his wife, Lianne, and their children, Connor and Carson.

Rob Stewart Rob Stewart died in a diving accident on January 31, 2017 at age 37. It happened off the Florida Keys, where he was filming his new documentary, Sharkwater: Extinction. Rob attended Crescent School from Grades 7 to 9 and in Grade 11 he took part in Crescent’s marine biology trip to Belize. After graduating from Western University with a degree in biology, he dedicated his career to the cause of marine conservation. He produced two award-winning documentaries – Sharkwater (2006) and Revolution (2013) – both of which had an enormous impact on public awareness of the importance of protecting the world’s oceans. He continued to stay in touch with Crescent faculty and in 2007 he visited Crescent to speak to students about his quest to save the world’s sharks from extinction. Rob also published two books: Sharkwater: An Odyssey to Save the Planet and the award-winning Save the Humans, which details his captivating life story. Rob touched many lives through his passion for photography, filmmaking and environmental activism. We offer our profound sympathies to his parents, Sandra and Brian Stewart, his sister, Alexandra, and his extended family and friends.

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Have Your Say Looking Back at the Class of 1987

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he Class of 1987 is remarkable for many reasons. Its members are active in Crescent’s alumni programs and school governance, generous supporters of student financial aid, and known for their strong bond of brotherhood. Here are some reflections by Class of 1987 alumni about what made their class a special one in Crescent’s history.

“I believe all classes have their own vibe.

Ours had a great deal of diversity with a strong level of acceptance for individual identities.” BL

“Many of us had parents who sacrificed a lot to send us to Crescent.

I never felt we took it as a given.” JL

“The school has changed physically but it lives on every day within each of us.” AD “We were a double cohort year… two head boys, twice as many prefects, a class size double that of our predecessors, all heading down a path that no one had taken before.” JC “The teachers I remember were incredibly passionate and committed. They each had their own way to relate with the students.” BL

“Some of my teachers and coaches had a huge impact on my Crescent journey, and of course I made many deep friendships.” PA

“I would describe my classmates as an incredible group of change agents.” JL “School wasn’t just a place where you just went, did your time and went home. It engendered that love of learning, for sure.” BG

“You can take the boy out of Crescent, but you can never take Crescent out of the man.” JL “In the ’80s, the school was young and so were the staff.” JC “Crescent provided an environment of trust and accountability which allowed many of us to take risks and spread our wings in the security that we would be caught and guided to self-reflection.” BL

Have Your Say Contributors: Peter Aceto ’87, P’21, ’23; Jamie Coulter ’87, P’21; Alan Diner ’87; Barry Gordon ’87, P’21; Brian Lang ’87; Jamie Lougheed ’87, P’18 40

“I learned the importance of being an involved citizen and giving back.” JL

Do you have a Crescent memory you’d like to share?

We’d love to hear it!

Send your story to: alumni@crescentschool.org or to Alumni Relations, Crescent School, 2365 Bayview Avenue, Toronto, ON M2L 1A2.

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THANK YOU! Our Crescent School Golf Tournament hosted by the Alumni on May 27, 2017 was a success thanks to the support of the entire Crescent community. Your enthusiastic participation helped raise $30,000 for student financial aid – putting a Crescent education within reach of more exceptional Boys of Promise.

Thank you to all our wonderful sponsors:

GOLD SPONSORS

SILVER SPONSORS

Breakfast Sponsor: Eagles Nest Golf Club Halfway House Sponsor: Lynde Institute for Dermatology Contest Sponsors: Naughty Otter Lager, Raymond James Ltd., Sisley Honda, Steam Whistle Brewery Hole Sponsors: Canadian Insurance Brokers Inc., Hume Media Inc., Mi5 Print & Digital, Well Juicery & Handfuel Raffle Sponsor: Release2 Inc.

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SAVE THE DATE

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2017

Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: Crescent School 2365 Bayview Avenue Toronto, ON M2L 1A2

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