Past & Present Falls 2010

Crescent School

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Fall 2010

FrOm tHe edItOr’s desK

A on the cover Head Boy, Jeff McFarland, Ming Wai Lau ’97 and incoming Head Boy, Michael Webb at ground breaking for Lau Family Wing, May 10, 2010. (See story on page 8.)

Photo by Paul Yelle

EDITOR: Sue Gillan (P ‘02), Director of Communications and Marketing COPY EDITOR: Laura Pink CONTRIBUTORS: Angela Barbieri Neil Campbell (P '94) Stephanie Lang Jill Palmer Laura Pink PHOTOGRAPHERS: Betty Ann Armstrong Angela Barbieri Sue Gillan (P '02) D'Arcy Glionna Stephanie Lang Jill Palmer Vince Volpe Many members of our Crescent Family DESIGN : Chris Simeon, September Creative Communications and Harmony Printing Ltd.

T our first official leadership meeting this fall, Headmaster, Geoff Roberts, asked each of us to ponder the question – as we approach our 100th year – “What makes Crescent School sustainable and successful in the independent school arena?”

Good question.

Each member of our team – Heads of School, Directors of Finance, Advancement, Admissions, HR and Communications & Marketing – had a unique answer, but interestingly enough there was a common thread: it’s the human touch. As an organization, we honour and value the social capital inherent in building strong relationships. We promote this activity, and we seem to do it well.

From the minute a prospective family shows interest in Crescent for their son, we strive to make their experience joyful. From the Open House through the tour and interview we hope each parent can see their son being welcome, happy and successful in our School. The seeds of a longterm relationship are sown from the very first moment.

As prospective becomes current and eventually past, parents are always welcome and engagement is encouraged. The education of our boys is optimized with a strong home-school bond. Relationships amongst the parent community are a natural outcome of a positive school culture. Many times, these relationships outlive the boys’ tenure in the School.

Current research, some of which has been done by our own faculty, shows that boys, particularly during adolescence, need to belong. The best way to nurture this important ‘tribal’ quality is to build relationships with teachers and peers. Boys crave heroes and role models. Crescent’s intentionally designed infrastructure – our three-schools-in-one environment and our robust mentor programme – fosters greater opportunities for interaction amongst the faculty and students in all divisions. We want to enable every boy to find someone to look up to, trust and emulate.

Our alumni share a unique bond – the Crescent brotherhood – and they are pleased to come back to the School to share their expertise, their memories and their legacy. And so the relationships continue to flourish.

Articles in this edition of Past and Present speak to the many opportunities at Crescent to grow and build social capital. While not necessarily the ultimate key to success, building strong relationships can most certainly pave the way for a cohesive, positive school environment – inviting many successful outcomes.

Table of Contents Past and Present is published twice a year for the entire Crescent Family and friends by The Communications and Marketing Department Crescent School 2365 Bayview Avenue Toronto, ON M2L 1A2 Phone: 416-449-2556 Fax: 416-449-7950 Email: sgillan@crescentschool.org Website: www.crescentschool.org

Headmaster’s Message .............................. 2

Athletic Achievements ............................... 25

From the Advancement Office ..................... 4

Tooting Our Horn ................................. 26-27

Board Report .............................................. 5 New Board Members ............................... 6-7

Message from President of the Crescent Alumni Executive, Andrew Flynn ’88....... 28-29

Crescent Parent Association Report ......... 8-9

Alumnus of the Year 2010 Recipients ....... 30

Robotics at Crescent ............................ 10-12

Alumni Profiles .................................... 31-35

Reflections on the China Tour ................... 13

Alumni University Visits ............................. 36

Crescent Says Goodbye: Margaret Donnelly, Mark Hord ............. 14-15

Alumni Events ...................................... 37-40

Thanking Our Volunteers...................... 16-17

Life After Crescent ............................... 44-45

Coyote Green Jacket Golf Tournament .... 18-19

Class of 2010 University Placement .......... 46

School Leaders 2010-2011 ....................... 20

Crescent School’s Upcoming Events.......... 47

Prize Day 2009-2010 ........................... 21-23

In Memoriam ............................................ 48

From the Archives..................................... 41

Athletic Awards ......................................... 24

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The Boys are Game Headmaster’s Message Hanna Rosin’s article is well-written and provocative. She points out some recent trends in the US: 8 For every two men who get a B.A. this year, three women will do the same; 8 For those women who wish to choose the sex of their offspring, those who use a specific medical aid in that process are looking to produce girls 75 per cent of the time; 8 For the first time in American history, women hold a majority of that nation’s jobs, especially in the working class.

(Of the 15 job categories projected to grow the most over the next decade, men dominate just two of the categories: janitor and computer engineer.)

8 In 1950, one in 20 men of prime working age was not working; today that ratio is about one in five, the highest ever recorded.

8 Women now hold 51.4 per cent of managerial and professional jobs; that percentage was 26.1 in 1980 – a staggering increase.

8 One-third of US physicians are women, and 45 per cent of all associates in law firms – and those percentages are rising.

One of the challenges when reading such data is to try to anticipate whether these trends will continue, or whether there will be a swing back towards gender workplace equilibrium. I can’t answer that; however, one can assert with some certainty – for at

The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.

— Mark Twain

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ne of the many benefits of being Headmaster of a school that joyously revels in its boy-centricity is that people from around the globe send me articles and questions about boys, masculinity and the possible future for those who happen to be born with the defining Y chromosome.

Interestingly, at the beginning of the summer and at numerous times throughout,

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my email inbox was filled with exhortations to read an article that appeared in the July/ August edition of Atlantic Magazine entitled, “The End of Men.” Catchy title, I thought. It certainly got my attention, as did the brief introduction: What if modern, postindustrial society is simply better suited to women?

least the short term – that this is the reality our boys will be entering. Rosin quotes James MacGregor Burns, a leadership expert and historian, who suggests that we may be entering a post-heroic or transformational era that embraces a model of leadership where the ability to coach and motivate others is paramount. Social intelligence, and the skills to collaborate

and inspire, are becoming the essential quality for success in the marketplace.

Rosin’s nuggets of research are new information to me; the conclusion, however, is hardly new news.

Leadership, as far as I can glean, is different at different times for different people. We may be entering a post-industrial society where brute strength, stamina, and unbridled aggression are not as highly valued, but that doesn’t mean that our boys by virtue of their hormonal predispositions are any less able to be successful than girls. (Interestingly, if one was to assert that girls’ hormones made them any less able to be successful in the workplace, there would be an enormous – and appropriate – hue and cry.)

Rosin grossly underestimates the ability of boys to adapt. Anyone who has spent any time with boys knows that boys love games, and once they learn the rules and establish the framework for the endeavor – and we could all agree that those might be changing significantly (as they always have done across the ages) – they strive mightily to win.

Our boys at Crescent want to be winners, and they aggressively engineer themselves for that outcome. They also recognize what great, contemporary leadership looks like.

One only needs to examine the recent slate of Head Boys, our alpha males, to see that

our boys are already post-heroic. Our Head Boys exude confidence, are geniuses with respect to collaboration, and they inspire a whole generation of Crescent students each year with their eloquence. Their social IQs are off the charts. They know that to be successful in our small town command and control just doesn’t work. Teamwork, and the talent to establish authentic relationships and partnerships, are the currencies of the new marketplace and the Crescent schoolyard. Our leaders embody the attributes of a successful 21st century man – and if those are the exhibited qualities of our Head Boys (who are chosen in a democratic process by our boys and staff) – then the younger students perceive their Chosen One as the definitive model of leadership and manhood to emulate.

Boys imitate well, and love their heroes, especially if they are home grown.

Ironically, Rosin’s “new” model of manhood might be most evident in what she would probably consider an outdated bastion of old world masculinity: boys’ schools. She might be pleasantly surprised.

In good boys’ schools there are many paths to manhood to explore safely. Gender stereotypes are dashed because there are no girls around to remind the boys, directly or symbolically, of their supposed limitations or society’s gender-based expectations; the

walls have fallen away. Crescent boys, for example, are remarkably non-judgmental; each young man’s landscape of what is possible and doable and aspirational is not constrained by peer pressure to dumb down or to conform to some abstract but often deeply embedded gender “norms.” In short, our boys are not constrained by what they are supposed to be; they are free to choose their manhood.

Our boys already recognize the new reality of the work world, in part, because they have helped create it through their online upbringing and social networking. They are smart enough to recognize that the rules of the game have changed, and adroit enough to change their tactics to be successful.

Yes, Ms. Rosin, the working world may be changing in its gender composition, but not all men are the cowboys or alienated misanthropes you describe in your article.

There has always been a trail of despondent buggy-whip makers as society changes what it values in the marketplace. Our boys at Crescent, however, are poised to enter the world as men who are reflective, cooperative, articulate and adaptable, and have a remarkable strength of character which draws people to them.

Crescent boys are not “fixed in a cultural aspic.” They are poised to inherit whatever future world they have helped to create.

Geoff Roberts

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Great Boys: The Campaign for our second Century NeWs FrOm tHe adVaNCemeNt OFFICe

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hen Ming Wai Lau arrived in 1996 from Hong Kong to spend his graduating year at Crescent, little did he know what a difference 10 months would make. While Ming Wai and his family were well informed about Crescent School and familiar with Toronto following several visits with family, he wasn’t fully aware of the impact a Crescent education would have on him. It was truly a turning point in his life.

“I arrived at Crescent with fairly low marks and only a moderate interest in academics,” Ming Wai said. “I left with an honours average, a fond appreciation of my wonderful teachers, firm friendships and a new found drive that has followed me throughout my life as a business professional and a father. I feel the School changed my life forever,” he said.

What both Ming Wai and Crescent could never have anticipated was that just 13 years after graduating, Ming Wai would have an impact on the School that would be truly transformational.

On May 10, Ming Wai was welcomed back to Crescent as a special guest, to celebrate the launch of the Great Boys campaign with

faculty, staff, students, parents, alumni and friends. During the Assembly that day, Ming Wai announced that he and his family (through the Joseph Lau Luen Hung Charitable Trust) had made an unprecedented $5 million donation to the $25 million campaign.

“For an alum to come back and make a donation of this magnitude to a school where he spent one year is humbling to me,” said Geoff Roberts, Headmaster.

“Ming Wai’s gift and his family’s generosity provide a great sense of continuity for the boys, and affirm the best qualities of humanity,” he said.

The Lau’s gift will be directed towards the new Lau Family Wing, a key strategic priority for Crescent and one of the priorities of the Great Boys campaign. The wing will house new classrooms for grades 7 to 12, break-out rooms and Harkness table seminar rooms, allowing for a broader and richer curricular programme, more opportunities for differentiated learning and smaller class sizes, particularly in English and Mathematics.

Funds raised through the Great Boys campaign will also enhance the Robotics

and Technology programme, International Outreach, Crescent Student Serices/R&D, and Student Financial Aid. Further, Great Boys will fund the new Crescent Learning Commons, a learning resource “marketplace” that will allow students, faculty and families to connect with each other and access people and information around the world in order to enhance learning. The Learning Commons will also bring together Crescent Student Services and University Counselling into one central hub.

While the new buildings and programme enhancements that the Great Boys campaign will facilitate are dynamic and leading edge, the campaign truly is about Crescent’s boys.

Our students are accomplishing remarkable things in all aspects of their lives at Crescent, and much of what they are able to do is a result of the philanthropic support of the caring Crescent Community – people who value education and believe in Crescent’s mission: Men of Character from Boys of Promise. Generous financial support from across the Crescent Community is strengthening Crescent’s position as a leading school for boys in Canada, poised to compete with the best in the world. n

“Ming Wai’s gift and his family’s generosity provide a great sense of continuity for the boys, and affirm the best qualities of humanity.”

The Lau Family Wing, south view

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Ming Wai Lau ’97, discusses the Robotics Programme with grade 12 students Oleg Baranov (left) and Henson Tam

Board Report 2009 – 2010

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t is a transformational time in Crescent’s history. As Crescent enters into the second year of its strategic plan, the school is in excellent order.

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The cornerstone objectives of the strategic plan, Enhanced Academic Excellence and Enhanced Character Development, are gaining momentum through changes that include a focus on boy-centric organization skills, mathematics and communication.

8 The ‘Character in Action’ programme continues to present opportunities for self-discovery, leadership and global citizenship. Additionally, the school continues to benefit from the practical applications that are emerging from its Research and Development in Boys’ Education department into the classrooms. Our teachers are refining their practice with leading-edge techniques and utilizing best practices in education to improve our boys’ learning experiences.

8 Additions and renovations to the facilities (including the new Centennial Wing) warranted much discussion by the Board to ensure we are collectively meeting current and future needs. We believe that the new facilities are necessary to enable Crescent to achieve its core objectives.

We are convinced that Crescent’s leadership team has painstakingly ensured that all aspects of the new facilities will enhance our boys’ experiences.

8 An exhaustive analysis of best practices in good school governance and a continued focus financial discipline were always at forefront of Board discussions.

Additionally, the Board was always aware of its responsibility to ensure the integrity of Crescent’s mission, and worked closely with the leadership team on the strategic planning to further its realization.

All in all, it was a very successful and exciting year for Crescent School. The school’s mission, Men of Character from Boys of Promise, is evident in Crescent’s every action and is embedded in the school’s DNA. Crescent is fortunate to have such strong, committed constituents which include the School’s parents, alumni, faculty and students. On behalf of the Board, we thank Geoff Roberts, the leadership team and

Board of Governors 2010–2011 Bill Fielding...............................................................................Board Chair Pavi Binning....................................... Risk Management Chair, Governance George Buckles.....................................................................Facilities Chair Michael Donnelly....................................................Development Committee Sam Duboc.................................................................... Finance Committee Andrew Flynn ’88...............................................................................Alumni Jane Freund............................................ Centennial Celebration Committee Bryan Kerdman .............................................. Finance Chair, Governance Nancy MacKellar................................................................Foundation Chair Martin McConnell............................Communications/Marketing Committee David Sculthorpe.............................Communications/Marketing Committee Gordon Stein...................................................................... Technology Chair Joyce Sy..................................................................Development Committee Julia Thomson...................................................Crescent Parent Association Paul Tompkins................................................................ Development Chair Martha Tory........................................................ Governance Chair, Finance Amanda Walton....................................... Communications/Marketing Chair Andrew Williams ’83..... Risk Mgmt.,Communications/Marketing Committee Ron Lloyd.....................................................................Past Chair ex officio

faculty for their unwavering efforts. I would also like to thank our Board members whose terms have ended this year; their contribution and commitment have been invaluable in moving Crescent forward with confidence and purpose.

On behalf of the entire Crescent Family, I would like to extend a very special thank you to Ron Lloyd ’79, our outgoing Board Chair.

Ron has worked tirelessly on Crescent’s behalf for in excess of ten years, and has left an indelible and positive mark on our school. Deeply involved in Finance, Development, Governance and two Strategic Plans (to mention only a few areas of influence), Ron most recently chaired the Board for the last three years. His strong leadership, wisdom and understanding of the School have certainly left us all in a better place; his legacy will resonate at Crescent for many years to come.

The 2010-2011 Board of Governors looks forward to another successful year at Crescent School.

Bill Fielding (P’09,’13) Chair

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new Board Members

Sam Duboc

Michael Donnelly

Jane Freund

Sam Duboc’s career is marked by his passion for entrepreneurship, his ingenuity and corporate and community leadership. As President, Managing Partner and Founder of EdgeStone Capital Partners, Sam has successfully built one of Canada’s leading private equity firms and as President and COO, he founded Canada’s leading loyalty programme, Air Miles.

Michael Donnelly, class of '88, will be joining the Board of Governors of Crescent School.

Jane joins the Board as Co-Chair of the Centennial Celebration Committee. She has served on the CFC Executive for the past three years as the Middle School Liaison.

As a dedicated and active member of the community, Sam co-founded and is Chairman of Pathways to Education Canada, a non-profit organization focused on improving the lives of disadvantaged youth and their communities through educational attainment.

In 2002 Sam was recognized as one of Canada's Top 40 Under 40™ and in 2005 was chosen as one of the “most influential” alumni of the programme.

In addition to his ongoing work with Pathways to Education Canada, Sam is a member of the Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO), CAMH Foundation, Toronto City Summit Alliance Steering Committee and United Way Major Giving Cabinet.

Sam holds a bachelor of science degree in chemical engineering from Tufts University magna cum laude and Tau Beta Pi and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

A family man, Sam, his wife Claire and their four children (Natalie, 14, Madeleine, 13, Kendall, 11 and Jack in grade 4 at Crescent), enjoy travelling and all kinds of sports and culture. n

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After leaving Crescent in 1988 Michael graduated from Queen's University with a BAH (political studies) in 1992. After that he began his professional career at Goldman Sachs Canada and in 1994 he joined the Fixed Income Trading Department in Toronto. Michael joined TD Securities in 1998 where he has held progressively more senior roles in trading and he now is Managing Director and Head of the Domestic Interest Rate Trading and Sales area.

Michael has remained active in the Crescent Community since graduation. He has been the rep for the class of '88 and more recently chaired the mentoring committee of the Alumni Association which has made significant strides in providing Crescent grads with a strong tie to the School. Most of you will know his mother Margaret who recently retired after 28 years as the School's librarian.

Michael and his wife Kitty have two children, Emily who attends St. Clement's School, and Matthew in grade 5 at Crescent. n

Jane graduated as a speech-language pathologist from Cape Town University, South Africa and then travelled in Europe and Asia before settling in Canada. For 15 years she has worked as a speech –language pathologist in private practice, providing community-based speech pathology services to school age clients with language-based learning disabilities and acquired brain injury.

Her areas of particular interest are reading competency and written language.

Jane’s prior board experience includes The York School in Toronto and the Community Head Injury Resource Services of Toronto and Region.

Jane and her husband, Michael, have three boys at Crescent: Nicholas (grade 11), Robbie (grade 9) and Thomas (grade 8). As a family they enjoy travelling, skiing and spending as much time as possible at their farm north of the city. n

David Sculthorpe

Gordon Stein

Julia Thomson

David is a seasoned business leader with experience both as an entrepreneur and a corporate executive, having owned and operated his own company, and led a variety of consumer product and pharmaceutical multinational corporations (Warner Lambert, Cadbury Schweppes, and Pfizer) in South America, the US and here in Canada. David has a commerce degree from Queen’s University, as well as a master of science in organizational development (MSOD) from Pepperdine University. He is currently CEO of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario.

Gordon joins the Crescent School Board after serving this past year on the Technology Committee. His prior board experience includes three years of service on The University of Western Ontario Alumni Board. His wife, Ingrid is an active volunteer in the Coyote’s Den and at the annual CPA Garage Sale The Stein’s two sons, Connor and Austin both attend Crescent (in grades 10 and 12 respectively) and they are so enthusiastic about the School, they are considering cutting daughter Georgia’s hair short and sneaking her in as well!

Julia Thomson joins the Board as President of the Crescent Parent Association (CPA). She has served on the Guild Executive for the past three years as Garage Sale Convenor, Communications Liaison and Vice President.

David is a member of YPO (Young Presidents’ Organization), a member and past Chairman of the Advisory Board with the School of Business at Queen’s University, Chair of PREVNet, a national network of Canadian researchers, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and governments committed to stopping bullying, as well as Vice Chair of the Soulpepper Theatre Company Board of Directors.

David and his wife Pat have three children, a son, Geoffrey in grade 10, and two daughters (grades 8 and 5). In his spare time he enjoys sports (cycling, skiing and playing tennis) and travelling with his family. n

Gordon is the Vice President, Business Segment at Rogers Communications, where he oversees a $1.5B P&L of both Wireless and Cable. Prior roles include senior Sales, Marketing, Operations and General Management roles at organizations including IBM Canada, CNC Global, Dell Canada and Rogers Communications. He holds an MBA from the University of Toronto Rotman School and a mechanical engineering degree from The University of Western Ontario.

Julia received her bachelor of science in geology from Queen’s University and a bachelor of education from The University of Western Ontario.

After teaching for a few years at various schools (TDSB, Strathcona Academy, Branksome Hall), she left teaching to be at home with her growing family. Julia, and her husband Kevin, have three sons who each joined Crescent School at grade 7. Patrick ’08 is studying English and Philosophy at Queen’s, Graham is in grade 12 and Eric is in grade 10.

In addition to her involvement at Crescent, past volunteer positions include coaching the cross country and track teams at Blythwood Public School, running the LPAA Family Fun Day and assisting the Writers’ Trust of Canada. In her spare time, Julia enjoys fitness, golfing, cooking, reading, friends and family. n

The Stein family are passionate skiers and sailors, with their sons racing in both sports at the provincial, national and international levels. n

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Crescent Parent Association Report

Alison Metrick (P’09, P’12), Julia Thomson (P’08,’11,’13)

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ne of the most significant ‘community’ developments of the 2009-2010 school year was the evolution of a new single parent organization – the Crescent Parent Association (CPA). All of the great work done under the Crescent Family Committee and the Crescent Guild will continue to grow and evolve under the CPA umbrella this year. Both Alison Metrick, Guild President, and Kate Lisus, CFC Chair, did double duty for the year as they worked on the new CPA organization, as well as overseeing each of their respective committees. Many thanks go to Kate and Alison for their fortitude and vision in bringing the CPA to life. Special thanks also to Sue Gillan who did triple-duty with the Guild, CFC and CPA. Her invaluable support as staff advisor and Director

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of Communications was very much appreciated.

Although the CPA didn’t officially function until the start of the 2010-2011 school year, work occurred behind the scenes last spring.

The following mission statement was formed to represent the role of the CPA: The Crescent Parent Association’s mission is to build Crescent’s unique sense of community. As parent ambassadors and volunteers, we are dedicated to connecting the Crescent Family through social, fundraising and outreach initiatives.

At Crescent, we are lucky to have many dedicated volunteers who generously give their time to build our School community.

As a parent body, we really are unparalleled

in our dedication. Traditionally, over 150 volunteers help out at both our Holiday and Garage Sales. The Coyote’s Den has over 50 volunteers who regularly work a shift at the successful School shop.

We have 28 Grade Parents and four Parent Liaisons who keep up the Parent/ School communication link. Our Parent Ambassadors work with the Admissions staff to assist in the valuable parent-toprospective parent communication. The Crescent parent community even continues to flourish after graduation. We have 17 Past Parent Representatives who keep past parents informed about popular annual events and the new annual past parent singa-long movie night. Many past parents also continue to help out at both the Garage and Holiday sales. And there are many, many

more parents who continue to say “yes” and help out with both School and CPA events and programmes. Thank you! All of you contribute to the warmth and spirit of our Crescent Community and we acknowledge that our successes directly relate back to your participation.

Our social events are fun for everyone. Events for parents include Coffee in the Courtyard, the Holiday Sale Cocktail Party and the Annual Parent Luncheon. Additionally, the Grade Parent Programme connects parents in the same grade through e-mails, coffees and social get-togethers. Events for students with their parents include the Lower School Halloween Party and Middle School Madness. The CPA also assists the School with House Day, Coyote Kickoff and Open Houses. These are all wonderful ways for our community to interact and be involved.

for our Guild/CPA Centennial Scholarship Fund so that more boys may benefit from a Crescent education. This Fund is part of the Great Boys campaign with a $700,000 pledge begun by the Guild in 2006. To date $529,000 has been raised and we are in an excellent position to complete the pledge before Crescent’s Centennial year. The Library also gains from our Birthday Book Programme as the collection is enhanced through donations honouring your son’s birthday. There is also a Prize Day Scholarship Fund, endowed in 2003, which provides funds for awards each year.

The CPA is a large financial contributor to the School. Money is raised through the Coyote’s Den, the Holiday Sale, the Garage Sale, and other initiatives. These fundraising efforts primarily raise money

Outreach is also an important aspect of our association. We are able to nurture the connection Crescent School has with Firgrove and Willow Park public schools in the Jane/ Finch and Scarborough neighbourhoods. We

collect warm clothing for them in the fall through the Coat and Boot Drive. By way of a Community Outreach Fund, endowed in 2006, the tutoring and mentoring programme at Firgrove and Willow Park schools is enhanced with guest speakers and field trips.

Additionally, at the Garage Sale, many charitable organizations are helped with sizable donations of quality goods.

Each year, the Guild Volunteer Award is presented to dedicated graduating parents for their outstanding contributions to the School.

It is very fitting that this year’s recipient, Karen Daly, held leadership positions in both the Guild and the CFC. Thank you, Karen, for everything you did for Crescent School, it was greatly appreciated.

Your CPA Executive is also an outstanding group of dedicated volunteers who are excited to work with you in building the Crescent Community. We have a great year planned and we welcome you to participate in any capacity and join the fun!

Julia Thomson P ’08,’11,’13 CPA President 2010-2011

Crescent Parent Association (CPA) Executive 2010-2011 President...................................................................................................................Julia Thomson Past Presidents.......................................................................................Alison Metrick, Kate Lisus Vice President......................................................................................................Anne Marie Mayne Secretary.......................................................................................................Carolyn Christodoulou Treasurer.....................................................................................................................Carole Leung Holiday Sale Chair....................................................................................................... Andrea Wolff Holiday Sale Vice Chair...................................................................................... Mary-Martin Morris Coyotes Den Chair..........................................................................................Anne-Marie Tompkins Garage Sale Chair.............................................................................................Charlotte Youngson Garage Sale Vice Chair..............................................................................................Carolina Melis Social Events Chair................................................................................................Michelle Halbert Communications Chair................................................................................................Ann Williams Grade Parents Chair................................................................................................. Cindy Halperin Parent Ambassador Programmes Chair.......................................................................... Pam Lewis Birthday Book Convenor.................................................................................................Liz Kennedy School and Community Chair.................................................................................... Amrita Pandey School and Community Vice Chair................................................................................Barb Warren

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Robotics: A Model Character-in-Action Programme

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obotics and character development – at first glance, there is no correlation between the two. How can building robots have any relation to striving to become a man of character and practising the School’s four core values: respect, responsibility, honesty, and compassion?

Robotics is recognized as one of Crescent’s signature Character-in-Action programmes along with Outreach, Leadership, Performing Arts, and Athletics. These largely co-curricular programmes are designed to offer students experiential opportunities to practise and develop the qualities which enforce and uphold the mission and values of the School. Let me offer a little insight into how this unfolds in the robotics arena.

Crescent’s robotics programme started in 2000 when the Upper School’s Team 610 competed in FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology), an international non-profit organization with a goal to inspire students and thereby lead them into careers in science and technology.

Crescent has been very successful in both the FLL and FRC programmes, winning many awards and distinctions throughout its involvement in robotics.

Crescent was quick to realize how robotics and the School’s missions and values were mutually supportive. Now robotics starts as

early as Lower and Middle Schools, where students are involved in the First Lego League (FLL) programme. In FLL, teams of Lower School and Middle School students compete in a new challenge every year. This challenge involves researching and solving, and presenting solutions to a global issue, as well as building and programming a fully autonomous robot. Therefore, students need to develop essential skills like leadership, teamwork, communication, commitment, and responsibility in order to be successful in competition; uncoincidentally, these are the same skills that are needed to be successful at any job in the “outside” world.

than 10 students. Leadership: someone has to step-up and make sure that everybody on the team has a role and is involved, and that all aspects of the competition are being completed. Teamwork and communication: all of the students on the team have to be able to work together so that all aspects of the challenge are completed

From September until the qualifying tournaments in November, teams participating in the FLL challenge are given a theme related to a real-world problem – for example, this year’s challenge was to figure out how to solve problems that “keep people and things from getting where they are going safely, efficiently, and using the least amount of energy.” In addition to researching and organizing solutions to the challenge, the team must also build and program a fully autonomous Lego robot that can do certain tasks on a 7.75’ x 3.75’ board related to the challenge’s theme, all in a timeframe of a little less than two months.

At this point, the skills listed above start to come in – especially in a team of less

and that nothing is (unintentionally) left out.

Commitment and responsibility: all of the students on the team have to work hard on all aspects of the challenge to ensure that the deadlines are reached and that no one person is saddled with all the work.

These skills that Lower School and Middle School students experience are developed further when they reach the Upper School and participate in the First Robotics Competition programme (FRC). In FRC, students can join Team 610, Crescent’s Robotics team that competes annually in international regional competitions. From the

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simultaneous release of the highly-secretive challenge in the first week of January in an event called Kick-Off to teams all over the world to the shipping deadline in mid-March, teams have six weeks to build a robot that can achieve specific tasks under strict rules, limited resources, and time limits. The skills that students learn coming from the FLL programme are emphasized to a greater

Robotics is recognized as one of Crescent’s signature Character-inAction programmes... degree in the FRC programme. Instead of working with a handful of teammates, Team 610 has approximately 40 members every year. The team’s structure involves five distinct sections (computer-aided-design, mechanical, electrical, programming, and communications), but complete cooperation and communication between all the sections is necessary in order to be successful.

Generally in the Upper School, students are given much more freedom by their teachers, and this also extends to Team 610 as well.

Whether it is staying in the Tech Lab and working on the robot until 7 p.m. or at the regional competitions, everyone has a specific role, and that is where qualities like discipline and resilience are most important. With the amount of relative freedom given by the team’s supporting teachers and mentors, team members need to remember that every individual has an important role, and that a lack of discipline, where one might be sidetracked and play games on the many computers available, will result in him earning the ire of other team members who are working as hard as they can for a successful robot.

At the competitions, the environment of FIRST also develops the feeling of empathy and humility in students and answers the question that Crescent has instilled in each

of our minds: “How can I help?” One of FIRST’s fundamental values is gracious professionalism, which can be summarized as “a way of doing things that encourages highquality work, emphasizes the values of others, and respects individuals and the community.”

One of the most common character-building scenarios that Crescent students face at regional competitions is simply helping out other teams that are having problems with their robot. As countless members of Team 610, past and present, can tell you, there were always teams at competitions that suffered setbacks to their robots, whether they were damaged during competition, or the team was unable to complete the building before the shipping deadline. FIRST’s value of gracious professionalism encourages teams to help out other teams by asking the question Mr. Roberts poses at the beginning of every academic year, “How can I help?”

Since 2006, Crescent has had many successes in the competitions in which we have participated. Team 610 has been a regional finalist twice, a semi-finalist once, and a quarter-finalist five times in nine regional competitions and two world championships.

We have also won multiple awards at each of the regional competitions including the Delphi “Driving Tomorrow’s Technology” Award in 2006 at Mississauga and in 2007 at Waterloo, the

BAE Regional Engineering Inspiration Award at Manchester and the Xerox Creativity Award at Mississauga in 2007, and the Motorola Quality Award in Rochester and Waterloo in 2009 and 2010.

Graduates of Team 610 have gone on to universities far and wide, but a majority of them go on to study engineering, usually at Queen’s, and mentor not only Crescent’s Team 610, but other teams around the province as well. Recent graduates include Jonathan Norris ’07, Remi Ojo ’08, and Duncan Macdonald ’09 who established and are mentoring Team 2809 (K-Botics) at Kingston Collegiate and Vocational Institute in cooperation with Queen’s University, as well as Toye Ojo ’09 who is mentoring Team 771 (SWAT) at St. Mildred’s Lightbourn School.

Every year, three or four graduates of Team 610 usually make the trip from wherever they are, back to Crescent for the weekends when we are at the school in January and February and help out, doing whatever needs to be done and offering advice. Clearly, the Robotics programme at Crescent has a significant and positive influence on participating students that continues long after graduation.

Henson Tam, grade 12

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What Our Grads Say About Crescent’s Robotics Programme Robotics was probably the single most defining experience of my time at Crescent. … I learned that the subjects [science and technology] weren't just about numbers, but were about empowering you to create whatever your mind could conceive.

Without robotics at Crescent I fear that I would have taken a more business focused degree, even though my true passions and talents were in math and science.

— Ted Livingston ‘05 Mechatronics Engineering, University of Waterloo Robotics wasn’t and still isn’t just your regular club or sports team; with multiple sub teams working together everyone has the chance to take on a leadership role at one point or another, something I now value greatly. Granted mistakes will be made and I’ve had my fair share but they’ve only helped me make better decisions later on.

I believe there has never been a program like robotics which so successfully exposes students to the process of problem solving, to be given a daunting task and then enabling the students to discover their own solution to the problem. This ability is vital to not only being successful in life after education, but also to feel prepared for any challenges that await. These challenges are what allow me to continue to learn and to feel fulfilled every day.

I used these problem solving skills to quickly step into a completely new role out of university, into the world of corporate finance. With whatever I choose to do in the future, it is the experiences and skills which began with my time in the robotics program that will enable be to tackle them. I would recommend any student, from any discipline, to take part in this program and have a great time with friends accomplishing something which they previously would have never thought possible.

— Andrew Norris ’03 Engineering, Queen’s University … The soft skills teamwork, time management and communications are honed through involvement and practice; the robotics team gives Crescent boys this opportunity. It is these skills that can be help a student succeed in anything they put their hearts and minds to.

The teachers and mentors led me to a path in which I gained marketable skills which to this day have not failed me in a job interview. …I have no doubt that anyone who decides to go the robotics route will only end up with a bucket full of great experiences under their belt.

With a group of other Crescent grads, I have had the opportunity to support the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science at Queen's with community outreach by starting a FIRST robotics team at the local high school, which will be going into its third season. We are also to be excited involved in organizing and hosting the first FLL regional in the Kingston area this November.

— Andrew Yeung ‘08 Mechatronics Engineering, University of Waterloo

— Michael Yan ’05 BSc. Queen’s University Masters of Mechanical Engineering

Look beyond the obvious educational benefits of brainstorming, designing, building, testing, redesigning and maintaining a robot. What is often missed is that all of this takes place in an authentic environment for learning about team dynamics, accountability, budgeting, management, logistics, marketing, fundraising and public relations. Since its inception, Crescent Robotics has been fortunate to have outstandingly supportive teachers and industrial mentors that recognize the value of engaging the students in all of these aspects. It is opportunities like these that give recent graduates the tools to draft and execute plans for postgraduate success.

I gained leadership experience and dealt with problems far beyond the scope of any other secondary education project. I learned more about team dynamic, risk/reward strategies, project financing and technical engineering than I did through any of the academic course offerings. I was able to apply what was taught in the academic classroom to enhance the robotics program into a career and life shaping experience. Did the Crescent Robotics program help shape my character today? There isn’t a doubt in my mind that it did. To what extent did it contribute to that character? More than anything else I participated in at Crescent.

Long Live the Coyobot.

— Jay Shah ‘06 Mechatronics Engineering, University of Waterloo

I want to stress that immersion in Crescent Robotics is an exceptional catalyst for a career in any technical profession, and that team membership (and the developmental benefits derived thereof) is not limited to those with interests in engineering or technology. My own path since Crescent has led to postgraduate studies in applied mathematics and financial regulation; other Crescent Robotics alumni are pursuing careers in fields as diverse as business consulting, international development, film, education, entrepreneurship and optometry.

Perhaps the most important quality I have learned from the robotics team was working under pressure. To work where there's too much you want to do, and not enough time to do it has taught me how to really reflect and determine what is important and what is extraneous. This has really helped me when deciding or reflecting on other things, whether it's working on multiple projects or important life choices, to determine what's really important to me.

— Chris Morley ‘04 Queen’s University Masters of Mathematics at University of Waterloo

— Michael Kwan ‘06 Mechatronics Engineering, University of Waterloo

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Reflections on the China Tour, summer 2010

BY JeFFreY BartON, INtrOdUCed BY saNdra BOYes

I

“A Family Affair” For all of its participants, the Crescent School Vocal/Music Ensemble trip to China in June 2010 was an adventure of a lifetime. From the first choir trip of 16 boys and four parents to England in 2001, this trip to perform on The Great Wall of China/Beijing, the City Wall of Xian and deliver two concerts at World Expo, Shanghai, was comprised of 53 boys with parents and family members totalling 147 people. The China trip has created many, special memories for each family. Reflecting upon the trip now, it does not seem possible that we did so many incredible things, in such a short time, with so many people. While the success of this venture is largely due to the Crescent families and their incredible support of the trip, the true magic of the tour came from the boys themselves, and how they performed, shared, interacted and learned from one another in the majestic country of China.

As you read Jeff Barton’s account of our time in China, I hope you will find, as I did, that it is heart-warming to relive the experience through the eyes of a former student and current faculty member.

Special thanks to Brian Crone, Head of Music and co-director of the trip; the faculty supervisors, Jeffrey Barton, Gordon Wotherspoon, Penny Parker and Vince Volpe; Felicity Fok and the team of experts at Tour East; and finally, May Lee and the Zhu family, without whom the trip would never have been possible. s. boYes assistant head, loWeR sChool ChoiR diReCtoR

have been a member of the “Crescent Family” for roughly 25 years. In my relatively short lifetime, Crescent has influenced strongly most aspects of my life. I was first introduced to Crescent School as a sibling to my older brother. Later I came as a student for six years from grades 7-12, and for the past nine years, I have been a Lower School faculty member.

I tell my students that they are members of a Crescent brotherhood, something that is extremely rare and special and something that will be indelible in their hearts for years to come. I have been asked often what it is like to teach at Crescent School and why I would return to my alma mater to pursue my career.

The answer is quite simple, there is nothing like the “Crescent Family!”

This past June, I was lucky enough to travel with roughly 150 members of the Crescent Family to China for a musical tour across this majestic country, culminating with a performance at Expo 2010 in Shanghai, in front of The Governor General of Canada Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michelle Jean. This was my third opportunity to travel abroad with the School’s choir (Edinburgh 2005, Normandy 2007); however, this trip was completely different. In the past, we have travelled with Lower School and Middle School boys and some of their parents have accompanied the school excursion. On this trip, we had performers from grade 3 through grade 11 and, one special, alumnus performer, Kevin Doe ‘06. Except for three Upper School boys, every student was accompanied by a parent or his entire family, and the trip was designed to accommodate the needs of families.

and when they worked together to set up their performances. It was touching to see them warm up their voices, under the direction of their stage manager and fellow performer, Kevin Doe. It was an incredible sight to see these young men following the lead of a fellow performer, so engaged with the common goal of an excellent performance set in their minds.

I have a very, special memory from our final performance. I will never forget walking out of the Expo grounds, after an exhilarating performance on Canada Day. It had been humid and hot, and though we were pleased with the performance, we were all quite tired. I turned around to see the “little guys” being carried by the “big guys” back to the buses. The camaraderie that had developed between the boys over the course of this trip was evident. Then, despite the heat, a group of Lower and Middle School students jumped in to help the Upper School boys push the A/V equipment back to the parking lot. To see the Crescent Family grow and get stronger, all the way across the globe, brought tears to many eyes.

At Crescent School, we are extremely lucky.

We have great facilities, wonderful students, compassionate and engaging teachers, and countless local and international Outreach opportunities for all members of the Crescent Family. Throughout the incredible opportunities put forth by this trip, the boys’ relationships with each other have grown stronger. I am pretty sure that mothers and fathers would agree, not that many people have had, or will ever have, the opportunity to watch their sons perform on the Great Wall of China, or in Xian or at a World Expo! To watch the crowd at all of these venues was extremely emotional. To see faces strewn with tears, yet faces also full of smiles and pride as they watched their sons do something that is so rare, brought tears to the entire group and brought us all a little closer together.

A truly “Crescent Family” affair.

As a Crescent faculty member and alumnus, watching the boys interact together was priceless. Not only did they perform beautifully together, but also, I would say their greatest moments came when they shared their adventure together.

My heart filled with pride when I saw the boys encouraging each other up the steep and slippery steps Gord Wotherspoon (S), Jeff Barton ‘91(S) of the Great Wall

Jeff baRton ‘91 loWeR sChool faCultY

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Margaret Donnelly C r e s C e N t s aY s g O O d B Y e due to Margaret. You’re probably thinking what does this have to do with the Library?

And you’re right – Margaret has never defined her job narrowly. She sees her role as serving the whole School.

It’s not unusual, to use an anatomical metaphor, for the school library to be seen as the brain of a school. To continue the metaphor, it’s a lot less usual for the library to be a school’s heart. Margaret made the Library the heart of Crescent School.

Michael, forgive me, but there was always a sense in which Margaret was everybody’s mom. You went to the Library to see Margaret a little like going into your mom’s kitchen – to be nourished, not with food, but with love. You knew you would be listened to, entertained. Maybe chastised if you’d done something that did not meet her clear and unbending expectations. And you always left feeling better than when you went in. And that feeling was the good feeling of a full heart. At least it was always that way with me.

Margaret Donnelly with son Michael ’88 and his family – wife Kitty, daughter Emily and son Matthew ‘18

[ e X C e r P t s O F C O L I N L O W N d e s ’ P r I Z e d aY a d d r e s s ]

M

ARGAReT Donnelly has chosen to retire after 28 years at Crescent – the first two as a volunteer and, since 1985, as a much loved member of faculty, and our Librarian.

I hasten to add that the good news is that this is not the end of the Donnelly era at Crescent School. Margaret’s grandson, Matthew, is a student in the Lower School.

And his father, Margaret’s son, Michael ’88, who was Head Boy, has recently agreed to join the Board of Governors. So the family tradition of serving the school well continues.

In my first couple of years at Crescent, Margaret and I had a lot of early morning chats. Early for me – they were probably more like mid-morning in her day. We talked about a lot of things. And I learned quickly that she was generous, funny, supportive and honest. I knew I could

14

count on her to tell me the truth, and I grew to value our conversations highly.

And I know that we all owe her a lot. Now I don’t have the vast store of Margaret anecdotes that some of my colleagues have.

But maybe one example can stand for the many debts that we all owe to her. We have a vibrant and hugely valued student leadership system. This year 76 students of the 87 boys in grade 11 put their names forward for prefectship. This suggests strongly that boys recognize not only the value and honour of the position and the opportunity that it represents, but that the selection process is serious, fair and transparent. All of that is entirely due to Margaret Donnelly. She runs the election process. Boys may only vote in the Library. She insists that every boy sit quietly, by himself, and reflect seriously on his choices. They invariably vote well.

This is rare and valuable in any school, (or community, for that matter) and is entirely

She loves the students – some as rascals, some as saints – and she can tell stories about generations of them. And she loves her colleagues, fiercely. Again, some as rascals some as…well, maybe not quite saints, but loved none the less.

She knows why this is a great School. She knows the work that’s necessary, every day, to sustain that greatness. Yes, it’s all about the people. But what I think she doesn’t understand and what I’m here to tell her is that so much of the glue that binds our community together is provided by the warmth that radiates from the heart of the School. And that heart, for 28 years has been in the Library. That heart has been Margaret Donnelly.

Margaret – your fans and admirers are legion. We all wish you well.

Colin loWndes

Mark hord C r e s C e N t s aY s g O O d B Y e [ e X C e r P t s F r O m g e O F F r O B e r t s ’ P r I Z e d aY a d d r e s s ]

I

T is my pleasure to offer a few words about a pretty remarkable man, Mark Hord.

Mark has been offering his insights, his boundless energy and his superb leadership to Crescent School students and staff since September 2001 when he crossed ‘the great divide’ from Upper Canada College where he served as Head of Phys.Ed. Athletic Director and Assistant Head Student Life.

Mark’s impact as Head is evidenced in numerous ways throughout the Middle School. Mark is not a technocrat or bureaucrat: he is a leader.

Every school leader comes to a fork in the road – a critical moment of professional

and beyond. He has developed many excellent leadership opportunities for the boys – but more, throughout his career at Crescent he has epitomized strong, lucid, balanced leadership. He has always puts the needs of the boys and their parents and his staff before his own.

And now he is retiring. There’s a little ditty that runs, “No more tension; here’s my pension.” That cannot be further from the true essence of Mark Hord. You may not know, but he plays tennis until it hurts – regularly. He skis until he hurts. He bikes until he flies over the handlebars – which hurts. This man is an adrenaline junkie.

He trembles with eagerness when he sees physical, athletic risk – much to his wife, Jane’s, chagrin.

He’s now taking another risk – jumping into the realm of the unknown where every day is just like the weekend. He can get up in the morning when he wants to; go to sleep when he wants to; and in the interval, work and play at the things at which he wants to work and play. Mark Hord is a dynamo, driven to do, compelled to grab life by the flimsy reins and ride it bucking into the sunset. I have a feeling Mark, in retirement, will be looking for days off from his days off.

Geoff RobeRts

discernment where a difficult question must be considered and answered: Do I have the courage to teach and lead and challenge my staff, my students and their parents? Or should I take the easy way out and do just enough, or what they ask, so my phone won’t ring and I won’t get unpleasant e-mail?

The second choice is so much easier.

That particular road is pretty flat and unfortunately well-travelled. The first road forward, however, is rocky terrain, with few directional sign posts, and it is generally a pretty lonely trek. Mark had the courage to teach and to lead and to challenge. He chose to travel the often arduous road of courageous leadership – and all of us at Crescent have been the beneficiaries.

Those of us who have known him and have worked with him recognize that Mark has never shirked from hard work.

He is meticulous, always thorough, clear in speech and action, and completely ethical in his decisions. Mark Hord is the consummate professional – a perfect role model for our Middle School boys – and even broader – for our staff members who aspire to leadership positions at Crescent

Mark Hord with his wife Jane Fleetwood-Morrow (S) and their children Stephanie and Jeff

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Thanking Our Volunteers W e d N e s d aY, J U N e 2

Susan Thornburrow (P’08), Jennifer Lowden (P’08)

Birgitta Sigfridsson-Harquail (P’12), Hedieh Mousapoor (P’14)

Nadine Gilchrist (P’11,’11,’17), Paula Owen (P’16), Nicole Swales (P’19)

Jocelyn LaLiberte (P’09,’11), Mike Stephens (S)

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Frances Mak (P’15), Weling Qian (P’15)

Sandy McCall (P’13,’16,’18), Mary Wellner (P’16)

Godfrey Leung (P’14), Nina Kachura (P’14, ’15, ’17),Maryann Gaskin (P’14)

Sue Gillan (S, P’02), Julie Buckley (P’99,’02,’06)

Sally-Ann Main (P’11,’13), Mary Webb (P’11)

Vivian Greenberg (P’18), Shannon Wiggan (P’19)

Christine Corolis (P’11,’13), Jocelyn Macdonald (P’09,’11), Julia Thomson (P’08,’11,’13)

Anne Murray (P’07,’09,’11), Colin Lowndes (S), Karen Holland (P’18), Sandra Boyes (S)

Sarah Mills (P’12), James Wright (S), Joan Murphy (P’09,’12)

Nancy Fullerton (P’11), Diana Allion (P’14,’15)

Lois Rowe (P’10), Chris White (S, P’18), Anne Marie Mayne (P’14,’16)

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2010 Crescent school Coyote Green Jacket Golf Tournament

B

eAuTIFuL weather, great friends, and fantastic golf combined to make the 2010 tournament among the School’s best ever.

The tournament raised important funds for the William Burridge Bursary Fund in support of student financial aid at Crescent, all thanks to the involvement of our dedicated alumni, parents, students, faculty, and friends of the School.

Congratulations to our tournament winners: Brett Cameron, Daniel Cameron, Benjamin Murray, and Pearce Jarvis, all from the Class of 2009. n

Nick Wagner ’95, Jeff Scott ’95, Sean Bell ’95, Charles Carver ’99

Clockwise: Gavin Muranaka, David Budden, Tim Evans, Mark Suckling, all staff

Michael McConnell, Josh Chan, Philip Lloyd, class of 2009

Ryan Fleming ’01, Nick Bubela ’02, Elliot Starr ’03, Chris Candy ’02

Liam Brown ’10, Matthew Abraham ’10, Will Rychlik (F), Kevin Schreiber ’10

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Mark Cameron ’09, Don Haag ’86 (S), Jeff Larcina ’03, John Bulger ’03

Thank you to our generous sponsors: Gold Sponsor: Clarus Securities – Alistair Maxwell ’83, P’17 Golf Cart Sponsor: Baker & McKenzie – Alan Diner ’87 Luncheon BBQ Sponsor: Shops at Don Mills Beverage Cart Sponsors: Rob Maxwell ’88, Chris Slightham ’89

Jason Steel ’93, Brian Morgan ’93, Roger Thorpe ’89, Andy Taylor ’90

Tom Kilbourne ’83, Sean Regan ’83 (P’17, ’18), Alistair Corbett P’15, Alan Diner ’87

Pearce Jarvis, Daniel Cameron, Ben Murray, Brett Cameron, class of 2009

Silver Contest Sponsors: BMW Canada – Marc Belcourt ’93 Crescent Alumni Executive Parkview BMW Royal LePage Johnston & Daniels Division – Myles Slocombe ’92 Sisley Honda – Hugh Sisley P’03, ’11 Thorpe Benefits – Roger Thorpe ’89 Tim Wiggan ’90, P’19 Bronze Hole Sponsors: Buena Vista Developments – Armand Reale ’90 Candy Homes – Christina Candy P’02, ’07 CIBI – Sean Bell ’95 DMS Property Management – Rob Watt ’85, P’14 DTZ Barnicke – Ryan McAskile ’97 Ernst & Young Orenda Corporate Finance Inc. – Jeff Larcina ’03 Harmony Printing – William Sceviour P’99 Lang Michener LLP – Eric Friedman ’80 Mombacho Cigars Onondaga Camp Steamwhistle Brewing – Cam Heaps ’92 W.E. Demers Strategic Communications – William Demers ’04 James Chang P’05 Jonathan Pollack ’89 Henry Tam P’11

Rob Maxwell, Mike Donnelly, Andrew Flynn, Scott Gledhill, class of 1988

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school Leaders 2010-2011 House Prefects Cartier House

Andrew MacNicol

Hudson House

Mackenzie Kim

Mackenzie House

Mitchell Bird

Massey House

James MacVicar

Simcoe House

Peter Witts

Wolfe House

Chase Heinemann Maze

House Captains Cartier House

Matt Lord, Devin Watson

Hudson House

Drew Barootes, George Mavroidis

Head Boy

Mackenzie House

Leonard Chiu, Nicolas Christodoulou

Massey House

Reid Mattan, Graham Orr

Michael Webb

Simcoe House

Jimmy Huang, Graham Rotenberg

Wolfe House

Jayme Nadolny, Marko Popovic

Prefects

Form Mentors

Harry Ainley

Assembly

Dustin Ashley

Outreach

Oleg Baranov

Communications

Colin Cheung

Craig Gilchrist

Stephen Monus

Ted Buckles

Middle School Liaison

Dominic Chu

Jeremy Gilchrist

David Murray

Harrison Corolis

Max Gordon

Matt Nesvadba

Andrew DeFalco

Assembly

Wesley Cranston

Tommy Grand

JR Robert

Jack Federer

Social

Henry Federer

Scott Macdonald

Greg Warren

Andrew Fullerton

Sports

Evan Garfinkel

Nick McLeod

Chris Wong

Rishi Jairath

Arts

Connor Stein

Academic and Student Life

Eric Anderson

Wayne Fu

Corey Barootes

Vinit Gupta

David Michael Phillips

Lower School Liaison

Griffin Cheng

Kevin Hu

Michael Ranieri

Matt Dean

James Lewis

Scott Simon

Grad Class

Taylor Dotsikas

Eric Myers

Geoff Williams

Brent Parsons

Michael Yelavich

Henson Tam David Williams

Lower School

Middle School

The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Recipients 2010 GOLD Michael Poy

SILVER

BRONZE Matthew Lam

Graeme Caswell

David Murray

Charles Dixon

Stephen Monus

Leonard Chiu

Marko Popovic

Wayne Fu

Matthew Park

Nicholas Chiu

Michael Ng

Christopher Hatsios

Alexander Turner

Alex Hutcheon

Christopher Wong

Dominic Chu

Parsa Khakpoor

Jay McConnell

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Prize Day 2009-2010 LOWer sCHOOL aWards ★

★

★

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Sheila Barber Citizenship Awards Grade 3 Alistair Bell Grade 4 Daniel Solomos Grade 5 Timmy Seto Grade 6 Blake Shyba Lower School Spirit Awards Grade 3 Liam Livingston Grade 4 Michael Gibbard-McCall Grade 5 Stephane Leblanc-Smith Grade 6 Sam Rose Special House Awards Colsen Centner Ronald Chow Neal Ganguli Stuart Kirkconnell Ethan Kuo-Lee Jeremy Rhee Emmanuel Vella House Captains Award Daniel Goldman Stewart Kirkconnell

★

Guild Effort Prizes Grade 3 Will Webster Grade 4 Drew Mehta Grade 5 Avram Kachura Grade 6 Ryan Pinkney

★

French Prizes Grade 3 Cole Barclay Grade 4 Aedan Forkan

Grade 5 Aidan Foote Grade 6 Jack Evans Krstajic ★

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Language Arts Prize Grade 3 Joon Young Lee Grade 4 Jack Swerhone Grade 5 Jake Erdman Grade 6 Jack Garrett Art Prizes Grade 3 Matthew Berton Grade 4 Harry Raftus Grade 5 Greyden Bucholz Grade 6 Matthew Wong Drama Awards Grade 3 Coulson Wiggan Grade 4 Daniel Goldman Grade 5 Rupert French Grade 6 Neal Ganguli

★

★

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Music Awards Grade 3 Andre Corona Grade 4 Rohan Jain Grade 5 Sam Charlton Grade 6 Choral Stewart Kirkconnell Grade 6 Instrumental Neal Ganguli Mathematics Prizes Grade 3 Spencer Soo Grade 4 Ryan Cheng Grade 5 Anson Tang Grade 6 Ronald Chow Science Prizes Grade 3 Troy Pinkney Grade 4 James Engel Grade 5 Jacky Liu Grade 6 Jeremy Rhee

★

Social Studies Prizes Grade 3 Aidan Devilla-Choi Grade 4 Charlie Fisher Grade 5 Robert Wong Grade 6 Jamie Kilburn

★

Health and Physical Education Awards Grade 3 Decker Rudka Grade 4 Ryan Dembroski

Grade 5 Andrew Youngson Grade 6 Brad Ashby ★

Valedictorian Aidan Mayne

★

Proficiency Prizes Grade 3 Adam Zufferili Liam Corelli Grade 4 Peter Youngson Henry James Grade 5 Auston Xing Ben Tse Grade 6 Ronald Chow Neal Ganguli

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Coyote Award Andre Corona

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Philip Ambrose Award Andy Mavroudis

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William Burridge Scholarship William Kim

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Guild Scholarship Thomas Lieou

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Colonel J.B. Rogers Trophy Mackenzie

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House Captain Cup Simcoe

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Dean Voutsas House Cup Massey

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Board of Governors Boys of Promise Awards Grade 3 Jackson Margach Grade 4 Christian Gnam Grade 5 Matt White Grade 6 Emanual Vella

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David Heaney Character Education Award Brett Balcolm

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John S. Buckley Awards Grade 3 Nikolas Swales Grade 4 Owen Cummings Grade 5 Alex Logan Grade 6 Nicholas Wellner

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J. W. James Award Aidan Mayne

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Math Contest Prizes – Canadian Math League Grade 4 Ryan Cheng Aaron Tang Grade 5 Ben Tse Grade 6 Ronald Chow Omar Elmor

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Gold Character Pin Ronald Chow Neal Ganguli Matthew Wong

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Prize Day 2009-2010 mIddLe sCHOOL aWards ★

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Guild Effort Prizes Grade 7A Keenan Livingstone Grade 7F Luca Kong Grade 7M Alex Coburn Grade 7R Andrew Kung Grade 8B Cole Rosenberg Grade 8D William Strang Grade 8S Kenneth Chan

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Sheila Barber Citizenship Awards Grade 7A Hunter Crenian Grade 7F Tyler Rose Grade 7M Ryan Newman Grade 7R Jonathan Pearce Grade 8B Mark Besse Grade 8D Nicholas Leung Grade 8S Ian Donaldson

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★

Spirit Awards Grade 7A Matthew Tang Grade 7F Naveen Gupta Grade 7M Andrew Pham Grade 7R Ethan Birbrager Grade 8B Cole Halbert Grade 8D Adam Leung Grade 8S Alyn Nanji Anniversary Ties Art Thomas Bell Jake Fisher Tarin Ravindran Music Jonathan Allion, Timothy Melis, Michael Venier Drama Robert Halperin Tyler Kerdman Asher Weiss Recipients of 300 House Points Grade 7 Matthew Cheung Andrew Kung Alexander Solomos Grade 8 Thomas Bell Mark Besse Henry Gaskin Cole Halbert Robert Halpern Michael Hatsios Alex MacNicol Alex Mayne Scott McFarland Peter Milazzo Nikesh Pandey Cole Rosenberg David Salvati Ryan Tam Michael Venier Rob Youngson

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John Tansey Award Ryan Tam

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Art Prizes Grade 7 Jeremy Buzanis Grade 8 Ramtin Ghargazaloo

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★

Public Speaking Prizes Grade 7 Michael Jaunkalns Grade 8 Jonathan Allion

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English Prizes Grade 7 Andrew Kung Grade 8 James Osborne

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French Prizes Grade 7 Aleksei Wan Grade 8 Hytham Farah

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★

★

★

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★

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Drama Prizes Grade 7 Samuel Gundy Grade 8 Hytham Farah

Creativity and Innovation in Science and Geography Prizes Grade 7 Sean Lai Grade 8 Ryan Tam Science and Geography Prizes Grade 7 Ian Lo Grade 8 Alex MacNicol History Prizes Grade 7 Matthew Allion Grade 8 Cole Halbert Mathematics Prizes Grade 7 Hugh McCauley Grade 8 Timothy Melis Mathematics Contest Prizes Grade 7 Max Liu Grade 8 Chris Lam Health and Physical Education Prizes Grade 7 Alexander Solomos Grade 8 Connor Guy

AWARDS AND SCHOLARSHIPS ★ Ronald Memorial Scholarship Nevin Kong ★

Director of Admissions Award Nolan Buzanis

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Denise Manikas Crescent Spirit Commemorative Award Henry Gaskin

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Middle School Liaison Award Tarun Koshy

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Proficiency Prizes Grade 7 Matthew Allion Hugh McCauley Grade 8 Jake Fisher Cole Halbert Tyler Kerdman

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C.B. Gordon Scholarship Matthew Riley

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Pat McDonnell Scholarship Alex MacNicol

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Bronze Medal of Knowledge Alex MacNicol

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Board of Governors’ Boy of Promise Award Grade 7 Petr Schumacher Grade 8 Ryan Tam

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John S. Buckley Award Grade 7 Liam Kelly Grade 8 Matthew Weisz

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House Captains Cup Massey

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Colonel J.B. Rogers Trophy Mackenzie

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Dean Voutsas House Cup Massey

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William L. Scandrett Award Alex MacNicol

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The Music Award Thomas Freund

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Middle School Valedictorian Award Alex MacNicol

Prize Day 2009-2010 UPPer sCHOOL aWards ACADEMIC AWARDS ★ Business Studies Prize Tarun Koshy ★

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Symons Canadian Studies Scholarship Bjorn Kwok Civilizations in History Prize Matt Nesvadba

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John Grenfell Wright MC Prize in History Liam Brown

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James Ballard Memorial Award/French Sword Pat Rancourt

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Spanish Prize Alex To

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Geography Prize Taylor MacPhail

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Mathematics Prize Andrew Leung

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Man Family Mathematics Prize Junior Joshua Lee Senior Lorin Gu

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Health and Physical Education Award Connor Offutt

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Science Prize Michael Zhang

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Guild Effort Prizes Grade 9 Jack Hayward Kevin Chien Warfa Jibril Grade 10 Marko Popvic Jayme Nadolny George Mavroidis Grade 11 David-Michael Phillips Peter Witts Andrew DeFalco

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University of Toronto Book Prize Warren Kong

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World Politics Prize Dustin Ashley

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Colgate University Book Award Dustin Ashley

UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER AWARDS ★ Bausch & Lomb Honorary Science Award Scott Simon

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Xerox Award for Innovation and Information Technology Oleg Baranov

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Vladan Milic/Ontario Association of Architects Scholarship Steven Huang

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HOUSE AWARDS

★

George Eastman Young Leaders Award and Scholarship David Williams

★

★

Grade 10 UN/SOMA Marko Popovic Grade 10 Ambassador Jethro Kwong Grade 10 Community Service Tanvir Deol Grade 10 Math Club Andrew Pak Grade 10 Drama Chris Evershed Grade 10 Media Art Edward Kang Andrew Whyte-Lewis Grade 10 Music Nicholas Chiu Leonard Chiu Jethro Kwong Matt Lord Alex Mahoney Eddie Song Grade 11 Drama Nick McLeod Evan Webster Griffin Cheng Grade 11 Robotics David-Michael Phillips Grade 11 Visual Arts Charlie Gunn Dominic Chu Grade 11 Music David Han Jeremy Gilchrist Jeremy Wong Grade 11 Community Service Mark Horner Grade 12 Community Service Kelvin Chiu Grade 12 DECA – Business Matthew Lam Tarun Koshy Grade 12 Music Matthew Abraham Matthew Wright Matthew Schwartz Richard Amelard Grade 12 Robotics Andrew Chan Tim Kim Ethan Murai Michael Zhang

Frederick Douglass and Susan B. Anthony Award in Humanities and Social Sciences Matt Nesvadba

George S. Blodgett Memorial Prize Liam Brown Jerry Friedman Scholarship Taylor Keating

★

Burgess Scholarship Andrew Leung Bjorn Kwok

★

Grade 11 Academic Award Lorin Gu

★

Silver Medal of Knowledge Andrew Leung Bjorn Kwok

★

Governor General’s Medal Liam Brown

ARTS AND TECHNOLOGY AWARDS ★ Anniversary Ties Grade 9 Ambassador Spencer Belyea Grade 9 Drama Kevin Chien Jacob MacDonald Christopher Morritt Eric Savoy-Pitfield Alex Tompkins Grade 9 Music Jonathan Bell Kevin Chien Chester Davidson Tally Ferraro Nicholas Lao Grade 9 Visual Art Toms Black Austin Stein Mitchell Golosky Kelvin Li Nicholas Latifi Adam Scott Sean Webster Michael Simonetta Colin Williams Jack Hogarth Carter Smith

★

★

House Captains Cup Massey

Old Boys Watch Jeffrey McFarland

★

★

Colonel J.B. Rogers Trophy Mackenzie

Board of Governors Medal Jeffrey McFarland

★

★

Dean Voutsas House Cup Massey

Head Boy Pin Michael Webb

COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARDS ★ Ian Roberts Community Service Award Kelvin Chiu ★

★

Lieutenant Governor’s Community Volunteer Award Michael Poy Bruce M. Hicks Public Service Award Lorin Gu

Dentonia Scholarships Jordan Grant David Cai

★

Ron Bertram/Quill and Quire Award Warren Kong

★

Headmaster’s Medal Jared MacDonald

★

Guild Founders Scholarship David-Michael Phillips

Art Prize Steven Huang

★

Graduating Class Trophy Craig Gilchrist

★

Drama Award Craig Gilchrist

★

★

Technical Merit Award Nicholas Lao

G. H. Corolis Crescent Spirit Commemorative David Lay

★

W.R.E. Williams Award Liam Brown

★

Osler Trophy Taylor MacPhail

★

Thom Family Award Tarun Koshy

★

Susan Denton Massey Award James Dent

★

★

Music Prize Jeffrey McFarland Ronald Memorial Upper School Music Prize Matthew Wright Norris Family Robotics and Technology Award Rafi Husain

★

Christopher Galt Award Gaby Weitz

★

Effort Prize Evan Wall

★

Valedictorian Darren Chu

CHARACTER AND LEADERSHIP AWARDS ★ Board of Governors Awards Grade 9 Chester Davidson Stefan Losberg Grade 10 Justin Cheung Spencer Rose Grade 11 Lorin Gu Kevin Hu Grade 12 Matti Keskikyla ★

★

GRADUATION NIGHT AWARDS ★ Crestissimus Crescentium Geoff Hewat

23

Athletic Awards sPrINg term 2009-2010

Spring Term sPoRt

team

mVP

CoaCh’s ChoiCe

Badminton

Senior Junior U14

Jason Lao Timothy Law Samuel Goh

Wayne Fu Bernie Yeung Michael Kwok

Golf

Senior Junior

Alex Turner Jeffrey Miller

Matthew Lam Will Leak

Rugby

The Dave LaForest Memorial Senior Rugby Award: James Dent Senior Taylor MacPhail Michael Alford Bryce Blakely Charlie Dixon Andrew MacNicol Jeffrey McFarland Connor Offutt Evan Webster Peter Witts Junior Matthew Geisler Alex Gerlings U14 Peter Milazzo Michael Venier U13 Mark Bastow Dean Perlman

Softball

U14 DI U14 DII U12

Tennis

Senior Junior U14

Track & Field

Alex MacNicol Henry Gaskin Samuel Gundy Emanuel Vella

Chris Lam

Matt Erdman Blake Rosenberg Alex Mahoney Andrew Parker Jake Erdman

Mike Mida

Senior

Ian Donaldson Andrew Youngson

Ty Sullivan Tarun Koshy Michael Poy

Junior Midget

Graham Pitfield William Christodoulou

U14 U13 U12

Nevin Kong Matthew Allion Milan Miladinovic

U11 U10

William Coburn Max Montgomery

Nicholas Mehta Toms Black Matthew Lang Matthew DaSilva Asher Lisus Jeffrey So Matt Wolff Cole Baker

Ultimate Frisbee

Chase Heinemann Maze

David Murray

Baseball

Johnny Caputo

Evan Garfinkel

Athlete of the Year Awards

24

sChool

aWaRd

ReCiPient

Upper School

Lawson Athlete of the Year Award Fitzpatrick Award

Taylor MacPhail Charlie Dixon

Middle School

Athlete of the Year Lachowicz Award

Trevor Noskiewicz Henry Gaskin

Lower School

Athlete of the Year Wylie Coyote Award

Jeffrey So Asher Lisus

Athletic Achievements sPrINg term 2009-2010

Noteworthy Accomplishments: 8

8

8

8

8

Will Christodoulou – Midget – 7th OFSAA Discus & 14th OFSAA Javelin & CISAA 1st Javelin & 2nd discus Chris Pitfield – Senior – 1st CISAA high jump Tarun Koshy – Senior – 1st CISAA Javelin Graham Pitfield – Junior – 1st CISAA Pole Vault Nick Mehta – Midget – 1st CISAA Pole Vault

Rugby

Tennis

Baseball

Track and Field

U13 – CISAA Champions U14 – CISAA Semi-Finalists Junior – CISAA Semi-Finalists Senior – CAIS National Tournament – 3rd place & CISAA Quarter Finalists

U14 – 2nd at CISAA Junior – CISAA Champions Senior – 2nd at CISAA

3rd place East

MID – 3rd CISAA

Softball

Golf

Badminton

U12 – 3rd at CISAA U14 D1 – 3rd at CISAA

Junior – 4th CISAA Senior – 3rd CISAA

U14 – CISAA Champions Junior – CISAA Champions

Ultimate CISAA Semi-Finalists

25

Tooting Our horn Lower School Musicians Shine The Crescent School Boys' Choir has been awarded the John Bird Memorial Scholarship for $200 in the Choirs category, and the 6B class won the Nancy Rae MacDonald Memorial Scholarship ($150) in the Homeroom Choirs category.

Grade 5 student Timmy Seto placed third this summer at the Canadian Music Competition in Edmonton in the category of strings 10 years.

Watch Timmy perform at www. youtube.com/watch?v=voM8_iqnB9c n Alex Pintilie (S) receives the Descartes medal from Prof David McKinnon,University of Waterloo

Alex Pintilie Wins Prestigious Award The faculty of Mathematics at the University of Waterloo enjoys a close relationship with mathematics teachers in schools throughout Canada and beyond. It has led to a spirit of friendship experienced only rarely in other disciplines, and has ensured that students in Canadian schools have richer educational experiences.

Some mathematics teachers have devoted their lives to the well being of their students and the profession. For this reason, in 1968, the University of Waterloo's Rene Descartes Foundation created the Society of Descartes Medallists. The Society has met each June since to welcome and honour non-university mathematicians for

their outstanding contributions in the areas of teaching and leadership of mathematics at the secondary and/or elementary levels. Over the past 40 years the Foundation has awarded medals to 116 worthy educators, and welcomed their admission to life membership in the Society.

It is Crescent School’ great pleasure to announce that Alex Pintilie, long-time Faculty member of our mathematics department, has been named a 2008 Descartes Medallist – surely one of the most prestigious awards that can be won by any high school or post secondary mathematics educator. Each year the Society recognizes a teacher from Ontario secondary schools for this award. n

Alex Pintilie Publishes Math Workbook Further to being awarded the Descartes Medal, Alex Pintilie has just been published by the University of Waterloo’s The Centre for Education in Mathematics and Computing (CEMC). Founded in 1995, the CEMC has become Canada’s largest and most recognized outreach organization for promoting and creating activities and materials in mathematics and computer science.

26

Initially, the Centre operated as the Canadian Mathematics Competition running math contests since the 1960s within the University of Waterloo's Faculty of Mathematics.

Today, the CEMC has expanded to include additional highly acclaimed contests, web resources, a large series of publications, and workshops and seminars for students and teachers in elementary and secondary schools across Canada.

Mr. Pintilie’s publication is a student workbook entitled: Is this going to be on the math test? Congratulations for this remarkable accomplishment, and to Upper School Math Faculty members Kee Ip and Mike Stephens who served as consultants to this newest addition to the corpus of fine works in Pedagogy and Mathematics. n

Upper School Musician Successful In OMFA Provincials Grade 9 student and clarinettist Kevin Chien was invited to participate in the Ontario Music Festivals Association’s 2010 Waterloo Provincials Competition held at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario. The Ontario Music Festivals Association (OMFA) is an organization of volunteers serving music festivals across the province. Through them, over 170,000 young classical musicians and talented Ontario youth are able to develop their musicianship, and encouraged in performance.

Provincial finalists are selected through competitions at regional levels across Ontario such as the Kiwanis Music Festival of Greater Toronto, in which Kevin competed in February. Kevin was chosen by the Kiwanis Music Festival adjudicator to represent Toronto in the OMFA competition on June 12.

Kevin is an accomplished musician and has attained grade 8 in clarinet from the Royal Conservatory of Music, and therefore competed in that category. Kevin performed Gigue by A. Corelli and Scenes and Air from Luisa di Montifort, op. 82 by M. Bergson.

Kevin placed first in the grade 8 clarinet category, and received an honourable mention (fourth) in woodwinds – another remarkable achievement. n

Kevin Chien

Upper School and Middle School students do well in national math competitions Upper School: The strength of the Math programme at Crescent has been again confirmed by the outstanding results achieved by our students this year in national math contests: Pascal, Cayley and Fermat. Overall, Crescent students attained 67 certificates of distinction. No less than 11 of our students ranked in the top 1 per cent of their respective competitions. They are listed below with their respective percentiles:

high in all of the three contests. Our Pascal team ranked 46th (top 5 per cent) in Canada and 28th in the province. The Cayley team ranked 15th in Canada (top 1.4 per cent) and 9th in Ontario while our Fermat team ranked 88th (top 9 per cent) in the country and 46th in the province. Both of Crescent’s Pascal and Cayley teams were mentioned on the Canadian National Honour Roll.

Middle School: Crescent School ranked eighth in the grade 7 Euler math contest out of 399 competing schools.

PASCAL (GRADE 9): Quinton Yau (99.8), Taylor Keating (99) and Stefan Whittaker Lee (99) CAYLEY (GRADE 10): Marko Popovic (99.93), Tudor Datcu (99.6), Joshua Lee (99.6), Andrew Pak (99.4), Bjorn Kwok (99.2) and Charles Kim (99.2)

Marko’s performance is one of the best in the history of the School – he ranked 15th out of approximately 24,000.

FERMAT (GRADE 11): Lorin Gu (99) and Chris Wong (99)

In the team competition (with more than 1,000 schools taking part) Crescent School ranked

Max Liu placed fifth out of 7,883 students, with three of his grade 7 classmates ranking 72nd (Hugh McCauley and Jeffrey Seto) and 110th (Andrew Pham).

Grade 8 student Tim Melis was successful in the Lagrange contest ranking 175th out 6,932 students. n

27

Message from President of the Crescent Alumni Executive, Andrew Flynn ’88

The Alumni Executive for 2010-2011 is brimming with energy and enthusiasm, and looking forward to another remarkable year.

I

t astonishes me to think how quickly my first year as President of the Crescent Alumni Executive has gone by. Between the fantastic events, the Great Boys campaign launch, the increasingly robust alumni support for Crescent and the Online Mentoring Database, there was never a dull moment! It has been both an honour and privilege to be so closely involved with Crescent Alumni and Crescent School, and I am deeply proud of all that we have accomplished this year. Crescent Alumni have had a remarkably successful year, and our group has very strong momentum as we move into the 2010-2011 school year.

The Online Mentoring Database, which is a direct result of feedback from our alumni, is now in full swing, with alumni from around the globe connecting with one another on

28

matters related to their careers, education, relocations, job transitions and other important life decisions. I am continually impressed with the enthusiastic willingness of our alumni to help one another when called upon. We never hesitate to lend a hand to our fellow alumni, and I think this reflects both the strength of character of our alumni as well as the excellent student experience we all shared. The mentoring database continues to facilitate important and meaningful connections. Thank you to all who are participating in this programme, and I encourage all of you to take part either to help a fellow alumnus or to gain insight based on the experiences of fellow alumni.

The Great Boys campaign for Crescent School marks a tremendous moment in Crescent’s history: not only is this $25 million fundraising

goal the largest in the school’s history, but the lead donation (an unprecedented $5 million) was made by one of our own: Ming Wai Lau, from the class of 1997, and his family. Although most alumni cannot support Crescent at the same level as Ming Wai, the sentiment of wanting to support the School that gave each of us so much, is shared by all. I think it is very important that Crescent Alumni are well represented among the donors to the Great Boys campaign. To this end, I have called upon a group of leading Crescent alumni to form the Alumni Campaign Cabinet. This group has demonstrated its support of the School with resources, time, expertise and influence. I have asked them to ensure that Crescent Alumni find meaningful ways to support their School during the life of the Great Boys campaign, and well beyond. Support from alumni, at any level, is powerful. I believe

in Crescent and attribute much of my success and character to my Crescent experience; and for these reasons, I believe our alumni should express their pride in Crescent by supporting this campaign as we embark on an exciting time for Crescent School.

Over the course of 2009-2010, I am proud to report that alumni support for Crescent School remained strong. The 2010 Crescent School Coyote Green Jacket Golf Tournament raised a record breaking net profit ($19,000) – the highest in Crescent history – for the William Burridge Bursary Fund in support of student financial aid.

Our newest Crescent Alumni, the Class of 2010, took the initiative to establish an endowed class fund in support of student financial aid. Despite busy days filled with endless academic, athletic, leadership, and co-curricular commitments, they campaigned throughout the year, resulting in the great success of their fund. When I see such hard work and determination coming from the youngest members of our alumni, it becomes abundantly apparent to me that we are all capable of supporting Crescent.

The success of the alumni programme is a result of the work, time, innovation and inspiration of many, and without the dedication of the Executive, we would not be where we are today. On behalf of

all alumni, I extend my sincere thanks to our retiring Crescent Alumni Executive members: Brett Bergmann ’00, Michael Donnelly ’88 (P’18), Paul Joliat ’94, and former faculty member Doug Smith. These dedicated individuals have contributed significantly to Crescent School as well as to the growth and strengthening of our alumni.

Their commitment to serving the needs of all alumni through innovative and accessible programming, events, communications, and governance has truly raised the bar for our programme and our network. Their contributions to the Executive, the School and the Crescent Community will be their legacy, and one that I strive to continue.

We owe each of them our gratitude, so on behalf of our Alumni and the greater Crescent Family – thank you.

As we continue to grow and evolve on the Executive, I am very excited to welcome four new members to the Crescent Alumni Executive: Chris Candy ’02, D.J. Lynde ’03, Selwyn Owen ’60, and Rob Watt ’85 (P’14). Whether as an alumnus from the Dentonia era, a more recent alumnus, or a current parent/alumnus, each of them brings a unique and valuable perspective to our group. Their varied perspectives will enrich us and help further our mandate of strengthening the connections among the alumni and Crescent School. The Alumni Executive for 2010-2011 is brimming with energy, enthusiasm, and looking forward to another remarkable year. Thank you to all who have supported Crescent Alumni initiatives; I hope to see many new and returning faces throughout the year. n

2010-2011 Crescent Alumni Executive President:

Andrew Flynn ’88

Board Members: David Budden, current faculty

Chris Candy ’02

Steve Curtis ’95 (Activities Chair)

Rob Godfrey ’90

Paul Gorrie ’94 (Governance Chair)

D.J. Lynde ’03 Jay Mansoor ’92 (Communications and Marketing Chair)

Selwyn Owen ’60

Jason Steel ’93 (Mentoring Chair)

Rob Watt ’85 (P ’14) Secretary: Stephanie Lang, Manager of Alumni Relations and Annual Giving

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Alumnus of the Year – 2010 Recipients

T

he Crescent School Alumnus of the Year Award is given in recognition of chosen alums’ personal and professional achievements, volunteer service to the School and contributions to society. It honours Crescent Men of Character who embody the four core values of Respect, Responsibility, Honesty, and Compassion.

It is a great honour to announce the following Crescent Alumni as the recipients of the 2010 Alumnus of the Year Award.

Brian Lang ’87

To nominate a Crescent alumnus for the 2011 Alumnus of the Year Award, please contact Stephanie Lang at 416-449-2556 ext. 260 or slang@crescentschool.org and visit the alumni website for more information.

Bruce Burgess ’57

Brian Lang ’87: A former Head Boy, Brian now resides in the Czech Republic, where he is the general manager of Mastercard Europe and the father of four children under the age of six. Brian is a highly accomplished runner and athlete, having completed the 87km Comrades ultra-marathon in South Africa, and the 2010 Gobi March, a seven-day, six-stage, 250-kilometer footrace across the Gobi Desert of

China, placing seventh overall out of 150 competitors. This race is named as one of the world’s top 10 endurance events, with desert temperatures ranging from 10°C in the early course to 40°C in the later stages. Brian and his family are actively involved with the Giraffe Project, a charitable organization that supports local educational initiatives in some of the most impoverished communities in Kenya. n

J. Michael Smith ’87

Bruce Burgess ’57: Bruce has been a longstanding supporter of Crescent School and a champion of the Dentonia Park campus alumni. In addition to his service as a member of the Crescent Alumni Executive Activities Committee since 2004, Bruce has been instrumental in bringing together the Dentonia-era alumni, collecting archival material and organizing the annual Dentonia Luncheon. n

30

J. Michael Smith ’87: Michael currently resides in New York City with his wife and son, where he serves as a senior creative director for the storied advertising firm, BBDO. In 2008, Michael was the most awarded advertising writer in that year in the world, with accolades including Cannes Lions, Clios, and an Emmy nomination.

One of Michael’s current projects, HBO Voyeur, earned a recordsetting 10 Lion awards at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival. Several of Michael’s films are on permanent display in the Museum of Modern Art in New York. n

Martin Ritchie ’92

M

ARTIn Ritchie, Crescent alumnus from the Class of 1992, is one of those rare individuals who seems to have more hours in the day than the rest of us. As President and CEO of an independent power producer headquartered in Toronto, Tenedos Energy Corporation, and Principal and co-founder of Wallace Consulting Group, Martin’s professional life is a busy one. Tenedos focuses on renewable energy development, commercial-scale rooftop and groundmounted solar installations – a rapidly expanding industry that Martin aspires to develop in Canada and around the world.

Wallace Consulting Group is a boutique accounting firm focused on transitioning public companies from Canadian accounting

completing his bachelor of commerce degree from Queen’s University, Martin earned an MBA from the University of Toronto, followed by his CA designation, and finally a masters in corporate governance from the London School of Economics. Martin put his education to work in various forensic accounting, fraud investigation, and senior auditing roles with Ernst & Young’s Hamilton, Bermuda office, Kroll, Global Asset Management in London, England, and KPMG in Toronto before moving into the renewable energy industry and starting Wallace Consulting Group.

As a member of the Class of ’92, a tight-knit group that frequently returns to campus to play sports and catch up, Martin appreciates that he remains close friends with many

Alumni

Profile

Martin and Natalia’s daughter, Scarlett

principles to International Financial Reporting Standards by the deadline of 2011. Life on the home-front has been equally hectic since Martin and wife, Natalia, welcomed daughter Scarlett in July last year.

When he does find time for himself, Martin can be found on the tennis and squash courts at the Granite Club, participating in halfmarathons, and volunteering for the Special Olympics and Breath4CF charities.

Martin admits that finding the balance between work, family, and personal commitments is a moving target and a constant challenge. But this doesn’t stop him from setting ambitious goals and achieving them. Martin’s post-Crescent educational path illustrates his drive and ambition; after

of his former classmates. The group maintains their strong connection formed during their Crescent years, and Martin fondly remembers Crescent camping trips to Lake Placid, kayaking in Tobermory, competitive matches with the Senior Tennis Team, and his favourite English class with former teacher, Bill Pedoe. The Crescent years were happy ones for Martin, and he attributes specific values and attributes to his Crescent experience.

“Crescent instilled the importance of sports that is still with me today. Competition instils discipline and focus,” says Martin. He also credits Crescent for helping him develop an appreciation for and understanding of the arts, ethics, and character development – central to a Crescent education.

Perhaps it is Martin’s strength of character that has helped him maintain the courage and perseverance necessary to continue the deeply personal journey he pursues in addition to his busy professional life.

Martin’s wife, Natalia, confronts the ongoing challenges of living with cystic fibrosis (CF), a life-threatening chronic illness that

Martin Ritchie and wife, Natalia

can result in severe health complications.

Natalia’s battle has been fraught with ups and downs, and Martin has been a source of unwavering support. Together, they have been a stalwart team throughout her illness.

Martin and Natalia find strength and support from family and close friends, including fellow Crescent alum, Myles Slocombe ’92, to help them navigate the complications, setbacks, and fears that come with CF. After an agonizing four month wait on the transplant list in the fall of 2009, a match was found, and Natalia underwent a 10 hour, double lung transplant surgery. The transplant was a success; Natalia’s spirits and health are stronger than ever after living with this chronic and debilitating disease for 30 years. The experience has changed Martin in profound ways: it has enhanced his relationships, his view on what is important in life, and his ability to appreciate life’s small and simple pleasures.

Martin’s parting words in his graduation yearbook read “It is time to say goodbye to a school that has given me so much.” What Martin didn’t know when he wrote these words 18 years ago is how much inspiration he would end up giving back to his school.

Crescent is deeply proud of all that Martin has accomplished, and the myriad of things that he aspires to do. n

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Scott Moore ’99

Scott with his daughter, Ava, born in June 2009

Q

uite often the most interesting stories are those with a sudden or unexpected turn of events. Scott Moore, Crescent alumnus and “survivor”, had dreams of being a goaltender in the NHL when he was a young boy. As a high school student, he aspired to be a chartered accountant and eventually a business executive. Scott could not have predicted the “twist” in his post-Crescent story. After graduating from Crescent in 1999, Scott completed his HBA at the Ivey School of Business at The University of Western Ontario, making the Dean’s Honour list every year.

At Western, Scott began rowing, joining the Varsity team in his second year. Rowing, like school, was something at which Scott naturally excelled. In 2003, competitive rowing took Scott to Victoria, B.C. to train with the National Rowing Team. During the summer of 2003, he competed in the Under-23 World Rowing Championships in Lightweight 4, and placed fifth overall.

The following summer, at the Senior World

32

Rowing Championships, Scott’s team won a silver medal in the Lightweight 4, losing to Spain by only 0.19 seconds. Just as Scott was setting his sights on training for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, he made a sudden decision that considerably changed the course of his life.

Scott decided to retire from rowing, leave behind his aspirations of becoming a business professional to complete his Master of Divinity at Tyndale University College and Seminary in Toronto, with the hope of assuming the role of a pastor at a local church. What Scott was seeking was not a “job”, but rather a vocation that reflected his faith and values. During the three-year programme, Scott embarked on a number of adventures, including a monthlong trip to Tanzania to visit an HIV/AIDS initiative led by his cousin in the village of Uhambingeto, a cross-Canada bike ride in support of prison ministries, and marriage – to Kate, a neonatal nurse.

After graduating from Tyndale in December 2007, Scott joined Youth Unlimited (Toronto YFC) as North York Area Director. Scott leads a team of youth workers in the service of young people centred in low income communities, including Jane-Finch and Flemingdon Park.

Scott admits that he is very proud of his silver medal from the 2004 World Rowing Championships, but says the satisfaction he gets from helping and mentoring at-risk youth far outweighs any other personal accomplishments.

In his pursuits with Youth Unlimited, Scott understands the importance of mentoring.

“It is the loving care of adults in the lives of youth that will truly help young people reach their vast potential,” says Scott. This young minister attributes much of his selfconfidence to being surrounded by positive mentors and role models while at Crescent.

“Crescent affirms my strong belief in the importance of intentional and long-term

mentoring.” Like many Crescent alumni, Scott has his own personal reason for remaining connected to his former school.

For Scott, that reason is Robert Cranston, Scott’s former grade 4 teacher, and current Crescent grade 6 teacher. Rob Cranston (Mr. C) has been a constant source of encouragement and support for all of Scott’s endeavours and a true friendship has resulted from their connection as teacher and student. Scott has returned to campus every December for the last 11 years to celebrate with Mr. C at the grade 6 multicultural luncheon. After all the unexpected twists in his post-Crescent journey, Scott has maintained a meaningful connection to the School. In his own words, “Crescent is still family.” n

“It is the loving care of adults in the lives of youth that will truly help young people reach their vast potential.”

Scott and his wife, Kate

Alumni

Profile

Scott competing with the U-23 National Rowing Team, 2003

33

Alex Lomasney ’06

Alex Lomasney (right) and his team in Afghanistan

I

n May 2006, just prior to his graduation from Crescent, Alex Lomasney joined the reserves. He was commissioned as an Infantry Officer in November 2006, and served as a platoon commander at 4th Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment (4 RCR) in London for two years while attending The University of Western Ontario.

In April 2009, Alex began workup training for a 2010 deployment, and earlier this year he was deployed with Task Force 1-10 (TF 1-10) to Kandahar, Afghanistan.

He has kept up an e-mail correspondence with former faculty member, Doug Smith, an avid historian. Here are some excerpts of their recent communications.

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Alumni 12/22/2009

05/10/2010

Alex, please keep me up to date with your deployment and keep me in your circle of emails. It makes me feel like I am in touch with the kind of history that really matters.

Hi Mr. Smith,

My kindest regards to your whole family.

Doug Smith 12/22/2009 Thanks very much for the message Mr. Smith. It’s no problem at all for me to e-mail you (when I get the chance to write).

Have a great Christmas, Alex

Profile

I’m getting used to the tempo (and heat) here [Afghanistan] and things are quite interesting. Though I’m not allowed to explain specifics of where we are, my team and I are in Kandahar province and working with American forces at this time.

I’ve been here for about a month now and I’ve seen the work the coalition is doing. This place is a zero on the human development index but there are signs of progress.

Much of the media reporting on the war is done by people in the country who rarely, if ever, go outside the wire. Just recently I saw an article saying that the streets are bare of locals as they fear an influx in insurgent attacks. In actuality, I’m on those streets all the time and see the exact opposite. We're training the ANA (Afghan National Army) and ANP (Afghan National Police) to be a professional force and they’re making huge strides in a short period of time. The insurgents target what works and recently there has been an influx in attacks against ANSF (Afghan National Security Forces).

The people here are wary of our presence but they realize we came here originally out of self-protection and that we intend to bring humanitarian development to their communities. It sounds basic but the people here are just that – people. I'm lucky in that my job calls for a great deal of face-to-face interaction and negotiation with the locals, really a once in a blue moon experience.

The city is a lot like any normal city with a very vibrant pattern of life. My main focus is in empowering the local forces to do their job and to rub off well on the local nationals. We are concerned with the perception of security and maintaining positive control of key areas in the province. The job is dynamic, stressful and sometimes tense, but it’s very exciting and sometimes rewarding to see the results of our actions.

I find myself thinking of Crescent every now and then in my downtime and how great a place it is. I look forward to seeing some rugby games next year and I heard we're playing UCC soon – they’re done for!

Anyhow, I have to hit the gym and then I have a meeting, so that’s it for now.

Talk again soon, Alex 05/10/2010 Hi Alex, Thanks for thinking about e-mailing me.

I was speaking of you to our grade 8 students when we were in the war museum in Ottawa last Thursday. I was wondering if you'd been deployed. May I have your permission to forward your e-mails to the current grade 8 History class? They could follow you until school's out in June, at least.

I shall dedicate Crescent's first try against UCC, this Friday night, to you because no one will enjoy it more. Positive thoughts your way and thank you for doing this for our Country and for the Afghani people...

05/21/2010 Hi Mr. Smith, thanks very much for another e-mail.

I'm very proud of you!

Smitty

As much as I felt a little awkward the first time I read it, the news really did make my week. Great to hear the guys stuck it to UCC and even better to hear the attendance, that's amazing!

05/10/2010

I'll be sure to forward the email to my dad.

Sure, I have no problem with you passing on to the 8th graders, I may not be able to answer every question because of operational security but I can keep you updated for sure.

Keep in touch, Al 06/26/2010

Where I am now we get to go out every day and have a good shower, AC in the room, ball hockey court, Canadian cooks and internet to go back to, pretty sweet right now. Speaking with some of the other guys from my unit, they have it pretty bare in regards to living amenities.

Was at the Crescent Green Jacket Golf Tournament yesterday and I wondered if you golf ? If you do and when you get back Haag, Budden and I will take you out for a round. Neither Haag's nor Budden's foursomes won, some team, “said” they were 13 under par (scramble format).

Regardless, General Petraeus came by the camp and spoke to a group of about 25 of us saying where we are is the main effort of the US military for the foreseeable future – cool to be a part of. Some Brits and Aussies here too, not much of any other country though.

Keep well; you are in our thoughts and you have our gratitude.

Smitty

This summer could get very interesting for the Canadians as they're in the belly of the beast so to speak. I hear Christie Blatchford may be back out here soon, she's got some great insight on the conflict.

Up early tomorrow so I’m going to ground.

Thanks for the thoughts, Alex 05/20/2010 Alex, Last Friday, under the lights, at Crescent School, in front of about 700 (YES, 700!!) fans, we defeated UCC by the score of 10-8. Don Haag mentioned to the lads, before the game that you were on “another field, in service, but you are here in spirit” and the Senior team subsequently dedicated the first try against the blue-boys to YOU. A very happy night for all.

07/02/2010 Hey Smitty, I do play golf but it’s not pretty. Please tell Mr. Haag and Mr. Budden I say “hi” if you see them during the summer!

My guys and I are getting out every day, or every other day, and often for days on end.

If you search Tom Bowman on NPR there’s a brief sound bite from my team in it, kind of cool. The SOF (Canadian and US) are rounding up bad guys every night, sometimes we have to go clean up a mess or two but overall we’re degrading the INS’s ability to win over the population quite well. Patrolling here is like a strange mix between a Christian Children's Fund commercial and the Wall Street trading floor. Very, very poor here but still an extremely vibrant community. I think the people are starting to realize we offer a lot more than the opposition and that the GIRoA (Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan) is getting more competent as time goes on.

You are ever in our thoughts and, once again, thank you.

How’s everything on the home front, I hope TO is still standing after the meeting of the minds downtown! Why they don’t do those meetings on an isolated air force base is a mystery to me.

Please pass this on to your dad.

Smitty

Anyhow, great to hear from you as always, Al n

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Alumni university Visits Q U e e N ’ s U N I V e r s I t Y V I s I t – F r I d aY, a P r I L 9

Japteg Singh ’07, Robbie Dowler ’09, Justin Chan ’07, Jonny Ward ’07

Kevin Doe ’06, Stuart Cooper ’07

Duncan Macdonald ’09, Jonathan Norris ’07, Colin Lowndes (S), James Spencer ’09

Luc Greenwood ’06, Stuart Cooper ’06, Carter Whitehead ’06

Michael Yan ’06, Matt Pierce ’06, Kevin Doe ’06, Gordon Smith ’05

David Cronin ’09, Adrian Dingle ’09, Robbie Dowler ’09

Mo Gulamhusein ’08, Doug Smith (PS)

Adrian Heller ’06, Dave Woodruff ’07, Jack Forsayeth ’06

Gavin Muranaka (S), Robbie Mitchnick ’09, Mo Gulamhusein ’08

John Crossley ’08, Nick Studley ’08, Jamie Noskiewicz ’08, Stephen Boeckh ’09

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Dave Woodruff ’07, Nick Alton ’07, Tim MacKay ’07

Mike Robinson ’08, Mark Suckling (S)

Remi Ojo ’08, Ned Bowland ’08, Nick Alton ’07, Daniel Sadler ’07

Alumni events Spring Networking Reception – Thursday, April 22

Jerry Guo ’07, Blair Livingston ’07, Dan Goldenberg ’98

Roger Thorpe ’89, Stuart Cumner (S)

David Goluboff ’94, Doug Smith (PS)

Zaki Husain ’02, Doug Smith (PS), Chris Candy ’02

Danny Pringle ’05, Jamie Barrett ’05, Felix Lau ’05

Jeff Larcina ’03, Evan Lewis ‘03

Canadian University Mentoring Panel – Wednesday, May 5

Blair Livingston ’07, Cory Shankman ’06, Akhil Khithani ’08, George Gleeson ’08, Mo Gulamhusein ’08, Thomas Sorbara ’07

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Alumni events Friday Night Lights – Friday, May 14

Sameer Kalra ’09, Derek Little ’09, Christian Nianiaris ’09

Ethan Wolfe ’09, Paul Comeau (S), Matt Barnes ’08

Christian Nianaris ’09, Saneer Kalra ’09, Derek Little ’09, Patrick Alton ’09, Kalvin Hon ’09

Jeff McFarland ’10, Mo Gulamhusein ’08, Remi Ojo ’08

George Gleeson ’08, Derek McFarland ’08, Jeff Ballard ’08

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Pearce Jarvis ’09, Kalvin Hon ’09

Philip Lloyd ’09, Don Haag ’86 (S), Paul Joliat ’94

Josh Rotstein ’09, Jake Graham ’09

Mark Cameron ’09, Michael Bolton ’09, Daniel Cameron ’09

Chris Galt ’09, Benjamin Murray ’09, Mike Robinson ’08, Phil Williams ’09, David Williams gr.11, Harry McCallum ’09, Patrick Alton ’09

Dentonia Luncheon – Friday, May 14

Andrew Flynn ’88, Bruce Boyle ’61, Mark Baines ’70

William Greer ’37, Douglas Matthews ’37

William Greer ’37, Joe MacBrien ’38, Edward Saunders ’37, Douglas Matthews ’37, Sandy Stewart ’38

Geoff Roberts (S), Hugh Thom ’59 (P’92,’95)

Christopher Dew ’51, Fred May ’53

Dentonia Alumni, Spring 2010

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Alumni events Welcome to Alumni BBQ – Monday, June 14

David Lay, David Im, class of 2010

Don Haag ’86 (S), Colin Lowndes (S), Andrew Flynn ’88, Paul Joliat ’94

Gaby Weitz, Jonathan Szwec, Matt Bloom, class of 2010

Jonny West ’10, Doug Smith (PS)

Alex Rasmussen, Alex Mirkalami, Matt Tompkins, Gaby Weitz, class of 2010

Rob Blair, Matt Schwartz, Matt Park, class of 2010

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From the Archives tHe HIstOrY OF tHe (LadIes’) gUILd

O

n May 27, the Crescent School Guild held its final, and rather bitter-sweet, meeting, before merging with the Crescent Family Committee into the new Crescent Parent Association. The Guild leaves behind quite a record of involvement, support and contribution to the welfare and success of the School over the years.

Seventy-one years earlier, on May 2, 1939, 31 Crescent mothers had attended a meeting at which a working committee of 12 was set up “for the purpose of forming a permanent organization among the ladies. A general meeting and an election of officers will follow.” At that second meeting, on June 9, in the Great Hall of Dentonia Park and after being welcomed by the Headmaster, Walter Williams, and addressed by the Chairman of the Board, Fraser Grant, those present drew up a constitution stating that membership in the Ladies’ Guild be open to mothers, wives, sisters or friends of past or present Crescent boys. Mrs. Fraser Grant was elected President along with five Officers, an Executive Committee of seven, and seven Form Representatives.

In 1940, Mrs. Grant entertained at her home on Highland Avenue in honour of the Ladies’ Guild, with over 75 in attendance – an impressive total given that the School’s enrolment was a mere 100 at that point.

Later that year, Mrs. B.B. Osler assumed the Presidency, and the Ladies’ Guild played a role during the second World War, supporting a War Savings Scholarship Fund, and coordinating the collection of “ditty bags” (of gloves and socks, etc.) for the troops.

Despite these encouraging beginnings, for reasons now lost to history, interest quickly waned and nothing further was apparently undertaken on this front until November 1957. At that time Mrs. K.G. Ridgeway, a Crescent mother and member of the Board of Governors, undertook to form a Ladies’ Committee, but the initiative was unsuccessful.

By the 1970s, with the move to the Bayview Avenue campus and expansion into the high school grades, there was renewed interest. Jean Cowperthwaite, wife of the Chair of the Board of Governors, circulated a letter and proposal to the other wives of Governors in February of 1971, and in June the unofficial launch of a new

Mrs. Fraser Grant, 1st President of the original Crescent School Ladies Guild, Headmaster Walter Williams, Fraser Grant, Chair of the Board of Governors. 1939

organization, at a fundraising cocktail party, attracted 238 people and raised $750. The following October saw the initial meeting of the new Crescent School Ladies’ Guild (CSLG) in the School gymnasium, with the 70 members present being addressed (as in 1939) by both Headmaster Chris Gordon and Board Chair Gordon Cowperthwaite.

A detailed constitution was adopted, and an executive of seven was elected with Mae Macmillan being declared president.

luncheon, a bridge evening, a raffle, a casino night, a BBQ and dance. Of particular note were several Spring Party and Art Shows, under the leadership of Elizabeth Tytler, drawing almost 500 guests and raising approximately $7000 a show especially the year in which parent John Turner displayed his newly acquired Winston Churchill painting, Mimizan. The CSLG also collected Dominion Store tapes, and provided refreshments on parents’ nights.

It was formally stated that the CSLG “exists to aid the welfare of Crescent School… with emphasis upon the spiritual, social and physical environment of boys at the School, and to further a congenial atmosphere among parents and friends of the School.”

There was talk of a School prayer, a flagpole, and a used clothing and sports equipment sale each September. A gift to the School – the first of many – of $500, was made for acquisitions to the Library.

Each year between $500 and $5732 was donated to the School: to the Library, to the Ladies’ Guild Bursary and to the annual Faculty Wish List. The necessary funds were provided for a flagpole, trees, a universal gym, musical instruments, a computer and overhead projector, the yearbook, dining room furniture, stage curtains for Hyland Hall, the JW James and the Susan Denton Massey Awards on Prize Day, and the Ladies’ Guild Effort Prizes. Given this degree of involvement and contribution, and a constantly growing membership numbering over 200 by the end of the decade, it was proposed that the President of the CSLG should have a seat on the Board of Governors. But, the all-male Board would not adopt this suggestion for some years to come.

During this initial decade of the new CSLG, its members were active. A Recycle Shop was established in the basement of the old mansion with parent Ingrid Milic being instrumental in its early years. In 1976 the Ladies’ Guild Effort Prizes were first awarded, and two years later the first Crescent Quill (a twice yearly newsletter of information for school families) was published, Various social and fundraising events were held: a

Progress continued during the 1980s. By 1984 there were 363 members, although membership fees grew from five to $10 and

41

From the Archives then to $15, or $40 for a life membership. The constitution was updated in 1986, and the Executive was expanded first to 10 and later to 25 members by 1987. Monthly meetings of the Executive were held, with the Annual General Meeting and luncheon taking place either at the Granite Club or Rosedale Golf Club each spring. A wide range of activities provided an annual income of $24,810 in 1980 and $79,401 by the end of the decade.

And the members of the CSLG were busy!

There was now a profitable New Shop, selling crested clothing and other items, as well as the Recycle Shop, in the school’s basement.

The Crescent Quill continued to be published twice yearly, and the telephone committee was also active in communicating news of upcoming events to the parent body. There were bridge nights, a cookbook, fashion

Green and White”, and then “Playing the Field” at the end of the decade. Crescent’s 75th birthday party in 1988 also involved the CSLG to a very substantial degree. As previously, the results of all these efforts flowed back to the School. Amounts ranging from $3,112 to $43,620 were donated each year to bursaries, the Library, and the Faculty Wish List. During the 1980s, the CSLG provided funding for landscaping, furniture for a student lounge, athletic banners, coach lamps for the courtyard, the birthday book programme, and equipment for the art, drama, music, French, computer, science, and guidance departments. In addition, $30,000 was provided to the Crescent 2000 Fund in 1988, just as $2,500 had been given to the Crescent Completion Campaign in 1976.

Meetings were held in the school Library, and membership was now automatically extended to all Crescent mothers with their son’s sundry account billed for the annual dues. Four years later, in the 1997/98 school year, the CSLG was renamed the Crescent School Guild, the same year that both the Lower School Halloween Party and Middle School Madness began. The Quill ceased publication early in the decade. It was replaced replaced by Past and Present, which ceased to be a CSLG publication after a year or two. A new Guild information newsletter, The Courtyard, first came out in 1999, as did a formal Mission Statement, although the purpose and goals of the organization had always been clearly stated in the various constitutions. As well, and in addition to the events which had been

For the past 40 years, the Crescent School (Ladies’) Guild has been one of the great strengths of the School – active and involved, generous and helpful.

1997-1998 Guild Executive

shows, a BBQ and casino night, lotteries, a theatre night, Christmas and Valentine’s parties, grade teas, spring and Christmas plant sales, a basketball evening, a university information night, a CPR course, Cocktails at Crescent, and Dining Around the World.

There were the beginnings of the fall Welcome Back week-end, and refreshments at Sports Day and at other School events.

There were formal dinner dances, such as “A Night to Remember” in 1983 (the first, with over 300 attending), several of “The

42

The 1990s saw continued growth and involvement. In 1990 the first Garage Sale was held, netting a profit of $6,774, and the second cookbook, What’s Cooking at Crescent, was published. That year also saw the Board of Governors, in response to a renewed suggestion by the CSLG, accept a representative of the Guild as a Governor.

The following year, the first of several annual Book Fairs took place, as did the first annual Coat and Boot Drive. In 1993 a new constitution was adopted, Annual General

established in the 1980s, the Guild and its volunteers (up to 150 in any given year) also sponsored educational evenings, volleyball nights, teacher appreciation days, Carol Service receptions, camp fairs, women’s golf tournaments, international evenings, and both formal and casual dinner dances.

From these efforts, each year a substantial sum, ranging from $29,770 to $69,237, was donated to the School. Of particular note was the $50,000 given to the Future is Waiting Campaign for the Science and Technology Wing, and the $40,117 funding of the Faculty Wish List in 1995.

The past decade has witnessed even greater growth and generosity. The Coyote’s Den (until 2000 the Guild Shop) continued to expand its operations in new and much improved surroundings. By 2008, the Guild

sponsored, operated or contributed to 23 separate events during the school year, including such new activities as Coffee in the Courtyard, Lower School Bingo night, and Outreach programmes, as well as all those carrying over from previous years. Each year of the decade the Guild contributed between $55,000 and $155,000 to the welfare of the

School. By 2007, it had contributed $1,500,000 over the years since 1971. The Library has received $122,376 and $125,650 has been given in student bursaries. By the time the programme ended in 2005, the Faculty Wish List had received $485,332 for a wide variety of academic needs. The John Tansey Fund has been given $123,459 this decade, while the Above+Beyond Campaign for the Centre for Creative Learning received $120,000.

Community Outreach has been granted $55,446 since 2005. $20,000 was donated in 2007 for restoration of the historic log cabin, and $59,203 was spent on the playground. A Guild Prize Day Fund, with a substantial endowment, provides for six major prizes each year, in addition to the many Guild Effort Prizes awarded.

Of greatest significance is the outstanding

$400,150 contributed between 2006 and 2009 to the Guild Centennial Scholarship Fund.

Clearly, the Crescent School (Ladies’) Guild has had an impressive history. For the past 40 years, it has been one of the great strengths of the School – active and involved, generous and helpful. As is said of royalty, “The Guild is dead. Long live the Guild,” as its important work is carried on as part of the new Crescent Parent Association. neil CamPbell, aRChiVist

Thank you We would like to thank the following people for their significant donations to the archives: Cam Anspach, class of 1959 John Turner, class of 1978 stephen harper, former faculty

CRESCENT SCHOOL

ALUMNI GIVING PROGRAMME Honour your Crescent experience with a gift today!

Visit alumni.crescentschool.org to make a secure gift online.

For more information on ways to support Crescent School, please contact: Stephanie Lang, Manager of Alumni Relations and Annual Giving 416-449-2556 ext. 260 slang@crescentschool.org 43

Life After Crecent

Life after Crescent

Ross Kerr ’91 and wife Sarah welcomed daughter Lauren on June 9. Lauren is welcomed by big brother Andrew, and big sister Rachel.

Rob Burridge ’69, son of former Headmaster Bill Burridge, recently retired from his position as a Supervisor of Facilities for the city of Toronto, and is now enjoying having the time to travel.

Brian Lang ’87 recently completed the 2010 Gobi March, a seven-day, six-stage, 250-kilometre footrace across the Gobi Desert of China where he placed seventh out of 150 competitors. This race is named as one of the world's top 10 endurance events, with desert temperatures ranging from 10°C in the early course to 40°C in the later stages.

Ian Connacher ’89’s documentary, Addicted to Plastic, has been broadcast in 15 countries, has won numerous awards at international film festivals, and is now available at rental outlets. This success has led to a lecture series at American universities (www.crypticmoth.com).

Ian has returned to freelance producing for television and is happy to announce he is engaged to be married.

Michael Ellison ’89 married Rachel in Ottawa on September 27, 2008. They welcomed their first baby, a little girl named Carys Stella Ellison, on September 9, 2009. After eight years in Ottawa’s high tech industry, Mike left his position as Director of Partner Development at N-able Technologies and now works at Canada Revenue Agency, where he manages corporate and leadership programmes for the agency’s 5,000 managers and executives.

44

David Thom ’92 Congratulations to David and his wife, Melissa Arbuckle, on the birth of their son, Christopher Ray Thom, a little brother to Aden.

▲

Malcolm Berry ’91, his wife Laura, and son Graham were thrilled to welcome Meredith Grace Gardner Berry into their family on April 6 at Mt. Sinai Hospital in Toronto.

▲

Struan Robertson and Drew Szandtner, class of 1991, returned to Toronto this summer to visit their fellow alumnus Ross Kerr ’91. It was a special visit because Struan and Drew have been living in Thailand and Australia, respectively, for approximately 10 years.

Ariel Vinizki ‘92 and Erin Miller will be married in Toronto on October 10, and are living near High Park. Ariel is a Group Account Director at Maclaren McCann, where he leads the Xbox account and recently launched the Cloud 649 campaign for LOTTO 6/49.

David Bruser ’95, a reporter for the Toronto Star, is the winner of a prestigious National Newspaper Award for investigating reporting of the plight of Canadian soldiers returning from service in Afghanistan.

Alex Quinn ’96 has been named the newest Fulford Junior Research Fellow at Somerville College in the UK. He presented his research at the Heart Rhythm Society Scientific Sessions in May. Alex has completed half of his postdoctoral fellowship and will start to look for faculty positions for the fall of 2011. Alex and his wife Renae are expecting their first child in September.

Robert Stewart ’97, documentary filmmaker, has had an exciting spring.

His film, Sharkwater, recently premiered in Hong Kong. Rob is working on several projects, including his next documentary which will see him travelling for most of the year.

Greer Pedoe ’98 has finished his first year of teaching mathematics and computer science at I.E. Weldon Secondary School in Lindsay, Ontario. Last year he taught mathematics at Fenelon Falls Secondary School.

Brett Bergmann ’00 and his wife, Beth, are moving to the United States as Brett will be starting his MBA at Ross Business School at the University of Michigan this fall.

Brett is leaving his job at McCain Foods but will continue to run TravelHangar, the travel company he started while at university. Brett is stepping down from the Crescent Alumni Executive where he has served as the Chair of the mentoring committee for the past two years.

Cyrus Zahedi ’00 is enrolled in the MBA programme at Western’s Richard Ivey School of Business.

Amaan Ismail ’03 is working as a Programme Officer in the Partnerships and Donor Relations Unit at the University of Central Asia (UCA) in Khorog, Tajikistan.

He plans to return to North America early this fall.

Hussein Jaffer ’04 recently returned home to Toronto as he was accepted to the University of Toronto Medical School, starting this term.

Benjamin Langer ’04 completed a masters degree at the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies in Israel, a programme that brings together Israelis, Palestinians, and International students to study environmental issues and peace building. Ontario Premier Dalton Mcguinty visited the Institute at the end of May to tour the solar energy facilities, as Ontario, is pursuing alternative energy strategies.

Will Chyr ’05 is living in Chicago, working in the global marketing department at an advertising agency, Leo Burnett. In his spare time, he has kept busy with a variety of balloon projects. He does not foresee any sculpture exhibits in the near future, but Will has been invited to participate in a few fashion shows, fundraisers, and, of course, birthday parties.

Jonathan Prinsell ’06 is enrolled in the sports management programme at Syracuse University. This spring he completed a semester-long internship in corporate partnerships with Kroenke Sports Enterprises (Pepsi Center) in Denver.

Vitali Bourchtein ’07 is in New York City working in investment banking at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

Jeff Ballard, Haley Mann, Ben Hawkins and Evan Reiter, class of 2008, are starting their third year at Western’s Richard Ivey School of Business.

Remi Ojo ’08 is studying chemical engineering in the biochemical/biomedical stream at Queen’s University with future ambitions of pursuing pharmaceutical technology. Remi is a striker on the Queen’s Varsity Soccer team.

45

Class of 2010 university Placement In Ontario:

Other provinces:

United States:

University of Western Ontario ............... 22 Queen’s University ................................. 13 University of Toronto ..............................8 Wilfrid Laurier University ........................5 Guelph University....................................4 University of Waterloo.............................3 Brock University ......................................1 McMaster University ...............................1 Ryerson University...................................1

McGill University ....................................5 King’s College .........................................2 University of British Columbia.................2

Boston University ....................................1 Bowdoin College......................................1 Columbia University ................................1 Massachusetts College of Pharmacy .........1 Parsons The New School for Design ........1 Princeton University ................................1 University of Miami ................................1 Wayne State University ............................1 Wake Forest University ............................1

C O m I N g

s OO N

.

.

Overseas: Chinese University of Hong Kong ............1 London School of Economics ..................1 National University of Ireland, Galway ....1 University of Bristol .................................1 University of Edinburgh...........................1 University of Sheffield .............................1

Gap year: 5

.

Our 100th Anniversary!

To commemorate this special

100 Years of Educating Boys 1913-2013

event, we are writing a book to celebrate Crescent’s stories, its characters, and the historical locations that have all contributed to our unique place in the independent school landscape and the history of Toronto.

Author, Neil Campbell, invites you to be part of this memoir by sharing your anecdotes, photos and memorabilia. In particular, we are looking for material from the 70s, 80s and 90s.

Material that is not used in the book (perhaps due to space constraints, for example) will be valued nonetheless, and catalogued and held in the Crescent School Archives.

We need to record your memories!

46

Please contact Mr. Campbell at ncampbell@crescentschool.org

Crescent school’s upcoming events 2010-2011 SEPTEMBER

Tuesday 21 Wednesday 22 Thursday 23 Friday 24 Saturday 25 Tuesday 28

US Curriculum Evening MS Curriculum Evening LS Curriculum Evening House Day Coyote Kickoff and Alumni Homecoming, Alumni Dinner Transition to University Evening

OCTOBER

Thursday 7 Monday 11 Friday 15 15-17 18-24 Thursday 21 Tuesday 26

Bidiak Basketball Challenge Thanksgiving Faculty visit to Western CAIS national senior soccer tournament CAIS national U13 soccer tournament Careers Night Lower School Halloween Party

NOVEMBER

Tuesday 2 Thursday 11 12-15 Wednesday 17 Thursday 18 Thursday 18 Friday 26 Saturday 27

Middle School Madness Remembrance Day assembly Midterm break Holiday Sale Cocktail Party Holiday Sale Downtown Alumni Networking reception American Thanksgiving Mentoring Panel FIRST Lego League Competition

DECEMBER

1-3 Tuesday 7 Thursday 9 Thursday 21 17- January 4

US drama performance LS Winter Celebration MS/US Winter Celebration Alumni Holiday Reception Winter break

FEBRUARY

Wednesday 2 Thursday 3 Thursday 3 9-11 Thursday 17 18-21 Saturday 26

Past Parent Movie Night NYC Branch Reunion U13 CAIS national basketball tournament MS Drama performance Alumni mentoring event Midterm break U10/U11 CISAA basketball finals

MARCH

11-25

March break

Black events are of most interest to current families Grey events are exclusive to alumni Green events are of interest to the entire Crescent Family

CRESCENT SCHOOL’S MISSION:

Men of Character from Boys of Promise CRESCENT’S CORE VALUES:

Respect, Responsibility, Honesty, Compassion 47

In Memoriam



Margaret Ann Green 1946 – 2010

Maggie Green ‘P 94 passed away in April after a lengthy battle with breast cancer. During her son Alex’s time at the School, Maggie was a committed and energetic Crescent volunteer culminating with a term as Guild President in 1992-1993. Maggie’s husband Chris served on the Crescent Board of Governors from 1985 – 1993 and was Chair from 1998 – 1990.

Maggie leaves her husband, son, a daughter Natalie, and three grandchildren.

Members of Maggie’s Madrigals fundraising team in CIBC’s Run for the Cure, October 2000.

From left: Judy Bell (P’95,’98), Heather Spinks (P’98,’01), Maggie Green (P’94), Joan Riley (P’98), Joy de Werth (P’96), Mary Jane McAskile (P’97), Dagmar Dunn (P’97)





Maggie will be missed at the Board Dinners, Guild Past President Luncheons and special events which she and Chris continued to attend until very recently.

Barbara Lynn MacDonald 1954 – 2010

Barb, wife of Head of Lower School, Ross MacDonald, passed away on May 30 after a 9 month battle with cancer.

Barb and Ross were involved with Crescent since 1978 when Ross started on staff. Their three sons, Jamie, Scott and Jeffrey, grew up attending many Crescent Family events.

Many people who knew Barb socially knew that she was a devoted wife and mother – very proud of her family’s many accomplishments. Few ever found out that Barb Barb and her three sons on a recent family trip to Paris. had an extremely successful professional life as well.

From left: Jamie, Jeffrey, Barb, Scott Barb worked as a paediatric occupational therapist at the Hospital for Sick Children since she graduated from University of Western Ontario in 1978. She also worked once a week with the Zareinu Nursery School, an early intervention programme for physically challenged children. Barb ran a private practice out of her home, improving the quality and enjoyment of life for so many children born with physical challenges.

Last year, she and a friend started a programme giving physically challenged girls a chance to learn ballet. This class will continue to run in her memory.

48

Thank you ...

2009-2010

Dono r

R e p o r t

Men of Character from Boys of Promise

The 2009-2010 Donor Report will be available online in October 2010. At that time, please visit the Green Room to view Crescent School’s thank you to all of our generous donors.

Contact: John Lynch, Chief Advancement Officer, at 416-449-2556 ext. 242 or jlynch@crescentschool.org for further information.

CRESCENT SCHOOL

alumni reunion

CresCent sChool and the CresCent alumni exeCutive invite you to a CresCent sChool alumni reunion This year we recognize the classes of 1975 • 1980 • 1985 • 1990 • 1995 (pictured) • 2000 • 2005 Please join former classmates, faculty and friends on Saturday, Sept. 25, 2010 from 6 to 9 p.m. in the Centre for Creative Learning for a fantastic party back on campus RSVP to Stephanie Lang at slang@crescentschool.org or register online at http://alumni.crescentschool.org

Introducing

our

Newest

Alumni

Class of 2010

Return undeliverable Address Blocks to: CResCenT sChOOL Communications/Marketing 2365 Bayview Avenue Toronto, ON, Canada M2L 1A2 www.crescentschool.org

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