Crescent School | 2365 Bayview Ave. Toronto, ON M2L 1A2 | 416.449.2556 | www.crescentschool.org

Volume 16 Issue 1 September 21, 2012

HIPSTER COOL AT CRESCENT SCHOOL

Before the start of our centennial year, the only man you saw in a bow tie at Crescent School was Mr. Lowndes, and

every once in a while, a father at School social events; in reality fewer than five per cent of men wear bow ties.

But bow ties (and we aren’t talking clip-ons), like banjos, are cool again—representing a great combination of brains and daring, and that hipster element that seems to be visibly en-trenched at College and Ossington.

But thanks to the work of Centennial Events Coordinator and past parent Alison Metrick, and with the input of this year’s Prefects, the bow tie became the Grad’s centennial tie—and only by chance! And what a great result a simple turn of events (resulting from an uncontrollable circumstance) has had.

For the approximately 700 students at Crescent, new neckties to commemorate the centennial year were designed, and a plan was in place for a first day of school full-school distribution.

Earlier in the year, during the planning stages, and design con-sultation, Mr. Lowndes mentioned that students in the past have asked about bow ties as an option, and then made a sug-gestion that this be considered.

A decision was made to order 100 bow ties, along with the neckties for the student body. Creating a centennial bow tie was a go, the neckties were a go—and the order was placed.

But there was a problem. When the ties were delivered the week before school started, the order was short on neckties. As it turned out, there were not enough neckties for all 700

students—there were only 640, but there were 100 bow ties. Everyone panicked.

But, as the Prefects started to organize the tie distribution—by Lower School, Middle School and Upper School, and then by class or mentor group—an idea was floated.

Perhaps the bow ties could be distributed to the Grads only, and like the blue blazer, would become an emblem for the year.Mr. Lowndes and the Prefects conferred; a decision was made:

the bow tie would become the “Grad tie.” With a quick lesson on how to tie one (delivered by Mr. Lowndes with the help of Head Boy Jack Hayward), the Grads were ready to make a fashion statement, and to have everyone at the School admir-ing their stylish swagger.

And if that wasn’t all, cardigans will soon be available in the Coyote’s Den. That is if there is enough demand. As a result of careful consideration, a design has been agreed upon, after grade 12 students Ben Ger and Jeffrey Carlin brought the idea to the Uniform Committee last year.

The cardigan will be available in the Coyote’s Den in January if there are enough orders placed beforehand to justify produc-tion of a new uniform item. Approximate cost will be $50.

At its conclusion, the story on how this year’s Grad Class end-ed up looking so cool and retro in their centennial bow ties is half the fun. Is this look American collegiate? No, it’s Crescent School hipster cool.

2 Men of Character from Boys of Promise

FACULTY NEWS

In October, Mr. Michalski and Mr. Craig will be challenging their cycling skills and legs, by biking 120 kilometres a day for eight days, in a cycling relay from Toronto to Austin, Texas, in support of Wellspring Cancer Foundation. The relay will leave

Toronto on the 12th of October and—barring flat tires, sore thighs and tornados in Kansas—arrive in Austin on the 19th.

Founded in 1992, Wellspring is an innovative and growing network of community-based cancer support centres that collectively offer over 50 different programs. Wellspring provides support, coping skills, and education, at no charge and without need of a medical referral, to individuals and family members living with cancer.

The cycling will be a physical challenge, but Mr. Craig and Mr. Michalski also face a fundraising challenge. To be a part of this exciting but difficult ride, each cyclist must raise $10,000 for Wellspring. In an effort to raise the $20,000 needed, Mr. Craig and Mr. Michalski are organizing a Crescent community hockey marathon for the night of Saturday, Nov. 17, from 6 – 10 p.m. They are looking for Crescent parents, students, alumni and staff, from all skill levels, to sign up for a fun-filled night of hockey. The cost per player is a $100 donation to Wellspring, and participants will get three to four games of hockey, a hockey jersey, food and a chance to win some prizes.

In order to signup (and slots may fill up quickly) please get a flyer/registration form from Mr. Michalski or Mr. Craig, or email one of them at gmichalski@crescentschool.org or pcraig@crescentschool.org for more information.

If you are not a hockey player, but would still like to help with a donation, please go to www.wellspringride.ca and click on the Sponsor a Rider button. You could also drop into the Wellspring Westerkirk House at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre to see what this wonderful organization is all about.

Cycling & Skating for Cancer Support

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CPA NEWS

THE CRESCENT PARENT ASSOCIATION—Parent involvement adds soul to our School

The CPA (Crescent Parent Association) is a broad, diverse community of parents engaged in a wide variety of activities. Some activities support the

School directly, others support our community at large, and still others support the parent community itself.

At a school with 702 boys, there are over 500 Crescent parents involved in some way. This rich parent involvement adds tremendous soul to our School, and we encourage you to come out and be a part of it. There are a myriad of opportuni-ties for involvement at Crescent—literally something for everyone.

For those considering a full year commitment, there are opportunities to help as a Grade Parent, to work in the Coyote’s Den, or to volunteer in the Margaret Donnelly Library. For others, who prefer events requiring a shorter burst of com-mitment, there are opportunities to be on a committee, or to help out at specific events like the Holiday Sale, the Garage Sale, the Lower School Halloween Par-ty, or the Annual Parent Luncheon, to name a few. Even if you only have an hour or two to offer the School this year, it is worth coming out and getting involved.

The benefits of coming to the School to lend a helping hand are many. Meeting other parents and feeling engaged with your son’s school helps you feel connect-ed as a parent. The more connected you feel with Crescent, the more connected you will feel with your son’s experience at the School.

Additionally, this is a unique and exciting year to be involved at Crescent. The Centennial Celebration will add an extra special element to everything we orga-nize this year.

Please have a look at the CPA volunteer section of the Green Room and find something that appeals to you. We have much to offer, and look forward to welcoming you to the CPA team so that you too can enjoy being a strong part of the soul of this school.

—Mary Wellner, CPA President 2012/2013

SCHOOL SUPPORT

House Day Volunteers

Coyote Kickoff Volunteers

Lower School Library Volunteers

Parent Ambassador Program

COMMUNITY BUILDING & SOCIAL EVENTS

Grade Parent Program

Coat and Boot Drive (Outreach)

Lower School Halloween Party

Annual Parent Luncheon

Staff Appreciation

FUNDRAISING INITIATIVES

Coyote’s Den

Holiday Sale

Garage Sale

Magazines and Gift Wrap

Birthday Book Program

CPA EVENTS AND PROGRAMS

Mary Wellner, CPA President

4 Men of Character from Boys of Promise

SCHOOL MESSAGES From the Lower School

For many of us, the start of school is the real start to the new year (apologies to New Year’s Day). I am so pleased

with the way the boys and the Lower School families have transitioned back into the routines, schedules and demands of school life. We are off to a great start!

This year, in his message to the boys at our full school assem-bly, Geoff Roberts called upon all of us to take the time to savour the moment, and to appreciate mistakes as an es-sential ingredient of the learn-ing process that points us to success.

I would like to share some thoughts for you to consider on boys and learning from Andrew Fuller, a presenter at the International Boys’ School Coalition Conference I attended this summer in Melbourne. The conference, entitled Unearthing Creativity made it clear that creativity needs a backdrop of organization to thrive—much like the analogy of being an overnight success after 10 years of hard work.

Repositioning what it means to be successful, especially as we talk to our boys about improving their learning, was rooted in individual goal setting. For example, it is Mr. Fuller’s experi-ence that is more effective to ask a boy to set a reasonable goal

for themselves, than to hold “perfect” up as the ultimate goal. For example, if a boy has never played basketball before, his first goal might be sinking seven out of 20 baskets. When he can do that, he is ready to set another goal. If boys can think about success as not always being 100 per cent, then the stu-dent has the motivation to try, to risk, and to improve. He es-

poused positive self-talk: “Fall down seven times and get up eight,” and “There are eight billion people in the world, why let one ruin your day?”

As we travel through this year, let us try to allow our boys to set goals for themselves; appropriate and attainable goals that give them the self-confidence to try, to risk, and to pick themselves up and try again. Let’s measure success in terms of learning and improve-ment not only in the number of A grades they achieve.

In the long run, I believe our boys need the grit and resiliency skills being talked about so much in the news, the moral cour-age, and Crescent’s values of respect, responsibility, honesty and compassion, to succeed. Last, but not least, they need their school and their families to support them through their “not perfect” journey.

—Dr. Boyes, Head of Lower School

We speak the same language but we don’t speak the same language.

As we do most summers, my family and I headed back to Scotland. My Dad is the youngest of many—all working class Scots. They allegedly speak English. I took my kids round to visit one of my uncles on our arrival.

“Jings laddie, wit a braw pair o’ gutties, yer no’ half lookin’ like yer auld boy.” (Readers: your answers on a postcard addressed to my office if you know!)

My son, with a desperately blank look on his face, was left to

interpret what was just said. My uncle is a little gruff and, to the uninitiated, pretty intimidating. Behind that exterior however, he is perhaps the loveliest man you’ll ever meet—he’d make your top three for sure. My son may not have had a clue what had been said to him, but he trusted my uncle, and so was happy to follow along safe in the knowledge that all was good.

My wife is Canadian and we lived for seven years in England prior to coming to Canada. One evening we attended a func-tion hosted by my boss at the time, a man who mentored me through my early years in teaching.

It was quite a fancy function. At one stage in the evening my

From the Middle School

5Men of Character from Boys of Promise

wife publicly complimented him on his fancy new pants. The room went a little quiet as I gently explained to Sue that pants in the UK means underwear. Thankfully Sue was close with my boss and his wife, and much laughter and teasing ensued.

When I first came to Crescent I had a very heavy accent, which was difficult to understand. I taught grade 4 and had a brilliant year; that class graduated from Crescent just last year. Daryl Yu sat at a table right next to where my desk was, and in the early weeks I was always asking him for favours:

“Could you pass me a pencil, pal?”“Could you show me where the books are, pal?”“Could you remind when recess is, pal.”

After about three weeks, and yet another request, he said, “It’s not a problem sir, but my name is not Paul.” Thankfully we had built a good relation-ship, and so the misunder-standing was nothing more than that. It was a proud mo-ment when Daryl came to tell me last year that he was going to Durham University in the UK (one of my alma maters) to become a doctor.

If you are reading this you are the parent of a boy in early ado-lescence, and perhaps more than any other time in your life, you will be able to say, “We speak the same language, but we don’t speak the same language.”

Supporting our boys during this time, when they are desper-ately seeking to be independent young men, is a vital tightrope for us to walk—and having the discernment to understand

their language is so important.

I could write an essay on the things our boys say and what they can actually mean. Sometimes when our boys say they don’t want to do something, they are actually scared of doing that thing, however, sometimes they just don’t want to do it.

Sometimes they are overly sensitive and sometimes they un-derstate and hide deep hurts. Sometimes when they say “fine” they aren’t, but most times they are. Sometimes they say hurt-ful things when in fact they are feeling hurt.

I have no real answers for how to get this right as a parent, but I do know that your role, in partnership with school, is vital. And I do know that we will get it wrong sometimes. Our Mentors are endeavour-ing to walk the same tight-rope with their mentees here at School.

Learning to speak our boys’ language is likely something we will never fully attain but building trusted relationships

is something we can do: Relationships that acknowledge their insecurities without feeding them, that allow them to fail with-out allowing all their confidence to be lost, that build resil-ience whilst acknowledging there are times when its OK to be scared. All of this means that even when we occasionally miscommunicate, all can be well.

I just asked my wife what she thought about my theme of speaking the same language but not speaking the same lan-guage. She replied that I should be an expert on that... hmm.

—Mr. Young, Head of Middle School

This has been a truly exhilarating start to the school year, with all the centennial events through the first week, and

then of course the excitement of BEAR Week. In the middle of all this wonderful energy, I want to remind students and parents of one particular basic expectation that has not changed. Ac-cordingly, I’ll repeat the message that I deliver each year at this time, both to the boys and to parents:

This week marks the beginning of Modified Wednesdays in the Upper School. I reminded the boys in Assembly that these days are, in fact, not “short” days but modified days—students

in grades 9 – 11 should not be leaving early. We believe that it’s important, especially for boys, to have at least one period in the week that provides some physical activity, or at least repre-sents an alternative to one more period of sitting at a desk. We have a range of activities available:

Athletics: In light of the fact that less than half of our stu-dents each year continue in Health and Physical Education beyond grade 9, we strongly encourage some physical activity on Wednesdays, either on a School team or through the intra-mural program.

From the Upper School

continued next p.

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SCHOOL MESSAGES

At Crescent, we encourage students to get involved with the school and take part in all facets of student life throughout

their school year. Crescent provides many opportunities rang-ing from business to robotics to the arts.

One co-curricular option available to students is the Business Team (Mr. Muranaka, Mr. Stephens, Mr. Haag) which is a co-curricular team focused on increasing students’ knowledge of business beyond what is taught within the classroom. This year, the business team is focusing on three main areas:

• The first area of focus is DECA, a large, North America wide high school business competition which consists of a written test and a presentation which tests students’ knowledge of the world. Students can compete in various categories such as food marketing, and sports and entertainment.

• The second area of focus is Case Competitions. Last year, Crescent hosted the first Invitational Business Case Compe-tition and was geared towards more complex cases that you would see in university level, introductory business courses. This year, the business team will be attending three case com-petitions including one at the Ivey School of Business.

• Finally, the last area of focus is the Investment Club which is a new initiative this year. Students will be managing a portfolio of stocks competing with the S&P/TSX 60. This club is primar-

ily aimed towards serious business students who want to take what they have learned beyond the classroom.

The next co-curricular activity available to students is Model UN (Ms. Efimov). Students can attend up to three Model UN conferences each year in Montreal and Toronto. These confer-ences essentially run like the actual meetings of the United Na-tions. Students are divided into a number of committees such as the Security Council and are asked to represent a country. This unique opportunity gives students a chance to understand the foreign and domestic policies of other countries and at-tempt to create and pass resolutions in response to current is-sues.

If your son is interested in photography, media arts and design, or journalism, then he might be interested in joining the Year-book committee or The Voice. The Yearbook committee (Ms. Maksimowska, Ms. Cooper) is ultimately responsible during the year for creating and designing the School’s yearbook. The Voice (established by Communications Prefect Spencer Belyea) is our student run, produced, and written newspaper. Students can submit articles about nearly any topic ranging from sports to commentaries on school life, or can assist with the layout and design of the publication.

In the Upper School, students have Modified Wednesdays where they participate in sports team practices, rehearsals

From the Upper School continued

OutreAch: We also make available local outreach experiences with Firgrove and Willow Park schools that are active and hands-on. These programs, which involve tutoring and other activities with elementary school children from high needs schools, are well-established and provide a truly mean-ingful experience for our boys. We also offer an outreach op-portunity doing volunteer work with Right to Play.

Arts And clubs: Debating and Model UN, as well as Yearbook and the School newspaper often meet on Modified Wednes-days; the cast and crew of the play are working, bands are re-hearsing, and there is a lively chess and strategy games club. Last year we even had an “urban dance” club that we can con-tinue if there’s interest.

Contrary to the notion of some boys, there is no “Homework Club.” As I stated earlier, the whole philosophy behind Modi-fied Wednesdays is to get students out from behind a desk for

one period each week to do something more “hands on” and active.

As you can see, there is a wide range of activities that pro-vide an enriching school experience while complementing the classroom. The overwhelming majority of our students wel-come the opportunity to participate—as a change of pace, as a chance to be active and engaged, and as an opportunity to socialize and have some fun.

If you find your son coming home early on Wednesdays (we can’t guard every door in the school, and boys who are de-termined to flee will find a way), I hope that I’ve given you some talking points for an important conversation with your son about getting actively engaged in our School. If the intrin-sic value is insufficient incentive, these programs offer great material for resumes and statements of personal experience for university applications.

—Mr. Lowndes, Head of Upper School

continued

A REVIEW OF ALL CO-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES (other than sports)—THERE ARE A TON!

7Men of Character from Boys of Promise

From the Summer Olympics in Lon-don, to New York’s Wall Street, the

summer had lots of fruit for discussion in the world of ethics and character. One of the beautiful things about the Olympics is that it still holds onto some of its origi-nal ideals of sportsmanship.

Examples of character often focus on what not to do, and highlight the bad in sport and society. But Canadian sprinter Jared Connaughton gave us a fine exam-ple in the most difficult of circumstances. Jared stepped on the line in the 4x100 metre final, and his Canadian team was disqualified; stripped of a bronze medal.

It took a lot of courage, at an incredibly emotional time, to own up to his mis-take, and take responsibility for costing his team the bronze.

Another example is that of Costa Rican Leonardo Chacon, when his Olympic dream ended. When Canadian Simon

Whitfield crashed his bike in the triath-lon (accidentally taking out Chacon), instead of being enraged by his elimina-tion, Leonardo thanked Whitfield for his contribution to the sport.

These great examples were juxtaposed with several stories that highlighted ethi-cal lapses in the world of finance; HSBC was under investigation for money laun-dering, and Barclays was in the news for the Libor investigation.

The story I found most interesting how-

ever, was the Freeh report: the summary of the former FBI director’s investiga-tion of the Penn State scandal.

The trustees hired Judge Louis Freeh to assess where the institutional failures may have occurred, and to recommend strategies for the future at PSU. The findings were highlighted by Freeh’s comments that the scandal was a failure of the organization’s values, and in order to positively shift the culture, he recom-mended that PSU implement an ethics-based model.

In Parenting for Character, Tom Lickona writes that it is important for adults to search out examples of the behaviour that we want our children to emulate. We can’t leave it to them to figure out. Fortunately, this summer provided many great examples to share with your son.

—Mr. Dubrick, Director of Character and Leadership

for the play, or clubs in the afternoon. Two of the clubs avail-able on Modified Wednesdays are the Debating Club, and the Chess and Games Club. The Debating Club (Ms. Efimov) is fairly straightforward, it runs during the Winter Term and Spring Term, and students debate about various topics. At the chess and games club (Mr. Pintilie), students get to play logi-cal/strategy games, such as chess. It is a perfect club for anyone who likes intellectual challenges, and wishes to sharpen their analytical and problem solving skills.

Another co-curricular activity available to students is the Ro-botics Team (Mr. Lim, Mr. Morrison, Mr. Grant). Each year, the team builds a fully-functioning 120 lb robot in six weeks that is designed to play a certain game. For example, last year, the robot had to play basketball. And, as a fact, it can shoot better than most NBA players. Students can specialize in vari-ous areas of the team including administration, design, electri-cal, and strategy. However, it is important to note that dur-ing the six weeks that the robot is built, students commit on average 20 hours a week in order to meet the deadline. It is a huge commitment; but the team’s hard work has paid off con-sistently with numerous awards and recently a top 20 finish at the world championships.

Finally, students can participate in the Arts throughout the

year. The first major aspect of the arts is our music ensembles (Mr. Crone). The Upper School has four core ensembles: Jazz Band, Symphonic Band, Stage Band, and String Ensemble. These ensembles rehearse in the mornings or after school and culminate in performances at Winter Celebration and Coffee House. The bands are open to any students who play an instru-ment, and Mr. Crone, Head of Music, will find a way to include you even if you play an unconventional instrument. Last year, we had a student who played the ukulele participate in our jazz band.

The other major aspect of the arts is the theatre (Mrs. Latimer-Kim, Ms. Porteous). We are truly fortunate to have this great state-of-the-art theatre to house our dramatic productions. This year, the Upper School will be mounting Arthur Miller’s classic Death of a Salesman. Auditions for the play just ended, but students are still welcome to assist with the tech crew, be-hind the scenes, whether it be helping with the set or learning about the lighting and sound systems we have in the theatre.

Crescent has a wide variety of activities other than sports, and I encourage all students to take advantage of this, and try something they may never have tried before. Your son may be surprised about what he discovers about himself.

—Kevin Chien, Arts Prefect

CHARACTER CORNER

Many of our grade 11 students participated in the Eco Challenge. In its fifth year, this challenging three day adventure race in north-west Algonquin Park pits House groups against each other in a multi-stage completion involving canoeing, portaging, bush crashing/orienteering, construction of a debris shelter, travel with a student-constructed canoe-based raft, and mountain biking. The race concludes at the Glen Bernard Camp where students take a hot shower, sleep in cabins, and enjoy some delicious food.

While each group has a qualified guide and a Crescent teacher with them, the emphasis is on student leadership and initiative. The boys agree that the race isn’t easy; that’s why is called the Eco Challenge, not the Eco “walk in the park.”

—Mr. Jansen, Upper School Faculty

great pictures!

The grade 9 class (in all four pictures) was lucky enough to spend their week in a campground on Whitefish Lake in

Algonquin Park last week for BEAR Week. The site has special significance to the Ojibwa people and the boys had the for-tune of being schooled in native lore by a renowned spiritual leader.

Every boy had the opportunity to spend time in a tradition-al Ojibwa sweat lodge that was heated with stones—called grandfathers—that had spent many hours in a fire. In addi-tion to the sweat lodge, the boys paddled around the lake in 16-foot canoes, went on a hike on a nearby trail led by a park naturalist, and worked in groups of eight in 29-foot voyageur canoes.

That was not the only group experience the boys had: in their

Houses, they also set up tents, collected firewood and lit fires to cook their meals. Everyone wanted to eat, but that was not the case with meal preparation and clean up… even so, the boys all took turns and shared the duties equally.

The warm sunny weather made it feel like summer: the water was warm, which meant they could all swim and there were no complaints when a canoe tipped over and threw the occupants into the lake (with life jackets on, of course). Even though the weather turned cool and rainy on Friday, the boys all packed up their gear, and they continued to work together as they went on a scavenger hunt on the lake.

All the boys thoroughly enjoyed their BEAR Week experi-ence... where else could they see Mr. Lim without a tie?

—Mr. Mason, Upper School Faculty

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