Even though the second term has just started, we are al-ready well on the way in planning the next academic year.

It will soon be time to let us know whether or not your son(s) will be joining us in 2013/2014. It is time for re-registration.

You may remember from last year that the process is now completely electronic. On Monday, Jan. 28 you will receive an email with a link to the online forms which you must com-plete, and then arrange payment options in order for us to ensure that there will be a space for your son at Crescent in September. You will only have a two and a half week window in which to complete your forms and forward payment to the School.

Crescent has been extremely fortunate in that we continue to have a very healthy admissions outlook. More and more families are looking to Crescent as the school of choice for their sons. We are also blessed with an extremely low attrition rate. We thank you, our current families, for this success. Your referrals and great testimonials are spreading and our admis-sion numbers are very strong—more boys of promise than ever are knocking at our door.

For our Admissions Office, however, this is a mixed blessing. We strive to offer an appropriate number of students admis-sion for the 2013/2014 school year. In order to do this (on

the independent school’s common admission offer date of Friday, Feb. 22), we need to know exactly how many spots we will have available at each grade level.

This is where re-registration comes in. We currently know how many new spots there are at each grade level. The great unknown is the few spots which become available when fami-lies must relocate, or for other reasons move their sons out of Crescent. We would like to have accurate numbers so that we can make offers to all of our top candidates in the first round. The independent school admissions arena is so competitive that we may not get a chance in round two.

We will be asking that the re-registration forms and initial payments be completed by Wednesday, Feb. 13 so that we are able to optimize the offer process the following week. We will send you email reminders throughout the two and a half week window, and encourage you to set aside a half hour to complete the process sooner rather than later. There will be contacts listed in the email to assist you should you have any questions or concerns.

Please mark the due date of the13th of February in your cal-endars!

—Chris White, Director of Admissions and Financial Aid

keeping parents informedVolume 16 Issue 6 January 18, 2013

CRESCENT SCHOOL | 2365 Bayview Ave. Toronto, ON M2L 1A2 | 416.449.2556 | www.crescentschool.org

RE-REGISTRATION: STARTS THE 28TH OF JANUARY

ANNUAL PARENT LUNCHEON• Takes place on Tuesday, Feb. 12 at noon at the Granite Club.• A wonderful way to connect with Crescent friends, and meet new

parents at the School.• Parents are seated by grade.• Speaker Margaret Wente, Editorial columnist for The Globe and

Mail, will discuss: Boys will be Boys, and Why Society Won’t Let Them.• Purchase your tickets through the Green Room.• Please park at Crescent.

We look forward to seeing you there!

2 Men of Character from Boys of Promise

NEWS FROM ADVANCEMENT

Parent Annual Giving is an admirable tradition at Crescent, made stronger

by the added impetus to the Great Boys campaign. On January 28, parents will receive the 2013/2014 re-registration package via email, and with it, an invita-tion to support Parent Annual Giving.

With tuition covering the cost of opera-tions, funds raised through Parent An-nual Giving have contributed to many special projects over the years. The Field House, the CCL and the Bayview Av-enue traffic light are enhancements that exist thanks to the generous, charitable support of parents and the Crescent community.

For the life of the Great Boys campaign, Parent Annual Giving supports the $30 million campaign goal. With the fundraising total now reaching $22 mil-lion, the 2013/2014 Parent Annual Giv-

ing campaign will be more important than ever. In order to break ground on the new Library in June this year, 60 per cent of the $13 million Library and Commons project cost, or $7.8 million, must be raised by April, so as to allow adequate preparation to commence con-struction in June. If construction does begin then, the Library and Commons will be completed by September 2014.

Reaching the campaign goal, and the immediate need to break ground on the Library, will take the commitment of all families at Crescent.

The suggested Parent Annual Giving do-nation amount is $2,000 per son at Cres-cent, and we are asking families to con-sider doubling or tripling that amount in order to meet the Great Boys goal. Many families have also made a one-time ma-jor gift or a multi-year pledge. More

than 100 families have pledged $50,000 or more, with 53 of those pledging $100,000 or more. All gifts are welcome, and will assist us in reaching our goal.

Your one-time or monthly gift to Parent Annual Giving, or a multi-year major gift pledge, will ensure the construction of a much-needed, 21st century Library, and enhanced university counselling and student services in the Commons. Let’s work together to see these new buildings take shape as soon as possible at Crescent. Your son, and all Crescent students, stand to benefit.

Look for your re-registration package via email on January 28. For questions regarding Parent Annual Giving or the Great Boys campaign, please call Jill Palm-er, Director of Advancement at 416-449-2556 x288 or email jpalmer@crescentschool.org. We are appreciative of your support.

WATCH FOR ELECTRONIC DONATION RECEIPTS

Crescent’s Advancement Office has replaced its paper charitable tax receipts, and will now be issu-ing electronic receipts by email.

When you make a gift (online, by phone or by mail) an e-receipt will be issued. Paper receipts will continue to be issued for those who specifically request them, and to those for whom we do not have an email address.

For any questions about e-receipts from Crescent School, please call Lizz Armstrong in Advancement at 416-449-2556 x265 or via email at larmstrong@crescentschool.org.

RE-REGISTRATION: YOUR TIME TO GIVE

3Men of Character from Boys of Promise

The names below speak volumes about the amazing commitment and generosity of the Crescent family. The names num-ber in the hundreds, and this is just the parents and past parents who volunteered. There were also friends, neighbours,

siblings, alumni, grandparents, staff and students who enthusiastically assisted in the events which took place during the Fall Term. But what is absolutely incredible is the number of volunteer hours represented by the people on this list; it is well into the thousands! That is time taken from work, family life, hobbies and relaxation to help out at your son's school. Think of the man-hour money this represents at even minimum wage!

As an organization, Crescent is blessed with an unparalleled generosity of time and talent by its constituents. We are extremely grateful for everything our volunteers do to help us provide the best possible educational environment for our young men. Thank you!

Thanking Crescent's Parent Volunteers

Board of GovernorsBill Fielding—ChairBryan Kerdman—Vice ChairMichael Donnelly Sam Duboc Andrew Flynn ’88 Jane Freund Barry Gordon May Lee Kate Lisus Stuart Raftus David Sculthorpe Glenn Shyba Gordon Stein Paul Tompkins Amanda Walton Mary Wellner Andrew Williams ’83 Bill Young

BOARD COMMITTEE VOLUNTEERSBarb BlackGavin HiggsGreg RudkaJanet GriffinChris Sexton

FoundationDIRECTORSBarry Gordon—ChairMichael Donnelly Bob LivingstonNancy MacKellar

Jason Melbourne W. Ian Palm Jonathan Pollack Tim Wiggan

Centennial CelebrationsDiana AllionNancy BakerFrancoise BrownCatherine CarlSebastien CentnerIvy H. ChanElaine Chan KoFlorence ChapmanIngrid Faber SteinLori FisherElizabeth FlekeiJulie ForkanJane FreundNancy FullertonFiona GeorgeLisa Gnat BuckVivian GreenbergCindy HalperinToba HamersfeldKaren HardieKaren HollandSharon HudsonMichele JaquesElizabeth KennedyIrene KouSylvia KwanAllyson LandyKatherine LisusCarol Lloyd Pinnington

Wendy MandelbaumAlison MetrickLaura Metrick StennSharon MillerStephanie PaikinK. Ann PearceAngela PottsSamantha RakusinNatasha RockandelGraham RotenbergValerie SalvatiShannon SchneiderJody ScotchmerKrissy SmithAlison SmithMatilda Sos MavroudisWendy SouthallJulia ThomsonTina Wiebe CarlAndrea WolffNancy WrightCharlotte YoungsonMelinda Sanderson Kirby

Coyote KickoffElizabeth Kennedy—ConvenorDiana AllionRachel JamesIrene KouRita MokSusan SilmaAmanda WaltonAnn Williams

CPACOMMITTEEMary Wellner—President Tara Borg—Vice President Anne Marie Mayne—Past PresidentLynn Porter ZechnerMaria DavidsonSylvia BaumannLaurie FooteJennifer Ferguson

4 Men of Character from Boys of Promise

Ivy H. Chan Sheila CentnerElizabeth KennedyFlorence ChapmanSally-Ann Main

COFFEE IN THE COURTYARDIrene Kou—ConvenorSylvia BaumannSheila CentnerElizabeth KennedyMary Wellner

COAT & BOOT DRIVEElizabeth Kennedy—Convenor Diana AllionTara BorgEva HuiPatricia McLeanCarolina MelisShonda PierceAriane TeubnerMary Wellner

COYOTE'S DEN Jennifer Ferguson—ConvenorPam Binns—Used Uniforms Diana AllionDeborah BellFrancoise BrownAnne ConlinChristine CorolisHillary CummingJean DavidsonCatherine DemeroutisDaryl ErdmanIngrid Faber SteinSharon FieldingRegan FitzpatrickSheliagh Flynn JamesDomenica GanguliMichelle GillWendy GordonVivian GreenbergElizabeth Anne Hersen

Sandra HigginsMegan HillKaren HollandNina JainMichele JaquesKendall KilburnAllyson LandyHelén LerbergCarol Lloyd PinningtonSara MarinoCarolina MelisHedieh MousapoorAndrea MurnaghanCaroline MurphyChantelle NadolnyCarol PortTina RileyAlexandra RisenMargot RobertsNatasha RockandelDonna SauntrySilvia ShibuyaAnn StewartCarrie StinsonSujatha (Sue) SundaramAnne Marie TompkinsMarci Trachter ShaneAyca UzumeriLora ValoppiAmanda WaltonKaren WeiszTina Wiebe CarlShannon WigganAndrea WolffPam YoannouAmanda YoungLauren ZhanJessica Zufferli

GRADE PARENTSTara Borg—ConvenorDeborah Bell (Liaison)Sheila Centner (Liaison)Lori Fisher (Liaison)Natalie Williams (Liaison)Sherrie BerduscoKathy BesseFrancoise Brown

Carolyn ChristodoulouJoelle CoronaClare DavenportMichelle DeBresserFiona GeorgeVivian GreenbergRitu GuptaKaren HannafordHelen KlassenHelén LerbergNita MajorAnita MasonCarol PortJennifer Roberts LoganCee Cee RobertsonValerie SalvatiShannon SchneiderSusan SilmaSujatha (Sue) SundaramNicole SwadronNicole SwalesAnne-Marie TompkinsTina Wiebe CarlLouise Woollcombe

HALLOWEEN PARTYJoelle Corona—Convenor Kelly Haskins—ConvenorKristina BatesSylvia BaumannTara BorgSheila CentnerClement ChengMatthew ChengAndria CoppaNancy ElliottSheliagh Flynn JamesJennifer Frankfort

Michelle GillLisa Gnat-BuckIrina GrossDana HeitnerGeorge JamesNina KachuraJulie LawChantelle NadolnyAndrea NewellCatherine O’Brien ScarlettSamantha RakusinCee Cee RobertsonLaurie RobinsonCamalita SinghMichelle SkurkaRenee StouteJean SyKaren WeiszTina Wiebe CarlShannon WigganJessica ZackheimLi ZhouJessica Zufferli

MAGAZINE, GIFT WRAP & PLANT SALETheresa Burke—Convenor Kathy BesseSheila CentnerLaurie FooteDanna HeitnerKendall KilburnChristina Turner

HOLIDAY SALELaurie Foote—Convenor Alison Smith—ConvenorDiana AllionKristina BatesSylvia BaumannSara BellamyTara BorgLisa BoydLoraine BurtRita CaporiccioCatherine Carl

5Men of Character from Boys of Promise

Bordeaux ChanFlorence ChapmanChia Hui ChengDiana CliffordCatherine CodeAndria CoppaLisa DaleMaria DavidsonBeth FoleyArleene FowlieFiona GeorgeWilla GerlingsNadine GilchristWendy GordonMardi GrantVivian GreenbergWilla GriffinDenise GuerriereDanna HeitnerKaren HunterGeorge JamesMichele JaquesNina Kachura

Carmen KondratKaren KornovskiKar Hing KungJennifer LambertJulie LeBlancBrad LimpertIvy LitChristine LomaxDoris LooYing MaJill MacCurdyLiza MarkAnne Marie MayneNicole McBurneyMary Helen MehtaCathy MeyerGouri MukerjeeLaura Nadalini BayerTori NewallRebecca PardyShonda PierceTracey RaftusSamantha RakusinShaki RavindranCee Cee RobertsonLaurie RobinsonMeme SetoSusan SilmaCamalita SinghMatilda Sos MavroudisAndrea StephenNicole SwalesKaren TangJulia ThomsonGrace Hoi Sze TsangAmanda WaltonLea Anne WattMary WellnerTina Wiebe-CarlShannon WigganAnn WilliamsAndrea WolffPam YoannouMary Jane YuleAlison Reid

Den Table

Pam Binns

Francoise BrownChristine CorolisJean DavidsonSharon FieldingSheliagh Flynn JamesDomenica GanguliMichelle GillSandra HigginsMegan HillCarolina MelisHedieh MousapoorCarol PortCarrie StinsonMarci Trachter ShaneAyca UzumeriJessica Zufferli

PARENT AMBASSADOR PROGRAMFlorence Chapman—Convenor Nancy BakerChia Hui ChengAnne ConlinMichelle HaywardMay Wah LauMary-Martin MorrisMeme SetoHelen-Claire Tingling

PAST PARENT PROGRAMSharon Fielding—Convenor

PARENT EDUCATION PROGRAMSally Ann Main—Convenor

MARGARET DONNELLYLIBRARYDomenica Ganguli—ConvenorBordeaux ChanSheliagh Flynn JamesJennifer FrankfortFiona GeorgeIrina GrossValerie KirkconnellRegina Kuo-LeeCherry LeeIvy H. ChanChandika MakanjeeHollie ShapiroLi Zhou

Lower SchoolChoirAnne ConlinElizabeth Hersen

AthleticsCarol PortKaren HollandLori FisherHelen LerbergRobert MontgomerySheila Centner

6 Men of Character from Boys of Promise

From the Lower School SCHOOL MESSAGES

On Monday, Jan. 7, the staff and faculty returned to school one day ahead of the students in order to participate

in professional development activities. Apart from grade and subject and curricular meetings, the Lower School faculty was fortunate to have a workshop with Dr. Debra Pepler of York University. Dr. Pepler is a Distinguished Research Professor, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Health, at York and is a co-director of PrevNet, a national network designed to “promote healthy relationships for all Canadian children and youth.”

The purpose of our session was to review with Dr. Pepler, the most current and supportive strategies to promote healthy re-lationships with boys in the elementary grades. I thought it would be interesting to share some of the key components we learned from Dr. Pepler’s wisdom.

There are several guiding principles to understanding the so-cial-emotional development of students at this age. One of the strongest motivators for students between ages of 6-13 is to have friends and belong in a peer group. This is a driving force behind most of their behaviour, and can be stronger than al-most any other force in play.

Self-regulation skills are the key to healthy relationships, at this age, and beyond. Parents and educators of children in Grades 3-6 are afforded a perfect time to develop these skills. (Where am I going? What do I need? Did what I just said (or did) make the situation better or worse? Make the other person feel bet-ter or worse? What could I do to make this situation improve? How can I help?... and so on). This is a lifelong process, where missteps/mistakes form the building blocks of learning. At school, making expectations clear within a supportive environ-ment allows us to reinforce the high expectations of our core values consistently and work with our boys to reflect upon the relationship choices they make with an eye towards making better choices in the future.

Relationships are by their very nature organic, requiring the development of sophisticated “radar” to interpret the fluctuat-ing emotions of others. This is where the “mentoring” work of our teachers provides such a valuable learning opportunity for our boys: we can observe the boys as a group and with them develop positive strategies to suit their personalities.

Crescent School is fortunate also to have specialists teach cur-ricular Drama, so important life skills like “role play” are for-mally taught.

Our curricular athletics program is also helpful here: specific

skills and themes are introduced in our Health classes:Grade 3: Friendships Grade 4: OrganizationGrade 5: Relationships Grade 6: Leadership

Outside of the traditional classroom, it is one of our co-cur-ricular goals for our teams to provide an environment to coach and compete with character.

We were reminded that it is common for boys in these grades to, at times, test issues of power in all aspects of their lives. This results in both positive and negative social outcomes, es-pecially as the boys seek to find a “home” or peer group in which they feel they belong. Guiding the boys to identify the strengths of their peers, supports a school culture where ev-eryone knows that everyone is good at something. In the same way the boys identified the ways in which they are smart with the multiple-intelligences surveys at the start of the year, really getting to know the boys in their form/grade builds identity, community and belonging.

Dr. Pepler advocated having specific class meetings devoted to guiding the boys to develop their own, age appropriate language to use to stop “chirping” or any behaviour that has crossed the line. The language can be developed for the victim and for the bystanders, and, once established, can be used by any boy as needed.

Ultimately, Dr. Pepler advocated celebrating the potential in each boy, so that the benefits of the positive behaviour that builds healthy relationships becomes a stronger pull than the negative power gained from unhealthy relationships.

Working with Dr. Pepler was a wonderful way for us to begin the Winter Term and we will continue our work to support the emotional and social growth of our boys.

—Dr. Boyes, Head of Lower School

7Men of Character from Boys of Promise

Lionel Messi just deservedly won the FIFA’s World Player of the Year

award for the forth year running. It has never been done before. He is the big-gest thing in the planet’s biggest sport. Messi is a skinny five foot seven, acutely shy, very private man. He rarely gives in-terviews and after every home game he retreats immediately to his house on the beach where he walks his dogs; his par-ents living next door to him.

As a 12-year-old he was asked to attend Barcelona’s famed soccer school. At 12, he was even smaller and shyer than he is today, prone to tears and withdrawing… and he is Argentinian, so he wasn’t just being asked to move around the cor-ner. But it is said that he just loved to play soccer—I mean he loved it, adored it, carrying his ball everywhere, always ready to play, it consumed him and it was fun for him—and the prospect of going to the best academy in the world, and playing soccer, was enough for him to manage to overcome his painful shyness.

So what happened between then and now that has allowed Messi to grow to be man who still seems to be the same as he always was, but has the depth of self assurance, the inner steel, that you surely need to handle the immense pressures of life as the best player in the world. How does a scrawny wee man, who looks the farthest thing from an elite athlete, take on the best, and beat them again and again, and with such unique genius that you laugh with joy when you watch him. It defies logic.

Firstly, he remained in love with soccer. The Barcelona school understood what he was and fed it, and he lapped it up. You don’t need to know much about soccer to see that Messi plays the game today much the same way as you would

play it as a boy on the street with your friends. He is all tricks and flicks, he does thing fast and with no obvious care about the conventions of the game—he just want to attack. And rumour has it he still carries his ball to training. Do you remember how you viewed a challenge when you looked at life like that, when you adored what you did? You didn’t

even see the challenge as a challenge but something you looked forward to taking on—it was fun.

Secondly, he was understood, he was believed in. No one at Barcelona school tried to change his personality, but rather his coaches worked with it. But neither did the school excuse him from the jour-ney. He played the games where he got kicked the whole match, he was dropped when he played poorly, he received good grades and bad grades but all the while he was believed in, his gentle spirit was known. He was not changed; he was de-

veloped. He learned to be strong within the framework of who he was.

The next couple of terms take us into the business end of the year, and it can feel bumpy for our boys. They think about grades and interpret success in all man-ner of ways. They worry about their peers and relationships. They want to be

themselves but doubt themselves at the same time; they will receive all manner of advice and guidance.

My hope for our boys as 2013 begins is that they know they are understood and believed in and remain who they are, that they develop rather than change. And more powerfully, that they find a way to love what they do and that therefore the challenges that come their way look ex-citing, not daunting.

—David Young, Head of Middle School

From the Middle School SCHOOL MESSAGES

1. Kevin Chien, Grade 12 151. S. Whittaker Lee, Grade 12 153. Warfa Jibril, Grade 12 133. Max Lui, Grade 10 135. Chester Davison Grade 12 11

5. Nicholas Lao, Grade 12 117. Nicholas Mehta, Grade 12 107. Jorgen Wong, Grade 12 107. Quinton Yau, Grade 12 1010. Sean Chung, Grade 11 9

10. Jake Fisher Grade 11 910. Jack Hayward, Grade 12 910. Winston Xing, Grade 10 9

MATH LEAGUE RESULTSThis year’s third Math League contest was held with a very impressive participation of 36 students.

Here are the current top 13 overall standings for this math contest:

The Math League is a great way not only to improve in math, but to also find enjoyment in solving problems. The fourth Math League contest took place on January 14—look for updated standings in the February issue of Crescent Times!

In terms of House standings, Cartier is taking the lead with 64 points. The three leading Houses are:

From the Upper School SCHOOL MESSAGES

As we enter course selec-tion season, I want to

talk about one of the more striking changes that we have noted, and that has oc-cupied some significant in-ternal thought and focus at Crescent: the increasing im-portance of second language acquisition.

Traditionally, throughout the States and Canada, in gen-eral, second language edu-cation has not received the same emphasis as in Europe or Asia. Historically at Cres-cent, about half of our stu-dents would drop a second language as soon as possible, which is at the end of Grade 9, and our experience in not unusual.

However, over the past few years this has begun to change and the momentum is accelerating. A brief excerpt from the admissions material of a representative American Liberal Arts College: “The typical entering first-year student will have had four years each of English, foreign language, mathematics, so-cial science and three to four

years of laboratory sciences.” Similarly, some of the more selective programs at Cana-dian universities, particularly professional faculties, have started to recommend a sec-ond language, along with in-creasing their emphasis on exchanges abroad. Anecdot-ally, I was talking with a vis-iting young alumnus just be-fore the Winter Break; he is in a highly regarded Canadian undergraduate business pro-gram. We were talking about his exchange to France and he emphasized how valuable the French program at Crescent was in terms of the quality of his experience on the ex-change.

Universities and schools—including Crescent—are re-sponding to the realization that the world in which our students will need to work is becoming increasingly com-pact and complex. Familiarity with other cultures, together with at least an awareness of the basic structures of the language, if not fluency in a second language, are increas-ingly prized by employers

and recognized as valuable for success.

In recognition of this real-ity, we have added Manda-rin to our language offerings and have been working to strengthen and broaden our programs in French and Span-ish. We have worked hard, and have been very fortunate, over the past few years to at-

tract and hire talented, young language teachers, and we are working closely with them to provide the best possible ed-ucational program. As always, our focus is to do all we can to position our boys to thrive in a rapidly evolving landscape.

—Colin Lowndes, Head of Upper School

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The Crescent School2365 Bayview Avenue

COURSE # To Be DeterminedTest 1 Sat Feb 9 9:00am-1:00pmClass 1 Thu Feb 14 5:30-8:30pmClass 2 Thu Feb 21 5:30-8:30pmClass 3 Thu Feb 28 5:30-8:30pm

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1. CARTIER: 64 Points 2. MASSEY: 60 Points 3. HUDSON: 58 Points