Dictionary Thesaurus Word Dynamo Quotes Reference Translator Spanish

Crescent School

Crescent School, established in 1913, is an independent boys school located in mid-town Toronto, Ontario, Canada. A recent addition in 2008 to the school's facilities is two artificial turf playing fields.

The student body consists of approximately 670 male students who are divided, by grade, into three separate schools: Lower School (grades 3 to 6), Middle School (grades 7 and 8) and Upper School (grades 9 to 12).

Each school is governed by a Head and an Assistant Head, but all are overseen by the Headmaster, Mr. Geoff Roberts and Deputy Head, Mr. Colin Lowndes.

In its 2001 report on Ontario schools, the Fraser Institute ranked Crescent number one out of 568 in academic performance, an honour shared with 17 other schools.

Crescent School’s Mission Statement: Men of Character from Boys of Promise.

Crescent School’s Core Values: Respect, Responsibility, Honesty and Compassion.

Character Education is an important component to the school’s foundation, using its mission statement and core values to guide students academically and socially in both curricular and co-curricular settings.

Lower school

The Lower School accommodates students from grades 3 to 6, and the average student:teacher ratio is 18:1 for students in grade 3, and 22:1 for students in grade 4 to 6. There are two classes per grade, with eight total classes totaling approximately 168 Lower School students. The Head of Lower School is Mr. Ross MacDonald; the Assistant Head of the Lower School is Dr. Sandra Boyes.

Middle school

The Middle School, for students in grade 7 and 8, has a student:teacher ratio of 23:1. There are three classes per grade, with six total classes in the Middle School for approximately 140 students. The Head of Middle School is Mr. Mark Hord; the Assistant Head of Middle School is Mr. Michael Ruscitti.

Upper school

The Upper School, for students from grade 9 to 12, has maximum number of students per class of 24. The Head of the Upper School is Mr. Colin Lowndes, and the Assistant Head is Mr. David Budden.

Upper School students have the opportunity to become House Captains (see The House System below) in grade 11, and Prefects in grade 12. Prefects make up the student body government and the Head Boy, elected by Upper School students and Crescent staff and faculty, is considered to be the face of the student body.

School Leaders

Headmaster: Geoff Roberts

Deputy Head: Colin Lowndes

Head of Admissions: Chris White

Head of Academics: James Wright

Head of Upper School: Colin Lowndes

Assistant Head of Upper School: David Budden

Head of Middle School: Mark Hord

Assistant Head of Middle School: Michael Ruscitti

Head of Lower School: Ross MacDonald

Assistant Head of Lower School: Sandra Boyes

House system

Every Crescent student and staff is a member of one of the school's six Houses: Cartier (grey), Hudson (yellow), Mackenzie (light blue), Massey (navy blue), Simcoe (purple) or Wolfe (red). Each House is named after a prominent figure in Canadian history. A student's membership in a House is determined at the time of his admission to Crescent, and he is a member of that House for his entire life. While at the school, a student represents his House in everything that he does and earns House Points for every contribution he makes in the classroom, on the athletic fields, on the stage or in any other co-curricular activity. As students build House Points, they collect House Awards that recognize his contributions to the school. Special House days and House activities are planned throughout the year.

Academics

Crescent’s Upper School currently offers Advanced Placement

(AP) courses in human geography, computer science, statistics, calculus AB, English literature, French, Spanish, biology, physics, chemistry, European history, microeconomics and macroeconomics.

Athletics

Crescent teams include basketball, hockey, baseball, track and field, rugby, volleyball, badminton, tennis, swimming, soccer, skiing, table tennis, snowboarding and cross country.

The school has a longstanding record of success in both CISAA and OFSAA During the 2006-2007 school year, Crescent's athletes won 12 CISAA Championships and the school was a finalist in 20 Championship games.

In 2007 Crescent's Rugby Team came second at the National Rugby tournament and in 2008 they came third.

Many teams travel across the country and play in various locations and events.

Co-curricular programs

Robotics

Since 1999, Crescent has been involved with the FIRST Robotics Competition , a North America-wide competition in which professionals and young people are teamed together to solve an engineering design problem in an intense yet cooperative way. In 2003, the Crescent FIRST Robotics Team won the regional Chairman's Award in recognition of the contribution it has made to the field of Robotics.

Outreach

Crescent's Outreach initiative emphasizes local, national and international opportunities that take an experiential learning and community service approach. Crescent School has many growing outreach projects in Toronto and around the world. In Toronto, Upper and Middle School students can participate in a tutoring program where they tutor students at two Toronto elementary at-risk schools.

Other local projects students work on range from planting trees, collecting food for food banks and making quilts for disaster victims.

Internationally, Crescent's students can opt to travel to areas in need to help dig wells, build libraries and tutor children in English.

During the 2007-2008 school year, students had the opportunity to participate in outreach projects going to South Africa, Honduras, Tanzania, China and India.

Duke of Edinburgh's Award

Last year, Crescent students were awarded 16 bronze, five silver and three gold level awards in this prestigious international program that fosters self-discipline, enterprise and perseverance in young people. The Duke of Edinburgh's Award involves comprehensive individual development, self-training and personal achievement, and is based upon individual effort and improvement.

Admission

Grade 3: 36 new students are accepted
Grade 4: 8 new students are accepted
Grade 7: 28 new students are accepted
Grade 9: 24 new students are accepted

Notable alumni

Christophe Beck (1987), composer
David Harlock (1989), NHL and Olympic hockey player
George Hees (1922), Member of Canadian Parliament
Evan Solomon (1987), Writer, author and television personality
Rob Coleman (1983), Animation Director, Industrial Light and Magic
Trumbull Warren (1924), aide-de-camp to Field Marshall Sir Bernard Montgomery
Ian Strachan Johnston (1919), one of the most decorated Canadians of World War II
Peter O'Brian (1928), served for two years as aide-de-camp to Queen Elizabeth II
Brad Crombie (1988), gold medal at the Commonwealth Games and an alternate for Canada at the 1996 Olympic Games
J.R. Brickman ]], Founder of Brick Brewery
Neil Lumsden (1971), professional football player
Rob Stewart, Director of Sharkwater
Jonas Geiger, Vice President Operations, Furniture by Dovetail
Kevin Abrams, Assistant General Manager of Super Bowl Champion New York Giants.