Introducing the Crescent Diploma

“The quest to the Crescent Diploma has been many years in the making. It helps answer the question, ‘What differentiates our academic program?’”—Nick

Recent curricular and programmatic changes are enhancing Crescent’s academic experience. And soon, the Crescent Diploma will signify that students have met our enriched academic requirements, demonstrated the character qualities that underpin our Portrait of a Graduate, and were fully engaged in community life.

On October 25, Deputy Headmaster Nick Kovacs introduced the Crescent Diploma at a Parent Assembly. “The quest to the Crescent Diploma has been many years in the making,” says Kovacs. “It starts with the Ontario curriculum but layers depth and breadth unique to Crescent. It helps answer the question, ‘What differentiates our academic program?’”

The Crescent Diploma is symbolic of a well-developed Man of Character equipped to positively impact our world. The diploma rolls out for Grades 3 and 7 this year and next year for Grade 9. Many curricular and programmatic enhancements are already in place and benefitting Crescent students today.

Modern and Future-Ready Knowledge

Crescent has enriched the curriculum in two important ways. The first is by modernizing the content from traditional subjects, e.g. data science as part of mathematics, healthy relationships and consent as part of health education, and public speaking as part of the performing arts. The second is making room for new future-ready subjects like computer science, personal finance, psychology, and sociology, and topics such as artificial intelligence, coding, digital literacy and emotional intelligence.

Character-Infused Education

Crescent has always been a character school. What’s new is the deliberate, systematic, evidence-based approach to teaching and assessing character competency. Crescent is one of the world’s first schools to integrate and develop evidence to demonstrate character competency across its curricular and co-curricular programs. “It’s one thing to say, ‘I want to teach a certain character quality,’” says Kovacs. “It’s entirely another to embed the teaching of a character quality deliberately and consistently, and provide students with feedback on their progress in demonstrating it.”

Signature Experiences

The final component of the Crescent Diploma is signature experiences. Students earn badge credentials for a range of experiences that recognize effort and achievement above and beyond the core curriculum and are central to a boy’s character journey. Examples are the Grade 5 Let Grow badge, the Grade 7 Public Speaking badge and the Grade 11 Modern Masculinity badge. “All signature experiences link back to one of our twelve character qualities,” says Kovacs. “It is yet another way we are embedding our mission meaningfully.”

Spotlight on Friday Night Lights

Excitement was felt across campus on September 23, as Crescent prepared for its first Friday Night Lights event in three years. Crescent friends and families enjoyed a family barbecue prepared by our excellent culinary staff under the direction of Chef Mitchell. At 6:30 p.m., our Senior D1 soccer team took to Innes Field for a game against St. Andrew’s College. The teams were well matched and Crescent eked out a 1–0 win.

A Visit With History

“I know my grandfather would be so pleased to know that his home is now a boys’ school,” says Lynn Mekinda. “He was a perfectionist, and every part of the school is orderly and very attractive.” Her grandfather was Frank P. Wood, a Canadian financier, art collector and philanthropist who built the Manor at 2365 Bayview Avenue in 1931. Ms. Mekinda lived in the Manor from her birth in 1944 until 1947; she would return to visit until her grandfather’s death in 1955. Ms. Mekinda recently came back to Bayview Avenue with distant cousin Lucinda Graham, the great-great-granddaughter of Edward R. Wood, who built Glendon Hall across the ravine from Crescent. Ms. Graham is a Queen’s University student who is writing her Master’s thesis on Frank P. Wood’s extensive art collection. Wood was a renowned collector of Old Master paintings who remains the single most generous donor to the Art Gallery of Ontario. “My favourite painting hung in my grandfather’s beautiful Pine Library [now Crescent’s Enrolment Office],” says Mekinda. “It was a Rembrandt called Portrait of a Lady with a Lap Dog which now hangs at the AGO.”

Formal Garden Gets a Makeover

While Crescent families were enjoying their summer, our campus was undergoing some key upgrades in preparation for the school year. One such project was the installation of grasslike turf on the Formal Garden, transforming the surface into a lush yet virtually indestructible lawn. In addition to providing a more beautiful and safer play area for students, the new surface resolves issues around water management and slope stabilization. “This project reflects another milestone of our Master Campus Plan and further supports our staff and students being outdoors to enjoy the beauty of our campus,” says Headmaster Fellin.

The transformation was funded by the Crescent Parent Association, part of a generous pledge made in the 2020–2021 school year.