Crescent’s Team 610 began competing on the robotics world stage in 2000.
As Ryan Tam ’14 discovered, they went on to build more than just robots.
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Dan Gladman ’91 produces live sports events, a career that began with his boyhood obsession with basketball
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Kyle Wittlin ’97 helps his 2e students discover their talents and believe in themselves
In my Crescent journey I’ve been a student, a teacher, a parent, and an alumni executive; today, I’m the Chief Advancement Officer. I often marvel at how our school has woven through so many chapters of my life.
Arriving at Crescent each day fills me with pride and gratitude. The school I first encountered in Grade 7 has evolved in remarkable ways to meet the needs of today’s students and community. We remain rooted in our values and traditions—our commitment to respect, responsibility, honesty, and compassion—while embracing a bold vision for our future.
That vision includes Our Way Forward, a campaign focused on community, legacy, and identity. The campaign will fund a new community hall, school entrance, and student commons and support student financial assistance. To date, we have raised over 90 percent of our $65 million campaign goal and are making a special appeal to our alumni community to raise $3 million for the community hall naming opportunity. Please contact me directly if you want to learn more about this ambitious project.
I hope you enjoy this issue of Past & Present, highlighting alumni stories that reflect our shared values and celebrate the achievements of our Crescent brothers around the world. As you read through these pages, I hope it strengthens your connection to our community and instills a sense of pride in what we continue to build together.
Warm regards,
Jamie Lougheed ’87, P’18 Chief Advancement Officer
Editor:
Editorial
Editorial
Cover Photographer: Carmen Cheung
Design Agency: Aegis Design Inc.
To build up, one must first tear down! Over the summer, the campus construction relating to the Our Way Forward campaign got under way. The first order of operations is to make way for the new community hall, Lower and Upper School entrance, and student commons, three of the significant facility enhancements of the capital campaign. Following demolition, the next stages of construction are shoring and excavation. The estimated completion date for the construction project is March 2026.
01 Hoarding has been erected around the construction site to provide a safe separation between the daily operation of the school and the construction taking place.
02 A new air handling unit for the Lower and Upper School classrooms was installed to replace an old unit sitting above the dining hall. This state-of-the-art system has independent classroom temperature controls to provide greater comfort and reduce energy consumption.
03 A concrete pincer machine was brought in to remove the bridge to the Upper Loggia. Using this behemoth piece of equipment, it took just a few hours for the bridge to come down.
04–05 Old wiring, ductwork, non-load-bearing walls, and mechanical systems were removed before bringing the entire structure down.
Middle School boys get creative with paint in Mr. Berry’s art class.
Alumni from Across Decades Visit Crescent
Alex Solway ’11 visited on November 4 to speak to the Law Society about his journey through law school, the firm recruitment process, and what his career in corporate law entails.
Alumni joined Upper School students in the Latifi Family Commons to share their university journeys so far. The Canadian University Lunch & Learn took place on October 17, while the American version happened at the end of November.
Peter Hall ’80 (bottom left) and Dan Gladman ’91 (bottom right) joined Coyote Conversations podcast host Hessam Ghadaki ’99 (bottom right) and students Jack Zhang ’25 and Jonny Wei ’25 to kick off the recording of season two of the alumni podcast this past fall.
Will Matthews ’21 and Stephen Woollcombe ’21 came to speak to the Investment Team on October 17 about their experiences at Queen’s Commerce and Western Ivey, and how important and impactful their Investment Team experiences were.
From cryptocurrency to scaling a business to leadership in the financial tech world, the Junior Entrepreneurship Club heard from alumni who are working in diverse roles and industries this past fall.
Crescent’s recently completed CAIS Accreditation serves as the first step in the school’s strategic planning process now underway. The report’s commendations and recommendations act as a blueprint for the school’s strengths and areas of opportunity. Headmaster Michael Fellin presented the report highlights at an all-staff meeting in early October.
CAIS Accreditation supports continuous improvement in all aspects of independent schools. The 18-month process began with a full school self-study and concluded with a peer review visit from April 28 through May 1, 2024. Much of what the report contains will find its way into our 2025–2030 strategic plan.
With perfect weather and a well-attended pre-game BBQ, Crescent’s Varsity soccer team took to Innes Field on September 20 for a tight FNL game against UCC. They played a very energetic and competitive game and had enthusiastic support from the community on the sidelines. The final score was 2–1 for UCC.
Rodney Hill P’23, ’23, ’25 officially became Board Chair at the October 7 Board of Governors meeting. He took over from Jamie Coulter ’87, P’21, who held the role since September 2019.
What motivated you to take on the role of Board Chair at Crescent School?
The teachers at my school in Ireland took a personal interest in my development, encouraging opportunities for personal growth and development. Without their support, I would not be where I am today.
My boys have all attended Crescent, and I see in this school the same type of dedicated teachers who helped me on my journey. Giving back to Crescent as the Board Chair is a unique opportunity
Do students really have to choose between academic success and their well-being?
Dr. Denise Pope and Jon Kleiman from Challenge Success argue that it is possible to achieve both outcomes simultaneously. The duo visited Crescent on October 22 and 23, engaging with parents, faculty, staff, and students to share their expertise and strategies.
The parent education event, Dimensions of a Well-Balanced Student, was part of the Men of Character Speaker Series, hosted by
CRESCENT THEN
Grade 5 Crescent boys pose for their class photo with their teacher and the school’s Headmaster, Mr. William Burridge, for the 1968–1969 school year.
for me to contribute to the success of an incredible school and pay forward the opportunities that education, and the teachers who provide it, have afforded me.
What are the qualities of an effective Board Chair?
The Board is a group of talented individuals working closely with Headmaster Michael Fellin and his leadership team. As the Chair, the single most important quality is to be able to listen to the voices of others and then harness the collective wisdom of the group to support the School’s strategic vision.
To read more of Mr. Hill’s answers, see the Crescent Blogs page on CrescentSchool.org or scan this QR code:
the Crescent Centre for Boys’ Education. Nearly 200 parents attended, eager to learn how schools and families can work together to cultivate well-rounded students and set them on a path to success.
Pope and Kleiman identified several barriers to student achievement. One significant issue is insufficient sleep, which can hinder knowledge retention and contribute to depression, anxiety, and reckless behaviour. They also presented statistics indicating that students who keep phones in their bedrooms tend to get less sleep than those who do not, making a compelling case for replacing phones with alarm clocks in children’s rooms.
Jackson Rosenhek is Crescent’s Head Boy for 2024–2025. Past & Present sat down with Jackson to learn more about him.
What is your favourite pastime?
I grew up watching Turner Classic Movies at my grandparents’ house. Some of my favourite movies are from the 60s, and, 70s, like Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Mary Poppins. I probably watched 30 movies over the summer!
What is the most important thing you’ve read?
I read George Orwell’s 1984 for the first time in Grade 7, and I’ve read it nearly every year since. It has some really important messages, like being an individual in a crowd, thinking for yourself, and standing for what you believe is right.
What is your favourite way to spend a Saturday? I definitely try to sleep in as late as possible. Then I start doing all the tasks that are left over from the last week. Hopefully, I can get those done by the afternoon, and then I’ll go out for dinner with my friends and then hang out in the evening with them.
What is your favourite holiday?
I love Thanksgiving because you can celebrate it with so many people, even if they’re from a different religion or ethnic group. My brothers come home from university, so my family’s all together. And I really like my mom’s turkey.
To read more of Jackson’s answers, see the Crescent Blogs page on crescentschool.org.
CRESCENT NOW
Mr. Kyle Henderson joins his Grade 5 students for this class photo taken in the Formal Garden in September.
Julie Brown’s Grade 5 art students work on their figure drawings.
Crescent offers ample opportunities for students to develop character. More often than not, these take place outside the classroom through our signature Character-in-Action programs in the arts, athletics, business, outreach, robotics, and many other teams and clubs. These experiences allow our students to explore new interests, ignite their passions, and form strong bonds with like-minded individuals. They are also essential for cultivating well-rounded, resilient, and socially aware young people.
Crescent’s robotics program was established 25 years ago when the nascent Team 610 competed in FIRST, an international robotics competition. Since then, Team 610 has become a formidable competitor in the global arena. Along the way, hundreds of students involved in the program have gained invaluable character lessons in collaboration, critical thinking, leadership, and adaptability. Moreover, the knowledge and character skills acquired during their time with Team 610 continue to inspire and guide their post-graduate pathways and career journeys.
In this issue of Past & Present, you can read about the origins of Team 610 through the accounts of the faculty members who conceived it, as well as some team members who contributed to its success. Today, these alumni are applying their expertise in careers that likely didn’t exist when Team 610 was founded. Like so many Crescent grads, they are making positive and transformative impacts on the world.
We are now one quarter of the way through the 21st century, and the landscape is very different than it was when Crescent was founded in 1913. While we may not know what the future will look like, our feature story and the many others we tell in this magazine assure me that the character competencies instilled at Crescent are equipping our graduates with the skills they need to thrive in our rapidly changing world.
Michael Fellin P’24 Headmaster
When Ryan Tam ’14 toured Crescent as a Grade 2 student, he remembers seeing a robot in the hallway that was large enough to tower over him. His awe led to a conversation with now-retired faculty member David Grant about opportunities to help build robots if he chose to attend Crescent. Tam hadn’t seen anything like it at the other schools; he was impressed.
“That was the first domino in a series of dominoes,” he says of the chat with Grant, who co-founded Team 610 and retired in 2022 after 30 years at the school. It ultimately encouraged Tam to attend Crescent and shaped his life in ways he never could have anticipated. As part of Team 610, Tam nurtured his interest by building robots to compete in games against other student teams from across the province and around the world. →
Written by ROB CSERNYIK
After Team 610 won the FIRST Robotics World Championships in 2013, Tam wondered what would follow such a milestone. He found his answer soon after through Crescent’s partnership with Sunny View Public School, where robotics students build adaptive tools for students living with disabilities.
Tam recalls building a catapult that could be used to toss beanbags back and forth. After hearing how the assisted technology helped a disabled child play catch with their dad for the very first time, he had an epiphany. “On top of just building things that are cool, I can build things that are actually meaningful,” he recalls thinking. “And I feel like I could do this for the rest of my life if I wanted to.”
Today Tam heads Aerlift, a company that designs and builds custom drones to deliver humanitarian aid and medicine to inaccessible regions and remote populations.
Aerlift, which is headquartered in Toronto, has worked on projects in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malaysia, Rwanda, the Arctic, and Ukraine. In the process, Tam has worked with other Team 610 alumni. “We grew up building LEGO robots together, and now we work together building drones that we send across the world.”
Tam is one of hundreds of Middle and Upper School students who have taken part in Team 610 over the past 25 years, a period where the group has gone from a mere idea to a signature part of the Crescent experience, bringing numerous awards homei from far-flung places and shaping the lives, careers, and character of its team members.
The program’s longevity is notable, not only because teenage interests can be fickle, but because the commitment to competitive robotics is intense for students and faculty. The fall is busy with testing new technologies and preparing for the game reveal of the year’s competitive season. Then from January
to May, they spend upwards of 20 hours a week outside of the classroom working on the robot, which will have to complete special tasks to score points. Team 610 members spend late nights and weekends solving problems, yet it still draws eager students. After two and a halfdecades of challenges, change, and triumph, including technological advances and the global pandemic, Team 610 is still going strong—shaping the character of its members one robot at a time. 02
“We grew up building LEGO robots together, and now we work together building drones that we send across the world.”
—Ryan Tam ’14
“It’s not like the mentors are telling them what to do. We’re just part of the team, and the real leaders are the kids.”
—Don Morrison, Former Director of Robotics, Lead Mentor of Team 610, and Head of Technological Studies
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Three carbon-fibre airframes are shown in different stages of assembly
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When Team 610 launched in the 1999–2000 school year, home computers were only starting to become common. STEM education was a relative novelty compared to the key academic focus it is today. In the United States, FIRST Robotics, a student robotics competition series, had been around for more than a decade. Grant had heard about school robotics programs from a student who had encountered them at a summer program, but it wasn’t until attending a U.S. competition with Don Morrison that he witnessed the high level of skill and competition among students. Morrison was Crescent’s Head of Technological Studies, Director of Robotics, and the Upper School science and technology teacher for over two decades until retiring in 2021.
“We saw the benefits of what was going on down in the States and said, ‘We’ve got to bring this up here,’” recalls Morrison, one of the founding advisors of the group that became known as Team 610. →
For Grant, one of the most memorable Team 610 moments was the 2001 Robotics reception at Crescent. It was the catalyst for the establishment of the FIRST Canada Robotics non-profit organization, he says. Established by Gord Homer P’01, ’03, ’06 and Mark Breadner of Woburn Collegiate Institute, one of the few local competitors at the time, Grant would join FIRST Canada as one of the original board members. Today, the organization counts more than 1,500 elementary and secondary teams across several divisions, including secondary robotics.
“Listening to teammates and collaborating are the sorts of skills that can be more difficult to learn. Even at my age, I’m still learning those skills.”
—Alex McKelvey ’01
Team 610 became popular, and the group outgrew its early funding. The first years were supplemented by parental donations until Headmaster Geoff Roberts established robotics as a Character-in-Action program, which offered the program an operational budget.
Inspiration for building the team was based in part on Morrison’s experiences in competitive sports and in seeking advice from high-performing robotics teams already in existence. But Morrison and Grant wanted to put a unique spin on it for Crescent, which involved letting the students take ownership over the direction and the projects.
“It’s not like the mentors are telling them what to do,” says Morrison. “We’re just part of the team, and the real leaders are the kids.”
Grant says his motivation stemmed from the deep engagement students showed when participating in creative projects.
“They would learn rapidly and automatically.
Watching those boys in action was one of those ‘wow’ moments that we live for as teachers,” he says.
“They would learn rapidly and automatically. Watching those boys in action was one of those ‘wow’ moments that we live for as teachers.”
—David Grant, Co-founder of Team 610
As one of the earliest members, Team 610 felt like “a new sort of adventure,” says Alex McKelvey ’01. He remembers it as the first time he could work on interesting technology projects where success or failure depended on student creativity and decisions “and learning all these things that the teachers didn’t just already know.”
McKelvey, now a London, U.K.-based software engineer for Meta, focused on software during his Team 610 days—an extension of his early tinkering with technology. He learned to code in elementary school and even used his skills to build a sort of pre-BlackBerry email app in his teens, though they were solitary pursuits.
“I was used to just doing whatever,” he says with a laugh. “I didn’t have to get buy-in from anyone.” Team 610 changed that. He had to listen to his teammates, consider their ideas, and collaborate as a team to build the final product.
“Those are the sorts of skills that can be more difficult to learn,” he says, and experiencing this early was useful. “Even at my age, I’m still learning those skills.” →
When it comes to Team 610, the students compete, and the faculty mentor, but there is also a line of support from dedicated parents who go above and beyond to enrich the boys’ experience. Here are two of their stories.
Gord Homer is the father of Chris ’01, Mike ’03 and Ryan ’06. He helped bring FIRST Robotics competitions to Canada and was Chair of FIRST Robotics Canada for 10 years.
In the fall of 2000 our oldest son, Chris, signed up for the Robotics team and said that this would be the highlight of his final year. He also asked me to help raise funds for the team so that they could participate in the FIRST Robotics competition taking place at the Epcot Center, Florida in April 2001.
While I worked on getting sponsors, I noticed that Chris was spending a lot of his free time working on the robotics project. He was hooked—his comment was, “So now I finally understand what all those physics equations we have been studying are used for.”
At the event, David Grant, Mark Breadner from Woburn Collegiate Institute, and I got talking, and we decided to approach FIRST about bringing an event to Canada. They were receptive to the idea and told us what we’d have to do to get their approval: grow from three Canadian teams to 25, establish a large group of volunteers and judges, secure a suitable event location, and get full event funding lined up in advance. They said that
would likely take us a few years to achieve but we said no—we wanted to do it in one year and host the event in 2002. We were told “Good luck.” When we got home, we enlisted more people to help and got it all done in one year. The inaugural FIRST event in Canada was a resounding success.
Billy Lo is the father of Ian ’15 and was an active supporter and mentor of Team 610 from 2012 to 2014.
I am a software engineer by trade. So, I focused on helping our Team 610 programmers break down complex tasks and tackle them piece by piece. I also guided them through troubleshooting technical issues at the competitions when we needed to make strategic decisions and how to solve problems under time constraints.
In the 2013 season, the team worked tirelessly through their March break on improving their robot: designing, building, and coding a new frisbee-intake system in just two weeks. Everyone pitched in and finished the integration in time for the competition at Waterloo against the best of the best. This hard work made our eventual victory at the World Championship in St. Louis that much sweeter.
I witnessed many boys hone their technical skills, develop a love of engineering, and build great friendships during their tenure with Team 610. I feel happy to have been a part of the boys’ journeys in preparation for their adult life.
When Cameron Wheaton ’02 reflects on Team 610 robotics challenges, the process feels similar to his work today.
“When we got stuck, it was up to us to get unstuck,” recalls Wheaton, now a consultant with Deloitte in Washington, D.C. His career involves late nights and creative approaches to the tasks at hand, not unlike his Team 610 days. He didn’t only learn how to prototype and test ideas, but how to effectively collaborate with a multidisciplinary team and take leadership within the group. “There just isn’t a lot else like that out there until you get a lot further on in your life,” he says.
Wheaton’s most indelible memory is when the team won the inaugural FIRST Robotics Canadian competition in 2002. He recalls being in the pit on the floor of Mississauga’s Hershey Centre, helping control the robot, and “the energy was crazy.” Even though Wheaton was involved with athletics at Crescent, the enthusiasm among the robotics spectators caught him off-guard. “My parents still talk about it to this day,” he says.
After Crescent, Wheaton matriculated at Princeton to study aerospace engineering. Though he was concerned about the intensity of his program heading in, he found his time with Team 610 and his Crescent education prepared him well.
“I basically felt like my freshman year was retaking things I did at Crescent, which is not what I expected.”
“I think the students enjoy the early stages of brainstorming and prototyping. The handson thinking and problem solving seems to come very naturally to boys.”—Rob Stehlik, Former Team 610 Robotics Engineer
“When we got stuck, it was up to us to get unstuck. There just isn’t a lot else like that out there until you get a lot further on in your life.”
—Cameron Wheaton ’02
Rob Stehlik became Team 610’s robotics engineer in its tenth year. Although he recalls FIRST Robotics as a constantly evolving competition, his favourite memory repeated itself frequently: the first moments when a new mechanism worked. “The students who worked on it would get so excited the first time we got it running,” he says. “There is something very satisfying about seeing an idea come to life.”
In his role, which he held until 2023, Stehlik was responsible for teaching students how to design parts for the robot using computers, and then helping them make the parts in the team’s on-campus machine shop. Around half the team gets involved in this area of robotics.
“I think the students enjoy the early stages of brainstorming and prototyping,” he says. “The hands-on thinking and problem solving seems to come very naturally to boys.”
By the time Adam Murai ’15 joined Team 610, the program had become a tradition for dozens of Crescent families. Team 610 counted Murai’s older brothers, Ethan ’10, who focused on programming and Matt ’12, who worked in the electrical division, among its alumni. Murai’s timing coincided with the addition of Shawn Lim, a computer science teacher whose passion and robotics expertise helped bolster the program’s success and popularity. Murai would sometimes stop by the robotics lab to watch them build. “I remember a lot of bustle in the lab, everyone busy, lots of different stations of work,” he recalls. “It was cool to see them in the midst of working on disparate tasks that would eventually lead to the singular robot.”
On Team 610, depending on their interests, students take on a variety of roles, including design, manufacturing, programming, and electronics. Some students take on strategy roles, where they become experts in the rules of the competition and strategize gameplay. Others head up communications, documenting progress and sharing competition results.
Unlike his brothers, Murai directed his attention to scouting, which became an important component of the play as the robotics ecosystem grew and became more competitive. At competitions, players are constantly watching other teams to record data on their performance to help evaluate their strengths and weaknesses. This is helpful not only when facing opponents but also when choosing partners to compete with in finals rounds.
In this role, Murai helped build an app to track the data that, in earlier days, was tracked manually.
“It happened to reveal my interest in front-end development and developing applications,” recalls Murai, a software engineer with Microsoft in San Mateo, California.
“I remember a lot of bustle in the lab, everyone busy, lots of different stations of work. It was cool to see them in the midst of working on disparate tasks that would eventually lead to the singular robot.”
—Adam Murai ’15
When Crescent won the 2013 FIRST World Championships, beating 400 teams from across the globe, the game involved robots picking up frisbees at the edge of a playing field and throwing them into slots for points. Murai recalls the popular strategy teams chose when partnering up was to pick those whose robots could fulfill different roles, like throwing from far away alongside those that drove closer to the target. Murai says the scouting data showed the secret to winning was “hidden in plain sight.” The latter type of robot, like Crescent’s, scored the most points. That led to the novel—and winning—strategy of choosing two partner teams with the same kind of robot.
Trusting the data helped win the world championship that year, which continues to be one of the program’s milestones, the crown jewel of nearly 100 semifinal placements and other awards at competitions over the last two and a half decades. →
As Team 610 enters its 25th year, it’s led by Marcella Fioroni, Crescent’s Director of Robotics. Despite her current role, she remembers hesitating when Grant first suggested she come to the robotics lab.
“I knew how much work it is, and I thought if I get involved in this, I’m going to start pulling all-nighters again,” jokes Fioroni, a trained engineer who originally came to Crescent to teach math.
But, like her students, she’s developed a passion for Team 610. “I tell my friends and family in January, ‘Okay, I’m going dark; I’ll see you in May.’”
In 2014, Fioroni chaired a FIRST Robotics competition in Crescent’s Field House, where Team 610 met rookie Team 4946 of Humberview Secondary School and its founding mentor, Tibor Torontali. Torontali became fast friends with Morrison, Stehlik, Lim, and Fioroni. In 2020 he began working at Crescent School, eventually taking over as Head of Technological Design and becoming a lead Mentor of Team 610.
Fioroni recalls being asked recently by a teacher new to Crescent how Team 610 has stayed consistent over the years. She attributes this to mentorship, not only from teachers to students but from students to each other. “Our team is very good at having the older guys mentor the younger guys.”
Take Warfa Jibril ’13, for instance. After joining Team 610 during his first year at Crescent, he started learning to program, teaching himself the Java programming language with a book. It wasn’t just personal interest driving him. “I wanted to be part of this and do something that created value for the team.”
“Now I’m starting a company and it’s exactly that kind of mindset around trying to build something, trying to teach people, trying to own what you’re working on, and have that identity with it.”
—Warfa Jibril ’13
“I feel like this era has been one of reflective growth.”
Marcella Fioroni, Director of Robotics
Once the first class of ninth graders came in under him, he helped mentor and teach his new teammates, and he recalls feeling a shared ownership and responsibility to help them.
As his experience with Team 610 grew, so did his passion for coding. He and another team member went to Crescent’s head of academics and asked for a programming class, a request that was granted once they recruited enough students. It was taught in Jibril’s Grade 11 year, the same year he was the main code writer for the team’s robot.
What’s followed has been a computer science degree, a stint working at Google, and a Stanford MBA. Presently, Jibril, who is based in San Francisco, is co-founder of an AI app and website-building tool called Pax. It’s an experience that brings him back to his Team 610 days.
“After all the technical stuff is stripped away, it is about the friendships, the self-discovery, the collaboration, the creativity and resilience the boys develop.”
—David Grant, Co-founder of Team 610
“Now I’m starting a company and it’s exactly that kind of mindset around trying to build something, trying to teach people, trying to own what you’re working on, and have that identity with it.”
Though the focus and the game change every year, Jibril feels Team 610’s continuity comes from the team culture.
“Everyone cares a lot, and everyone wants to do a good job, and everyone has respect both for each other and also for their work.”
This has helped as the team has dealt with some big changes in recent years. In 2021, during a high point of the pandemic, only Grade 11 and 12 students were on the Upper School team, which meant fewer students to pass down institutional knowledge to their peers.
Fioroni says this is improving. “We worked really hard last year and this year to backfill and really train up these kids.”
There have also been several departures, including long-time robotics engineer Rob Stehlik and former lead programming mentor Parth Patel in addition to the retirements of Grant and Morrison.
“I feel like this era has been one of reflective growth,” she says, but the team’s adaptability is shining through. She credits Daniel Nucci, the newest Team 610 mentor hired in 2023, with asking students the right questions to consider what they want the team to be.
Fioroni is optimistic for the year ahead, which includes checking off a long-time wish list item for the team—a swerve drive —which will allow the next robot to move in multiple directions, like a rolling suitcase with spinner wheels. To compete, it’s more necessary than ever to pull out all the stops.
Previously, Fioroni says, even incremental gains in a team’s performance offered the chance to best their competition.
“Now, it’s like running at a moving target.”
But just as it has for the last 25 years, Team 610 is ready to meet the challenge.
That’s because, as Grant believes, it’s not only a program about robotics. “After all the technical stuff is stripped away, it is about the friendships, the self-discovery, the collaboration, the creativity and resilience the boys develop,” he says.
Dan Gladman ’91 produces live sports events, including the Raptors’ 2019 win. His career began with a boyhood obsession with basketball.
Written by PAT MORDEN
Picture this. A basketball-mad boy spends every recess playing and talking ball with his friends. A standout player at 13, he finds other boys growing bigger and stronger, but that doesn’t dim his love of the game. He follows the NBA and U.S. college basketball avidly. He collects basketball cards. He thinks there will never be an NBA team in Canada.
Fast forward 25 years. He is now an experienced TV producer in charge of Game Six of the NBA Finals. As he works, he watches his team, the Toronto Raptors, win the title. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime thrill. Then he produces coverage of the ecstatic victory parade.
It’s not the plot of a schmaltzy movie; it’s the life story of Dan Gladman ’91.
Gladman attended Crescent from 1985 to 1991. “It was rewarding right from the beginning,” he says. “I got some good early results and realized that I liked being successful academically, so I became a hard-working young student.” He and five friends, including Lower School faculty member Jeff Barton ’91, played basketball at every recess and called themselves the “Super Six.” When ice and snow got in the way, they used a tennis ball instead of a basketball. “Sport helps you bond with other males,” he says. “It’s a commonality, a safe thing to talk about that’s not too personal.”
After Crescent, Gladman spent two years at the University of Virginia, where he attended every basketball and football game, and then completed his degree in anthropology at Western University. A good writer from his days at Crescent,
he began submitting concert reviews to the campus newspaper. By his final year, he was managing editor. The next move was to Toronto Metropolitan University, then known as Ryerson University, to study broadcast journalism. “When I was a kid, I had a pretend radio station, but I didn’t really know what I wanted to be when I grew up. My career really found me.”
His first job in media was as a broadcast associate with CTV Sportsnet. His work, amazingly, involved watching hockey and basketball games to pick out the highlights. In 2001 he campaigned to be hired by the newly launched Raptors TV. “I didn’t have a lot of competition,” he says. “Nobody wanted to work in basketball in Toronto in 2001—you didn’t have the entire world in love with the team the way you do now. But I knew this was what I wanted to do.” In his role as assistant producer, he travelled with the team and attended every home and away game, a total of more than 100 a year.
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Gladman in the truck helping deliver the Toronto Raptors, first NBA Finals games to millions of Canadian basketball fans
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Gladman wears his 2019 Raptors NBA championship ring
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Gladman at the College of Sports Media in Liberty Village, Toronto
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Gladman producing 2024 Paris Olympics basketball for Canadian television, from Toronto
“I didn’t have a lot of competition. Nobody wanted to work in basketball in Toronto in 2001—you didn’t have the entire world in love with the team the way you do now. But I knew this was what I wanted to do.”
—Dan Gladman ’91
“When I was a kid, I had a pretend radio station, but I didn’t really know what I wanted to be when I grew up. My career really found me.”
—Dan Gladman ’91
Then came 2019, and the Raptors’ playoff run. “It was more than a dream,” Gladman says. “We wouldn’t have dared to dream it when we were students at Crescent!” At that point, he had been with the team for 18 years and was a seasoned producer. Although playoff games were usually produced by the big American networks, Raptors TV produced the games for the Canadian audience. “You couldn’t find any Canadian who wasn’t somehow engaged in the NBA finals in 2019,” he says. “Even if they were the most anti-sport person ever, there was no escaping it.”
The parade was also watched around the world, and Gladman produced the feed used by all the major networks.
Gladman left the Raptors at the end of 2019 and took on a full-time contract with
CTV. He also began producing for the Canadian Elite Basketball League and Major League Soccer. He provided Olympic and Paralympic coverage for CBC at the Tokyo, Beijing, and Paris Games. “That was incredibly rewarding,” he says. “When you watch those athletes, it’s mind-boggling and very inspirational to see what they can achieve.”
Somehow, he also finds time to teach at the College of Sports Media in Toronto. “I encourage the students to trust their knowledge of sports and to train their minds to find interesting stories that stand out and make them seem like experts.” In his line of work, Gladman stays open to new opportunities. “You never know what little or big projects might turn up, and whatever comes my way, I’m ready to go!”
Written by PAT MORDEN
Photography by KAYLA ROCCA
Kyle Wittlin ’97 helps his 2e students discover their talents and believe in themselves
When Kyle Wittlin was at Crescent, a business leader came to speak to the students. He told them that they each had arrows pointing them where they should be, but that life would spin them around many times. They had to wait for the spinning to stop, to see which way the arrows pointed. Says Wittlin, “I knew at that moment that my arrows would always point back to music.” Little did he know that those arrows were also pointing him to music as a way to help children with learning disabilities find their way in the world. →
Wittlin embraced all that Crescent offered, from the Outward Bound program to track and field and public speaking. But it was the music program that awoke his passion and helped shape his future. After an undergraduate degree at McGill University, Wittlin completed a diploma at the Harris Institute, a school focused on media arts. He moved to Los Angeles, where he worked with a large entertainment management firm. “I was working with some of the biggest bands in the world, and it felt really exciting for a while. But I realized I was ignoring my intuition.”
He left the firm and for a time worked several jobs to make ends meet. One day he saw an ad on Craigslist for someone to facilitate an after-school drum circle. He applied and was hired by Bridges Academy. At once, he knew he had made the right decision. Twenty years later, he has touched hundreds of young lives and is an honored member of the teaching staff and director of the School’s music program. The program includes five bands, three workshops, and two music composition and production classes.
Bridges Academy is a special place that focuses on teaching “2e students,” those who are gifted and also have some kind of learning challenge. The School describes its method as “strength-based and talent development-focused.” Although he had no special training for working with this population, Wittlin immediately felt at home. “It’s all about harnessing whatever energy and momentum is there in the classroom and using it for a learning experience,” he says. “I’m open to my students no matter what they’re serving up, and now that’s how I am with anyone who comes across my path.”
Wittlin is proud of the difference he has made in the lives of many students during his teaching career. He remembers one boy who had been at the school for several years without finding his place. One day, the students and teachers were at the beach, and Wittlin put out a set of
hand drums. The student approached, quietly picked up a drum, and began to play. Wittlin could tell immediately that he had talent. The boy joined his drum circle workshop and became a drummer in one of the school bands. “By having the drums available, I was able to spot his talent, bring him into our program, and build his confidence.” The young man went on to complete an independent study project with Wittlin and do an internship with the Los Angeles Dodgers. “All of a sudden he had an identity he didn’t have before coming to Bridges— it was a miracle situation.”
Wittlin also speaks of a student in sixth grade who was passionate about music but not always successful academically. Wittlin mentored him throughout his school career and helped him get into CalArts, a prestigious college for the arts. The student is now in a successful band signed by a major record label. “He always says to me, ‘Kyle, you’re the first person I’m going to thank at the Grammys!’”
Over the years, Wittlin has often heard from parents honouring his impact on their students. Wrote one parent, “Thank you for being an amazing teacher and influence on our son. You’ve given him so many opportunities to shine.” Said another, “You bring out the best of these young people. The light that shines from all your students is a testament to you as a mentor.”
In addition to teaching at Bridges, Wittlin composes music for movies and television and is often able to bring his current composition projects into the classroom. Recently, he launched an online program for aspiring music producers.
His transformative work with students is based on his own personal experience of finding himself in the wrong place. “I know the dark cloud that happens when you’re misaligned,” he says. “It’s important to listen to your intuition, figure out what you need to be your best and happiest self, and make it a part of your life. Without it, you’ll starve your soul.”
“I know the dark cloud that happens when you’re misaligned. It’s important to listen to your intuition, figure out what you need to be your best and happiest self, and make it a part of your life. Without it, you’ll starve your soul.”
—Kyle Wittlin ’97
“It’s
all about harnessing whatever energy and momentum is there in the classroom and using it for a learning experience. I’m open to my students no matter what they’re serving up, and now that’s how I am with anyone who comes across my path.”
—Kyle Wittlin ’97
01
Wittlin with students at a percussion workshop
02
Wittlin giving a talk about his career journey with high school students
03
Wittlin joins the high school Blues Band for a performance during Participation Day
04
Wittlin performs with the high school Blues Band at their Winter Coffee House show
05
Wittlin on bass during a rock band rehearsal
06
Wittlin with a group of campers at his Summer Jam Camp
Jim Davidson ’86 is the President & Founder of Car$mart Inc, a Torontobased car buying service. Since 1992, it has helped over 5,000 customers save countless hours and thousands of dollars in their quest to purchase a new vehicle.
In the past few years, prices and interest rates for new cars have risen dramatically. Combine this with an equally dramatic short supply of new vehicles and it has created an extremely difficult market for buyers to navigate. Here are four helpful tips to guide you in your quest for a new car.
By Jim Davidson ’86
It is absolutely essential to take the time to sit down and research your next new vehicle before you head out to the dealership. Get a copy of Consumer Reports and pore through the data and ratings. Check with neighbours, friends, family, or even colleagues to get the “real story” on a few cars that you might be thinking about. While dealership information is useful, remember it’s brand-specific and comes from salespeople who earn commission.
When haggling for a good price on a new car, pick three dealers to wrestle with and tell them each, up front, that you will not be buying right now. Let them know that they are one of three that you will be talking to. They will ask for your credit card or driver’s licence, but this is not required. Handing over a deposit or your private information means that you are “engaged to buy” right now, and you do not want that.
It’s hard to imagine, but fewer than 20 percent of new car buyers actually testdrove the car they bought. Drive the exact car that you have researched, and be sure to take it on the highway. Don’t discuss pricing during this visit. You are only there to test drive and that is it. Try to test drive three different cars on the same day.
Over 65 percent of new car buyers lease their cars, and this number is climbing fast now because of how expensive cars and car parts have become. In addition to being a more affordable way to “buy” a car, leasing also allows you flexibility as a consumer. This is increasingly important given the government’s mandate to phase out gas vehicles in favour of zero-emission electric vehicles by 2035. By leasing, you just turn the car back at the end of the lease and do not get stuck owning a car that has old technology and a discontinued engine.
By Andrew Sorbara ’93
Andrew Sorbara ’93 is co-founder of Lanescape, a leading architecture and construction firm specializing in laneway and garden suites in Toronto. With a background in urban planning and design, he has worked in the field of residential development for the past 20 years.
Over the past decade, I’ve focused on the development potential of Toronto’s expansive 2,500 km residential laneway network. More recently, the City introduced policies to permit garden suites, allowing property owners without laneway frontage to construct an additional residential unit on their properties. These two sets of policies provide the opportunity to add tens of thousands of residential units across the city.
Now there’s a lot of interest in these types of units among property owners and those looking to purchase a property. Here are some key considerations to help you determine whether your property is suitable.
Zoning —First and foremost, you must ensure that the property is in a zone that permits laneway or garden suites. To date, you can only build a laneway or garden suite in a residentially designated zone.
Property Size and Shape —In general, the property will be as large as possible, enabling you to avoid angular plane restrictions and build to the maximum size permitted. This is especially important for garden suites, which have more restrictive angular plane requirements.
Existing Site Conditions —Look for a property that is free of trees in the rear yard, both on the lot and in the immediate surrounding area. Trees can complicate construction, reduce the potential size of the suite, and/or require additional approvals, leading to more time and cost during the design and approvals phase. A flat site is preferable.
Utility Requirements —A property with extra electrical capacity (min. 200 amps) is ideal. The incoming water line should be at least 3/4″ to support the additional unit. If the main house has multiple units, the plumbing for the suite will not be able to be connected through the main house but rather will have to bypass the house and branch off the main line in the front yard.
It’s always a good time when Crescent brothers get together. For more photos and upcoming event listings, go to crescentalumni.org.
On Thursday, October 24, alumni at Queen’s University joined Crescent faculty at the Grizzly Grill, including current faculty Aidan Docherty, Clark Davis ’02, Michael Lorenz, and past faculty Robert Cranston and Isabelle Moore.
On Thursday, September 26, Headmaster Michael Fellin P’24 and Chief Advancement Officer Jamie Lougheed ’87 P’18, and former faculty member Ross Turvey got together with alumni in Montreal at Wienstein & Gavino’s.
and Jamie
on Tuesday, October
Alumni gathered at Jack Astor’s in London on Tuesday, October 29, along with current and former faculty Gavin Muranaka, Trish Cislak, Alex Johnston, Gina Kay, Megan Berry, and Robert Cranston.
a
Waterloo & Kitchener Alumni Branch
Reception
Director of Robotics Marcella Fioroni and Robert Cranston met with alumni at Kentucky Bourbon & BBQ on Wednesday, October 30.
New York Alumni Branch Reception
On Tuesday, November 12, Michael Fellin, Jamie Lougheed, and Associate Director of Alumni Relations Wendy Jacobs joined alumni at Felice 56.
London, U.K. Alumni Branch
Reception
Alumni gathered at The Conduit with Michael Fellin, Jamie Lougheed, and Wendy Jacobs on Thursday, November 28.
On December 2, Michael Fellin and Jamie Lougheed got together with alumni at Liberty Exchange Kitchen & Bar for dinner and a chance to catch up.
On December 11, close to 100 alumni gathered at The Quail: A Firkin Pub for a pre-holiday gathering. They were joined by current and former faculty Ryan Bell ’98, Rob Cranston, Michael Jansen, Jamie Lougheed ’87, Michael Lorenz, Greg Michalski and Kathy Porteous.
Have family or career news to share? Send your Life After Crescent updates to alumni@crescentschool.org.
Lee Polydor ’93 and his wife, Lilian, have welcomed their third child, Platon Lysimaxos Polydor, born on May 24. Platon joins his adoring siblings, Stella (5) and Maximos (2), who are both overjoyed with the arrival of their precious baby brother.
Timothy Tsang ’97 was interviewed on CP24 Breakfast Television in August on children's eye health and myopia prevalence.
Gerald Chan ’99 was formally inducted into the International Academy of Trial Lawyers in September.
Andre Charoo ’99 was awarded the C100’s Shawn Price Leadership Award in November.
Gordon Drake ’99 started a new position as the Director of Market Design & Analysis at the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), the state’s electricity grid and market operator in March 2024.
from the Class
Fraser Laschinger ’02 and Kate welcomed baby girl Evie to the family on October 14.
Andrew Boozary ’03 was featured in Toronto Life’s list of the 50 most influential Torontonians of 2024 for labeling homelessness as a health care issue and being part of a UHN-led supported housing initiative that opened its first location, Dunn House, earlier this year.
Jeff Larcina ’03 and his wife, Danielle, and big brother Jack welcomed baby boy Myles on July 19.
’98 got together on
11.
James Watts ’03 and his wife, Anne, welcomed their second child, Harrison Baker Watts, on June 17.
Fraser Macdonald ’04 was promoted to Principal at StrategyCorp in September.
Sam Greenwood ’06 welcomed a baby boy, Cooper Leo, on May 1.
Nithin Kadayil ’06 and his wife, Grace, welcomed baby boy Emry on February 21.
Alumni from the Class of ’05 adventured out on their 18th annual canoe trip in Algonquin Park in July. Left to right: Mike Quinn, Ryan Nelson, Daniel TarshisNeil, John Gould, Chris Penner, and Gabe Diamond.
Jake Barnes ’05 and his wife, Val, welcomed their daughter Katherine (Kit) on June 6. She’s doing great under the watchful eye of her big sister, Zoe.
Eric Khoury ’06 joined the Toronto Raptors coaching team as an assistant coach for the 2025 NBA season.
Zach Kula ’09 and his wife, Verity Sylvester, welcomed their son Oslo in March.
Jeremy Berke ’10 married Devika Gurung on June 22 in Brooklyn, New York.
Jethro Kwong ’12 and Janice Ng were married in Toronto on July 7.
Colin Mahovlich ’12 married Elizabeth Furlano on January 14 at the Grand Floridian Wedding Pavilion in Disney World, Florida. He also began a new job as a Government Relations Specialist at the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board in September.
Cole Rosenberg ’14 was accepted into the MBA program at the Wharton School of Business for September.
Stefan Losberg ’13 married Brittany Gill on June 29 in Whistler, B.C.
Matthew Erdman ’13 married Lauren Chapman on August 4 in Toronto.
David Ferris ’14, Cody Smith ’15, Ty Stansfield ’21, and Sean Malone ’16 were among the high-level athletes at the Ironman 70.3 Muskoka on July 7.
Aidan Potts ’15 got engaged to Caroline Farrell in July.
Colsen Centner ’16 recently passed the Bar in Miami, FL, and is now practicing at Young, Bill, Boles, Thompson, Duke & Palmer P.A. in Miami.
Jonathan Ng ’17 started a new position as an Assistant Crown Attorney in August.
Max Bennett ’18 started a new position as a solutions architect at Validere in August.
Nicholas OprescuHavriliuc ’18 and his fiancée, Maria, met with faculty member Trish Cislak P’17 in Edinburgh on July 11.
Ian Dilay ’19 started a new position as an analyst at Traxys Group in June.
Chris Ahmed ’20 started a new position as a strategy analyst at Power Corporation of Canada in September.
Michael Farkouh ’20 started a new position as a post-grad product manager at NCAA Digital (TNT Sports) in August.
Do you work in federal politics or know an alumnus who does? We’re planning the summer 2025 edition of Past & Present with an eye to the upcoming federal election. Contact Alumni Relations today: alumni@crescentschool.org
Jacky Kim ’22 Wednesday, September 4, 2024 marked the one-year anniversary of the passing of Jacky Kim. To honour his memory, the inaugural Jacky Kim Philosophy Award was presented at the 2024 graduation ceremony to Josh Uster ’24. Jacky’s dedication to philosophical thought inspired his classmates to explore more deeply the fundamental questions of humanity, ethics, and knowledge. Jacky’s memory will live on through this award and through you, his Crescent brothers.
Trevor Lowden ’08 passed away on Friday, November 8, with his parents and devoted siblings by his side. He attended Crescent School from Grades 7 to 12 and is remembered as an excellent student, well-liked by his peers and an enthusiastic participant in school team sports. He could connect and captivate an audience, both as a performer in Crescent drama productions and with the Crescent Stage Band and the various other bands he played in with his friends. He was also Assembly Prefect in his final year at Crescent with Jeff Ballard ’08.
Graham Steele worked in the Lower and Middle Schools between 1985 and 2014.
Ryan Bell: What did you do during your time at Crescent?
Graham Steele: I came as a Grade 4 Home Form teacher and, after a few years, moved to Grade 5. I spent 10 years in the Middle School and then returned to Lower School as Assistant Head.
RB: If memory serves me, you left after my Grade 4 year and went to Country Day School. What brought you back to Crescent?
GS: I was hired to be head of CDS’s junior school by then-headmaster Paul Duckett, a former colleague from Crescent. I did it for two years, but at that stage in my life, I missed the classroom. It was a fairly long commute, and my children were very young; I wasn’t seeing them enough. Fortunately, John Tansey hired me back. It’s worth adding that Paul and CDS were fantastic and always supportive.
RB: What are your most memorable moments at Crescent?
GS: Some of my most memorable experiences came from working with students who were finding academics difficult. I used to like giving extra help, and more often than not, you’d see boys thrive as they progressed through the school, becoming very successful by the time they graduated and beyond. Not because of me but thanks to Crescent.
RB: Anything else?
GS: When John Tansey retired, a bunch of teacher musicians formed a band, and we played at his retirement party. We wrote some funny songs about him, and it became a thing. Right up to when I retired, we would perform mainly at staff parties; we also performed at Crescent’s 100th anniversary celebration.
By Ryan Bell
RB: What did you learn from your teaching career?
GS: I was more judgmental when I was a younger teacher. I got better at being more patient and understanding of what students might be going through. I also learned to be a better listener with students and when I was doing administration, with teachers. At least, I tried to be.
RB: How are you filling your time today?
GS: I try to keep busy. I try to stay fit. I do a lot of cycling. When I first retired, I started a tutoring business; I stopped doing that about a year ago, but it was great. My big passion is music. I play guitar and keyboards and can spend hours doing that. I have a home recording studio and record my versions of songs that I like, and I’ve made close to 500 tracks. My wife and I belong to a community theatre group, so every year, we do that. I’ve now got two grandkids (ages one and three). Anyone who is a grandparent knows exactly how great that is.
RB: Do you have any advice for alumni?
GS: I hope it doesn’t sound too preachy, but take your values and your talents —a lot of which you acquired while you were at Crescent School—and put them to good use with your family,
your friends, your community, your coworkers. If you do that, I think you will automatically continue to be a good person and contribute to society.
RB: How do you think Crescent has changed over the years?
GS: When I started at Crescent, there was one female teacher, Aldonna Stremecki, and she was really good. Today, there are many female staff and teachers; it’s important for the boys to have women role models. The number of programs and courses available has grown significantly, which means the opportunities for students at the school are almost endless. What hasn’t changed is the nurturing culture of the school. That’s the same.
RB: What do you hope is your legacy from your time at Crescent?
GS: It would be nice to be remembered by the boys I worked with as having made a positive difference to them. It’s as simple as that.
Ryan Bell ’98 is the Head of Crescent’s Middle School. Graham Steele was his Grade 4 Home Form and Grade 7 English teacher. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
