Crescent Safe

Please take some time to familiarize yourself with important COVID-19 policies and protocols designed to keep our community safe.

Crescent Safe COVID-19 Web Portal

Keeping Our Community Safe

We are delighted to have the boys back on campus for the 2021-2022 school year. There is no substitute for in-person learning alongside one’s peers, and we are committed to keeping our community safe and our students in school. 

Our reopening plans comply with the most effective health and safety measures and meet or exceed the requirements set by the Ontario government and our public health officials.

We continue to benefit from the considerable investment made last year to keep our campus safe, including classroom modifications, enhanced cleaning and sanitizing procedures, and improved air ventilation and circulation. 

We are thrilled to prepare for the return of select teams, clubs, and activities that infuse character beyond the classroom and which are an intrinsic part of the Crescent experience. We are also excited to return to a more typical phys-ed and music program for our students.

If we have learned anything during these times, it is to remain flexible and ready for any eventuality. We will continue to adjust our plans as governing and public health authorities issue new or updated guidelines. 

Stay safe,

Michael Fellin P’24
Headmaster


Contact Information

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The content of this web portal is updated regularly. We encourage you to visit this page often.

 

Guidelines and Assumptions

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  • Our Safe Reopening Guiding Principles

    Our safe reopening plans are guided by the following principles. We will:
    • maintain a safe and healthy school environment for students, teachers, and staff;
    • create the conditions for high-quality teaching and learning in a familiar learning environment; 
    • provide support for staff and student mental health and wellbeing; and
    • remain flexible in response to changing circumstances.

Academic Continuity

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  • In-Person Learning

    Crescent students will attend in-person learning daily for the full school day, five days a week as long as permitted by public health regulations permit. Please refer to the Academics resource tiles in the Green Room for timetables, daily routines, and academic and student life details.  (You must be logged in to the Green Room to access these posts.)


  • Remote Learning

    Remote access learning is available as an accommodation for students who for medical reasons are unable to attend in-person school. Families seeking remote learning for their son must contact Gina Kay, Executive Director of Crescent Student Services (gkay@crescentschool.org) for details regarding the accommodation process. 

    In the event of a school closure, Crescent will pivot to our Virtual Learning Program to ensure continuity of learning for students. 

Protective Strategies

Crescent has implemented multiple protective strategies and controls to support a healthy and safe environment for students and staff. The combination and consistent application of these tactics are most effective for reducing virus spread in our school.

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  • Health Screening

    Beginning Monday, May 30, students are no longer required to perform active screening by completing their Crescent Safe app. Students should continue daily, passive screening and stay home from school if they exhibit any signs of illness. Please follow TPH’s COVID-19 screening tool for schools. Student absence due to illness should be reported to the Wellness Centre and the appropriate attendance office.
  • Face Masks

    Wearing masks at school is no longer required but is encouraged for indoor, large group crowded settings, such as assemblies. Students should carry a mask with them at all times. Our School community will lean on our values to ensure individual mask practices are respected and welcomed. This is consistent with the current guidance from Toronto Public Health.
    Mask-wearing is required in these circumstances:
    • For days 6-10 after a 5-day self-isolation following a COVID-19 diagnosis. Learn more.
    • For 10 days, if you are a family member or identified as a close contact of someone with COVID-19. Learn more.
    • For 14 days following travel outside of Canada for unvaccinated children ages 5–11. Learn more.
  • Hand Hygiene

    Hand hygiene, which refers to hand-washing or hand-sanitizing, is one of the most effective ways to reduce virus transmission.

    Students are encouraged to wash their hands regularly with soap and water and/or hand sanitizer. We have increased the number of hand-sanitizing stations to make this option available in every classroom and throughout the hallways. Posters demonstrating proper hand-washing techniques are posted in all bathrooms. Many people do not know how to wash their hands effectively. These posters from Toronto Public Health demonstrate proper hand hygiene technique.
  • Cohorting

    “Cohorting” refers to minimizing the number of students and teachers any individual comes in contact with, and to maintaining consistency within those contacts as much as possible. This is done to limit the potential spread of infection should an individual contract the virus that causes COVID-19.

    Effective March 28, 2022, there are no longer restrictions regarding student mixing across classes and grades, both indoors and outdoors and during lunch and recess.
  • Visitors in the School

    With the easing of COVID-19 restrictions, visitors are welcome on campus for in-person meetings, watching home games, attending special events and more. Please familiarize yourself with Crescent’s COVID-19 Visitors Policy. It promotes safe participation by visitors while maintaining health and safety at our School.
  • Saliva Home Testing Kits

    As of January 2022, this program has been suspended by TPH and SickKids.
  • Rapid Antigen Tests

    Crescent School supplies rapid antigen testing kits to confirm whether a student experiencing symptoms has COVID-19 or to expedite a student’s return to school following an illness. Students can return to school before the five-day isolation period ends if their symptoms improve and they produce two consecutive negative tests over two days.

    Parents who require additional testing kits should contact nurse@crescentschool.org.

Readying Our Campus

We continue to benefit from the considerable investment made in the past two years to keep our campus safe. These include classroom modifications, enhanced cleaning and sanitizing procedures, and improved air ventilation and circulation.

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  • Building Modifications

    During summer 2020, construction on 24 learning spaces took place to maximize physical distancing. Rooms were enlarged, and additional classrooms were created, to allow for physical distancing. These modifications enable the three school divisions to remain distinct and minimize student movement across campus.
  • Improved Air Quality

    We improved air circulation and completed air purification to reduce particulate matter, bacteria, and viruses.

    We have added Plasma Air purification to all Roof Top Units in the school.  Plasma air purifiers are equipped with very small filters that are effective at reducing/eliminating bacteria, viruses and other harmful particles, such as dust, smoke, and pollen in the air.

    Wherever possible, we have upgraded to Merv 13 filters to provide additional filtration power against fine particles matter including bacteria and viruses that can cause illness. 

    We have increased airflow in the school more than fivefold. Air flowing through the school now turns over more than 10 times per hour, up from two times per hour pre-pandemic. 

    In January 2022, Crescent acquired enough HEPA air filters for every classroom in the School. These stand-alone air disinfection units improve air quality by capturing and disinfecting airborne contaminants, odours and particles. 
  • High-Touch Surfaces

    Non-contact faucets and water stations were added and door configurations modified to minimize high-touch areas. The cleaning frequency for high-touch surfaces has been increased to a minimum of twice daily. 
  • Cleaning & Sanitizing

    Last year, our Facilities Team underwent cleaning and sanitizing education and training with a leading cleaning consulting firm we contracted to audit our cleaning practices and recommend the optimal infection prevention and control program. These enhanced procedures and processes using appropriate cleaning products and sanitization misters are now common practice. We are continuously monitoring external guidelines to ensure we are current with best practices.

Health & Wellbeing

Many of our students may experience the effects of the pandemic on their mental health. As a result, mental health and wellbeing are the primary focus for the 2021-2022 school year. Crescent School’s mental health plan will provide a high level of support for students and families by promoting positive mental health and wellbeing, building healthy and positive relationships, promoting skills in social-emotional learning, and having fun. 

Health and Wellbeing programming will be grounded in our partnership with Challenge Success, our STEM 1.0 framework, the Crescent Centre for Boys’ Education (CCBE) , the International Boys’ School Coalition (IBSC), our Action Research Projects, and our Student Participatory Action Research (SPARC).

In doing this, we will ensure that students are well supported and are able to engage, connect, and thrive.

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  • COVID-19 Vaccination Policy

    Our 2020-2021 vaccination policy requires that all eligible students and staff members receive the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine series before the beginning of the school year and be fully vaccinated by October 15, 2021, unless they obtain a medical or religious exemption. When the policy was published, eligible students were defined as individuals born in or prior to 2009. Highlights of the policy are:
    • All students and staff must submit proof of vaccination before the start of school;
    • Eligible students who are not vaccinated for documented medical or religious reasons will be required to complete rapid antigen testing 3x/week at home before arriving on campus or learn remotely;
    • Staff who are not vaccinated for documented medical or religious reasons will be required to complete rapid antigen testing 3x/week at home before arriving on campus.

    Vaccinations for children ages 5–11 years became available in November 2021. Crescent School strongly recommends that all Lower School parents get their children vaccinated as soon as reasonably possible.

    Beginning September 2022, Crescent is instituting a mandatory vaccination policy for all students and staff. Read Crescent's 2022-2023 Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccination Policy here.
  • Crescent Student Services

    Students and families requiring additional support will be encouraged to take advantage of the available resources through Crescent Student Services.

    Social Work: Our social workers work closely with faculty, mentors, and learning support to ensure that boys identified as coping with mental health challenges are supported and appropriately accommodated within the learning environment. They will continue to provide individual support and family support as needed.

    Learning Support: Learning Support Specialists partner with teachers and mentors to identify and support students requiring academic support. They provide this support through 1-on-1 and small group sessions focusing on time management, study skills, meta-cognitive ability, and self-advocacy.  

    Wellness Centre: Our Wellness Centre continues to play an essential role in developing and maintaining a safe and healthy school community. This includes ensuring that our plan for returning to school is compliant with the protocols we receive from Toronto Public Health and the Ontario Ministry of Education.
  • Mentor Group and Home Form

    Health and Wellbeing support will be provided through Mentor Group and Home Form. Programming will focus on three core areas:
    • Relationship Building
    • Social-Emotional Learning
    • Fun
    Effective March 28, in-person Mentor Groups are once again permitted indoors in the Upper School. 

Management of Individuals Exposed to COVID-19

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Other Aspects of Student Experience

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  • Assemblies

    Effective March 28, in-person assemblies have resumed for the Lower and Middle Schools. Virtual assemblies in the Upper School will continue at this time.
  • BeforeSchool and AfterSchool Program for Lower School

    Our BeforeSchool and AfterSchool Programs for our Lower School students remains in place as long as permitted by public health regulations. The BeforeSchool Program begins at 7:30 a.m. and ends at 8:15 a.m. The AfterSchool Program begins at 2:30 and ends at 6:00 p.m. This year, due to health and safety protocols, parents must register their son(s) in advance for both programs; a daily, drop-in option will not be available.

    You access the registration link from the BeforeSchool and AfterSchool resource tile in the Green Room.
  • Dress Code

    Effective March 28 and coincident with the opening of changerooms, students are expected to come to school dressed in uniform, and to be neat and clean at all times. The school has different uniform requirements.




  • Lockers and Personal Belongings

    Students in Grades 4 to 12 now have access to lockers. Grade 3 students use cubbies in their classroom.
  • Lunch

    Effective March 28, lunch returns to the Dining Hall.

    Students in the Lower and Middle Schools are eating in the Dining Hall.

    In the Upper School, students in Grades 9 & 10 will eat in the Dining Hall. Students in Grades 11 & 12 will pick up their lunch from the Dining Hall, and take their lunch to an assigned area where they will eat. We are doing this to ease congestion in the Dining Hall during the Upper School lunch period. 
  • Teams and Clubs

    Effective March 28, we are conducting all spring co-curricular teams and clubs in person.

Miscellaneous

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  • International Travel and the COVID-19 Vaccine

    Students must be fully vaccinated on the date of re-entry into Canada to avoid having to remain away from school for two weeks. Being fully vaccinated means:
    • The student has received at least 2 doses of a Government of Canada approved COVID-19 vaccine, e.g. Pfizer BioNTech
    • it has been 14 days or more since the student received his second dose, e.g. if the second dose was anytime on December 1, then December 16 would be the first day that the 14 day condition has been met
    Unvaccinated children under 12 must complete pre-entry, arrival and Day-8 tests, unless there is evidence that the child had a positive COVID-19 test taken 14 to 180 days prior to arrival in Canada or the child is under 5 years of age. For the next 14 days, the children must also stay in quarantine.

    This information is directly from the Government of Canada website, last modified on November 22, 2021. You can learn more about the federal government’s mandates about travelling with children who are not fully vaccinated here.

    Students who are fully vaccinated and produce a negative pre-entry molecular test are exempt from quarantine and exempt from Day-8 tests unless advised otherwise by health authorities. They must wear a mask at all times for 14 days following their return to Canada.