Celebrating Our Boys
For 105 years, Prize Day has marked the culmination of the year at Crescent School. It is a unique tradition, bringing us together as a community to showcase our boys’ accomplishments along their path from promise to character. Crescent is proudly a school where boys can discover who they are, where they can learn to lead others, and where they can leave their mark – to make mistakes, learn from them, and emerge stronger for the challenges in life. Indeed, every one of our boys holds the promise of being a Man of Character.
My experience as a Crescent parent and as Headmaster has shown me how deeply our mission, Men of Character From Boys of Promise, is embedded in our School. I was struck by how each of our Lower, Middle and Upper School Valedictorians reflected on our mission in their speeches this year.
In Lower School, boys discover who they are and what they love to do. Grade 6 Valedictorian Sacha Giarrusso quoted baseball legend Tommy Lasorda in his speech: “You give loyalty, you’ll get it back. You give love, you’ll get it back.”
Sacha went on to say, “I believe we have given a lot of both of those things to each other, enabling a strong brotherhood of young Men of Character to emerge from a collection of Boys with Promise. I am a Crescent boy and so is everyone else here and that means something…. some of us have known each other for the longest time and some of us are just starting to really understand each other, but one way or another we are a brotherhood and we are all Coyotes.”
In Middle School, boys learn more about their strengths, interests and abilities to lead. In his speech, Grade 8 Valedictorian Max Gross reflected on the ancient story of the ship of Theseus. By the end of its journeys, every one of the ship’s wooden planks had been replaced – raising the question, was it the same ship it had been when it first launched?
Max asked, “Am I the same person that had to get his dad to tie his tie on the first day of school?... The change was never instant, just gradual, and I would have very little in common with Grade 7 Max Gross because of the time passed. Like the ship of Theseus, Crescent School has slowly but surely made me a better person one lesson learned at a time.”
In Upper School, our boys hone their strengths, learn from their shortcomings and prepare for the legacy they will leave in the journey of life. Speaking at the Graduation ceremony, Grade 12 Valedictorian Charlie Fisher said, “Let’s celebrate all we have achieved, bid farewell to our teachers and to each other, and let’s look forward to our new adventures. We still have much left to accomplish; make sure you enjoy the journey and try new things so you are not left regretting the things you did not do.”
This was a challenging year for modern men – a time of mixed messages and horrible accounts of the abuse of power. However, Crescent provides an alternate vision for our boys, a hope for the future where men are increasingly moral people, adaptable leaders and engaged citizens. We continue to build a community that is increasingly accessible, inclusive and respectful of difference – a place where boys can confront three critical questions: Who am I? How do I lead? And what is my legacy? These questions reflect our relentless pursuit for building Men of Character, our Portrait of a Graduate. I deeply believe in our mission, which perhaps matters more today than ever, and am honoured to serve the School alongside my colleagues.
Whatever your summer holds for you, I hope you enjoy a restful and reinvigorating break. See you in September!
See all of Headmaster Fellin's Open Mike Blogs
See all of Headmaster Fellin's Open Mike Blogs
