C R E S C E N T S C H O O L’ S G R E A T B O Y S C A M PA I G N N E W S L E T T E R
VOLUME 9, JUNE 2014
The Holland
Family makes
a significant
donation
to Student
Financial Aid
The Holland Family joined the Crescent School family
when Nick Holland ’13 enrolled as a Grade 9 student
in September 2009. They chose Crescent because of its
great reputation and because it was highly recommended by Nick’s mentor at Sterling Hall School. Both Nick
and his parents, Bill and Susanne, thought Crescent
was a perfect fit and he would feel right at home. During his four years at Crescent School Nick participated
broadly across a number of sports and co-curriculars,
including volleyball and basketball, and set a great example for his younger peers as a Senior Mentor.
Nick graduated in June 2013 and is now studying in the
Commerce program at Queen’s University. It was after
Nick’s tenure at Crescent concluded that Bill and Susanne made the decision to pledge a total of $420,000
($70,000 per year for 6 years) to establish The Nicholas Holland ’13 Scholarships. These expendable needsbased scholarships will allow Crescent School to recruit two talented students, whose families could not
otherwise afford a Crescent School education, into
Grade 7 and assist them through to graduation. The
Nicholas Holland ’13 Scholarships will truly change
the lives of two future Crescent School students, giving them access to Crescent’s wonderful teachers, academic programs, facilities and co-curricular offerings.
These two boys will be able to take advantage of all the
things that Crescent has to offer in the same way that
Nick did while he was a student at the School.
One of the most important determinants of academic
excellence, apart from great teachers, is the ability to
recruit students who are keenly aware of the value of
a great education and are able and eager to embrace it.
Crescent is looking for students who love to learn, who
The Holland Family: Susanne, Nick ‘13, Kate and Bill at Nick’s Crescent School Graduation, June 2013.
will become engaged and challenged by the School’s
academic program, who can encourage those around
them to strive for excellence, and who will take advantage of everything that a Crescent education has to
offer. The Holland family agrees wholeheartedly with
this ideal of pairing students who have a strong interest
in education with a great educational opportunity, and
know that this cannot be made widely possible without
the availability of student financial aid.
The Nicholas Holland
Scholarships will truly
change the lives of two
Crescent students and
their classmates.
Having the best and brightest students in our classrooms, art studios, theatre, and science labs, and on
our playing fields elevates the performance—academic
and otherwise – of each and every student around them.
These students bring diversity on many levels—cultural, socio-economic, and academic interest—to the halls
of Crescent School. Often they become the role models
that many of our boys look up to and raise the bar for
achievement in all areas of curricular and co-curricular
life. These students often have a keen sense of their role
in giving back to their community, paying forward the
generosity shown to them by those who have helped
fund their education.
Bill and Susanne Holland are very generous philanthropists. They have made similar student financial aid
commitments to other educational institutions resulting
in many success stories. The Hollands encourage all
members of the Crescent School community to support
needs-based student financial aid. As Bill puts it, “Supporting financial aid makes a significant difference in
the lives of young people—both those receiving the
financial assistance and those who learn alongside
them.”
In May 2010, Crescent School launched its $30 million
Great Boys campaign with a modest goal of $500,000
for Student Financial Aid. Over the past four years, almost $3.4 million of the $28.7 million raised has been
earmarked for endowed and expendable funding for
this critically important area. Crescent School is grateful to the Hollands and many other families who have
made supporting student financial aid a philanthropic
priority.
C R E S C E N T S C H O O L ’ S G R E A T B O Y S C A M P A I G N N E W S L E T T E R VOLUME 9, JUNE 2014
A Great Boys Campaign Retrospective:
Geoff Roberts By The Numbers
Although the Great Boys campaign was officially
launched on May 10, 2010, the planning for the campaign began in the early fall of 2009. With Geoff Roberts’
impending retirement after 36 years at Crescent School,
including the last 14 as Headmaster, we thought it might
be fun to ride in Mr. Peabody’s WABAC machine and
examine some of the notable and perhaps whimsical moments in the Great Boys campaign. We’d like to call this
historical postscript Geoff Roberts By The Numbers.
We’ve had 173
individual & family
campaign meetings
And... 173 times Geoff
has claimed to have
baked the cookies
Geoff has consumed
321 cups of tea at
campaign meetings &
planning sessions
Great
Boys
Geoff has said the
words Great Boys
campaign 876 times
during the campaign
Geoff has written 436
thank you notes to
Great Boys donors
Geoff has spent 225
hours with Co-Chairs Paul
Tompkins & Barb Black...
and they are still friends!
We’ve added 45,706
sq. ft. of new learning
space during the
campaign
We have raised
$28.7M toward our
$30M goal.
Lau Family Wing Sod Turning, May 2010.
Headmaster, Geoff Roberts, with Great Boys Campaign Co-Chairs, Barb Black P’08,’10,’14 and Paul Tompkins P’10,’12,’13 in the
Formal Garden at Crescent School, November 2013.
The Great Boys campaign has kept Mr. Roberts extremely busy over the last four and a half years, but let’s not
forget that during that time he was also responsible for
running the School and took that job very seriously. During the Great Boys campaign, Geoff, along with his wife
Lori, hosted 125 new parent dinners. Another hallmark
of Geoff’s tenure as Headmaster is his daily presence offering a friendly wave at morning drop-off. We tried to
estimate how many times Geoff has waved at parents and
boys being dropped off in the morning and realized that
would be nearly impossible and that his arm must be sore!
“Geoff’s dedication to Crescent School is tremendous.
He has given so much of his time to host campaign meetings with current and past parents, and alumni at all times
of the day. There have certainly been a few times when
I’m sure he’s wished he had a cot in his office after a late
night and in advance of an early morning meeting,” says
Campaign Co-Chair and Governor, Paul Tompkins. “The
Great Boys campaign would not have met with its level
of success without Geoff and his commitment. I am so
fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with Geoff
Innes Field in action, October 2011.
and Barb to leave Crescent School in better stead than
when our families arrived.”
Campaign Co-Chair, Barb Black, enthusiastically adds,
“The success of the Great Boys campaign—the facilities
built and the funds established—are all part of Geoff’s
legacy at Crescent School. Geoff embodies the core
values of Crescent: Respect, Responsibility, Honesty
and Compassion. I have seen this time and time again
during campaign meetings and at School functions. It
has been my pleasure to work alongside Paul and Geoff
and I am certainly proud of the success of the Great Boys
campaign.”
It simply boils down to this: we can quantify the many
events, activities and initiatives attended or established
by Geoff both during the Great Boys campaign or during
his years as Headmaster, in general. However, as that
exercise unfolded, it became abundantly clear that it is
nearly impossible to quantify Geoff’s overall impact
on Crescent School. As MasterCard might say, “Geoff
Roberts’ contribution to Crescent School… priceless.”
Demolition Crew at Hyland Hall, Site of the New Library, June 2013.
w w w. c r e s c e n t s c h o o l . o rg
The Power of Alumni: By Alumni, For Alumni
I am a proud alumnus of Crescent School as a member
of the Class of 1985, which led me to get involved on the
Alumni Executive. However, I wear another hat at Crescent—that of proud dad to my son Jack Watt who will
soon be graduating as part of the Class of 2014. I can
assure you that when I graduated 29 (gulp!) years ago,
I wasn’t thinking about returning to Crescent as a dad.
However, once Jack was born, I definitely had visions of
him attending Crescent, donning a green blazer, and sharing many of the same experiences I had enjoyed during
my tenure at the School. Little did I know that he’d also
be influenced by people like Geoff Roberts, James Wright
and many others who had played a role in my education
so many years ago.
Sharing common experiences is a wonderful privilege
that I am grateful to have had and continue to have with
both of my children. Being an alumni dad is one of my
most treasured shared experiences with Jack. As you will
see in the accompanying edition of Past and Present,
Geoff Roberts was photographed surrounded by current
alumni dads and their Crescent School sons.
Altogether, there are 32 current alumni dads with 39 boys
enrolled at Crescent. Although a few regrettably missed
this amazing photo opportunity, most of us ensured we
were there with our boys proudly posing with our former
teacher and their current Headmaster. It was something I
wouldn’t have missed for the world.
For me, this meaningful and sentimental photo gave me
pause to reflect on a few things—the importance of legacy and taking advantage of opportunities as they arise, to
enjoy special moments to their fullest and perhaps made
me value, just that little bit more, my shared Crescent experience with Jack.
The Crescent Alumni Executive, in conjunction with the
Advancement Office, is embarking upon a revitalized
Alumni Annual Giving program. Its renewed focus is
based upon a concept called By Alumni, For Alumni. It
Jack Watt ’14 and Rob Watt ’85, P’14 in the Upper Gym at Crescent School, April 2014.
is aimed at raising money for both need-based endowed
and expendable student financial aid bursaries with a
preference for the sons of alumni. Through this effort, the
Alumni Executive hope to bring more Crescent alumni
back to campus as dads so they too can enjoy this significant shared experience with their sons. While sons of
alumni who apply must go through the regular School
admissions and student financial aid processes, we feel
that this is a step in the right direction.
Whether your family could benefit from needs-based student financial aid or not, I encourage all alumni with sons
to think about Crescent School for their boys. It truly is a
life-changing experience to see your son confidently wear
his treasured green blazer as a Boy of Promise.
I look forward to sharing more about our By Alumni, For
Alumni initiative over time, and encourage you to partner
with your School on this exciting effort. You can support
Alumni Annual Giving and the By Alumni, For Alumni
program with a charitable gift via our online donation
form. Go to greenroom.crescentschool.org/alumnigiving.
Thank you for your consideration of support.
—Rob Watt ’85, P’14, Chair, Crescent Alumni Executive
Proud Alumnus and Proud Crescent School Dad
The Naylors Increase their Annual Giving to Support Great Boys
From the moment they stepped foot on the Crescent campus, Chris and Gabby Naylor knew it was
the perfect fit for their son Jack ’15, now in Grade
11. “We felt that Crescent offered a wide variety of
sports and clubs, and it had an excellent academic
reputation. We also liked the size of the School
and we were impressed with the facilities—it just
seemed to offer that correct balance between arts,
sports and academics,” explains Gabby.
As parents of a boy in the Upper School, Chris and
Gabby feel that university preparedness is a priority
for Jack. It is for this reason that the Naylors are
especially excited about the new Library and Latifi
Family Commons. As Gabby puts it, “Exposure to
the new library and its resource centre (which will
be similar in structure and resources to those that
the boys will encounter at university) will obviously
help smooth the students’ transition from Crescent to
university. In addition, the Latifi Family Commons
will create an important space where both students
and their parents will be able to access resources
for University Counselling and Crescent Student
Services.”
Since Jack started attending Crescent in September
2011, the Naylor family have generously increased
their Parent Annual Giving each year.
Chris and Gabby believe that giving to the Great
Boys campaign is an important part of the growth of
the School, which in turn enhances the academic and
character development of the boys. “We understand
that the School needs to constantly invest in itself in
order to continue to offer an excellent education and
fantastic co-curricular activities to the boys. Donating to the School empowers the administration and
teachers to constantly investigate and introduce innovative methods of teaching so that the boys can
get the best education possible, and develop a love of
learning in the process. Of course, providing financial support also allows the School to maintain and
improve its facilities. When you see all the benefits
the campaign has enabled the School to provide for
our boys, you have to ask yourself, ‘why wouldn’t I
support such an environment?’,” says Chris.
When it comes to supporting the School, Chris and
Gabby’s message to other Crescent families is, “Do
it! By giving to Crescent you are not only helping
your son directly, but you are also helping all of the
current students as well as future ones. Your gift affords Crescent the ability to teach the boys in the best
possible manner and as parents, we are the recipients
of that education as well. Education is the greatest
gift you can give to your children, and when you invest in education, our whole society benefits.”
The Naylor Family: Chris, Jack ’15, and Gabby, in the Drawing
Room at Crescent School, April 2014.
Supporting the Parent Annual Giving program
through a double-up gift is the Naylor’s way of demonstrating their support for Crescent and all it has to
offer their son, his fellow students, and those who
will join the Crescent ranks in future years.
Go directly to our Great Boys website at greenroom.crescentschool.org/GreatBoys or visit via the Green Room. Email us at [email protected].
C R E S C E N T S C H O O L’ S G R E A T B O Y S C A M PA I G N N E W S L E T T E R
VOLUME 9, JUNE 2014
The Ganguli Family Supports the Great Boys Campaign
“Make your time at Crescent as good as
it can be—get involved!” Such is the advice that Domenica and Nimu Ganguli
have imparted to their son Neal ’16 ever
since he joined Crescent in Grade 3. Neal
has certainly risen to the occasion, having participated and played leadership
roles in drama, music, choir, swimming,
Right to Play, International Outreach,
the GSA and Robotics throughout the
past eight years. An accomplished actor at Crescent, with the Toronto Youth
Music Theatre Company and on a TV
pilot series on YTV, Neal’s first major
School role came in Grade 3 with a lead
as Jiminy Cricket in the Lower School’s
production of Pinocchio. He grew into
more mature roles, including that of
Johnny Cade in the Middle School’s rendition of The Outsiders during his Grade
7 year. His drama career continues to this
day, but with interests not limited to the
arts, Neal has also been a leader with the
Robotics program, the highlight being
Team 610’s World Championship win at
the 2013 FIRST Robotics Competition in
St. Louis.
The balance of academics and co-curriculars that drew the Gangulis to Crescent—the arts program and Centre for
Creative Learning (which catered to Neal’s creative side) and Robotics (which
caused young Neal’s face to light up
during the stop at the Robotics lab on
his Admissions tour)—has been a lived
into Robotics, they get back out of it. The
program is not just about the two-minute
matches. The skills the boys gain—designing, building, planning, strategy,
teamwork and follow-through—are skills
they can take anywhere. It’s a student-run
program with wonderful mentors, and
Neal really belongs there.”
The Ganguli Family: Nimu, Domenica, and Neal ’16, in the Robotics Lab at Crescent, March, 2014.
reality for their family. Domenica notes
in hindsight, “It’s funny how everything
that we thought was great about Crescent
during the Admissions process has come
full circle.”
Robotics build season, and Domenica
working tirelessly in the Coyote’s Den, at
the CPA’s annual Garage Sale, past Lower School Halloween parties and, more
recently, in the Library.
Neal’s Crescent experience has been a
family affair, and the “get involved!”
mantra is also carried out by both Nimu
and Domenica. The two of them have
served in numerous parent volunteer
roles, with Nimu acting as a judge for the
FIRST Lego League Robotics and helping to organize healthy weekend meals
for Upper School boys during the Vex
Their leadership extends to the philanthropic realm, as well. The Gangulis
have been faithful Parent Annual Giving
donors, and to honour Neal’s passion for
the Robotics team, they endowed The
Ganguli Family Fund for Robotics in
February of 2014. They came forward
with a major gift commitment because,
as Domenica puts it, “What the kids put
Nimu, a nuclear radiologist who holds
two engineering degrees from McGill
and a degree in medicine from the University of Toronto, feels strongly about
supporting endowment—their family has
established endowed funds at both of his
alma maters, in addition to Crescent. “The
gift goes on forever,” he says. Through
the Ganguli Family Fund, their financial
support will continue in perpetuity, just
as Nimu asserts, “Neal’s involvement at
Crescent won’t end when he graduates.
He’ll come back as an alumnus and as a
mentor, and hopefully his kids will one
day be students here.”
As the Great Boys campaign nears its
conclusion, the Gangulis’ long-term vision and financial investment in the
School is yet another example of how
one family’s engagement can benefit
the entire Crescent community. For all
the years ahead, Nimu and Domenica’s
generosity will continue to support eager
students involved with Robotics, and for
that the Crescent community is forever
grateful.
GREAT BOYS CAMPAIGN UPDATE
Library
and Latifi
Family
Commons
Robotics & Technology
Crescent Student Services
$200K
RAISED
$9.7M
$200K
RAISED
$300K
RAISED
TO GO
$300K
$3.3M
TO GO
TO GO
to meet our goal of
to meet our goal of
$13M
$500K endowed
to meet our goal of
$500K endowed
International
Outreach
$346K
RAISED
$154K
TO GO
to meet our goal of
$500K
endowed
Lau Family
Wing
Innes Field
$3.1M
RAISED
project fully
funded and
actively used
Margaret
Donnelly
Lower School
Library and
renovations
$9.6M
RAISED
project fully
funded and
actively used
$1.4M
RAISED
project fully
funded and
actively used
Student
Financial Aid
(endowed
and
expendable)
$3.4M
RAISED
against a goal of
$500K; achieved
680% of our goal