Student Leadership
At Crescent we believe that leadership is a function of character, and that every boy can lead. We support each boy to discover his best self and then to find the courage to offer it in service to his community. The process of educating for character and leadership begins in the Lower School with the character education program allied with practical age-appropriate opportunities through home form, through Outreach, and through assemblies.
Leadership education continues in the Middle School with the House Captains Programand with ongoing support provided through the Mentor Program.
In the Upper School, there is a wide variety of leadership opportunities. We believe that there should be both a civics and a careers component to leadership education. The civics component provides practical experience in the ways in which a civil, democratic society organizes itself through elected representatives. The careers component provides an introduction to the ways in which most of us will experience leadership opportunities in the professional world: we are evaluated and selected in response to our commitment, and demonstrated ability.
Accordingly, there is a range of elected positions at all grade levels: each grade elects two representatives; each House elects two House Captains from the grade 11 class; and the Prefects are elected from the grade 12 class.
There is also a wide range of positions for which students are selected. Students of all grades may serve on the various councils: Outreach, Sports, and Social. Students are chosen to be Ambassadors, and to work on specific projects such as The Toronto Student Film Festival. There are also leadership opportunities through specific programs: Music, Theatre, and, of course, Athletics.
In addition, there is a leadership responsibility for every student in the graduating class who wishes to make the commitment. In addition to the traditional role of Prefect, students may serve as Lower and Middle School Form Representatives and as Senior Mentors. These are the most fundamentally important leadership positions in the school as they have a greater impact than any other role on the day-to-day quality of life for all students. The Form Representatives act as mentors to younger students and organize and deliver a range of activities in the Lower and Middle Schools. The Senior Mentors perform a similar function in the Upper School, mentoring younger students in their Mentor Group and leading a range of activities designed to develop and nurture a feeling of family within the group.
Students in the graduating class who hold positions such as Form Representative and Senior Mentor submit a self-evaluation as well as an evaluation from their Faculty Advisor and, if successful, are awarded a Leadership Tie—a prestigious and highly coveted prize.