Roundtable Q&A Discussion About Crescent School (2026)
Crescent School alumni, current students, and parents shared their insights on the school’s culture, values, strengths, and weaknesses. Hear what Shay Kothari, Ariston Wang, Amanda Riva had to say about the school.
Highlights from the Q&A discussion
Shay Kothari — alum
Shay, a Crescent School alumnus, shared his perspective on the school's strong character values, individualized support, diverse opportunities, and positive upper school experience. He reflected on how Crescent encouraged him to explore different interests, embrace change, and take advantage of new opportunities, while caring teachers and faculty supported his academic growth and helped him discover who he was.
- The idea of "Men of Character" from "Boys of Promise" is truly something that the school tries to promote and advocate for each student every single day… the motto that the school tries to promote everywhere is very much real. It's not something that's just written on paper or written on the signs.
The idea of "Men of Character" from "Boys of Promise" is truly something that the school tries to promote and advocate for each student every single day… the motto that the school tries to promote everywhere is very much real. It's not something that's just written on paper or written on the signs.
For me, Crescent is not only somewhere somebody might ask a question, "Oh, you went to Crescent," but it's also a way to show the things that I was involved in—the vast array of different experiences or interests that I had in high school.
I can't look back and think of a negative in any of my years because it ended up being such a good upper school time. Even in lower middle school, obviously there are ups and downs, as there are for every student, but nothing that I would concretely change about my experience.
Crescent is a place where I found that academics weren't actually negatively affected in the long run because the teachers and the faculty cared about each and every student individually.
Embrace the changes around you. You're going to a completely new environment with new people and new teachers. As I said kind of at the beginning, that was extremely anxious for me and will be extremely anxious for anybody going into that kind of scenario.
It's an opt-in environment. You have to take all of these different chances that are being given to you and the opportunities that are available as a student, especially as a new student, and try something new.
Jump into something you've never done before. It's a complete no-judgment environment. Nobody's going to say anything if you're not as good at something as you might have thought. But that's the opportunity for you to figure out who you are, because you never truly know until you try.
Ariston Wang — student
Ariston, a student at Crescent School, shared his perspective on the school's welcoming community, diverse extracurricular opportunities, mentorship program, and supportive student experience. He reflected on how getting involved in sports, business, arts, and theatre has helped shape his growth and encouraged him to embrace new experiences, while emphasizing that participating in school life is key to building meaningful connections within the Crescent community.
- When I was touring, it felt like a warm home, like a community that I could see myself in…. And that's sort of what drew me to Crescent in the end, and that's why I'm here.
When I was touring, it felt like a warm home, like a community that I could see myself in… And that's sort of what drew me to Crescent in the end, and that's why I'm here.
I've been a part of a lot of different things. I've tried many things. I've been part of sports teams, the business team and arts, and I think what stuck out to me the most is the theatre productions.
If I were to meet myself in grade nine or grade six when I first came to Crescent, I feel like I would surprise myself… I don't think I could compare myself from now to then because all of the experiences that I've had leading up to this point are myself, and that's what made me me.
Each mentor has their way of helping their students. And for us, mentor group was a time to relax and de-stress from all the academic stress.
Get involved in as many activities as possible. Even if you think you won't like something, you don't knock it till you try it. You can't judge a book by its cover, obviously.
The biggest thing that Crescent has to offer is its community. And the only way that you'll be able to get that community out of Crescent is to do things that are part of Crescent and to be involved in the clubs and the societies and all of those sorts of things.
Amanda Riva — current parent
Amanda, a parent at Crescent School, shared her perspective on the school's strong values, family-focused community, student-centred approach, and emphasis on character development. She reflected on how Crescent's guiding principles, open communication, and welcoming transition helped her son feel a strong sense of belonging, while opportunities for parent participation and community-building created a meaningful partnership between families and the school.
When we went to look at independent schools, we were really focused on values. There's never been a time when values have been more important. Many of our boys are being raised in a big city with a lot of privilege. And you want to understand that the school that you are partnering with is going to partner back with you as a parent.
He had formed his own opinion of what he thought would be best for him and what he was looking for from a development perspective. And we really took his opinion to heart when we were making decisions around the school, and were so pleased because all three of us were aligned that Crescent was ultimately the school that, as a student and as partners, we wanted to work alongside.
My number one piece of advice that I give to any new parent is that you just need to let the school take the initial lead. The school is trained and ready to receive the boys and integrate them in a really beautiful and special way, which I think is really, really lovely.
My son came home from his first day at Crescent, and he described his first day as a warm hug. And I think that is so special.
- The school is set up to bring the boys in, to integrate them, to allow them to explore different social dynamics and groupings. There's a lot of group work.
The school is set up to bring the boys in, to integrate them, to allow them to explore different social dynamics and groupings. There's a lot of group work.
I never felt, as a new parent, like I was working against or in opposition to the school. I really felt like everything we were doing was on the same page, all working towards one consistent goal.
I did feel that Crescent was very family-focused, and they were really looking at embracing the whole family and wanting participation. And I think that's really nice because when a family opts in, that's how you also create that parent dynamic.
Having a community at school is really special because we're going to go through some really big growth and development years together. As school gets harder and more demanding, as athletics pick up, clubs pick up, and boys are going through their own developmental life cycle, you want to have a peer group to support you, to talk through things, to share challenges, to talk about what's working really well.
I think Crescent is for the students but also for the parents, an opt-in environment, and I think the more that we all do that, the more we get out of the school.
