1 of 1

Lost in the Woods Thomas Spencer, Cooper Pantel, Cooper Southam,

Oscar Benitah, Braden AndriTeam Advisor: Ms. Weldon

Results

Survey:

54.5% of these new students said they built relationships with other students through group work and found it hard to assimilate when classes has big friend groups in them.

Focus Group:

We discovered that students dislike the current “club fair” method at the beginning of the year, it was described as confusing and chaotic

Students loved the camp experience and thought bunking with new friends was the best way to get to know them. Students also didn’t like the current house system in place at camp.

Key Readings/Literature Review

Pearson, Catherine. “Why Is It so Hard for Men to Make Close Friends?” The New York Times, 28 Nov. 2022, www.nytimes.com/2022/11/28/well/family/male-friendship-loneliness.html.

Suttie, Jill. “Why Friendships among Men Are so Important.” Greater Good, 28 Mar. 2023, greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/why_friendships_among_men_are_so_important

Writer, Francine Kopun Senior. “Toronto Is One of the Loneliest Places in Canada according to a New Report.” Toronto Star, 15 Nov. 2023, www.thestar.com/news/gta/toronto-is-one-of-the-loneliest-places-in-canada-according-to-a-new-report/article_6630032d-3a15-534f-bb2d-4719faccba2a.html. Accessed 27 Nov. 2023.

Researcher’s Emails: oscarbenitah@crescentschool.org,

thomasspencer31@crescentschool.org, bradenandri2026@crescentschool.org, cooperpantel10@crescentschool.org, coopersoutham@crescentschool.org, lweldon@crescentschool.org

Introduction

Research Question:

How can the student onboarding process be improved to create authentic relationships and foster brotherhood within the Crescent Community?

What does Brotherhood look like at Crescent?

At Crescent, brotherhood serves to amplifies the school’s core values of respect, responsibility, honesty, and compassion and helps fosters a sense of connection and comfortability amongst the community.

What is Onboarding?

The process by which new students become acquainted and acclimated with a new school environment. At Crescent, the school helps smooth out this process for incoming students through the grade 9 camp experience and orientation day, inclass factors, community events, and clubs/extracurricular activities.

What led us to this area of study?

Since our team’s first meeting, we knew our area of interest was a topic surrounding brotherhood. However, we pivoted from a study of peer mentorship to one about onboarding due to the relevance this process had upon our social life at school. For example, many members of our group made some of our closest friends during the camp experience, but still felt as though certain parts of the trip could be improved.

Recommendations

  • Clubs: Change the “club fair” to a series of presentations at assembly

  • Camp: Activity groups at camp be determined by a required coure such as English class, allowing students to build relationships with peers they will spend the rest of the year with.

Students be free to sit with whomever during meals-

  • Classroom: Pre-planned seating chart and assigned partners until Thanksgiving in order to build relationships with particular classmates

Project Objectives

  • Amplify student voices for a more fulfilling school environment and boys education
  • Create and implement positive and practical changes
  • Aid in acclimating new students to the Crescent brotherhood
  • Improve upon the grade 9 camp experience
  • Increased participation in clubs/extracurricular activities

Methods (all respondents were kept anonymous)

Step One: Google Form Survey(7 questions)

  • Sent to Upper School students who were new boys in grade 9 either this year or last year
  • Data from respondents students experiences were fresh and unaltered by the restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic
  • Analyze patterns and identify key topics for focus group questions.

Step Two: Focus Group

  • 10 students who were new to Crescent this or last year
  • Addressed the grey areas of survey data
  • Aimed at gathering specific details and feelings based on their experiences.

Indicators of Success

  • Carryover connections between camp and first day of classes
  • Increased club participation