A Message from Loic Tagne to our New Colts 

My four years at Bill Crothers Secondary School have been an amazing opportunity. The insight and experiences I have acquired throughout my journey at Bill Crothers Secondary School have propelled me to where I am today. The life-long relationships that I forged have broadened my perspective of the world and augmented my growth as a person. As I leave Bill Crothers Secondary School and step into the outside world, I feel prepared to conquer any obstacle along the way. 

Notably, I leave Bill Crothers Secondary School as a more self-aware individual after having the chance to explore and express both my academic curiosities and athletic endeavors in a supportive environment. As you read this letter, you are getting one step closer to facing the same wonderful opportunity I had in front of me four years ago to redefine myself, as a Colt. An opportunity, I hope you try to take full advantage of. Now, I know what you are thinking. The doubts going through your mind and the voices in your head telling you that the only opportunity you have here is the chance to be surrounded by a bunch of pretentious jocks, get hit in the head with a football on your way to class, and stumble upon stinky sports equipment at just about every corner of the school. Although, have you ever taken the time to ask yourself more questions or find out if there is truly more to this 220,000 square feet state-of-the-art building? As there is a lot more to Bill Crothers Secondary School than meets the eye. 

However, I have come to realize that it is not your eyes or the voices in your head that give you these erroneous perceptions of Bill Crothers Secondary School. But it is, in fact, the words of uninformed individuals throughout our respective communities that paint a distorted image of Bill Crothers Secondary School. With some misconceptions that Bill Crothers does not value academics. Bill Crothers has forever lived by the motto, “To develop in students the love of sport through learning, and the love of learning through sport”. Academics are at the forefront of Bill Crothers, even in their application process. Upon further inquiry/investigation, I can confidently conclude that a greater emphasis is placed on academic performance as opposed to athletic performance when determining admission during the application process. Unsurprisingly, Bill Crothers has consistently placed in the top percentile, in comparison to other schools, on standardized tests such as OSSLT, EQAO, and the Grade 10 Literacy Test. Furthermore, Bill Crothers Secondary School recognizes and appreciates the fact that you are not just an athlete or student, but you are, in fact, a student-athlete. As a result, it does an exquisite job balancing and accommodating to your athletic and academic career. This will become very apparent upon your first day at Bill Crothers as it has systems in place such as the High Performance Athlete Program, ILIP, and flexible and compassionate teachers who will help you catch up on work missed for excused athletic events.

ILIP is a crucial part to the success of Bill Crothers’ students as it gives students sixty minutes each day, except for Wednesday, to study, go find their course teachers for extra assistance, and work with peers. The only reason ILIP is not offered on Wednesday is due to the fact that school starts at 10:00 am (instead of 8:45 am) on Wednesday, therefore our “ILIP” is actually in the morning. In addition, Bill Crothers has continued to look to redefine and celebrate learning. Just this year, Bill Crothers created new courses such as Sports Management, Sports Marketing, Computer Sciences, and sport-specific gym classes. Moreover, Bill Crothers understands the trials and tribulations a student-athlete must endure to maintain academic success while still competing in their sport. Hence, unlike many other highschools, Bill Crothers celebrates students’ academic success by having an Honour Roll presentation each year for grades ten, eleven, and twelve to congratulate students who achieved a minimum of an eighty average in their previous grade. Students receive certificates and a reception along with their family and friends. Overall, this serves as a great motivation for students throughout the school year to perform to their best academically. 

Most importantly, when it comes to creating a school atmosphere that is conducive to inclusivity, unity, and personal growth, no school can compare to Bill Crothers. As Bill Crothers offers events such as Green Acres Day and Right to Play Day for incoming grade nines which allows students from throughout the school to bond. Also, Bill Crothers is host to the renowned “Sea of Red” Homecoming which is incomparable to anything in the province! Words cannot even begin to describe the energy and exhilaration you feel on Homecoming Day. To this day, I still get goosebumps on my skin and chills down my spine thinking about my first homecoming. The best way to even scratch the surface of what it feels/looks like would be to Google it. In previous years, our homecoming athletic events have been host to basketball players such as Andrew Wiggins and Thon Maker who are both now NBA stars. Talk about a star-studded headline! 

Despite the continued success, Bill Crothers is constantly finding innovative ways to enhance the experience of their valuable student-athletes. Whether it be creating more comfortable and fashionable uniform apparel or organizing junior/senior dodgeball tournaments, Bill Crothers does it all. Recently, Bill Crothers’ inventive staff and students have been working towards implementing a new House System throughout the school to further improve school culture. Lastly, what makes Bill Crothers so special and unique is the fact that its superlative culture is predicated upon its diversity. The admissions committee at Bill Crothers does a diligent and marvelous job of building a diverse incoming class of four hundred students from throughout the GTA (Greater Toronto Area) that contribute to the beautiful mosaic of the Bill Crothers community. Nowhere in the GTA will you see a Kleinburg, Markham, and Keswick kid sitting at the same lunch table laughing together. Bill Crothers acted as a lens to which I could see an outside world that I would have never seen within the realm of my local highschool. Each and every day I had the privilege of being surrounded by extraordinary peers coming from many diverse aspects of life. Our relationships only continued to push one another to new heights and challenged us to strive for more. 

Regardless of your varying distances and geographical areas, what will make you want to walk, carpool, or bus to Bill Crothers Secondary School each and every morning is finding a collection of spectacular individuals that all share an insatiable passion for athletics and academics. Throughout my four years at Bill Crothers, I have had the privilege to share classrooms and learn alongside individuals who are U of T National Scholars and Queen’s Chancellor Scholarship laureates and individuals that will be going into prestigious programs/institutions such as Queen’s Commerce, McGill University, Waterloo Engineering, and Schulich. Also, I have been fortunate enough to share weight rooms with a plethora of Division 1 NCAA athletes, World Cup players, OHL prospects, REX players, and TFC Academy players. In conclusion, as a young thirteen-year-old coming into Bill Crothers, the thought of getting to wear that Colt across my chest and experiencing the glamorizing four floors, three gyms, and other facilities everyday excited me the most. Yet, in the final analysis, it was the sensational individuals behind the Colt logo and that comprised the sublime facilities that made my experience worthwhile. Despite the saddening thought of leaving, the thought of going to a place where I will have the chance to meet individuals that are just as amazing as the ones I created lifelong relationships with at Bill Crothers invigorates me. No matter where life takes me, I will always be tied to Bill Crothers Secondary School. Once a Colt, forever a Colt. 

Sincerely,

Loic Tagne

BCSS (Class of 2019)

Harvard (Class of 2023)