Laura Murphy

1912– Opening of North Toronto Collegiate Institute

The true origin of our high school is in the
Town Hall of North Toronto – they gave us two rooms to be used as classrooms.
The building that we knew and loved up until two years ago was first planned in
1912, and was built just off of Broadway Avenue. It only consisted of five
classrooms. The building officially opened its doors to students in 1913, and
became North Toronto High School (not yet a collegiate). It was on its way to
becoming the school that we know and love today.

1914– Cadet Corps

With the outbreak of WW1, many changes were
seen at NTCI. One of the most notable effects was the growth of interest in the
Cadets, which were started in 1914 by the teacher Mr. Clark. Many war efforts
took place at the school, and in the end, 95 North Toronto students fought in
the First World War. Eight of these students passed away. Even after the war,
the cadets had a strong presence at North Toronto throughout the 20’s.

1921– The New Entrance

Shortly after WW1, the population of Toronto
was rapidly growing. Although NT had already made some minor additions, now was
the time for a big expansion. In 1921, a large two-storey addition added 10
more classrooms to the school. Not only did this renovation double the size of
the school, it also added the Roehampton entrance that we used every day until
the building was knocked down in 2010. The 1921 addition changed the address of
North Toronto to Roehampton, which we enjoyed up until recently. It still
included separate entrances for boys and girls.

1922– The Howler

Back in the day, the yearbook that we now
call Pentagon was then called the Howler (all the Harry Potter fans in the
school, contain your excitement). The school named it this to express a desire
to “howl” about NT. In its early days, the cover was a drawing of the Town
crier. This yearbook continued throughout the 20’s and through some of the
30’s. Eventually, the Howler was stopped due to the economic climate of the
30’s. However, in 1931, it won the Daily Star Shield for the Best High School
Magazine in Ontario.

1944– Football Championship Game

Although NT’s boys’ football team had made
it to championships six times in the past, they had still yet to win. In 1944, 13,000
fans gathered at Varsity Stadium to watch the big championship game against
Central Technical School. The final score was 11-8. NT had an undefeated season,
and sometimes the players from this team still meet up to play. NT went on to
win championships throughout most of the 50’s and 60’s. At least we were really
good at one point in history!

1947– First Maytime Melodies

This year, NT celebrated its 66th Maytime
Melodies. Same as in present day, the original Maytime was held over two nights
in NT’s auditorium. Two differences however were that tickets were $1 instead
of $10, and the program was originally only 8 pages long. Miss Bealy was the
teacher who created the name. The show was eventually expanded to three nights
due to increasing popularity, but has now been reduced back to two.

1949 – Yearbook Revived!

After the Howler closed mid-way through the
thirties, it was finally revived again in 1949, taking on the name the Red and
Grey. This name only lasted one year, and went on to become to Nitron in 1950.
When the Graffiti staff discovered this yearbook’s name in the archive room, it
was easy to see why the name was changed. It was made fun of continuously
throughout the day.

1951– The Beginning of Pentagon

In a very smart decision, the name of North
Toronto’s yearbook was finally changed to the Pentagon, which has been the name
of the yearbook since. “The Pentagon” was inspired by the pentagon shape of the
school crest, and was definitely a good alternative to the previously titled
Nitron.

1967– The Montgomery Tavern Revival and the Contemporary

With the founding of the Contemporary (the
student-run newspaper), the underground newspaper, the Montgomery Tavern
Revival, also arose. Similar to today’s RAG, but apparently much more
scandalous, the Montgomery Tavern Revival was run by Julia Schabas’ uncle (I
guess newspapers run in the family). Though apparently it caused the NT staff
trouble over the years, NT’s underground newspaper was infamous throughout
other high school newspapers around the city.

1970- Last Prom Queen

Sadly for all the rest of NT’s graduating
girls, the tradition of Prom Queen came to an end in 1970. Our last ever Queen
crowned was Janet Austin, at St.Lawrence Hall on Friday February 20, 1970. For
the rest of us, we can always watch Jordan being crowned in Disney’s “Prom”!

1980– Roehampton Edition

After the Contemporary came The Roehampton
Edition newspaper in the 80’s. Produced semi-annually, this is the newspaper
that just three years later became known as Graffiti! In describing it, one of
that year’s editors stated, “Late nights, frustration, laughter and great
friends are merely a few of the things that make up the position of co-editor”
– Sophie Reeves.

1984– Hi-Jinks

Before Charity Week and before fashion show,
there was Hi-Jinks: a group of events that occurred at NT every two years. The
events included a fashion show, puppet show, environmental display, art show
and sale, photography exhibition, bake sale, various sporting events, and a
chemistry magic show. Hi-Jinks ended with the big Collegiantics Talent Show.
Hi-Jinks was originally created to raise money for Intramural sports, but
eventually became what we now know as Charity Week.

1986– Charity Week

Although Hi-Jinks and its Collegiantics show
continued, the first official Charity Week of the school was in 1986. It was
kicked off in November with the Young Originals fashion show and raised money
for the humane society. They raised around $1000.

1991– End of NT Cheerleaders

After decades of cheerleaders, the last team
that appeared in the yearbook was in 1991. We are unsure if it was due to some
sort of scandal, or if interest just died out, but never since have we had
cheerleaders cheering on our sports teams at NT. This past Red and Grey Day, we
had the spirit squad do a routine at the football game; maybe they will be able
to revive this NT tradition. Good luck girls!

Early 2000s – Began Phasing out OAC year

The early 2000’s marked the end of the OAC
year (grade 13) across Ontario. For all of the current NT grade twelve students
who know the stress of getting into their top choice university and program,
for this year it doubled. Double the students were applying to get into
university at the same time – many of them thinking they had an extra year and
not feeling ready.

2001– Re-Introduction of Fashion Shows to NT

Even though NT has had fashion shows since
the 60’s, the Young Originals Fashion Show that kicked off the start of NT’s
charity week stopped for about ten years. It was finally revived again in 2001,
and the staff advisor was Ms. Hayden. All the proceeds from fashion show are
included in the charity week total. The first year’s show, Identity, raised
only a few thousand dollars, and the latest show, Neverland, raised $26,000.
The current staff advisor for fashion show is Mr. Stamp.

2006– Mr.Gorenkoff Arrives

2006 marks the beginning of Mr. Gorenkoff’s
principalship at NTCI. As the ninth principal at NT, he has seen many great
things come to the school: the construction of the new building, the 100th
anniversary, the most successful charity weeks and so much more. Thanks Mr.
Gorenkoff for your six years!

2010– The New Building

Years of anticipation by staff and students
alike – observing construction through classroom windows and desperately trying
to speak over the loud cranes – finally ended with the opening day of the brand
new North Toronto C.I. Now located in a state-of-the-art facility, much of NT’s
population was nervous that the traditions, spirit, and stories would not be
carried on. As the second year of us calling NT 2.0 home is coming to an end,
we think it’s safe to say that the only thing that’s changed at NT is that the
ceilings are no longer falling to the ground.

2012– 100th Anniversary

Happy birthday NT! We’ve accomplished so
much as a school in 100 years; from football championships and lawn parties to
hockey city finals and charity week. New building or old, everlasting memories
and friendships have been made within the walls of both of our schools, and
this collection will continue to grow for years to come. Take a deep breath,
because one hundred is a lot of candles to blow out!