Mr. Gorenkoff<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
After three years of planning and almost a week of celebrations, our 100th<\/sup> <\/p>\n 1. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Hail! North Toronto: Celebrating a Century<\/em> 2. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 At one point during the Open House, I glanced outside and saw an elderly alumnus on his hands and knees on our athletic field running his hands through the 3.\u00a0To a standing room only audience at our Opening Ceremony, I had the privilege of introducing Mr. Bruce MacLean, a Math & Physical Education teacher from the 1930s. At 101 years of age, he is older than our original school building. He received a tearful 4. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I met hundreds of incredible alumni over the course of the anniversary weekend. 5. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I continue to be awed by the generosity of our alumni. Because of their strong 6.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Our school colours were worn proudly and collectively by current students, staff 7.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Maytime Melodies<\/em> is always one of my most 8. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 We had the pleasure of singing our beloved school song a number of times during the reunion celebrations. Young and old, students and staff members belted out 9.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Alumni Chair of the 100th<\/sup> anniversary events Nicole Dowling spoke 10. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The student and staff volunteers did a fantastic job at the open house. Nearly 2000 visitors saw our displays, visited decade rooms, and took tours. They observed <\/p>\n Happy 100th <\/sup>birthday NT!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Mr. Gorenkoff After three years of planning and almost a week of celebrations, our 100th Anniversary reunion celebrations have concluded. It is an opportunity to pause and to reflect. I feel privileged and blessed to be the ninth principal … Continue reading
\nAnniversary reunion celebrations have concluded. It is an opportunity to pause
\nand to reflect. I feel privileged and blessed to be the ninth principal of
\nNorth Toronto. The exciting anniversary events, the many hundreds of alumni and
\nformer staff I have had the opportunity to meet, and the amazing contributions
\nof our staff and students has left me emotional and speechless. I would like to
\nshare with you my top ten recollections and reflections of the reunion (in no
\nparticular order):<\/p>\n
\nwas produced to capture 100 years of amazing NT history. It is a testament to
\nthe passion, spirit and excellence everyone at NT feels and demonstrates. This
\nis a publication that should be in the hands of every<\/span> student and staff
\nmember. It is truly brilliant.<\/p>\n
\nturf. He looked up and smiled. I could sense his pride as an athlete and his
\njoy at knowing that future NT students would have the benefit of wearing red
\n& grey, playing on the best sports field in the city. We should all be
\nreminded that this is a huge privilege.<\/p>\n
\nstanding ovation from alumni and guests. It reinforced how special the staff of
\nNT is and how passionate they are for our students of every generation.<\/p>\n
\nThey were artists, doctors, teachers, entrepreneurs and more. How incredible
\nthey all are and how wonderful it is that they collectively work to preserve
\nthe spirit and passion of NT. I was thrilled to think about you, the current
\nstudents, adding to the richness of this group and how fortunate you are to be students
\nof North Toronto C.I.<\/p>\n
\nconnection to the school, they continue to donate funds to support initiatives
\nand scholarships. One strategy to fundraise was the concept of the \u201cGiving Tree\u201d
\nused at all of the reunion events to aid in the creation of a \u201cCentennial Scholarship\u201d
\nfor graduating students.<\/p>\n
\nand by alumni during the reunion. Red and Grey are symbolic representations of
\nour spirit and pride in our school and something NT alumni of every generation
\nshare. I was especially proud to see our student and staff volunteers at the
\nopen house donning those brilliant red t-shirts with the strong grey logo that
\nexclaimed, \u201cCelebrating 100 Years\u201d. It truly was a great celebration.<\/p>\n
\ntreasured events at NT. The Memories Forever<\/em> concert at Roy Thomson Hall was an opportunity to celebrate the magic of NT music but was magnified by the contributions of alumni spanning many decades. Maytime Melodies<\/em> just
\ncelebrated its 66th anniversary. One of the musicians at RTH played in the very
\nfirst<\/span> Maytime Melodies! Imagine the power of that historical moment.
\nEleven conductors including NT\u2019s current music teachers led huge ensembles and
\nmade beautiful music for all of us to enjoy in one of Toronto\u2019s most beautiful
\nand famous concert halls.<\/p>\n
\nthe familiar words and thrust their arms in the air to: Fight! Fight! Fight! It
\nwas an awe-inspiring demonstration of NT pride and spirit that left us with
\ngoose bumps and tears in our eyes.<\/p>\n
\neloquently at the opening ceremony about her former concern that our new school
\nwas not the \u201csame\u201d school that she remembered. It didn\u2019t take long for her and
\nall of our alumni to realize that North Toronto isn\u2019t about mortar and bricks
\nbut it is the collective spirit and pride we share as the NT community. Old school
\nor new school, we will always be North Toronto Collegiate Institute. Just step
\ninto our Heritage Court and you instantly feel the power of our 100 year
\nhistory.<\/p>\n
\nfirst-hand what makes our current students, staff and school so great. The
\nalumni raved about you, and you should all be so proud of what you\u2019ve accomplished.
\nI am forever in the debt of all of our volunteer students and staff. I am so
\nvery inspired by, and proud of all of you.<\/p>\n