Harbord Collegiate Institute
| Harbord Collegiate Institute | |
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| Address | |
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286 Harbord St. , , M6G 1G5 | |
| Information | |
| School type | High school |
| Motto | Virtus et Doctrina |
| Founded | 1892 |
| School board | Toronto District School Board |
| Area trustee | Chris Bolton |
| Principal | Mary Jane McNamara |
| Grades | 9-12 |
| Enrollment | Approx. 1000 students |
| Language | English, French |
| Colour(s) | Orange and Black |
| Mascot | Tiger |
| Team name | Harbord Tigers |
| Website | http://www.harbordci.ca/ |
Harbord Collegiate Institute (also known as either Harbord or HCI for short) is a public secondary school located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Harbord was opened in 1892 as Harbord Street Collegiate Institute and is the second oldest secondary school in Toronto. The school is located at the southwestern edge of the Mirvish Village neighbourhood, situated on Harbord Street, between the streets of Euclid and Manning. The school has long strived to and maintained a reputation for academic excellence. Currently, the school has approximately 1000 students enrolled and over 50 teachers.
History
Notable graduates
Since Harbord opened its doors in 1892, there have been many graduates over the years that have achieved/are achieving remarkable accomplishments.
| Name | Accomplishment/Field |
|---|---|
| Wayne and Shuster | Comedians |
| Joe Pantalone | Toronto city councillor |
| Bob Rae | Former Ontario Premier |
| Charles Trick Currelly | Founder and first curator of the Royal Ontario Museum |
| Gordon Skilling | Rhodes Scholar and Professor of Political Economy |
| Lee Ross | Famous Social Psychologist |
| Robert McClure | Moderator of the United Church of Canada |
| Dr. Charles Best | Co-discoverer of Insulin |
| Morris Surdin | Composer |
| John Weinzweig | Composer |
| Lou Applebaum | Composer |
| Victor Feldbrill | Former Conductor of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra |
| Steven Staryk | Violinist |
| David Cronenberg | Filmmaker |
| Morley Safer | CBS News Anchor |
| Garfield Weston | Founder of Weston's foods |
| Sam Sniderman | Founder of Sam the Record Man |
| Sam Shopsowitz | Shopsy's restaurant |
| Eddie Goodman | Law Guy |
| Lorraine Gotlib | Judge |
| Philip Band | Judge |
| Philip Givens | Former Toronto Mayor |
| Louis Rasminsky | Former Governor of the Bank of Canada |
| Stephen Lewis | UN Special Envoy for HIV/AIDs in Africa |
Harbord Club
The Harbord Club is the longest continuous high school alumni group in Canada with over 2600 members. It was established in 1978 by Elsie Affleck, who brought along other alumni including: Ken Prentice, Willie Zimmerman, Johnny Wayne, Max Goldhar and Julius Molinaro. The Harbordite, founded in 1979, is the Harbord Club newsletter that keeps former students of the school in contact with one another and up-to-date on Harbord activities. The Harbord Charitable Foundation was also created at this time, supporting both student scholarships and alumni activities. Currently, the president of the Harbord Club is Annie Kwong.
In 1992, the Harbord Club published a 300-page history of the school entitled The Happy Ghosts of Harbord.
Centennial
Harbord's first centennial was celebrated in 1992, the inauguration of the Harbord museum was held, distinguished by its architectural design, and repository of Harbord memorabilia of photographs and documents. Another major event the centennial was the publication of The Happy Ghosts of Harbord, which traces the history of the school from 1892 when it was built to 1992. The book is still available.
Remembrance Day 2005
On November 11, 2005, a huge ceremony took place at Harbord. With the donations to the W. Garfield Weston Foundation and many other corporate sponsors and individuals, phase I of Harbord Remembers was completed. The rededication of the 1921 WWI monument back to its original splendor was held. The master of ceremony was Syd Moscoe who most willingly took the job. Poignant addresses were given by:
- Galen Weston, President of George Weston Ltd.
- Barney Danson, a former Minister of Defence
- Lt.-General Marc Caron, Chief of Land Staff, Canadian Armed Services
- Sheila Ward, Chairperson of the TDSB
Harbord's Jazz Band played a piece written by Mr. Alberts, one of the band teachers, called "On Remembrance Day". The Cantemus Choir also performed that day. The "Last Post" was played by David Chou and poems written by students Kevin Tung and Michael Lee were read for all to hear. The morning ended with a picture that was taken of the students, teachers, alumni and neighbours all standing in front of the school, similar to what was done previously.
Remembrance Day 2006
On November 11, 2006, Harbord will be unveiling a WWII monument to commemorate the loss of the many Harbord students that died in the war. Funding for the monument is currently being raised by the Harbord Club, and approximately $52,000.00 is needed to complete the fundraising effort. The monument is planned to be placed in the courtyard of the southern front yard.
Multiculturalism
Harbord has been a multicultural school for many years. From the 1920s to the 1950s, about 90 percent of the student body was Jewish and many prominent Jewish Canadians had attended Harbord. Today the school has a big population of Asians and also a noticeable number of Italians. The school is filled with students with many different backgrounds including: Chinese, Korean, Italian, Portuguese, French, British, African, Sri Lankan, Guyanese, Vietnamese and many more.
Furthermore, Harbord has 3 French programs to choose from, Immersion, Extended or Core, meaning that many students that graduate from Harbord are more or less bilingual in Canada's two official languages. Since the school has a noticeable amount of students that participate in these French programs, the Immersion and Extended French students have been labelled Frenchies. Now, there is even a French Club within Harbord.
A majority of the students at Harbord are also Asian, and because of that, there are many clubs such as the Chinese Club and the South Asian Club. However, these clubs are composed of people of all races, cultures, and backgrounds, and anyone can join. Students at Harbord can also take languages courses such as Cantonese, Mandarin, Spanish, and Latin.
Schedules
| Time | Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 |
| 8:45-9:55 | Block A | Block E | Block B | Block F |
| 9:55-10:05 | Homeform | Homeform | Homeform | Homeform |
| 10:10-11:20 | Block B | Block F | Block A | Block E |
| 11:20-12:20 | Lunch | Lunch | Lunch | Lunch |
| 12:20-1:30 | Block C | Block G | Block D | Block H |
| 1:30-1:50 | Silent Sustained Reading | Silent Sustained Reading | Silent Sustained Reading | Silent Sustained Reading |
| 1:55-3:05 | Block D | Block H | Block C | Block G |
Each full-time student takes between six and eight courses each year. First to third year students must take 8 courses, while students in their fourth or possibly fifth years are allowed to take less courses as required for a Ontario Secondary School Diploma. These courses are separated between two days, with a maximum of 4 course per day. Any block without a course is called a spare. The school is non-semestered, so all selected courses are in the schedule.
The schedule of day 1 is taken and the morning classes are reversed as are the afternoon classes making a day 3 and such is done with day 2 as well to make a day 4. These four days are then cycled to make up a students schedule. Tests are only allowed if the class is the first class in the morning or the first class after lunch. This ensures that students don't have more than two tests a day and hence the necessity of day 3 and 4.
Silent Sustained Reading or SSR is a time block in between the second last and last periods of the day in which everyone, students, teachers, administration, all read for 20 minutes. During this time no one is allowed in the hallways and everyone has to remain quiet. Even though this period of time is suppose to give the students a chance to pick up a book and start reading, many choose to catch up on sleep instead. The Year 2006-2007 will be the 3rd year SSR has been put in place.
Full time teachers teach six classes a year and have two periods of prep. There are also part time teachers in the school that teach every other day.
There are two exam periods a year at Harbord, one in December before the Winter break, and one in June before the Summer break. However, due to the school being non-semestered, one could have 8 exams to write during an exam period, instead of the usual 4 in a semestered school. Exams in June may be part of the 30% required Summative Evaluation. Report cards are given out after these exam periods, and also once in November.
Clubs
Harbord has a variety of clubs. With over 40 clubs, there's one for every student.
Student Activity Council
The Student Activity Council, better known as SAC, is a student organization created as the " of the students for the students. It is run by dedicated individuals who wish to make your stay at Harbord more enjoyable. They organize special activities such as semi-formals, activity days, and spirit weeks. In order to fund for these activities, students may to purchase a SAC card from SAC, which allows students to join clubs and teams, and entitles each student to a yearbook. Using the money they collect, SAC distributes the money from these cards to support and fund some of these activities as well as school teams and clubs.
The president of the 2006-2007 year is Rajithan Ithayalingam. Presidents of SAC in the past include Martyna Bocian, Gia Milne-Allan, Max Kerman and Killa Jam.
Creative Arts Council
The Creative Arts Council, also known as CAC, is full of music and art students that work together to improve the school's musical program. This group is in charge of all the concerts including: Holiday Assembly, Feeder School Concert, Musical Theatre Performance, Junior and Senior Spring Showcases and a variety of other music, visual art, and drama events. They are also in charge of instrument repairs. As well, the council works together in hopes of holding a great banquet at the end of each year in which outstanding participation as well as talent is recognized and awards are given. Great food and dancing is also on the program for that special night.
The current co-presidents of CAC are Natalie Maxwell and Rajithan Ithayalingam.
Boys and Girls Athletic Association
The Boys Athletic Association, also known as the BAA, and the Girls Athletic Association, also known as the GAA, are two different clubs in Harbord that work closely together to organise most athletic events, such as the athletic banquet and intramurals.
For the year 2006-2007, the BAA president will be Kevin Tung and the GAA president will be Amy Chong.
Key Club
The Key Club does not make keys, in fact KEY stands for Kiwanis Educating Youths. As a student-led organization, the Key Club builds character and develops leadership while we give back to our home, school and community. This year, the Key Club has partnered with the Toronto Western Hospital in its patient visiting program. If you are looking into getting some volunteer hours fast, the Key Club is the club that makes it happen.
The president of the 2006-2007 year is Natalie Maxwell.
Debating Society
The Harbord Debating Society is a place to enhance students’ political awareness as well as their oratorical skills. The society is open to all Harbord students. The topics range from school uniform to George W. Bush’s policies, from gay marriage to NAFTA. Each year, students participate in various tournaments, such as the Ontario Model Parliament and the Southern Ontario Model United-Nations Assembly. The club has many enthusiastic and capable members, and a dedicated Mr. Harrison as its staff advisor.
This year's two co-presidents are Jimmy Lu and Yunus Mohamed.
French Club
The French Club is dedicated to imporoving the Francophone population at Harbord. Originally started by Mme Berezowsky, the French club was a very small club at Harbord, mainly frenchies. After her departure from Harbord, the French club was restarted and a new president Selina Mohabir lead the French club to a new start. During the year of 2005-2006, the French club has already had fundraisers, outings to Café Crêpe (a restaurant in Toronto) and are planning to volunteer around Toronto helping Francophones. It has been their best year by far. The club still consists of mainly Frenchies, but many other students are starting to join in on the activities and events held by the French club.
Empowered Student Partnership
The Empowered Student Partnership is a new club at Harbord that works with the TDSB, the Toronto Police Service and the Toronto Catholic District School Board to make the school and the community a safer and better place. They work towards minimizing violence, drug use, graffiti, guns, racism, etc. The teacher advisor is Mrs. Townsend and the club is also strongly supported by vice-principal Mr. Mirza. Since the club is relatively new, there are not many members, but the members are working hard to promote the club.
The current co-presidents of the club are Rajithan Ithayalingam and Linda Au-Yeung.
Robotics Club
The Robotics Club is a team dedicated to competing in various international competitions such as the FIRST Robotics Competition and the FIRST Vex Challenge. The team name of the Robotics Club is Tiger Techs, or T2 for short. The registered team number for Tiger Techs is 919 in all robotics challenges organized by FIRST. The leader of the Robotics Club, as well as its technical expert, is Ken Struys, a university student who comes back to the school and devotes himself to helping the club succeed. This club has been in existence for over five years and has built many a successful robot. In 2006, the team proudly ranked 31 out 72 in the Greater Toronto Regional. The teachers involved in the Robotics Club are Mr. Hulays, Mr. Santos, Mr. Sangha and Mrs. Gibula.
Other clubs
Here is a (incomplete) list of other clubs offered at Harbord:
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Sport teams
Harbord has a wide variety of sport teams, coached and managed by many members of the faculty and sometimes with help of old students of Harbord.
Here is a list of sport teams offered at Harbord:
| Team | Boys? | Girls? | Co-Ed? | Team | Boys? | Girls? | Co-Ed? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Badminton | Soccer | ||||||
| Baseball | Softball | ||||||
| Basketball | Swim | ||||||
| Cross Country | Track and Field | ||||||
| Ice Hockey | Volleyball | ||||||
| Rugby | |||||||
Music program
Harbord has a very wide range of musical opportunities. At Harbord, the head of the Music Department is Mrs. Todros. Other teachers in the department include Mrs. Martin and Mr. Alberts.
Band
Band is the taught by Mr. Alberts and Mrs. Martin. The band program goes from the Grade 9 Beginner Band to the Grade 12 Senior Band. The Senior Band is taught by Mr. Alberts, who also runs the Jazz band; the Jazz band has been amazing performing songs such as: Georgia on my Mind, It Ain't mean a Thing, Remembrance Day, Splanky and Moondance at concerts which include: Senior showcase, Feeder school concert, Comencement and at the Farewell Assembly. Mrs. Martin teaches the Junior Band class. Instruments in band include flute, clarinet, saxophone, french horn, trombone, tuba, bass guitar, keyboard, drums, baritone and trumpet. Since there is such a variety of instruments in the band, it is very difficult to ensure that the sound produced is clear and balanced, that's why only the best students at Harbord take band.
Vocal
Vocal is taught by Mrs. Todros. The classes range from Grade 9 Beginner Vocal to Senior Vocal. There is also a Cantemus Choir at Harbord that sings for many events inside and outside of Harbord. This Choir won Second Place at this year's Kiwanis Festival.
Some singers at Harbord include Tess, Phil, Mary, Melissa, Agnese, Maggi, Denix, and our star singer Rocky. And Victor "The Victor" Nhan.
Strings
Strings is taught by Mrs. Todros. She teaches the Grade 9 Beginner Strings, the Junior Strings and the Senior Strings. Instruments available for strings at Harbord include: violin, viola, cello and bass. Strings are a very difficult instrument to play, as any instrument is, and the students that take part in this are highly dedicated and passionate. Harbord's String Quarter won First Prize at this year's Kiwanis Festival. The Chamber Orchestra has performed at other venues such as Massey Hall, and George Weston Hall. The orchestra has played pieces such as Palladio , Divertimento, Piccolo Bolero, and Celine Dion's famous The Prayer. It doesn't take just anyone to be gifted on String instruments, and Harbord's String program isn't composed of just anyone. Harbord's got the best!
Staff
Besides the students, the staff are the most important people in the school.
| Administration Staff | ||||
| Principal | Mary Jane McNamara | |||
| Vice-Principal | Susana Arnott, Aftab Mirza | |||
| Office staff | Luiza Healey, Mary Selvaggi | |||
| Teaching Staff | ||||
| Department | English | Language | Science | Computer and Math |
| Department Head | Mr. Morgan | Mr. Machado | Mr. McIntyre | Mr. Hulays |
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| Department | Geography | History/Contemporary Studies | Music and Art | Physical Education |
| Department Head | Mr. Channing | Mr. Dingwall | Mrs. Todros | Mr. Purchas |
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| Not returning this year | Retiring:
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Switching Schools:
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School spirit
Symbols of Harbord
A lot of recognisable symbols can be linked to Harbord. Harbord's official slogan is "Virtus et Doctrina." Harbord has an official coat of arms, shown at right.
Harbord's official mascot is the tiger. A tiger can be found on team uniforms and also on the gym floor. Harbord's official colours are orange and black, which are based on the colours of a tiger.
Onward Harbord
Onward Harbord is Harbord's official song, it is sung along with the school band playing at the same time and nomally gets sung twice. The lyrics are as follows:
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