Harbord Collegiate Institute

Infobox Education in Canada
name= Harbord Collegiate Institute


imagesize= 300px
motto= "Virtus et Doctrina"
streetaddress= 286 Harbord St.
city= Toronto
province= Ontario
postalcode= M6G 1G5
areacode= 416
phone= 393-1650
url= http://www.harbordci.ca/
schoolboard= Toronto District School Board
trustee= Chris Bolton
principal= Rodrigo Fuentes
viceprincipals= Susana Arnott, Rodrigo Fuentes
schooltype= High school
grades= 9-12
language= English, French
mascot= Tiger
teamname= Harbord Tigers
colours= Orange and Black
founded= 1892
enrollment= Approx. 1000 students

Harbord Collegiate Institute (also known as Harbord and H.C.I. for short) is a public secondary school located in downtown Toronto, Canada. Specifically, the school is located in the Palmerston-Little Italy/The Annex neighbourhood, situated on the northern side of Harbord Street, between Euclid Ave. and Manning St. The school has long strived for and maintained a reputation for academic excellence, which continues to this day. Currently, the school has approximately 1000 students enrolled and over 50 faculty members.

History

Harbord was opened in 1892 as Harbord Street Collegiate Institute. Since then, Harbord has seen many notable events.

Harbord's first centennial

Harbord's first centennial was celebrated in 1992. This celebration included the inauguration of the Harbord museum, which is a repository of Harbord memorabilia. To mark this major event, Harbord's alumni group, the Harbord Club, published a 300-page history of the school entitled "The Happy Ghosts of Harbord", which traces the history of the school from its opening 1892 to 1992.

Remembrance Day 2005

On November 11, 2005, a huge Remembrance Day ceremony took place at Harbord. With the donations from the W. Garfield Weston Foundation and many other corporate sponsors and individuals, the rededication of the 1921 World War I monument back to its original splendor was held. The master of ceremony was Syd Moscoe while poignant addresses were given by President of George Weston Ltd. Galen Weston, former Minister of Defence Barney Danson, Canadian Armed Services Chief of Land Staff Lieutenant-General Marc Caron, and Chairperson of the TDSB Sheila Ward. Harbord's Jazz Band played a piece written by band teacher Mr. Alberts, called "On Remembrance Day". The Cantemus Choir also performed and poems written by students Kevin Tung and Michael Lee were read. The ceremony ended with a picture that was taken of the students, teachers, alumni and neighbours all standing in front of the school.

In May 2007, a second monument made to remember World War II was revealed in another ceremony ["World War Two Monument" by Jared Malcolmson, from "Tiger Talk Newspaper", issue #6 June 2007, June 2007.] .

Harbord Club

The Harbord Club is the longest continuous high school alumni group in Canada consisting of 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 Joan McCarville [ [http://www.harbordclub.com/ Harbord Club ] ] .

Notable graduates

Since Harbord opened its doors in 1892, there have been many graduates over the years who have achieved/are achieving remarkable accomplishments ["Principal's Address" by Ms. Parkin, from HCI Yearbook 2004-2005, February 2006.] .

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 taught by Mr. Alberts and Mrs. Martin. The band program goes from the Grade 9 Beginner Band to the Grade 12 Senior Band. Harbord's Jazz Band is conducted by Mr. Alberts and is composed of the most experienced band players in the school. Their practices are early in the morning and therefore require a lot of dedication. The senior band is also taught by Mr. Alberts, while 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. The band performs at assemblies and concerts which includes the Remembrance Ceremony, Senior Showcase, Feeder School Concert, Commencement and the Farewell Assembly.

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.

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. Harbord's String Quartet won First Prize at last year's Kiwanis Festival. The Chamber Orchestra has performed at other venues such as Massey Hall, and George Weston Hall. There is also an upcoming concert at The Ford Centre by the Strings Orchestra. The Strings Chamber Orchestra plays at many school events such as the Awards Assembly, Feeder School Concert and Senior Concert, and from time to time, accompanies the Cantemus Choir.

School spirit

School spirit is celebrated in a number of ways at Harbord Collegiate Institute. Student-led organisations such as the Student Activity Council, the Creative Arts Council, the Boys' Athletic Association, the Girls' Athletic Association and the Key Club regularly hold special events in order to boost school spirit and maintain a friendly school atmosphere. For example, SAC regularly funds and spearheads two annual school-wide barbecues accompanied by music and outdoor games for the enjoyment of Harbordites.

School spirit is also displayed by Harbord-themed clothing which the Boys' Athletic Association sells annually. They sell everything from sweaters, to shirts, to sweat pants, and they can all be personalised while having "Harbord" on the front in big, bold letters. Students who take part in athletics at Harbord wear uniforms, and this year, most of which is personalised. Their outstanding school spirit by sporting the orange and black while participating in extracurricular activities does not go unnoticed.

Finally, Harbord's student council holds Spirit Weeks throughout the course of a school year for students to take part in. These weeks include days such as "Pajama Day", "Twin Day", and "Backwards Day".

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 seen in the middle of the gym floor which is familiar to all of Harbord's students. A tiger can also be found on team uniforms. 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. Generally at the behest of the principal ("One more time!"), the song gets sung twice. The lyrics are as follows [HCI Agenda 2007-2008] :

References

See also

*List of educational institutions in Toronto
*List of oldest buildings and structures in Toronto

External links

* [http://www.harbordci.ca Harbord Collegiate Institute]
* [http://www.harbordclub.com Harbord Club (Alumni Association)]