David and Mary Thomson Collegiate Institute

David and Mary Thomson Collegiate Institute

Nil Sine Magno Labore
Nothing without great effort
Address
2740 Lawrence Avenue East
Bendale, Scarborough, Ontario, M1P 2S7, Canada
Coordinates 43°45′12″N 79°15′34″W / 43.75333°N 79.25944°WCoordinates: 43°45′12″N 79°15′34″W / 43.75333°N 79.25944°W
Information
School number 4130 / 903590
School board Toronto District School Board
(Scarborough Board of Education)
Oversight Toronto Lands Corporation
Religious affiliation none
Superintendent John Chasty
Area trustee David Smith
Principal William Papaconstantinou
Vice Principals Nicholas Leslie English
Alison Kelsey
School type Public High school
Grades 9-12
Language Canadian English
Team name Thomson Titans
Colours Red and Black         
Founded 1959[1]
Status active
Enrollment 1027[2] (2014-15)
Homepage David and Mary Thomson Collegiate Institute

David and Mary Thomson Collegiate Institute (sporadically known as David and Mary Thomson CI, DMTCI, DMT, D & M Thomson or Thomson) is a semestered English-language high school located in Scarborough, Ontario, Canada originally sanctioned by the Scarborough Board of Education until its merger with its successor board, the Toronto District School Board in 1998. Its motto is Nil Sine Magno Labore (Nothing without great effort).[3]

History

The plaque for the David and Mary Thomson C.I. dated 1957 on the wall.

The David and Mary Thomson Collegiate Institute school building was built in 1958 and opened on September 8, 1959 by the Scarborough Board of Education splitting off the population of Winston Churchill Collegiate Institute and R. H. King Collegiate Institute located in the heart of historical Scarborough.[1] The building was designed by the architects, Peter L. Allward and George Roper Gouinlock.

Being opened as the sixth secondary school in the borough. W. A. Porter Collegiate Institute, the fifth secondary school, had been opened the year before. These two years marked the beginning of the fantastically accelerating growth period in the Scarborough school system necessitated by the equally fantastic growth in business and industry and in the general population.

The cornerstone "1958" was erected in 1961.

At the time Thomson was in the planning stage, the potential for television in education was a popular topic for discussion but not much had been done about it. Here again King provided the incentive for experimentation and Thomson became the first secondary school in Scarborough, if not in Canada, to have cable television incorporated in the structure of the building. Some of the earliest experiments in this system involved transmitting a display or experiment produced in one classroom simultaneously to several other classrooms. For example, a teaching model of the Shakespearian Globe Theatre was telecast in this way, as was the dissection of a frog from a science lab. Since that time the invention and perfection of video tape machines have entirely changed the original concept of educational television. Thomson attracted a wealth of applications from both experienced and inexperienced personnel for both Faculty and Secretarial positions. Staff connections with Malvern Collegiate Institute in Toronto were so numerous that it was jokingly suggested that the school should be called David and Malvern instead of David and Mary.

Despite the handicap of occupying a building still under construction, the school opened on time. the cafeteria was the only large area available for the first few weeks. Hence in addition to its primary purpose, it became a temporary assembly hall. The gymnasium and the auditorium were far from being finished. This confused situation was compounded by weekly and sometimes daily visits from groups of educators near and far who wished to see the television experiment in action. With the school officially opened on February 17, 1960, the "1958" cornerstone of the David and Mary Thomson C.I. was erected in 1961.

The school underwent additions in the 1960s and 1970s such as extra classrooms, new double gymnasium, science labs, enlarged library, and vocational shops.

In 1989, it served as a third campus for Scarborough Centre for Alternative Studies until moving to Centennial College in 1994 following the loss of Tabor Park Vocational School to the Metropolitan Separate School Board in 1989.

Since Midland Avenue Collegiate Institute was closed in June 2000, its students in the former catchment area attending are now served by Thomson.

Merger and sale of site

A new "superschool" will be built behind Bendale, resulting Thomson site to be potentially sold or leased to another school board.

On February 4, 2009, The Toronto District School Board approved a plan to merge David and Mary Thomson with the neighbouring Bendale Business and Technical Institute, forming an expanded state-of-the-art education campus on Midland Avenue, north of Lawrence Ave. The plan originally called for eventual demolition of Thomson Collegiate and the sale of its prime land fronting Lawrence Avenue for commercial development. The Thomson site and building (12.3 acres) was declared surplus by the Toronto Lands Corporation in June 2012 and was originally acquired by Conseil Scolaire Viamonde in early 2013 for its future use for a high school, and the offer was terminated due to the Ministry of Education has not approved their funding leaving Thomson's future unclear.[4]

Overview

Music Department

The Thomson Music Department offers a comprehensive band and vocal program with a regular concert season featuring its signature ensembles: The Thomson Singers, Junior Concert Band, Jazz Band, and The Thomson Senior Concert Band. There is also a Music Executive which facilitates and assists in concert planning and music events.

Lockers in the 140s Hallway.

Logo

As Reginald H. King was a classicist, he had accumulated a large collection of Latin mottoes, many of which had already been adopted by existing schools as their own. Thus the problem became one of selecting a suitable motto for Thomson which was not already in use. The motto, "NIL SINE MAGNO LABORE" was selected as being the most appropriate. Certainly it expressed one of Dr. King's deepest convictions that nothing without great effort. This motto was incorporated in the Thomson logo which continues in use at the present time. It appears at the base of a scarlet maple leaf on which is shown a lamp of learning and the initials D and M in white. The leaf is flanked by a large C and I both in black through a circle. Finally the name Thomson, white on a scarlet, background, surmounts the rest of the design. The school colours were originally scarlet, black and white.

Notable Alumni

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to David and Mary Thomson Collegiate Institute.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "About Thomson". David and Mary Thomson Collegiate. Toronto District School Board. Retrieved 2007-12-26.
  2. ↑ "David and Mary Thomson Collegiate Institute Facts and Figures". Find a School Database. Toronto District School Board. 2012-03-15. Retrieved 2012-12-23.
  3. ↑ http://www.tdsb.on.ca/schools/details.asp?FeatureID=S&schno=4130&schoolId=1140&Status=L
  4. ↑ "Public board to merge Bendale and Thomson high schools". Thomson site likely to be sold as part of plan. Scarborough Mirror. Retrieved 2009-03-18.

External links