North Albion Collegiate Institute

North Albion Collegiate Institute is a high school in the Etobicoke area of the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is part of the Toronto District School Board. The school opened in 1962 to serve the growing suburb known as Rexdale.

North Albion Collegiate Institute (NACI) earned a reputation for academic and athletic excellence from the time of its inception through the 1980s. In recent years, discipline has improved and, as a result the post-secondary success rate has been rising dramatically. From 2000 to 2004, the graduation rate rose to 40%. In 2006 the school was placed among the top 25 of the Ontario Grade 10 literacy test. It is placed above other local schools such as West Humber Collegiate Institute, Thistletown Collegiate Institute, and Martingrove Collegiate Institute, as a school known for reasonable excellence in Academics.

Community involvement is shown by the Institute's contributions through the Student Government, Parent Council, Leadership Club, Breakfast Club, the United Way Committee, the Duke of Edinburgh Club, World Vision Volunteers, Crime Stoppers, and by its participating in community beautification days. An integral part of N.A.C.I. is the multi-grade, whole school Teacher Advisor Program that meets regularly. Although the area surrounding North Albion has been considered an area that has been plagued with violence the students have always been the cornerstone of this school as they've always rallied together through the hard times to overcome obstacles through the support of administration and faculty. The awareness within the community about this school has dramatically increased and it has now become a school that attracts over 1000 students through its doors everyday.

On 23 September 2014, one of the students Hamid Aminzada age 19 was stabbed in the school hallway while he was trying to diffuse a fight among two fellow students. He later died in hospital after few hours due to his injuries and excessive bleeding.^[1]

Its feeder schools include North Kipling Junior Middle School.

North Albion became the first school in North America to offer Steel band as a full credit course in high school.

History

In 1962 the Hon. J. Keiller MacKay opened the school officially and gave North Albion its motto: VIRTUS, OFFICIUM, VERITAS – Excellence, Service, Truth. The Olympian torch and the book below the motto on the crest signify the struggle for the light of knowledge. The trees are for growth. We chose the mountain ash for its white flowers and orange berries. The triangle in the centre is a blue spruce to give us the school colours of orange, blue and white. The high school has a variety of different clubs over the years ranging from the student council, year book club, Deca, Model UN, chess club. These clubs have been the foundation of this school since its inception. Although over the years some clubs dissipate as leadership over these clubs varies from year to year, many of these clubs have been around for a long enough period of time to create a culture that is lasting and creates an atmosphere that encourages creativity and success. The sports teams of these clubs have always been vibrant although the selection of athletes have always been limited due to the socio-economic class the school is surrounded by. However, the athletes have always managed to make the sports teams a major cornerstone of the school and has over the years achieved some incredible accolades due to the fostering of these athletes. Most notable is the cricket teams, volleyball teams and basketball teams that have come out from this school.

Notable alumni

• Michael Adams (President Of Environics Research Group) after whom the famous "Michael Adams scholarship" is named (given to a graduating student which covers the recipient's first-year tuition fee at a post-secondary institute in Canada.) ^[2]
• Teri Austin, actress
• Johnny Legend, stand up comedian, radio show host and actor.
• Dean McDermott, actor and husband of Tori Spelling
• Bruce McDonald,^[3] film director (The Tracey Fragments, Highway 61, Roadkill, Hard Core Logo)
• Craig Ramsay (former NHL player and coach)^[4]
• John L. Wallace, medical researcher; co-founder of NicOx and founder of Antibe Therapeutics; Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada)^[5][6]
• Andrés Fresenga, current soccer player with the Ottawa Fury FC

G.M Hull Award Winners

This Award is to commemorate North Albion C.I.'s former Principal Mr. Hull. It is NACI's most prestigious award and is given to a student in the graduating class who best represents his or her grade.

Past Winners:

• 2013:
• 2012:
• 2011:
• 2010: Siddharth Bhalla
• 2009: Karanvir Gill
• 2008: Sunny Yin
• 2007: Paras Kadakia
• 2006: Luxshana Navaratnarajah
• 2005: Shefali Vyas
• 2004: Paulina Reibán
• 2003: Amandeep Rai
• 2002: Garfield Turner

Photo gallery

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  NACI

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  crest

References

External links

• North Albion Collegiate Institute at the Toronto District School Board website

Coordinates: 43°44′50″N 79°35′06″W / 43.747170°N 79.585117°W / 43.747170; -79.585117