October 12 and 13 were certainly busy days for North Toronto and its alumni. These two days, which preceded the very successful Homecoming Concert on the 14th, were set up to attract former students to reconnect with each other and visit or revisit their alma mater.

Red and Grey Day on the 12th featured a number of sporting events and a reception in the staff room for alumni. Various memorabilia from different years were on display for everyone to look over, eliciting recollections of past events and classmates. Afterwards there was a get-together at the nearby Granite Brewery, run by NT’s own Sam Keefe (’06).

The next day, the alumni were treated to a Show and Share event where people identified former classmates from old photos or brought their own memorabilia. A wide range of classes were represented, and people came from as far away as British Columbia and even New Zealand. An added feature to the day was a number of tours of the school led by current students in the PAL program. For many of those present it was their first view of the new school, and they were impressed with the facilities and also grateful that the design still included features of the former building. In the evening, a number of classes got together at various venues across town.

All in all, it was a wonderful opportunity for NT grads to relive the spirit of NTCI!

NTCI Homecoming Concert: Behind the Scenes                                       

IT HAPPENED! It actually happened! After months and months of planning, emailing, phoning, texting, arranging and discussing – NTCI’s first inaugural Homecoming Concert took place in the school auditorium!

It took an incredible team of people to create this event:  we worked with agents, lighting and sound technicians, our NT principal, swag people, design people, and many, many more, all of whom made this journey exciting at each stage. Along the way we met up with other NT alumni – Devin Cuddy’s agent, Bryan Boake (’05); the Skydiggers’ sound technician, the wonderful Phil Presnal (’85); and overall amazing, incredible swag designers Tammie Presnal Jennings (’82) and Lisa Pen (’82). (We love the cool little “Norseman dude”!) These are just some of the alumni who helped make this event a true success.

And then, after months of preparation – contracts, riders, rentals, logistics of every imaginable stripe – we moved into the school and it hit home that this night was going to be amazing! Throughout the day, the artists came for their respective sound checks, and Lisa, Jamie, Mark and Kirsten had the privilege of sitting in the auditorium and just listening, in awe of the talent onstage, not to mention the quality of the sound, thanks to the acoustics of the auditorium and Phil’s enhancements. Surreal!

Working backstage with all the artists and our amazing MC, Peter Bombaci (’85), was a real treat. Everyone was laid back yet so professional. They all were excited to look around the music rooms and  try to find their photo up on the walls. Some remembered their time at Maytime Melodies, others their time on the field, while others just remembered how they felt overall during their five-year stay at NT. All of them remembered Mr. Russell, a teacher all of them had had, and when he asked if he could come backstage, everyone welcomed him with open arms. They talked about winning and losing City Championships, that one play that ended the game – and the games that are still a “thorn” in Mr. Russell’s side. The stories and the laughter backstage were wonderful!

When the night was upon us and everyone was piling into the school, it was exciting to see old friends and the smiles on faces of everyone who had come to reunite with their school. And that was really the goal of Homecoming Weekend: bringing everyone together to see one another, get connected or reconnect – and enjoy some alumni music along the way!

To all who worked onstage, backstage and behind the scenes: You all kept “alive the spirit of N.T.C.I.”  “Our North Toronto led the way” that night, and and we can’t thank you enough!

by Kirsten Sixt