Eastern Commerce Collegiate Institute was a public high school part of Toronto District School Board in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Opened in 1925, it offered a range of courses leading to all Ministry pathways: University, College, Apprenticeship, and Workplace. Co-operative Education is an integral part of the curriculum. The school offered a Specialist High Skills Major in Business and Marketing, The National Retail Business Certificate, and an internationally recognized Computer Licence Certificate. In 2002, the department won the Kenneth Fryer Award for mathematics teaching. Classes were integrated with technology including computer labs with Internet access and Smart Boards. The school attracted enrollment to students from all parts of Toronto due to its proximitiy to Donlands station. Since the school's closure in 2015, the building still hosts Subway Academy I, the First Nations School and the TDSB Historical and Archival Records.
History
The school opened in 1924 and was designed by architect Charles Edmund Cyril Dyson The school closed down in June 2015.
Specialist High Skills Major - Business
A Specialist High Skills Major – Business is a type of ministry-approved specialized program. A SHSM allows students to focus on knowledge and skills that are of particular importance in certain business sectors, and to obtain certifications recognized in the business field, as they work towards meeting the requirements for an Ontario Secondary School Diploma. Students would graduate with a Business SHSM designation on their diploma. They were prepared for success in the business sector and in the postsecondary destination of their choice, whether it be apprenticeship training, a college or university program, or the workplace.
Sports
Eastern Commerce offers several extra-curricular sports:
Basketball
Football
Soccer
Track and Field
Soccer
Intramural activities are scheduled to begin at Eastern Commerce in September 2009.
Eastern Commerce was well known for its elite basketball program. The Senior Boys have won eight provincial championships and many students have gone on to receive NCAA scholarships. Recently, the Senior Girls team has become a success, winning provincial championships in 2007 and 2008. Despite its small size, Eastern Commerce always competed at the top level of provincial competition in basketball. During the 2008–09 season, the school became the first institution to win Boys and Girls AAAA Basketball Titles. The program's most notable alumni is Jamaal Magloire, a former NBA All-Star.
Student Clubs
Eastern offered a variety of co-curricular programs.
Student Senate
The Student Senate supports programs for school-wide enrichment. The 2014/2015 Student Senate consisted of President Sofian Hashim, Vice President Muhammad Haroon, and Secretary Ahmad Abidi who represented the school in many different events. Other leadership programs include the Eastern Ambassadors, selected to represent the school in various community functions, and Future Leaders, a mentor ship program assisting junior students. The School Council met regularly and assisted in the shared decision-making process. Eastern provided a balance between academics and school/community participation.
Historical event In 1977, the Student Council President Jim Filippeos and Treasurer Eva Alexandris headed a very successful school year that spear-headed the effort to change the school name from Eastern High School of Commerce to Eastern Commerce Collegiate Institute. A few years later the school name did change to Eastern Commerce Collegiate and Jim was at the ceremony to see his efforts finally pay off. "After 3 years of pushing for a name change while attending the high school, it is great to see it finally happen. I will be contacting Sam Papadopoulos who started the bid for the name change as council president in 1976. I am sure will be thrilled." Unfortunately the school closed down in 2015 after 90 years in existence but the memories will live on forever.
