Keiller MacKay Collegiate Institute (KMCI, Keiller MacKay) is a medium-sized public

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

building located in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

's west end close to the intersection of

Islington Avenue Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the a ...

and

Highway 401 King's Highway 401, commonly referred to as Highway 401 and also known by its official name as the Macdonald–Cartier Freeway or colloquially referred to as the four-oh-one, is a controlled-access 400-series highway in the Canadian provin ...

. Opened in 1971 until closing in 1983, it was overseen by the

Etobicoke Board of Education The Etobicoke Board of Education (EBE commonly known as School District 12), officially known as the Board of Education for the City of Etobicoke is the former public-secular school board administering the schools of Etobicoke, Ontario, headquarte ...

, which was joined with other school boards in the Toronto area during the city's amalgamation to form what is now the

Toronto District School Board The Toronto District School Board (TDSB), formerly known as English-language Public District School Board No. 12 prior to 1999, is the English-language public-secular school board for Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The minority public-secular franco ...

History

KMCI, Etobicoke’s twentieth and final conventional high school, was constructed in 1970 and opened its doors in September 1971. This school, like most schools in Etobicoke, was design by Gordon Adamson and Associates Architects. Its architecture reminds one of a factory - specifically, there is a distinct lack of windows. The school experienced declining enrollment during the late 1970s and early 1980s as with other schools in Etobicoke area plummeted following a decision by the Ontario Government to extend funding of Catholic schools to include secondary school grades 10 to 13 (OAC) in the 1980s. The Etobicoke Board of Education made a final decision to close KMCI in 1981-82 as the school property was sold to the Metropolitan Separate School Board (later the

Toronto Catholic District School Board The Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB, known as English-language Separate District School Board No. 40 prior to 1999) is an English-language public-separate school board for Toronto, Ontario, Canada, headquartered in North York. I ...

, and now houses

Don Bosco Catholic Secondary School Don Bosco Catholic Secondary School (also called Don Bosco, Don Bosco CSS, DBCSS, Don Bosco Toronto, or simply Bosco), is a Toronto Catholic District School Board secondary school facility in the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located i ...

), and KMCI closed its doors for the last time at the end of the 1982-83 school year. All pupils were transferred to

Martingrove Collegiate Institute Martingrove Collegiate Institute (MCI), also referred to as Martingrove, is a semestered public secondary school in Etobicoke, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It opened in 1966 and is currently overseen by the Toronto District School Board. Academics ...

. There was a need for a Catholic school. Don Bosco had already been running in the area in portables since its inception in 1978 and needed a school building. Keiller MacKay was chosen to be sold to the separate school board due to its declining enrolment. The school was named after

John Keiller MacKay Lieutenant-colonel (Canada), Lieutenant-Colonel John Keiller MacKay (July 11, 1888 – June 12, 1970) was a Canadians, Canadian soldier, lawyer and jurist. MacKay served as the List of lieutenant governors of Ontario#Lieutenant Governors ...

, who served as the 19th

Lieutenant Governor of Ontario The lieutenant governor of Ontario (, in French: ''Lieutenant-gouverneur'' (if male) or ''Lieutenante-gouverneure'' (if female) ''de l'Ontario'') is the viceregal representative in Ontario of the , who operates distinctly within the province bu ...

from 1957 to 1963. The school colours were green and blue, and its

mascot A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name. Mascots are also used as fi ...

was a

Saber-toothed cat Machairodontinae is an extinct subfamily of carnivoran mammals of the family Felidae (true cats). They were found in Asia, Africa, North America, South America, and Europe from the Miocene to the Pleistocene, living from about 16 million until ...

. The school's motto was ''Manu Forti'' (Strong Hand). Don Bosco also met its similar fate thirty-four years later, by closing its doors at the end of the 2016-17 school year. As of August 2017, the building is home to the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...

practice facility. The Keiller Mackay Room is currently located in the TDSB's West Education Office, the former headquarters of the EBE.

Principals

KMCI had only 2 Principals through the 12 years it was open. John McNeil was principal for 9 years, starting in 1971. Gordon Fleming was Principal for the final 3 years.

References

External links

{{Toronto High Schools High schools in Toronto Education in Etobicoke Schools in the TDSB Educational institutions established in 1971 1971 establishments in Ontario Educational institutions disestablished in 1983 1983 disestablishments in Ontario Defunct secondary schools Defunct schools in Toronto

History

Principals

See also

References

External links