Century-old principal’s diary helps Toronto school celebrate 100th anniversary

As Toronto's McMurrich Public School prepared to celebrate its 100th anniversary, teacher-librarian Coleen Vieira made a well-timed discovery: a journal started by D. D. MacDonald, the school's first-ever principal.

Vieira made the century-old find in the school's basement, the Toronto Star reports.

"It started off as his own personal diary; he was very reflective in his comments," said Vieira. "It's unique — you experience what was happening then, the events…it's like finding a time capsule."

The journal included details on the school's delayed opening due to construction:

"'Tis the first day for school," MacDonald wrote. "As is so often the case, the building is not ready. The second floor along shows any possibility of being used for sometime and even here no room is ready. At nine o'clock the teachers appear. Workmen are everywhere with clang of hammer and clatter of board and all the accompanying sounds of a carpenter's shop."

Vieira also discovered a, equally old ledger, listing supply costs from 1912.

McMurrich Public School turned 100 on May 12th.

Read the staff diary — started by MacDonald in 1912 and continued by other staff members until 1919 — here.

Vieira, who was been at McMurrich for 43 years, has nothing but praise for the school, known for both academic and athletic excellence.

"It has a cultural diversity that reflects Toronto," Vieira told InsideToronto. "There's a real community feeling here — it's a community school — and the children are very caring, warm and loving."