Eastwood Collegiate Institute

Construction

The school was built in 1956, located on what was then the recently extended East Avenue (now Weber Street). The architect for the building was the company of Barnett & Rieder. Most of the school consists of a long classroom block that runs parallel to Weber Street. There is a large entrance stair at the south side of the classroom block, with the school offices to the north and the gymnasium, whose walls are of ribbed brick, to the south. The architecture of the school received international attention when it opened.

Crest

The School's crest was designed by Former Eastwood Student Doug Rickert in 1957. Designed to reveal both the school's name but also the components of its life blood. According to the 1956-1957 Eastwood Yearbook, CHIPS, "The rising sun...denotes not only 'East', but also the light given by our leadership to other schools and the community around us. The maple leaves provide the 'wood', and in addition signify our pride in holding a place in the educational system of Canada. The open book signifies the great store of knowledge readily available, and the desire to receive it, both present in our school. The motto...has also been included in the attractive crest which is a suitable emblem of our school".

The Auditorium and Tech Crew

Eastwood Collegiate Institute is currently the only school in the Waterloo Regional District School Board (WRDSB) that boasts an industry-standard auditorium facility. The auditorium seats just under 500 people. It is also equipped with a custom-installed hemp rope system (named for the type of rope once used) with over 20 bars. The lighting inventory is also the largest in the region's school board. The aud is run and maintained by ECI's Tech Crew. Tech Crew is responsible for shows in and outside of the auditorium, totaling over 15 major shows each year. These may include seasonal Dance Shows and Music Shows, the annual arts program Gala, the semiannual Musical Production, the Commencement ceremonies, School Dances and the annual Spring playday ('Spring Thing'). Hours contributed by the ETC gross 5000 annually

The Mascot

The school's original mascot, Johnny Rebel, was chosen to represent Eastwood's original rebellious spirit (many of the original teachers had left KCI to come to Eastwood). In 1999, it was decided that Johnny Rebel no longer personified what it meant to be a Rebel due to the fact that he was perceived to be a symbol of white bigotry (the Confederate flag was a prominent feature of his costume, and a version of the flag could be seen on the previous cafeteria mural, with Canadian Maple-Leaves replacing the stars). This led to a contest being held among the students and staff to design a new mascot. Eventually, it was decided that two lions (one male and one female, wearing a football jersey and a basketball jersey respectively) would be used to reflect the school's "Rebel Pride". In 2005, another contest was held for another overhaul of the mascot, with students and staff again submitting designs. Ultimately, a design by former Eastwood art teacher David Okum was selected. The "Rebel Lion" combines both old and new - a lion in an updated soldier's uniform. The name was chosen so that when the words were pushed together, the word "Rebellion" was formed.

Waterloo Region Integrated Arts Program

Eastwood is particularly noted for its specialized arts program, known as the "Integrated Arts Program". The Arts Program offers courses in Drama, Dance, Music: Instrumental, Strings, Vocal, and Visual arts. Talented students come to Eastwood from all over Waterloo Region and beyond to be an Arts Program student. Keeping to its integrated nature, academics are incredibly important and necessary for all students. Success in academics as well as arts to attain a high-school diploma is mandatory.

The Specialist High Skills Major: Arts & Culture

This new program complements the already successful IAP. This program is newly developed and brings the technical side of the arts to the students. Programs in lighting, sound, stage managing, stage and set design, costume design and creation, are just a few of the offerings. Supported in part by members of Waterloo Region's Arts Community, the program began in the 2008-2009 school year.

Huron Heights controversy

In 2004, while the Waterloo Region District School Board was planning to build Huron Heights in Southwest Kitchener, the school was supposedly better suited for closure when at a meeting regarding the pending closure of Kitchener-Waterloo Collegiate and Vocational School (KCI) a delegate from KCI stated that the Eastwood students and community had not rallied around their school as had KCI and Southwood Secondary School, another school scheduled for closure. After a brief investigation by the District School Board, the decision was not to close any of the schools at all.

Renovations

In recent years the school has had a number of much needed renovations. A new library, dance studio, front steps, elevator, a re-vitalized woodworking shop, a (recently demolished) costume room, and a brand new sprinkler system completed in 2005 to bring the school up to fire code.

Beginning March 2007, a massive renovation began at the school, which includes new windows for the whole building, new ventilation system, new boiler system, and hiding the sprinkler pipes installed 2 years prior. Air conditioning is being installed, but will not be available to the whole school, only certain special parts will have it (such as computer labs) but the average classroom will not.

Special events

Notable alumni