Silverthorn Collegiate Institute is a high school located in the west end of Toronto. It is under the sanction of the Toronto District School Board. The name comes from the Silverthorn Woods that borders to the south and the west. This was the northern limit of an old property known locally as the Silverthorn Mill Farm.
History
The Silverthorn name, in coming from the Somerset/Wiltshire county areas of Southwest England, have this surname originating from the Holy Thorn of Glastonbury. The first Silverthorns to come to North America seems to have arrived and settled in New Jersey well before the American Revolution. The New Jersey branch lost all of their land holdings since they were 'loyalists' and came to Canada, receiving land grants via the United Empire Loyalist grants. Although there is no 'official' coat of arms for this surname, there is a very old 'unofficial' one that often surfaces. Researchers of this surname state that there are more Silverthorn's in the Toronto white pages and surrounding cemeteries than any other area in the world. Please refer to the 1982 Silverthorn History published by Frank Fremont Reed, with the English Origins co-authored by William D Silverthorn. When Markland Wood was developed in the early 1960s, the Etobicoke Board of Education decided to build a secondary school for the area. The school was to be named Silverthorn Collegiate Institute after the family who had first settled the area. The cornerstone was laid in 1963 and the school opened in September 1964 with a teaching staff of 24 and a support staff of 7. The building was designed by Dunlop, Wardell, Matsui & Aitken Architects. Murray Young was the first principal. The school had only grades 9, 10, and 11 in 1964. In the next two years it added grades 12 and 13. In 1968-69 the school was doubled in size, with the addition of an auditorium, the library, science labs and technical and business areas. A second gym was added later on. SCI is a semestered school. Days run from 8:45 am to 3:10 pm. There is a two-day cycle, with Day 1 falling on any date of odd number, and Day 2 falling on any date of even number. Silverthorn's colours are garnet, green, and silver and its mascot is a Spartan. The school's motto is "Nil Veretur Veritas" which is Latin for "The Truth Fears Nothing".
