York Memorial CI teachers and students are back in class, but face uncertain future

Exactly one week after the first of two fires forced the evacuation of York Memorial Collegiate Institute, students and staff wereback in class Monday at a neighbouring school.

"You don't know how much you love something until it's completely gone," said Grade 10 student Aryanna Carter.

The first fire started last Monday, the same day the historic building celebrated its 90th anniversary. It was quickly put out by crews.

But just a few hours later, another, separate fire started and escalated to six alarms by late Tuesday morning. It burned for 24 hours before crews had knocked it down completely. By then, the fire had caused substantial damage.

900 students and staff displaced

About900 students and staff at the school were displaced by the fire. They'll be spending the remainder of the year less than a kilometre away at George Harvey Collegiate Institute.

"I've never been to this school in my life," Carter said, as she stood by the front doors before a school-wide assembly to introduce the York Memorial students and hand out timetables.

"At least we're getting to continue what we started," she said.

York Memorial student Manuella Rodrigues Gasbar walked by her old school that morning.

Sections of the building were torn down last week, and the property is still in the hands of Toronto Fire as investigators sift through the debris in search of the cause of the blaze.

"It was really hard to see. We just want our school back," Gasbar said.

Art teacher Tobie Loukes said she's "a little bit nervous" about the rest of the school year. She has a classroom back at York Memorial filled with art supplies and personal items, including a portfolio she's been adding to since she was 17.

Loukes's classroom wasn't destroyed in the fire, but it's unclear when she'll be allowed back in.

"We tried to make it a home. We don't know if we're going to get it back at this point," she said.

Community opens 'its hearts and pocketbooks'

The community is rallying around the school in a number of ways.

With a capacity of 2,000, George Harvey Collegiate Institute has plenty of space for the displaced students. However, the transition could be jarring, as the York Memorial student body will triple the number of people normally wandering the halls.

Students and teachers at Northview Heights Secondary School baked and delivered two large cakes for the affected students.

Canadian Tire, in collaboration with Brands for Canada, a non-profit organization, donated 500 backpacks to replace those destroyed.

York Memorial teachers, who themselves have lost things in the fire, have been working to gather supplies and schedule classes to "make things as normal as possible," said Toronto District School Board spokesperson Shari Schwartz-Maltz.

"I'm amazed and gratified at how Toronto has opened its hearts and pocketbooks to help with this," she said.

Still up in the air, though, are exams. The school board says it'sstill working out how to facilitate finals.