École Tuxedo Park marks 100 years

Picture a school with two rooms, one teacher, and a police office in the basement for good measure. In winter, heat came from a wood stove the teacher had to nurse for five to six hours before the place even thought about thawing. That meant the students’ inkwells went home with the teacher to keep them from freezing solid overnight.

Welcome to École Tuxedo Park in 1926, known in its debut as Tuxedo School No. 2 in the “Town of Tuxedo.” 

Fast-forward 100 years, and a lot has changed. Classrooms were added, a gym appeared, and a playground was famously built in a day. In 1984, the school got a new chapter and the name we know today as it transitioned to a French Immersion Centre. Not long after, shifting catchment lines shrank enrolment and nearly shuttered the place, if not for determined parents who stepped into keep it open.

Through every addition, rebrand, close call, and comeback, École Tuxedo Park has held onto its identity: a small school with an unmatched heart, firmly woven into the neighbourhood it serves.

To celebrate a century of stories, the school community gathered on June 18 for an evening filled with memories warmer than that original wood stove, thanks to animal balloons, a foam pit, inflatable bouncers, and a visit from local ice cream favourite Sargeant Sundae.

Bringing everyone together was a fitting way to mark 100 years, because that’s what this school has always done best. That mentality has helped École Tuxedo Park prove that even the smallest schools can leave a lasting mark when a community stands firmly behind them.