The library at D.P. Todd secondary school is currently home to a unique memorial.
Over the week leading up to Remembrance Day this Thursday, the names of all 68,000 Canadians soldiers, sailors, airmen, nurses, doctors and merchant seamen who died in the First World War will have been displayed.
If that wasn't enough, the same vigil is being carried out in 150 schools across Canada as well as one in Switzerland. And it's also taking place simultaneously in Ieper (Ypres) Belgium.
No wonder that when Pearl Loerke, in the school's leadership program, came across the idea, she knew it was a must for D.P. Todd.
"It's this connection between all the schools," said Loerke when asked about its appeal.
It's the first project of its kind not only for D.P. Todd but for all the schools involved.
In all, 500,000 were killed in the Ypres area during the First World War. The names of 6,940 Canadians whose bodies were never found or who could not be identified are engraved in the stone of the Menin Gate in Ypres.
On quarter hours throughout the vigil the names are briefly paused and a photograph of one of the 3,400 cemeteries in Belgium and France where the Canadians are buried will be projected.
"The Vigil Ypres project in its various manifestations is the convergence of historical remembrance, educational innovation and effective use of technology to ignite our imaginations - bringing the past to the present for a whole new generation," said Michel Blondeau of Ecentricarts, developers of both the digital presentations and the website.
Veterans Affairs Canada contributed to the cost of production as did the Toronto Rotary Club, private donors and various schools. The Churchill Society for the Advancement of Parliamentary Democracy and International Churchill Society Canada are also partners.
To find out when a name will be project go to www.1914-1918.ca.
