l7

meant it was time for the first swim of the season. The water at that time of the year seemed warmer then than it does now. Perhaps we were a bit “tougher” than today’s generation of youngsters, and we didn’t mind the early spring chill. From time to time, throughout the year, the teacher would administer little tests, and the School Inspector would bring along his standardized ones on his Fall and Spring Visits. His tests were generally to evaluate the performance of the teacher more than the competence of the students. The “big” tests came at the end of the year, and most of us looked forward to the remarks on the back of the report card to see if we had been promoted to the next grade or not. Students in Grade Eight had to pass a provincial exam in the spring in order to