50 It Happened in Iona

each grade although “double grading” was not uncommon. At the end of grade eight provincial exams were written in the school under the supervision of the teacher. This was not an overly traumatic experience and gave the pupil a feeling of accomplishment in having reached that eight-year plateau.

A solemn moment in school history Game at the end of grade ten with the writing of the quite rugged provincial exams, the passing of which was required for entrance to Prince of Wales or other institutions of higher learning. These “entrance” exams were written in Mentague or beyond over a three-day period under the watchful eyes of serious-looking education officials. All of these factors made the whole experience a rather trying one. The general wisdom was that a student should spend two years in grade ten to get a better foundation for the onslaught of higher studies. In these cases entrance exams were “tried” only after that second year. Occasionally, however, a student took the plunge after the first year and if successful this would be the talk of the community for some time, even for years. Teachers went to great pains to prepare their pupils for these high profile tests for it was indeed a great plum to have all or most of the grade ten class successful in these trials. Sometime in mid summer the names of the passing students would appear in the newspaper, in order of merit, with the total marks (400 required) opposite each name. At times an asterisk, commonly referred to as a “star”, would appear alongside the name of the successful candidate. This was a slight come down for it an- nounced to the whole Island that the student had failed one subject. Needless to say, those pages of the newspaper that day were gone over with a hawk’s eye, the various school districts, students and even the stars coming in for close scrutiny.

Our teachers were a noble lot. Just to get hired was an accomplishment, with at least two of the three trustees having to sign his/her paper to make the contract formal and final. It was generally not considered wise for a teacher to hire in the home district, although exceptions to this basic wisdom were easily found. Speculation as to who might be hired for the coming year was always a hot topic. My grade one teacher was Mary Edmonds from our own district. In grade two it was Gerard McMillan from Eldon who died while still very young. For grades three to five my sister Mary was teacher and in grade six it was Martin O’Brien from Morell. Then came Joe Cairns who took me through grades seven to ten inclusive. Cairns is the best remembered of all since we were older and had him for