It is inevitable, on occasions such as the 120 year reunion we have just celebrated, that tidbits of historical interest emerge. It was delightful to hear past pupils reminiscing about the hats, gloves, raincoats and even Melissa Dwyer’s winter hat cover, bringing back so many vivid memories from school days.

But the item of interest last weekend was a primary report book, brought in by Natalie Hood. I often feel like a presenter on Antiques Roadshow when I say “I’ve never seen another of those!” It must have required considerable organisation in schools, other than Kilbreda, where there were many more primary classes to keep track of such documents which contained students’ results. In this case the results of Natalie, from Prep in 1972 to Grade 6 in 1978.

One assumes that once the book was completed for the final time that it became the property of the family, rather than the school. The student would take it home at the end of each year, have it sight signed by the parents and returned to the school for safe keeping.

Apart from grades, very few comments appear and most are quite general, such as: “Natalie had made good progress this year. Keep up the good work, Natalie”. In those days there were three terms a year. The photo shows Natalie in a combined Grades 4 and 5 class in 1976 with Srs Roch and Felicitas.

Damian Smith

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