This is my grade 4 class at Parkdale Elementary school (Ville St.Laurent) in 1963. That's me second from right on the second row.This class really stands out for me mainly because I had a crush on the teacher - Mrs. Longhurst!
The previous year I had been placed in grade 2. But because I could do long division (in my head ... #Harvey - is this at all similar to you and Norman doing geometry in your heads?) the school decided I belonged in grade 3. This was a hardship for me as I could barely speak English. But my sweetie took me under her wing and I was fluent in no time ... she also followed me to grade 4 which totally cemented our relationship ...
In case anyone doesn't know, in Quebec, the cutoff date for deciding which year you begin school was, I believe, Sept 1. Rubyn would have missed that by almost 2 months (Oct 27) birthday so would have been one of the oldest kids in Grade 2. By being kicked up a grade, he became one of the younger ones in Grade 3
Wow ... your mother was cool (and wily ...). BTW, did you notice my #Harvey question - #Harvey - is this at all similar to you and Norman doing geometry in your heads?
The reason I know all this is my birthday is 2 days before Ruby's. But my mother understood the system. When I was 4 and clearly ready for kindergarten, she scratched out (carefully) October on one of my birth certificates (apparently I had an extra one??) and changed it to August 25. For the next 5 years or so, I celebrated TWO birthdays — August 25 AND October 25. I guess we needed to keep the story consistent in case I was ever cross-examined 😀