It seemed like a simple enough task. Allison Tait over at Life in a Pink Fibro posted a photo of herself from third grade and challenged others to do the same. Great, I thought, that could make a cute blog post.
Then the search began. I had my high school photos here at home, but no sign of primary school shots. My mother was away, so I did what any self-respecting, demanding child does, I sent her a text, where are my primary school photos?
She did what any self-respecting, mother on a weekend’s escape from a demanding child does, she ignored the text.
The next day I ransacked her flat, leaving messages on her mobile do you know where my primary school photos are, I need a third grade photo for the BLOG.
Eventually, I uncovered a box of photographs. There they were, my brother in kindy, my brother in first class, my brother in second class … and so it went on. Every year of my brother’s primary education neatly catalogued. Me? No sign. I’ve always known he was the favourite.
My mother, when she eventually returned my calls, insists she gave me all my school photos years ago. I absolutely deny this, although the fact I have all the high school photos tends to weaken my argument.
Finally I found two shots, one from second class and another from fourth class – oh the irony the year on either side of third class!
The first holy communion of second class, my only memory of the day, Greg O’Connor swapped a piece of chocolate cake for my soggy tomato sandwich, what a guy! The remnants of the cake remained on my face for this official photo.
The fourth class photo. The sibling shot, obviously my mother still has it because it features the favoured one!
So if you can just use your imagination to picture the face that may have been the halfway point between these two years. (By the way, next time my mother says I need to get the girl’s hair cut for their school photos I’m going to point out that failing to get your child to the hairdressers is obviously a genetic thing, someone please give this child are hair style! I will not accept it may have had something to do with my wanting long hair and refusing to go to the hairdresser!).
Year 3, was 1976, while I was daydreaming at St Matthews things were happening in the world. Fernando was the hit song of the year. Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak were forming a little business called Apple Computer Company who knew how that was gonna change the world? Nadia Comaneci was winning 3 gold medals at the Montreal Olympics with seven perfect scores and Rocky was taking out the Oscars.
This trip down memory sends one into a sepia edged, hallucinatory experience. Snippets of memory linger, the details have gone but faint images, voices, faces, moments spin in and out. My teacher, back in the day before nuns became a rare and endangered species, was Sister Luke who became Sister Marjorie when the Pope declared nuns could revert back to their own names (well that’s how my nine-year old brain remembers it).
We made spiders out of aluminium cans and strung them up across the room, we drew an outline of our body on butchers paper and filled it with pictures, this is what I remember from all the lessons that year, kinesthetic learner or what?
My ode to childhood was further fueled by Rachel at The Kids Are Alright creating a Pinterest board for Generation X. Those of you who played jacks, watched Swiss Family Robinson (I was more a Little House on the Prairie girl myself) and remember the intoxicating aroma of Perkins Paste as you glued your worksheets into your schoolbooks will LOVE this board.
What were you doing in 1976? What do you remember from the year you were in third grade?
Oh I LOVE it – the first holy communion photo could be a challenge unto itself, but I don’t think I’d ever show mine. I wonder what happened to the missing third grade photo…
I am slightly fearful that they may have gone with the wedding video that the husband accidentally chucked away at the tip!
Oh thanks for the plug for the Pinterest boad – and I absolutely LOVED this post. Thanks for the reminder about Little House on the Prairie – I was passionate about those books.
You brought back so many memories – every school must have done that particular exercise where you trace around each other’s bodies on butcher paper and stick in pictures. I remember all the nuns having exotic men’s names, and then having very pedestrian women’s names, and I remember Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak going into business together! (Ok, I lied about that last one.)
I was 5 in 1976, so I was just starting school, with Sr Vincent as my teacher (as mean as a mean nun could be), and I remember scratchy wool winter uniforms, and learning to read.
We seriously lived parallel lives!
I was in Grade 1 in 1976, and I remember the smell of paste very well. I was a Little House on the Prairie girl too, and I had a Holly Hobbie lunch box. Thanks for this trip down memory lane, it’s prompted me to share my Grade 3 photo too.
Oh yes Rachel has Holly Hobbie on the board, it’s amazing isn’t it the memories some of these things trigger.
Love the photos, you inspired me to dig out a blog post I wrote a few months ago, called “who we’re you in primary school”, link below …
Love it, we were all a ball of style weren’t we!
In the photo of the two of you- you look a lot like
the Princess Child
Really? She’ll be delighted to know she looks like her mum!!
OMG has Princess Child seen the Year 4 shot….almost twins! As for 1976, I was in Year 10…and no, I don’t feel old (well maybe just a little).
She says she can’t see it.
Well, I wasn’t alive in 1976, but I do remember 3rd class. I have a lovely teacher with BIG blonde hair, she was so pretty. I remember her large hair sprayed fringe once had a bee in it. I remember “Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego” and a trip to Shark Island. Fun times x
Nice teachers play such a large part in creating fond memories from school.
I love that Holy Communion pic, it should be in a frame! You and your brother look so happy 😉
xx
Maybe I will put it in a frame. That’s a good idea.
My Holy Communion dress was incredibly short! Indecently short actually. I had forgotten about that until I saw your photo (with an appropriate length for such an occasion!!). But I too, had the long pull up white socks and white shoes. But your veil was way bigger than mine! I would have been so jealous back in 1976!
Yes it was very “Brides of Christ”. Those long socks seemed to have featured prominently in my life at the time, I found a shot of me in the netball team from the school website and again I was wearing knee high long white socks!
1976. I was in Grade 1 (back then it was called “grades” not “years”.
I remember my first day of school and being on a table of “all boys”. Must have horrified me as I still remember it, however to this day I always find it easier to talk to men than women (wonder if this was the reason.
As for Grade 3 I can’t remember a thing.
I know some years are a blank aren’t they? Funny when you think about how much we stress over our own kids and their lives, they aren’t even going to remember most of it!
It was 1999 when I was in year three, and I remember singing mary poppins songs with my friend in class and the teacher pointing at the date and saying that this will be the last time this happens for a long time, in reference to it being 9/9/99, funny! Jumping over from Grace’s FYBF
Oh gosh yr 3 in 1999, you young thing! The date thing is funny isn’t it, guess it happens again shortly on 12/12/12. But it wouldn’t have happened during the first decade of the century.
Oh, those photos are just classic! Love the sibling shot. So very…dare I say, 70’s ?
1976 was a monumental year for me. We migrated to Australia. A family from the tropics of Indonesia to freezing cold Canberra. I’ll never forget that first winter!
Oh my gosh that was a huge change for you! I can understand how the cold of a Canberra winter would be hard to forget for a tropical kid.
Your communion dress looks very similar to mine – little veil and all. Though I’m sure my communion was in Grade 3, so you could have told me yours was and I’d have believed you. It’s funny how some photos evoke vivid memories (like the chocolate cake!) and others are just faces on paper. Great post. FYBF
I know it’s strange the things that come back sometimes when you look at the photographs.
First Holy Communion pics deserve there own challenge! Not to mention ‘school sibling photos’. You are both so cute here. x
Yes, always good when you get a sibling shot where you don’t look like you want to kill each other! LOL