My first homeroom! These were the Grade 12s. The senior classes were very small since this was an era when most young people did not stay in high school much past their 16th birthdays, especially in northern towns like Snow Lake. In that first year there were two quite large classes of Grade 9, about 35 students in Grade 10, less than 20 students in Grade 11, and only 10 in Grade 12. This picture shows myself with 9 students. It was taken in November after one student had already found himself a job and left. The boy standing beside me (who was almost my age) was the next to go, so we ended the year with 8 students. Only two or three of these passed enough exams in June for a clear Senior Matriculation standing! That was to change the next year when everybody passed! Read the chapter in my book called Magic in the Classroom.