Tom is back at school and now in 5th grade. Hazelbrook PS organises most of its classes as composites, so his class is a 5/6 mix. With 3 or 4 years of practice now, he has become accustomed to it and while I am not sure of the educational or social benefits, I remain open-minded. Streamed age-specific classes can be a wonder to teach, especially at the top, but these combinations seem rarer nowadays.

By coincidence, the last streamed class in primary that I was ever a student in was 5A at Killarney Hts PS. Our youngish teacher was a gentleman named Mr Morley who was competent and well-liked. At the year's end I remember the awkward class party where he pulled out an ancient record player and played 45's of Come Together and Something by The Beatles, and Jumping Jack Flash by The Rolling Stones. To my juvenile self these seemed like very radical choices!

That year I also recall being reluctantly seated next to Gaby Barfield and getting into some trouble as a result! Gaby's birthday is the day after mine so whenever October 19 rolls around, I wonder what she is doing and silently wish her a happy birthday.