Becoming a PSK

This blog finds us eight years ahead; a major jump from my first grade memories. After graduation from 8^th grade, the majority of us went to public high school. Only a handful went to the parochial high school in the neighboring town.

This turn of events was a defining moment in our lives. ‘Not a big deal you say?’ Going to the public high school presented us face to face with the PSKs (Public School Kids) who named us Saint Mary’s Fairies in the first place! No more sticking your tongue out at a passing bus.
No sir-eee Bob! Face-to-face time presented itself at last.

First I shall name the joys of going to the public high school:

• No uniforms
• A different classroom for each subject
• A different teacher for each subject
• Private lockers
• Hot lunch, 3 sessions (of course hot lunch could be debatable!)
• Sports, cheerleading, pep clubs & rallies
• Dances, lots of them
• Activities & clubs
• No religion class (OOOPS!) J
• Many, many new friends
• A lot more boys to choose from!

Now for the downside… St. Mary’s had an excellent reputation for its academics. How can this be bad? Well, we were automatically placed into the advanced classes in freshman year of HS, at least till we found our academic footing in a public school. Math & Algebra 1 was right up there. English was also well noted. We were masters of grammar. Then there was French. We had 5 years of French before entering high school, some of which was tutored by the lovely, local teacher from WGBH on PBS television…“Parlons Français’’ with Madame Slack. Advanced French…here we come! Our penmanship, the Palmer Method, was better than most teachers’ handwriting!

The downside was seeing the faces of the freshman that didn’t know you from Jr. High School. This was the first ‘fairy’ giveaway. (Oooooohhhh, you’re from THAT school!)

Being able to speak to the French teacher, in FRENCH, was also a giveaway. PSK eyes shot across the room faster than you can say “OOO-la-la!” We were also great at math, graphs, equations, fractions, integers & most of the good stuff I can’t even remember now. These were the subtle daily burdens to bear. It should wear off by sophomore year. (I hope!)

There were three biggies that could possibly mean scarring for life. For the Harry Potter fans of which I am one, there are “three unforgivable curses!” Our ‘three unforgivable fairy giveaways’ are right up there with them!

1.      Raising your hand to ask a question

2.      Standing to ask the question

3.      Standing in the presence of a teacher entering the room

I’ve done all three. I guess most all of the fairies have. We were laughed off the face of the earth, or so it felt! It was humiliating enough for the classmates to laugh but we could see the teachers trying NOT to smirk! Perhaps the teachers were identifying with similar transgressions from their past! (I hope!)

ARRRRGGGH!!! It’s a Charlie Brown blockhead moment! You would tell yourself over & over again to not do these three things…and you would forget. It should wear off by sophomore year.  (I hope!)

It probably took most of the year, but eventually we transformed from a fairy to a PSK….or so we thought.

In hindsight, the nuns prepared us well. Academically we were very good. As students we tried very hard. We tried to blend with the new kids while not forgetting how we got there. What’s so wrong with good penmanship, good math skills & being polite? Nothing of course!!! C’est si bon! As I look around at our gang of fairies, the gifts of the Sisters of Saint Joseph have traveled with us through our lives: random acts of kindness, doing unto others, paying it forward, prayers, sharing & caring with friends, family & children. These are the gifts that continue from generation to generation.

Our penmanship is still a dead giveaway! “Oh, you must be from a parochial school!”

Yes, how did you guess!

Once a Fairy, always a Fairy! 

Cathy