Miss Clarice

We always knew Clarice Everard as "Miss Clarice". It was pronounced "Clarris".

She was the youngest of the sisters, yet the principal of the school. She was in charge of practically everything from excursions, special and sporting events, public relations and the day-to-day running of the school.

She seemed to me to be tall and slim. Her hair was long and white, parted in the middle, and in some kind of braided arrangement which I have never seen before or since and am unable to describe. Unfortunately there are no pictures of her or her sisters available to me.

She was extremely capable, and had little patience for slow learners, or people who didn't try to do their best: the latter being a good quality for being a teacher, the former - not so much!

It was not really a good idea to get "into her bad books"!

Discipline was not really a huge issue in the 1950's, especially at Westleigh College, as good manners and socially acceptable behaviour was de rigueur.

If ever someone were expelled it could have been for something as trivial as saying "shut up"!

I don't recall anyone being expelled, but that is about all it would have taken for Miss Clarice to expel someone. Anything worse than that and expulsion would have been inevitable and swift, with no hope of a pardon.

I know she had her favourites, but she frequently changed her mind so one never really knew where one stood with her. It varied from day to day.

Generally Miss Clarice taught the more senior girls, from grades 4, 5, and 6 and up to the secondary levels that existed back then.

When I started there the notice board outside Westleigh College stated that the curriculum offered was from "Kindergarten to Matriculation".

I don't recall if all the higher grades/levels were operating when I was there, but I think it went to Form 3 at least, as it was known back then.

I remember her mainly for teaching me geography. She loved doing this! She was passionate about it.

I think she also read us some rather interesting adventure books, and possibly taught me history as well.

In fact, she could teach almost anything if necessary!

I especially recall her getting us to make lists of countries showing their capital cities and the rivers on which they were situated. I still remember a lot of them, notwithstanding the fact that political maps have changed enormously since then. We also had to memorise the continents, the oceans, the largest islands and so on.

Back then we all had plastic template maps of various countries which we would trace into our mapping books, then outline them with our mapping pens from ink stored in an inkwell on our desks.

When that was completed we were allowed to colour them in with our Derwent Pencils.

These pencils were quite a status symbol back then, especially if you had a box of 72!

Of course, back then, the box wasn't quite as fancy as the one pictured.

Miss Clarice also taught French, albeit with an English accent. Teaching any language in a primary school was virtually unheard of back then.

This may well have been due to the fact that Australia was just starting its intake of European migrants, of which my family was one, so there was little need for other languages back then.

It was a good basis for me when I learned it later in high school and university.

(It is possible that some of the other private schools back then taught Latin, but I cannot say for sure.)

Miss Clarice's biggest event of the year was the annual Speech Night which was held in the Northcote Town Hall.

She always dressed up for that - a fur stole, a new dress, and even lipstick which she rarely indulged in during the year.

Miss Clarice certainly commanded respect from everyone: teachers, parents and pupils alike.

I guess she made quite an impression on me because I remember her very well, not to mention the geographical facts!