Adela Hinkova's certificate for completion of the fourth grade

This is my certificate for completing the fourth grade in the Jewish school in Vidin in 1929. The Jewish school had four grades, and I studied five years. When I was in the second grade my brother went down with mumps. So, I was under quarantine for three weeks. Then my mother also caught it and our teacher in Ivrit, who was also the school headmaster, decided that I should repeat the year. We didn't have any textbooks and I couldn't catch up with the studies at home. I was happy when I received a 'good' [four out of six] as a grade. I studied a lot, because I had to repeat the grade. Once the teacher asked me to read aloud and I said, 'Please, wait for me to take my pencil.' I had the habit of underlining what I read in order to avoid making mistakes. The children laughed at me saying, 'Are you reading with your mouth or with the pencil?'