Notations from Matron’s Logbook: Inez of the Upper 4th

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File: Extracted from the Archives of Saint Clare’s School for Girls
Document: Notations from Matron’s Logbook, 12 June 1955

How to Read “Inez of the Upper IV”

The story of Inez de Vries unfolds through a series of documents—some official, pulled from the prim and unforgiving files of Saint Clare’s School for Girls; others are more intimate, drawn from the journals, letters, and scribbled notes of the girls themselves. These pieces will be posted gradually, over the next two weeks, allowing the narrative to take shape not through a single telling, but through fragments. Some will appear typed and orderly; others will retain the texture of handwriting, rendered in a cursive-style font to honor the green-ink originals. Readers are invited to step into the role of archivist, assembling the story from these traces, and imagining the lives that fill the gaps between pages—the tensions, the alliances, the secrets too dangerous to write down. Not everything will be explained. But Inez is watching. And she remembers.

Use the comments to build the story together: ask questions, float theories, invent what’s missing. What do you. think lies between the lines? The archive is incomplete—but the story lives in the spaces between.

Introduction to Notations from Matron’s Logbook

Based on yesterday’s staff memos, if you’re wondering how the adults at Saint Clare’s have been coping with the ripple effects of Inez de Vries’s behavior—well, Matron does not “cope” when it comes to school girls. Matron examines, documents, and judges.

For those unfamiliar with the role: the school Matron isn’t quite a nurse, not quite a governess, and certainly not one to cross. She oversees the infirmary, enforces standards of health, hygiene, and attitude. At Saint Clare’s she doles out cod-liver oil, brisk dismissals, and the occasional perfectly legal bottom-smacking. Given with her broad hand and firm affection, of course.

This log entry, made the Sunday after Inez’s transgressions and disciplinary theatrics, gives us a glimpse into the clinical eye (and moral clarity) of one Patricia Rowntree, Matron of Saint Clare’s since before the Armistice. She has no time for teenaged drama or malingering.

Her handwriting is tidy. Her conclusions are not.

If you feel moved to contribute a fictitious note from a Matron of your own—past, present, or wholly invented—you are very welcome to do so in the comments. Matron is always collecting notes for the file.

NOTATIONS FROM MATRON’S LOGBOOK

Date:         Sunday, 12 June 1955
Time:        3:40 p.m.
Student:  de Vries, I – Upper 4th

de Vries admitted herself to the Infirmary This Afternoon. Complained of Persistent Soreness and “Ghostly Tingling,”  presumed from Corporal Punishment (Medium Cane) received prior Friday and Saturday.

Inspection: showed Mild and Superficial marks only. No welting. Skin intact. Standard bruising consistent with School Cane of Medium Weight. No reason for Continued Distress beyond Initial Sensitivity. No Marks on Either Hand from Tawsing.

Temperature Taken during Inspection; Normal. Despite this, de Vries complained of a Headache; given Cod Live Oil and remained in an Infirmary Bed until after Dinner.

At 6:30PM de Vries requested Ointment, a Hot-Water Bottle, and a Boiled Sweet for “Comfort.” Suggested her Condition might warrant Sleeping in the Infirmary Overnight and Missing Monday classes. Denied.

Instead de Vries was given further two Tbsp Cod-Liver Oil for Healing. Told to Return to her House Immediately. Student Protested missing her Dinner. Given a firm Hand Smacking to tears and taken to Her House Mistress with Strong Suggestion she be Put Straight to Bed with No More Nonsense.

Assessment: No Medical Cause for Complaints.

Observation: Girl enjoying creating Drama. Watch de Vries’s Behavior Closely for FurtherTrouble.

Opinion:  *Exaggeration OR Fabrication.*

– P. Rowntree