School Jubilee Committee's Social Evening

Chronicle (Levin), 6 July 1949, Page 3

School Jubilee Committee's Social Evening

Members of the Shannon School lubilee Comniittee'gatfiered at tne School on Friday evening 'to_.enjoy. a social evening withl all wh'o had helped in any way witli the running of , the. jcelebrations. Though se veral ^ were, uhabie rja - be . . present, i nevertheless there'was i, lafge attendance despit'e ' the weather. Dancing and musical items oceupie'd the earlier p.art oi. the programme and, following supper, opportunity was taken to do honour to many of the helpers. The Mayor, Mr. D. A. Fitzgerald, explained that, in conformity v/ith the chairman's wishes, it had been decided to add a silver plaque commemorating the occasion to the handsome piece of Maori carving presented to Mr. R. J. Law after the golderi jubilee of 1939 and, in doing so, the committee expressed its appreciation of the leadership given by Mr. Law. In reply, Mr. Law said that as an ol'd boy of the school he was deeply man of both the 50 years and 60 man of both the 50 eyars and 60 years jubilee committees, and he realised.that the perfect co-opera-tion of the members and their many helpers was the secret of the success of the. celebrations. He would always cherish his desk set, with its two commemorative placques, for the many -happy memories it held as well as for its beauty and utility. Mr. Law spoke of the amount'of work and enthusiasm put into the preparations and carrying out of the celebrations by the joint secretaries, Messrs J. ' T. Bovis and L. Bowler. Mr. Bovis had done a "second turn" and the records kept from the last jubilee had been of invaluable help to the present committee. Mr. Bowler had ,w6rked with eager enthusiasm and the excellent credit balance of £159, added to the complete co-operation among all workers, was proof of the efflcient team work of the joint" secreuaries. * Both were asked to accept gifts. ■ , - Mr. Bovis said he fully realised that although the" 'pfesentation was made' to him personally, it was really an expression. . of appreqiar tion to every leader and member of the various':. comnhtte.ei.>" : Without their iLfctiring and' efflcient efforts it would have been impossible for the secretaries tp orga'nise the affair successfully, and in thanking all for the very fine gift, which he would always value, he was at the same time thanking the helpers for their support. He had found Mr. Bowler one of the best to work with, arid.he-paid.jtrihutfe: to both Mr. and, Mrs'. Bowler for, the arnounjj, efiwofk. they had acfedm^ plished .whilfe at;: the ' same time having toi attend • to wor^' oh 'sthe f arm. . } . t ;j rj* • • ■ 4 • ■; B^wieir , said 'thij^e f expekf i ehce. h&d beeh "invaluable to *hiim! and soniethingihe would never;;forget. He in turn thanked all for their he?lp, given so generously, and said their gift would always be treasured. Mesdames Law, Bowler, Bovis and Burtt were handed floral tributes made by Mrs. K. Mitchell and Miss Crowther. The Mayoress (Mrs. D. A. Fitzgerald) made special reference to the amount of work and thought put into the jubilee by Mrs. Mitchell. Her floral tributes placed on the graves at the cemetery had been one of the highlights of the jubilee to a number of visitors who had family graves there, her 'distribution of gifts commemorating the jubilee to the sick and elderly, her untiring work in connection with the jubilee book and her share in arranging the social evening were all proof of her continued interest in the school where she had spent several interesting yeairs ..on the teaching staff. All speakers made reference to the support given the celebrations by the headmaster, Mr. F. O. Burtt, and he was heartily thanked for his untiring help. The president of the school committee, Mr. Jeffries, said he wished to express, on behalf of his committee, their appreciation of the splendid work being done for the school by Mr. Burtt. Not only had he brought up the grade of education among the pupils, but he had done inestimable work for the paren'ts, teachers and pupils by bringing them together within the precincts of the school on every possible occasion. The way in which he had brought the school and the pupils' work right rinto the jubilee celebrations had found many. expressions o;f praise and gratitude-.to the committee. Mrs. Burtt _was 100 per cent. behind her husband, in all hi's efforts, not only helpiiig IfinPbv-her sympathy and interest, but also by her personal effort in all school affairs. . The school committee was deeply appreciative of it. Mr. R. Hook: also ' spbke of the debt of gratitude owing' to all local people' who had given .hospitality to the visitors. He said' that it was no small thing to ask people to take complete strangers into their homes and in very "many cases he had had to ask just that. However, right up to the last day he was given every possible help and had not received anything but courtesy and generosity from all residents. ' He then commented upon the initiative and g'ood sense displayed by the band of workers under his control ,in connection with thp banquet, He said many

compliments had been received on the way nearly 600 people were seated, comfortably and without linnecessary hiirry, inside 35 minutes. Every part of the celebrations had been earried out successfully. ; • A recording of the school choir . and ;musical items given by Mrs. : Burtifciii j UT. ^ L>. Campbell, Mr, 'VBdrttn^MuMr.,Richard Lind were :greatly enjoyed. % !Tho' ^r,e^dehi .ef. the: . Parent^ Teacnei^ '^siociatibiLt Mr.vHs,-Bair~ ber, made mention that there had been several expressions since the jubilee of a wish that an Old PupiLs' Association might be formed so that school data could be kept up-to-date and future jubilee committees given useful assistance. He wished to record the suggestion, he said, and would leave itJ for future development.