THE SCHOOLS FROM WITHIN.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 11110, 6 May 1911, Page 10

THE SCHOOLS FROM WITHIN.

NEWS AND NOTES. As might bo expected, tho reaction from the excitement of the annual school elections has resulted in a "slump" in school eevnts during the week after. RoEoneath, Wellington. During tho last two and a half years at lioseneath School there has been a considerable drop in tho school roll. For 1910 tho average attendance was 141, average roll 161, and the percentage 88; this percentage is very low for a city school. Owing to the drop in the roll, tho school has lost ono of tho assistant teachers. "There are a great many, empty houses in tlio district," said the headmaster (Mr. Hobert Darroch), "and no doubt when these are all tenanted, tho numbers will recover somewhat. As a rule, however, I notice that the now families coming into the district are small ones, the popular number of children being one or two. This means that there can never be any violent increase in the number on the roll. Such a condition, of tho birthrate is greatly to bo deplored." In a reference to tho proposed abolition of scholarships, in .his annual report to the householders, the headmaster states; that this is "part of the presentday craze to do away with examinations. I, personally, am strongly, opposed to this movement. As far as I can see thero is not any inoro- reliable test of efficiency 'iii 'education than' examination. Lord Kitchener, on his return to London from his world's tour, stated that the best military college in tho world is 'AA'est Point. At AYest Point the test of efficiency in every'department of military and civil education is examination. In New Zealand I would strongly urge every boy to matriculate irrespective of whatever calling ho intends By passing such an examination as. tho matriculation ho has reached ;ii. decent standard of education." <:■'■"■ . '. ; Maranui, Wellington. ■ Tho following pupils of .the .Maranui School have gained swimming certift- :: F. Gooch ("2100 yds.), T. Kaynor (2000 yds), L. AValker (2000vds.), C. Stevenson. (1900 yds.), AV. Solomon (1000 yds.), A. ■Sendall (lOOOvds.), AV. Price (1000 yds.), C. AYalkor (450 yds.), D. Algar (350 yds.), A. M'Kay (300 yds.), L. Lovell ■ (250 yds.); Maida Aitken (800 yds.), Jessie (450yds.),',Rose.George ■■; Utlku, Main Trunk Lino. . . . "A survey of tho revenue sary expenditure for the forthcoming year reveals the astounding faot that a sum of almost twelve (12) pounds Will bo required to be raised locally,": stated the Utiku" School Committee, in its. report to tho annual meeting -of '.householders the other week. "The committeo is of'opinion that in tho. economical administration of the Education Act such expenditure as is ncedod : for cleaning and'firing should be paid-directly by tho board; that the'board',■ -being able to purchase in bulk, should'-supply all stationery needed for schools; that a small yearly allowance should bo made to committees to meet sundry expenditure only,.' Among special work that could with profit occupy the attention of the committee are metalling, drain--age of the swamp, and subdivision of the playground. AVhen the committee tool; offico tho roll of the school stood at 82. During its term of office 55 pupils were admitted and 49 left. The roll at the. end of last quarter was 88, and the average attendance 83. The work of tho school has been carried out in a highly satisfactory manner, and the committee tendered its appreciation to the staff on the excellent report received from the inspector. Several changes in the staff have taken place' during tho past year. Owing to a frill in attendance, the. school has lost the services of a pupil teacher. There are great hopes, however, that at the end of the present year tho school will bo entitled to regain the pupil teacher. AVhen it is remembered that an average of SO.} for the year is necessary, and that tho first quarter closed with an average- of 83, it will be seen that the hope is well founded." Kakaramea. 'The school children at Kakaramea, experimenting with artificial manure (Sinclair's), achieved the following results from plots of 18 square yards :— Percent. Yield of increase per by use of acre, manures. 1 . . T cwt. No manure. ...! 32 11 — Superphspht. (3cwt) 39 11 21 Dried blood (3cwt) 36 0 5 Super x blood (3cwt) 43 0 32 Kock : phos.' (3cwt) 32 ' 4 -1 Basic slag (3cwt) . 32 17 J History of Plot. —1908,_ potatoes; 1909, potatoes, followed by'oats, subsequently dug in for green manure; 1910, carrots, as above. Same- kind of 'manure used on plots for the last three years. Dyervllle. At the annual meeting of tho householders of Dyerville tho annual report and balance-sheet for the year wereread and adopted. Receipts totalled £72 3s. lid., expenditure £70 os. 2d., leaving a credit balance of £2 3s. 9d. Miss lorns was accorded a vote of thanks for the progress of tho children during tho year and for the 'manner in which she had worked to raiso funds to enable the committee to place the piano in school freo of debt; also additions to be made to school library, and for raising sufficient funds to give each child a prize. The election of a committeo to hold office for the year 1911-12 resulted in the following being elected: —Messrs. 11. Daysh (chairman), It Clophaus. D. Green, J. D. Andrews. ,T. Taylor, T. Frcthey, and Campbell Smith. NEWS IN BRIEF. The Wellington Education Board decided on Tuesday that in cases where no school committee was elected on April 21, fresh elections are to bo held on May '-'2. Tho attendance at the Rongokokako (Fcilding) school has increased to such an extent that it has breii found necessary to rent the. local hall, to provide further accommodation.

Final arrangements have been completed for tho holding of a concert in the Denbigh Road School on May 5, when a lengthy programme will bo submitted, consisting of a cantata and dialogues by the school children and songs by local residents and others. The now School Committeo at Haurimii (.Main Trunk line) is being urged to bring pressure to bear on the Department of Kducatiou for tho erection of a school. At present school is being held in tho hall, which is unlincd, cheerless, and cold in the winter. There is an attendance of 50. Owing to an outbreak of measles at the Campbell Street (l'almerston North) School the average attendance for tho month had fallen .to 592.06. The fire brigade's superintendent has prepared a report regarding exits, etc., to be presented to the Firo Board. Tho committeo has approved of the appointment of Mr. J. ; D. Aitken, of AYaiata, as successor to Miss Kingett, who has been transferred to the Feilding School by tho Education Board. At the monthly meeting of the Otaki State School Committeo there was reported an attendance of 164 out of-ITS on the roll lor April. A vote of thanks was accorded Mr. Dan Necs for his donation of the balance owing on an outbuilding. The meeting of householders at Kaimero took tho outgoing committee to task about tho late assistant teacher (Miss M. Fowler) being transferred to Uruti. .Several speakers dwelt on the unfairness of shifting Miss Fowler at a moment's notice, and . all agreed that she had brought the little ones forward in a manner greatly to her credit. Tho outgoing committee defended themselves by saying that they had had absolutely no voice in the matter, that Miss Fowler was moved on April 17, tho committee got advice about it from the Education Board by a letter dated April 21. Therefore they (the committee) had no opportunity to protest. A remarkable instance of tho difficulty encountered by some teachers in making headway in schools which are constantly experiencing, a moving population came to light at the Midhirst School election, when tho chairman pointed out tho disadvantages under which tho school was working owing to the constant changes of tho person-' ncl of tho pupils attending. Since tho present headmaster took charge seven years ago the school roll has changed 43 per cent, per year, and this year's constituted a record, as 50.9 per cent; of new pupils had entered and 58.2 per cent. left. Unders such conditions it is , impossible to get the best results. One of the speakers afr tho PateaSchool election meeting expressed the opinion that the present method of electing members of Education Boards was. fossilised in the extreme.; In a democratic country like Now Zealand the. boards should be elected on- the universal franchise. Ho would ..move that" flic Hon. the Minister for , Education be informed that in the opinion of this meeting . of. householders Education Boards should be elected by tho people, and these bo representative of tho people directly, and not indirectly as at present. Tho resolution was carried.' After tho new Marton School Committee had made a round of inspection of the school buildings,last Tuesday, in company with Mr. E. Newman, M.P., Mr. 11, E. Beckett, Mayor, and' Mr, F. .Purnell,- a member of the Education Board; it was. unanimously agreed that tlio buildings , were unsuitable.and unfit for school .purposes, mid that".-'the timo had arrived when stops should be taken towards the erection of a new school. Mr. Newman promised to represent the matter to 'Mr. Ifowlds, Minister for Education, and will also endeavour to arrango for tho Minister to visit Marton at an,early date. .Mr, Beckett consented fifract on tho-comiiiittec''ap-pointed to control this project in-his official capacity as Mayor. There is a likejihood of a committee being appointed from the Borough Council to strengthen tho sub-committee appointed by the School Committeo and AYanganui Education Board. The troubles of teachers in the Dominion's schools are many and varied, but it is rarely that a teacher has-to appeal to the paternal regard of .tho Department for a bigger house because his family, is larger than the. Department anticipated.. The residence ;'.'cat the ■New\Lynu School, Ha'wko's ;Bay,; is of six rooms, but the head teacher-lias ten children, and he recently asked the Minister for Education at Auckland-to assist him in his endeavour to have this house enlarged. Tho Minister replied that, the limit was a six-roomed house, and tho Department never made grants for additions to residences of that size. ■■Tlio teacher, Mr. H. J. S. Ellis, replied that ho had ten children, and some of his boys had to sleep outside in tents, 'and the .dining-room was too small to accommodate the wholo household at one sitting. Mr. Fon-lds said that thero were many teachers living in houses of four or five, rooms, and without bathrooms, and tho Department's first care was to give larger rooms to''those'teachers before enlarging six-roomed.houses. PERSONAL NOTES. ■Pending the appointment of a permanent assistant teacher to tho Kaiparoro School, Miss Lily Feist, of Carterton, has been appointed relieving teacher. A farewell "social" was tendered to Miss Bartlctt, tho assistant teacher at Okato (Taranaki) last week. Tho night was fairly fine, and there was a good attendance of friends to bid her goodbye. Mr. H. C. Fonton, who for tho past fifteen months has been assistant at Egmont Village School, and is now leaving the district, was tho recipient the other evening of a handsome travelling bag, a token of esfeem from his late pupils, and the peoplo of the district. A complimentary "social" was recently tendered Mrs. J. Henderson in tho Albert Road schoolroom (Korito, Taranaki). Mrs. Henderson has been sole teacher of the above school for seven years, and had just lately relinquished charge of same. Mr. J. Hall, on behalf of a large number of friends, presented Mrs. Henderson with a handsome tea and coffee service. At the annual school concert by the pupils of tho Hillsborough (Taranaki) district, which was a very successful affair, the chairman, Mr. J. E. Hill, on behalf of the settlers, presented Mr. Miils, the assistant teacher, with a silver inkstand, with, pen, pencil, and paper-knife to match. Mr. Mills, who is leaving to take charge of the AYhanga■momona School, thanked the settlers for their present. On Friday of last week, Miss Lee, who has been four and a half years ono of tho teachers at Manakau School, and who is leaving to take up tho position of assistant in Hamna School, was presented with a beautiful afternoon tea service- (teapot, sugar basin, and cream jug), from the pupils, staff, and friends. Mr. M'Bain, who made the presentation, referred to the good work done by Miss Lee, and to the affection felt for her bv her pupils, and expressed the regret felt by all at her departure. Three ringing cheers were given for Miss Lee, who was much affected when responding. Miss O'Brien, who is leaving Oinata to take up the duties of assistant inisIress at the New Plymouth AYest End School, was farewclled at a pleasant little function last week, when Mr. E. Bayley, chairman of tho committee, presented Miss O'Brien, on behalf of the- scholars, with a silver-backed hairbrush and silver hat-pin. Ho spoke highly of Miss O'Brien's work while in Omat'n (nearly three years), of the. esteem and affection felt for her by tlio children, and of the, general .regret at her departure . ,

Mr. AY. C. Smith, headmaster of the Grovetown School, has been oll'cred by the Government, mid has accepted, an appointment in charge of educational alfairs in the island of Nino. Mr. Smith's appointment, says tho Marlborougli "Kxprcss." is well deserved, for he has an excellent record as a teacher, both tho Ilavelock and (Jrovotown Schools having made goad progress under his rule. He will be greatly missed in Grovetown, where ho has made himself very popular during his short stay. At tho annual meeting of householders of the Upper Hult district opportunity was taken to confer a popular honour upon tho headmaster, Mr. F. AY. Council, as a token of esteem on his completion of twenty-one years' service as headmaster of tho school. Mr. AY. Greig, chairman of the outgoing committee, made the presentation, and paid a high tribute to Mr. Council's popularity with pupils, parents, and committees during the. twenty-one years ho had been connected with the school. The affection of the children for their teacher was, he said, evidenced by the way in which, on all occasions the name of Mr. Council was hailed by the young folks. He had moulded the characters of the children under hi.s control in a manner gratifying to parents, and the educational results were of a high standard and recognised as such by the inspectors' reports. He asked Mr.' Connell to accept from tho old pupils and tho parents of past and present scholars a silver dessert service, as a slight indication of their satisfaction with tho manner in which ho had laboured in the interests of the children of tho district and tho school for tho past twenty-one- years. Tho dessert service —a handsome cabinet containing nineteen pieces of sterling silverware —was inscribed: —"F. AY. Council, 21 years head teacher. Upper Hult. 24/4/11." Mr. Council, who was greeted with cheers, suitably responded, and said that when he took charge twenty-one years ago there were 170 on the school roll, while to-day tlio number was 284 — an evidence that tho advico of a grent statesman to "keep the cradles full" was not needed in this district.