PETONE TECHNICAL SCHOOL.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1614, 4 December 1912, Page 5

PETONE TECHNICAL SCHOOL.

WORK OF THE YEAR. The final meeting of the Petone Technical School Managers for tho current year was held,last evening. T.hoso present were: The Kev. A.. Thomson, (chairman), and Messrs. Castle,i Ht>pD,fllEK«nzie, List,-' Trueman, and M'Ewan. . Tho Education Board wrote advising that it was prepared to erect a ..greenhouse adjacent to the present building (for tho benefit of pupils wishing to take a rural course). On the motion, of Mr. Castle, itwas resolved to accept the offer, and a' sub-committee/' consisting of the chairman, Mr. Castle, and the director, was appointed to superviso the erection of the greenhouse. Mr. H. Rowden's resignation as instructor in shorthand and type-writing wasaccepted with regret. It was resolved to send a lefter of appreciation to him. It was decided to hold the art classes next year on two nights per week, instead of on Saturday afternoon as at present. The director (Mr. G. Lynskey), reporting on- the year's work, stated that in somo cases jjupils had attended on every night on which the school had been open. Only in three oases had the work of "free place" pupils been unsatisfactory.Much assistance had been given by parents in the matter of attendance, but there were n few cases where parents (either through ignorance or neglect) seemed to be unaware of tho "apathetic tactics" of the children. The wool-sorting class compared very favourably with similar classes in the Dominion, and. the report advocated "popularising" this class throughout the district. The attendance at tho plumbing classes had been haphazard. It was a difficult class to control, .as some of the senior plumbers were very often away. The electricity class was at present one of the most useful departments in the school, and the hours of instruction per week should bo increased from three hours to four hours. During the year a wireless telegraphy apparatus had been ordored, and, wlien installed, it would be capable of sending a message over a distance of about five miles. Tho report also recommended that a two-years' course for the senior civil service should .be instituted. The chemistry class had been largely attended, but it would bo necessary next year to introduce a new schemo of work to meet the requirements of tho civil service and matriculation examinations. The art class had gone on in a satisfactory manner. The pupils were very young, but great things might ba expected of them if they continue. The machine construction and instrumental class had proved useful, and the attendances had been satisfactory. - The woodwork, cookery, Eswlish, arithmetic, shorthand, and typewriting classes had also done good work. Tho report was adopted, members expressing their satisfaction at the year's work.