OPEN-AIR BUILDING

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 169, 4 August 1937, Page 4

OPEN-AIR BUILDING

. Committee Approves Plans of New Central School PNESENT S1TE T0 BE VS|D Wholehearted appyoyal wa® uccorded the plans for a propqsetf new qpeuT^ir schooj huilding tq replace the prqsent condemued Central SchpoJ by the Hastings Central School Committee Iqst evening, whep members met the Mayor, Mr G. A. Maddison, in his capacity aa chairman of fhe flawke' s Rey Education Board. Tentative plans were suhmitted. to. members, qf wbqtn therq W§| a full attendanqe. It. is prqpos.eq erect a buildipg similar ip type to thqt at* Qbf istchqrch UhA §?cqr#ftC§" WW the latest arcliitectural conceptions « mbdern classrooms. . ^ On only one aspect is there any. agrqement, and. that is whcthqr tli^t headmaster's residence sboulcl bq rfr, tained. The cpmmit.te.e is to make r#-. presentatious to thq. Director- qf Efhri : cation, .Mr "N. LainbqqTnq, whpi} hf visits Hastings on August 20, tp hav* this huilding remqvqd. Not the slightest objection was raiaed as to tlie type of building to be erected ; mdeed, the committeemen were mo.sl egthusi&Stically fU favoUT of ^avlog §H.. . the classrooms constructqd in the maur ner- prPp.qsed, fqr ii TeaUsed the children would haye plgUty of fres^ air and sunshine. Twft Builaiins The school is to eqmprise two buildings, the smsller of which is to be qqr cupied hy tbe priiuera, Provisiqp, if ma^e for class.rqbum up tq and including standard \ uuly? th.qugU in thf event qf there. being no iqtermediatf or post-primary school erected in Hastings it would be an eqsy matter tq provj'de the extra Classrooms to aqcommodate tlie two higher standards,. Mr Maddisoii expiained to the committee tliat when reeently in Wellington he made a special appeal tp t)i« Minister of Education, the Hon. _ P. Fraser, for a new Central Sclioql, poiuting out to liim that ho wqs the seventh Miqjster who h'ad been apgro.ach,ed and who had condemnecl the present hpiJding. ' 'I told him that we looked to him tq fqlfil the promises mqdo on numer-r ous occasions to the eqiqmittee," said Mr Maddison, "aqd aftej epnsulfatioa he intimated tha.t he, w°pl4 authorisq a grant being made for the new builqr ing tq be proceeded with.'* Mr Maddison said that. at the tiiqq the necessary plans wero not drawn up, but this matter had now been. attended to and all tliat, remained was for tbe committfee to express approvai of the type of school designed and prqyitle • Jay-out ot the biulding qnd grqunds. The plans would haye "to be qpprqved by tbe Department of Edncatiqu. It was * pointea cut that the new . building would have to. be erected on tlie present site. The. department was not in favqur of rexnoving tlie headniaster's residence, and this, would probably mean having to acquire an adjoining section' in Soiithampton street xnd tq fill up the dip in the school grqunds. Therq were two ways in which the buildings could be plqced so > as to give' plenty of norfh lightning; t>ne was to remqve the residence froxq the corned site and place the new build* ings directly faoiug the nqrt>, witb thf corner as the main entrance tq th® school ; the other was to leave tbq residence, and place the main school building in • line with Southamptoij street. Under bqth scheuies the smaller building, to be used for the infants, would be inunediately to the rear of thf. piain building. 51 ShPuld Residence be Remqyed Tbe committee favoured the tirst proposai buf was, quifce prepared to acqept the second suggestion if it werf found thqt thq department would not accede to its wishes regardmg the re» • tnoval of the residence. The question of a graut to enable thf committee, tq provide a titting iay-uufe to the new achool aud for grpund improvements was discussed and it wai decided to make applieation iramediately, It was pointed out that the committee had uof been iu a position previously to hpply for a grant because nq informatiqu has been available, qf whexf and when the new school would bf decided upon. Mr W« S, Bennett, chairman oi the committee, expressed the sincere tjiaukt qf the committee to Mr Maddison t'or his efforts in obtaining the grant ior the uew school. "We approve most wholeheartedly the type oi school proposed, and when the work is completed it will take a load olf our minds and we shall be able to carry into eft'eet tlie ground improvements that we are so anxions to carry out," he said, "I may say that we have a. Ipt of i4eas about the grounds too," he added. In reply, Mr Maddison said it would be a happy day for him when his old school was converted into a modern one. He anticipated that the work would ba well in hand by the end of this year, -