PAEROA HIGH SCHOOL.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIII, Issue 4406, 26 April 1922, Page 4

PAEROA HIGH SCHOOL.

MEETING, OF HOUSEHOLDERS. ELECTION OF COMMITTEE. The annual meeting of householders to elect a committee for the ensuing year was held at the School on Monday night. The attendance was not as large as in previous years, owing. no doubt, to the limited publicity given. Mr W. H. Taylor, chairman ofl the committee of 'last year, was elected to the chair. ANNUAL REPORT. The annual report was read by the secretary, Mr James Couper, as fpllows: ' i'our Committee have pleasure in placing before you in the following - report the work of the past year. In doing so they lealise .that you will not - fail to appreciate the efforts cf all those who have worked to make the year so successful. Average attendance showed an increase of 30. This ‘must be considered very satisfactory when it is taken into account that a new school (Tirohia) has been opened in the district. Buildings.—Additions and extensions in brick have been made to the buildings at a cost of over £4OOO. As the buildings now stand, they are a credit to the. town, and one of tne best outside Auckland. That the accommodation was not provided before it was necessary may be seen f;rom the fact tnat on a 12 square foot floor per pupil basis the present accommodat’on is sufficient for 419 children, while at the present time there are 446 on :the roll. Provision of a Technical High School would relieve the congestion, as then the present build ing would be for primary children only. • Examinations.-—During the year five candid tes in the High School class qualified for Public Service en trance, two for the Intermediate Examination, nine for Senior Free Place, and one obtained Junior National Scholarship, while in Standard VI, out of 30 candidates 26 received proficiency certificates and 3 compe'e’’cy certificates. These results together with the very satisfactory re port by the inspector, reflect cred't on the teachers concerned. . School Gala Day.—On the occasion ■ < the official opening of the new additions a sale of work was held in the grounds. Interesting exhibitions of drill and dancing and songs by < the children provided a good aften i noon’s amusement 'or the visitors. "As a result of the efforts of teachers and children your Committee is mak- I ing an applicat’on for a subsidy on the sum of; £122 3s Bd, so that it is expected that the sum of) £lB6 13s will be available for the much-need-ed improvements in the school grounds. The hearty response ol parents in this good work is much appreciated by the Committee. Extension and Improvements of S'chopi Grounds.—During the year your Committee was successful in securing from the Borough Council the lense of 1 acre 32 perches of land, being municipal reserve, near the school. To bring this area into practical use much improvement will hare to be made to the grounds. Your Committee has to acknowledge with thanks the lease from ;>he Defence authorities of an area of about l-3rd of an acre, which, when improved, will prove a welcome addition to the congested infant playground. Considerable improvement has been made in the appearance of , the school grounds, a new entrance gate and a substantial tennis fence with rock wall and flower garden in front adding greatly to the general appearance. When the contemplated improvements have been completed the effect should be very pleasing, and no ■ doubt parents and scholars will take an even greater pride in beautifying the grounds than at present exists. I School Garden.—This branch has f boon in the capable hands of Mr j Bishop, to whom great credit is due i for winning the root crop competition !

held last year amongst schools of the j Auckland province. The prize consisted of a certificate and a cheque / for £lO, the latter to be spent on j

improvements to school grounds ami gardens. Tirohia School.—During the year a new school under the jurisdiction of your Committee, has been established at Tirohia, Mr Donnelly being placed in charge. This school provides accommodation for over 40 pupils, many of whom were not r<b ceiving educat’on prior to February last. Manual Training School.. —Notwithstanding all efforts of your Committee the position in this matter is still very unsatisfactory. It seems probable that for another winter the pupils will have to travel to and 1from Thames in order to receive tlhat

part of their, education which they should be able to receive in their home town. I School Picnic.—During the year a “ very successful picnic was held at the Tarar.u beach,-when 350 children and 110 adults spent an enjoyable day. Much credit is due to the teach- ” ing staff for the admirable arrangc- ’ ments made for the conveyance of 1 the children by train and naotjor bus, 5 and'to'the parents for their ready re- ■ sponse in poviding an amount suffi- ’, cient to pay fares for all the children, thus providing them with an. ! ideal holiday. 1 . School Staff.—ln reviewing the year’s vvork your Committee wishes to emphasise the fact, of the loyalty and devotion of the teaching staff to ! the welfare of the school, both educationally and socially. We wish to express our appreciation of the help 1 that has been so readily extended to, • us on all occasions. i * [ BALANCE - SHEET. ■ The total amount of grants for the . year was £217. 13s, and the' expenditure £132 18s sd, leaving a credit balance of £B4' 14s 7d. The secretary said that although t this amount appeared as- a credit, it . had to be paid but to Various’ones, and the Committee wis awaiting a . list from the Board.. . Reviewing the report the chairman ; said he thought that the householders had something to be thankful for. ' . owing to the satisfactory state of- the ' finances and the work done by the Committee. He said that with reference to moneys collected by ths Committee, they had formerly been in the habit of; receiving a subsidy from the Board, but this last two years the Board had. not granted subsidies. On the motion of Mr Nicholas, seconded by the Rev. .Mr Dobson, the report and balance-sheet was adopted. w I TECHNICAL HIGH SCHOOL. ; The Rev. Mr Dobson asked what was the position of the Technical High School Mr W. H. Taylor said that this matter had received' the attention of the Committee, as also had the Manual Training School but so far nothing definite had been arrived at. So fai’ as the Technical High School was concerned, the Committee could not give a guarantee of the scholars: otherwise it would be erected nt once. Mr Busby: A're'the householder? aware o' the coskofi sending the chil-

dren to Thames ? z The’ chairman said that the cost z was about £3OO per year, and the Committee thought it would he better to pay this sum in interest on a build'ng. ; MANUAL TRAINING SCHOOL. Mr Garry moved that this meeting of householders strongly urges upon the Minister for Education 'the necessity of establishing a Manual Train ing School in Paeroa, and would point out that ’it is highly desirable that the 120 children who now travel 40 miles to and from Thames at a cost to the Education Department of approximately £3OO a year, should receive their manual training in their , home town. ! The Rev. Mr Dobson, in seconding the x resolution, said that he thought ; it was one of the things tn at should be done.—Carried. It was decided to forward the resolution both .to the Board and the

Minister for Education. Tn reply to a question as to the’ number of children required before we could get a technical high school, the chairman said he thought it was 80. Mr Pascoe moved tha.t this meeting 0" householders strongly recommends /the incoming committee to take all steps possible to secure the erection of the Manual Training School during the coming year, and also take steps to.secure the financing of the sum necessary, to establish a Technical High School. Seconded by Mr Phillips, and carried. It was decided that the committee place the various matters before the Minister for Public Works on his visit here.

SEPARATE SCHOOL DISTRICT. Mr J. Couper moved, and Mr Buso7 seconded, that the, Board be asked to form a separate school district .at Tirohia.—Carried. RESTRICTION ON EXPENDITURE. Mr G. H. Taylor said that all knew the Minister for Education, was a very zealous man in anything pertaining to the welfare of! the children, and he thought the householders, might strengthen his hands by urging that restriction recently placed on the expenditure be lifted on the ground, thiat. any economy now penalisetj. the children all their lives. He mentioned several instances which he thought .were One was that teachers were allowed the sum 1 of 2s 6d for teach.’ng school children

to swim. When this was pointed out Minister he said that he knew the teachers were loyal and would carry on the work. The one that affected this- school w.as the withdrawal ofithe grant of £27 for typawritirg classes. There were many little ways by which children were being'deprived. He was not speaking for the teachers, but where it affected the children he thought that th? parents had a right to know. 'dr Gillman moved that this meeting of householders, while recognising the zeal shown by the Minister, of Education in the interests of the children of New Zealand,; 'would respectfully urge that any undue restriction on the expehditure for Education would penalise for all their lives the children of the present generation. Mr Pascoe seconded the resolution. The chairman agreed with the resolution. He said that, the Committee had gone to a lot of trouble in getting money to purchase typewriters, which are now lying idle. Mr Ardern suggested that an apI 'peal he made to make up the sum ! (£27) required for the teaching of typewriting. Mr Busby thought that a small ' charge, might be made for those wishing to learn typing. [ The resolution was carried. i CHEAPER STATIONERY.' The headmaster said that at a meeting of teachers in Auckland recently the secretary of the Board approached the teachers and asked them if they would undertake the/ work or distributing the stationery and collecting the money. The .Board intended purchasing the stationery in. large quantities, and this would mean A very great saving .to the parents. T.he teachers agreed to the Board’s proposals, and children \yould, as. soon as arrangements were completed, be able to purchase what they required at the school. Mr Pascoe said that the Committee had urged this upon the Board for some yearss and he was pleased that the Board had now taken Jhe matter up. A vote of thanks was passed to the teaching staff by acclamation for their offer to assist the Board, COMMITTEE The chairman announced that as Tirohia was included in the Paeroi School District the Committee asked that Mr Vealebe elected on the incoming committee. The following were elected: Messrs W. H. Taylor, B. Veale, A G. Garry, W. T. Power, W. Redfern, C. H. Pascoe, N. C. Busbyl E. E Gillman, L. C. Cane. In returning thinks for his ' reelection Mr W. H. Taylor said that he regretted that Mrs Thorp had not. been re-elected, as she had been of great assistance to the Committee. He regretted that more householders were not present, and attributed their absence to the fact that the matter was not advertised in the “Gazette” until the last moment. He thought that it. was a great .encouragement to the committee for the* householders to turn up in big numbers.

After other members had acknowledged their election a vote of thanks; to the chair terminated the meeting.