THE SCHOOL BEAUTIFUL.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIII, Issue 4412, 10 May 1922, Page 2

THE SCHOOL BEAUTIFUL.

PAEROA ASPIRATIONS. GOOD WORK DONE. ' The beautiful is like sunshine - ■to the world ; the beautiful lives for ever.—Hans Andersen. Tn the spirit of the above-qiioted lines, the Paeroa District High School Committee (chairman Mr W. H. Taylor) is making praiseworthy progress towards the beautification of the precincts o' the school. The work is under the supervision of Mr E. E. Gillman and Mr G. H. Taylor. As a committeeman, a member of the Beautifying Society, and a most helpful citizen, Mr Gillman is using bis professional qualifications as an architect, which include of course an eye for the beautiful, and discriminating taste in that respect, to the advantage of the school and the - town. Mr Taylor is typical of that very desirable type of headmaster who takes as much pride in the school under his control, and the surroundings thereof/ as if the institution was his personal property. He has that rare combination, ideality allied to the executive abilitv to put ideals into effect. In the fulness of time the work now in hand must become fair to look upon, and will be a living memorial to all those responsible for ifs creation, as well as serving its intended purpose of making the school approaches and grounds attractive ; a place not to be shunned by scholars’, but to hasten towards ’joyously, and be contented therein.

Not long since there was a most unsightly hedge fronting the tennis courts at ( the school, the rank growth overhanging the footpath, and impeding the progress of His Majesty's loyal burgesses 'in the Borough of Paeroa. Now that fente has gone west; it has been cut, uprooted, pulled and. pushed of malice aforethought, and no longer offends the eye or stays the feet. In its place is a neatly and solidly-bui'lt rock bank. with a flower border at the back. A high netting fence beyond that forms the roadside boundary of the two fine tennis court?. ' THE GATES OF LEARNING. The ancient gate with its begrimed hand-grip marks has gonel, too; and a new one of more spacious dimensions' has taken its place. A series of accommodating concrete steps lead up to the gate, and the wihole approach from the footpath inwards , is substantial and of good appearance. But from the footpath outwards the eye is offended and traffic made difficult by the wretched crossing and the deplorably bad road. SU-rely a street whereon some four hundred children travel to school daily, and on which is the Defence Headquarters, merits a little kindly corisidera-’ tion from that much-abused but wel’meaning body,- the Borough Coiin'cil ? If the committee were to make representations on the matter, probably something would be done to improve conditions. Not that the - Council members are unaware, pj’. the position', but they have so many things requiring urgent attention that it is necessary, or at least desirable, that the state of Wood Street should be brought before their notice officially by the committee.

Mr Farrell, the Education Board’s architect, when -he was in Paeroa last week spoke in very complimentary terms pf the work accomplished —which is a good augury for the receipt of the required subsidy on the puhiioly.-raised funds out: of which the cost of the work has in part been met.

The north-western boundary of the tennis courts has been built up with a solidly-llaid btink oil?, spalls l , the work being so neatly done as to : resemble flagstones. In due- course flowers will clothe the incline, and lend beauty to the scene. ‘ . SAND-TRAY. “OPERATIONS.” A source of- nevert-ending interest and delight to the scholars is the sand-<tray, the gift of Mr GiUrhan; Here the young people play, in school hours and out, including Saturdays, making all sorts ofi wonderful things —railways boats, tracings, and. whatnot. It is also used to give instruction in geography,the map of. New Zealand, or the Coromandel Peninsula, <he ranges and rivers and other topographical, features being faithfully outlined. The sand-tray has attained .to the status of an “institution;” - DOMAIN OF AGRICOLA. The garden, as usual, is fortile with vigorously growing crops, where practical demonstrations of agricultural applied science are in evidence. ENLARGED GROUNDS. One of the characteristic stories told of the late Cecil Rhodes, the great Empire-builder of South Africa, is that on an occasion when he revisited England, the late Queen Victoria asked him what he was doing in South Africa. ."Extending your Majesty's dominions,” was the truthful and brilliant reply. It would seem that the Paeroa District High School Committee is composed of. men with similar ambitions, for they have lately acquired both, the municipal reserve adjacent to the school! and a se&icn held by the Defence Department as additions to the grounds. This committee seems to take a very irreverent attitude towards the Biblical injunction (vide Laws tif, Moses), “Thou shalt not lay acre to acre and field to field—” Never mind the penalty. , But jests aside, the action of the Defence Department and -he Borough Council, respectively, in allowing the school the use of these lands is much appreciated; the Committee has. in view the work of clearing and levelling the sections, and so putting them into a fl? state for use as playinggrounds, A school having four hundred scholars at the present time, and with every prospect pf continuous increases, needs much larger grounds than are at present in sight. OF LASTING BENEFIT.

None can truly say that, the local school, authorities and headmaster are impractical men, or that they are men without vision. Their works will Dive after them.