DISTRICT NEWS.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 5146, 1 July 1927, Page 3

DISTRICT NEWS.

NGATEA. PERSONAL. Mr. W. Hill, who has been appointed relieving headmaster at the Ngatea District High School until the permanent appointment is made, is due to arrive to-day, and Miss Gray, the recently appointed infant mistress, is expected during the week-end. GLEE CLUB’S CONCERT. Congratulations are due to Mrs F. Basham for the successful concert staged by her pupils, t,he girls of the Ngatea Glee Club, on Wednesday evening. The club was formed about three months ago, and this was their, first public appearance, so it was. a pity that it coincided with the general prevalence of colds, for the vocal items were seriously affected and the programme had of necessity to be curtailed. Nevertheless, the general standard was very good, and some of the items were of outstanding merit. The entertainment opened with a series of national songs in costume, featuring Misses E. McDuff, L. Luks, G. McKay, L. McDuff, E. Wheeler, B. Elliott, and “Mr” Norma Elliott in solo and folk-dances. The duet “Our Farm,” from “Our Miss Gibbs,” was rendered in a pleasing manner by Miss Barbara Basham and “Mr” Mabel Hayward, while Miss Doris Hayward’s monologue, “Bedside Manners,” was very effective. The outstanding artiste was the “gentleman” of the party, Miss Norma Elliott, whose monologue “The Languid Man,” from the “Belle of New York,” and song “Rosalie,” as well as the manner in which she played up to the others throughout the evening, kept the audience in a continual state, of mirth. Little Miss Barbara Basham’s solo, “When I’m a Grown-up Lady,” was good, apd Mrs Basham’s rendering of “The Floral Dance” was deservedly encored. No concert on the Plains seems to be considered complete without an exhibition of Highland dancing. Miss N. Charteri§, Miss Loma McDuff, and little Joan McDuff did the dancing, while the Rev. Charteris played the bagpipes.

The concluding item of the musical part of the programme was the chorus from the “Belle of New York” by the club, and. the song and chorus “Follow On” from the same number, with Miss L. Luks in the title role. The concluding itejn was a clever and amusing impersonation by Mrs Basham of a show-woman whose dozen wax figures came to life in’a wooden doll manner when wound up and oiled at the joints. The “Feejee” mermaid combed her hair, Mr Parley drank mugs of beer, Mrs Winslowe- dosed her baby with soothing syrup, etc., but the laughing boy went without, winding and 'had to be silenced on numerous occasions by having his mouth corked up.

Although the entertainment was marred to some extent by the inability of many of the girls to make themselves heard on account of severe colds the performance was a revelation to many of the amount of latent talent, which only needs finding and directing to produce a fine entertainment,. FAREWELL TO HEADMASTER. Pupils of both departments of the Ngatea district high school assembled on Thursday afternoon to bid farewell to Mr N. J. Crabbe, who has been headmaster at Ngatea for the past four years, and who left the service on that day to enter commercial life.

Mr R. C. Abel, high school teacher, who presided, announced that the purpose of the gathering was a sad one in that it would be the last occasion that Mr Crabbe would be among them. Most school children felt hardly of their headmaster, whether he was good or bad, but if they were teachers themselves they would realise what they were up against and what a good headmaster was like. The teachers of the Ngatea school knew Mr Crabbe as a really fine headmaster, and they were very sorry that, he was leaving them. Miss Joan Rowlings., on behalf of the girls of the school, said: “We wish to thank you, Mr Crabbe, for all you have done for the school during your headmastership, and to express sorrow at your having to leave us. We all hope that you will be happy and prosperous in any new work you take up, and trust that you will airways remember with kindness the friends you are leaving behind at Ngatea Be assured of our good wishes, and of our gratitude, wherever you may be and accept our present as a small token of our esteem.” Master Seymour Parfitt followed, and said that it was with mingled fetdings that the pupils had gathered to b'id Mr Crabbe farewell— feelings of gratitude for what he had done and oi’ regret that his duties at Ngatea we Te finished. The boys of the school him God-speed in whatever wc»rk he might be engaged in, and trusted that he would accept their gii’t as a token of gratitude and respect. "We on our part wil endeavour to live up to the high ideals of manliness which you have taught us, for in that way only can we show our appreciation of your influence among us.” The children then handed Mr Crabbe a fine New Zealand-made travelling TUg.Mr E. C. Barriball, secretary of the School Committee, apologised for the absence of. the other members and mentioned the cordial relations that had always -existed between the headmaster and the committee. The committee had never had any complaints from parents, as was so often the case in country .schools, and the members were very sorry that Mr Crabbe was leaving. They wished him every success in whatever he might undertake. Mr Crabbe, in returning thanks, said that the presentation came as a surprise to him. He did not like a fuss being made on such occasions, and would have preferred to have been able to say, “Well, sd-long, see you all again before long.” He- wished to thank the speakers for the kind things said, and to the scholars he would say that he hoped they would.

try to make themselves decent men and women—to play the game and to act fairly. No matter, who was their teacher, if they tried to do their work they would get on well together. It was more gratifying to a teacher to see pupils trying fairly to do their work and getting it wrong than to see clever children working indiffierently. With a very few exceptions the children had tried to wor.k fairly with him, and so long as they continued to work fairly and act fairly they should not be afraid to look any teacher in the face. Mr Crabbe thanked the children for their present, and for the sentiments expressed, and stated that he hoped that when he returned to Ngatea he would be greeted with smiles as in the past. Little Miss. Joan McDuff then handed Mr Crabbe a bunch of violets for Mrs Crabbe, who was not able to be present, and the gathering was dismissed after cheers had been given for the departing headmaster.