SCHOOL COMMITTEES.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIX, Issue 5269, 2 May 1928, Page 2

SCHOOL COMMITTEES.

HOUSEHOLDERS’ MEETINGS). PAEROA HIGH SCHOOL. The annual meeting of householders. and tiie election of a committee was held at the Paeroa. District High Sciiuol bn Monday night, t’:e chair* man. (Mr W. T. Power) presiding. Owing to tiie easterly gale there was an attendance of only six persons. The number of. nominations for the committee not exce,ed ! ng the nine re-’ quired, the following were declaied elected: Messrs W. C. Alexander, IV. N. Chamberlain, J. C. H. McDonald, R. W. Lowry, C. T. Mettarn, W. Purdic, W. Perston. W. T. Power, W. Smith. The annual report was reald, after which it was resolved to adjourn the meeting until Friday night. ANNUAL REPORT. The report stated:— “ It is considered that much good has been done, and steady progress made in the history of the school. It has also been a veiy successful year with reference to annual examinations, and householders; have every reason to feel that their children are receiving sound tuition. “ School Gardens.^—Splendid work has been done throughout the year in the school gardens', and i-iucli credit is due to Mr E. G. Preston for the care and attention he has given to the various plots. Since the last annual meeting a. transformation scene has been enacted In Wood Street, mainly through, fne activities of the Mayor and Borough Councillors.

“ School Picnic.—On 24th February the annual picnic was ’held in the Kerrie's Memorial Park at Te Ar'oha. Unfortunately shortly before midday heavy rain set in, and the excursionists had to return to Paeroa by the 1 p.m. train.

“ Buildings—During November last an additional shed was erected to pro-i vide extra accommodation for pupils’ bicycles. A certain amount of painting has been done both interiorily and exteriority, and a number of minor, repairs have been carried out.

“ Tree Plainting.—On. sth August, 1927, the pupils: in conjunction with the Beautifying Society, planted both sides of Wood Street with l liquid amber trees. Unfortunately during the dry spell of weather a number of tliesq failed to survive, but the remainder had done well and will prove a valuabe asset later on. “School Grounds. —The school grounds have received care and attain' tion during Uhe year. A scheme is now in hand for bituminising the boys’ lower playground. With the assistance and co-opqvation 'of the Mayor, the committee hopes to 'have the work carried out at an early date. The undertaking, though a costly one, will result in. a permanent job and a saving in annual maintenian.cf'. “ Examinations.—The school examinations result for the year have been very pleasing and reflect the highest credit on the teaching staff as well as the pupils themselven. Of the eight candidates presented' for the Matriculation examination five passed the whole examination. In the Public Service exami nations eleven pupiils were presented and six parsed; In the Senior Free Place seven werq presented, and six passed. For the Junior National Scholarship thi-qe pupils sat and one gained the scholarship, one obtained the junior free place, and one failed; In the Teachers’ examinations one pupil obtained a partial pass, in “D,” failing in, one subject only, and passed also in two subjects of “C”; one pupil passed completely, in “D” and gained four, subjects in “ C.” while two obtained partial passed in the “ D ” examination. The teachers in the secondary department are Mr E. G. Preston and Miss H. E. Taylor, B.A. . “Primary School.—ln. the primary school 33 candidates, were presented for the annual Prbficjency examination. Of this number 24 gained the full pass, four received endorsed competency certificates, three competency certificates, and two failed. The teacher is Mr J. E. Insley.

“Roll Number.- —The aevrage attendance has been fairly welil mainr tained during the. year, it is to be regretted that there has bqen. no increase in the number attending the eecendary department in the primary department there is an increase of 25 children. The figures are as follows, with figures for: 1927 in parentheses : High school, boys 38 (33). girls 24 (29), total 62 (62) ; primary department, boys 216 (203), girls 177 (165) ; total school roll 455, compared with 430 as at April 1 last year. “School Games, —It is pleasing to report that the school has again done very well in organised school games. The Paeroa A Rugby football team again, won the third-grade sjhield, a;nd a basketball team won the Goldfields Primary Schools’ Shield', going through the competition without a less. Tiie school lias also donq very weSl in they cricket Held. Thanks are due to Mr C. W. Malcolm for the donation of a handsome shield for cricket competition. The primary Love’ relay team won the schools’ relay race at t.hq annual sports meeting of the Paeroa Athletic Club, ai>‘d become the holders of the A. M. Satmuel Cup. “Conveyance of Pupils.—ln. February your committee went into the matter of arranging for the conveyance of pupils living over tiwo miles from the school, particularly those living in the Awaiti-Netherton-fPuke district. The committee is awaiting the decision of the Education Board on the .matter.

“Finance.—The receipts received from all sources during the year amount to £so’4 16s Id, and the ex-i pendifure to £471 9s Bd, leaving a credit balance in thq school fund account as at February 28, 1928, of £33 6s sd. Cash in the Post Office Savings Banks amounts to £2l 4s lid, while the dental clinic fund has a credit balance of £27 16s 4d.

“Dental Clinic. —The outstanding work of your committee this year is the erection and- equipment of the dental clinic, which was placed, on fire corner of the inew playing a,rea with a frontage to Wood and Nahum

streets. The whole of the work was carried out by members of the committee, chiefly by a series of working bees. On August 5, 1927, the clinic was opened by Mr A. Burns, chairman, of the' Auckland Education Board, and the next day Miss L. C. Ellis took up her duties as dental nurse. In order to clear the building of debt the Auckland Commercial Travellers’ Association- gave a concert nt Paeroa which resulted in a credit balance of £73 13s 3d. Miss Ellis is doing splendid work, and in the 5% montdls she has been working ;at ’the clinic” she has treated 321 children, which includes rhildren of Pacrea, Karengahake, Komata, Hikutaia, and Tirohia schools. “Teaching Staff. —The changes in the teaching staff have not been numerous this year. On -May 31, 1927? - -' Mfes. J. McCaskill resigned anti! Miss N. C. Cumber.w'onth replaced her. -Owing to a fall in the grading of the school M.r J. P. Callaghan was withdrawn on June 30, and at the close of the school year Miss Buchanan resigned on being appointed to Hamilton and was replaced by Miss E. MGill. “Children’s Savings Bank.—The enthusiasm of the children in further-1 ing the Post Office Savings Bank scheme is not waning, and every encouragement is given them by the teachers. The number of depositors now totals 229, while the total amount deposited is £257. “Thanks to Staff.—Your committee is unan’mods that ioo much praise cannot be extended to Mr G. 11. Taylor and his staff for the splendid work carried out during the year.” THE NGATEA SCHOOL. Ten per,sons attended the Ngatea householders’ meeting, including Messrs W. McDuff (chairman), C. S. Foster, and R. Rowlings, members of last year’s committee, and Mr W. Chappell, M.A., headmaster. COMMITTEE’S REPORT. The committee's report was as follows :— “Staff of School.—ln the earlier, part of the year there were several changes in the staff. Mr N. J. Crabbe relinquihsed the position of headmaster at the end 1 of June. Mr W. W. Hill temporarily filled the positibn until! the end of July, when the present headmaster, Mr, W. Chappell, M.A., took office. Miss E. Gray was appointed infant mistress in July, and Mr D. I. Elliott was to the school in Miss Monaghan’s position in February. A change was also made in the high school, Mr R. C. Abel, 8.A., following .Mr Gillesplei as secondary assistant in May. , “Roll Number.—The present roll numbers are: Primary department, 166; secondary department, 32. The number of pupils in. the high school is a great increase on the number for 1927, when there were only 17 attending. It may be pointed out that very little further, increase of pupils, provided the average attendance is kept up, would entitle the school to two further assistants, one hi each department. “Inspector’s Report.—The reiMMi. of the, inspector of Schools, who vYiited Ngatea in October, showed the’ school to be in a very satisfactory state of efficiency.

“Examination Results. — Fifteen pupils sat for the proficiency examination in December, eleven securing proficiency cert'ficates and three gain:n,g competency certificates. In the secondary department one pupil passed. the Public Service Entrance-ex-ami-nat’en and two other-;, were recommended for senior free places. “Buildings and Equipment.— The main school building was enlarged dur'ng the year by the addition of. a large, room, which was fitted up as a combined class-room and and lias; been well equipped with all apparatus needed for. the teaching of experimental science. ; A very valuable addition in the was the erection ,of a good shelter-shed for the girls. The liberality of thq residents, with the help of subsidies-from the Education Board and Department on amounts locally contributed, has made it possible to carry out considerable improvements in the, grounds and to equip the school with various things tending to make the work of the school more efficient and pleasant. A considerable area of the playground has been graded and sanded to give a dry playing ground, a piano, a grarno-’ phone, and a sewing machine 'have been, procured ; a valuable library has been provided for the high school, ami another for the senior division of the primary school; and furniture has been bought for the teachers’ common room. The school garden has been doubled in areai. and is proving a valuable aid in the teaching of science. Further improve* ments projected are an ornamental entrance, more flower gardens, and h. concrete cricket pitch. “Bus Service.—Recently improvements authorised, in the school bus services have made t'he transport 0f.,, pupils, much more comfortable and safe. “School Picnic.—A very successful picnic was held at Waiomio, the children and friends being conveyed thither in nine motor-jbuses and lorries. The liberality of residents made it possible to both convey pupils provide them with sport. A credit! balance is carried over to next year.” BALANCE-SHEET. The chairman explained that through an oversight there was not a copy of the balance-sheet available. Both copies had been sent to the Education Board. The total receipts were about £3OO, and t'he expenditure was about the same; but there was £5O due in subsidies from the Education Board and £24 12s in hand ocjdtie by different subscribers. ■’ - The chairman expressed the'"Tianks of the committee to the heiadmapter. and staff of the school for assistance in raising funds for improving the school and grounds. He mentioned that the school- dental clinic was be/V ing kept open by the people of the;

whole of the Plains. Funds were now needed, and >t was for the incoming committee to consider what should be done.

Mr. Vagg raised a point of 'order in holding the meeting without having a balance-sheet available.

The secretary explained that the

books had been sent in for audit be,' fore Easter, but they had' not been returned. THE DENTAL CLINIC. Mr Vagg asked to what amount was the committee liable on account of the school dental clinic. The chairman saifl' that as far. as he could remember tlie sum waß about £6. The State provided the. dentist and her. equipment, but the district had to pay for the power consumed and for laundering and gleaning. Foster explained that a committee had been set up from the .whole of the Plains schools to control the clinic’s activities, but it had ceased to function. The children of the outer sqhools were attending the clinic, but no contributions, towards the running expenses were forthcoming from the m other school districts. In reply to Mr W. Jones the ch airman said that there were no means of compelling the outer; districts to contribute. Committees could not contribute out of school funds, but districts could promote entertainments, as Ngatea did. ANNUAL PICNIC. Mr Vagg queried tihe wisdom of the ■ committee giving money prizes at tire annual school picnic. It certainly benefited the ice-cre.am and lolly venr dOrsi who attended. He had never heard of another, school which gave money prizes, and he did not like tlie idea. He did not wish to unduly criticise! the committee, but he was of the opinion that the picnic dhouldi not have been held at Waiomio. The chairman said that prizes were given years ago, but latterly money prizes had been given owing to the cost of purchasing prizes and the trouble of getting, transporting, and distributing them. In. regard to travelling to Waiomio instead of to New Brighton, Mr McDuff said that fl the cost wais not so great, as the business men. of Thames defrayed the cost of the ferry. Hei had advocated Waiomio as a change, ’ and on account of the better, roads. Some of the people were late in reaching the beach, but this was largely their own fault in most cases. ■ Referring to the prize-money, the, headmaster said that The matter, was one of expedient. It was difficult to , procuro.suitable objects for prizes for f nearly 200 children, and experience elsewhere had shown that cash prizes were preferable from mfny points, of view. He favoured giving objects where practicable, but would not W commend a change, considering the size of the Ngatea school. Mr Foster disliked the idea of giving cash, but he realised the difficulties of giving objects as prizes; and did not see any way out of the present system. He would like to see every child get something. This was endorsed by others. Mr Vagg thanked the committee for its; explanation. Mr Foster recommended that the balance in hand from the picnic be utilised to purchase a trophy for annual competition at the school picnic for a school championship Coot race. SUMMER TIME. Mr Vagg brought up the matter of the school an hour earlier, last summer during the time the Summertime Act was in force. He was of opinion that the committee should have compromised and opened the school at 9.30 a.m. Mr Vagg spoke at length on the topic, and contended that he had heard numerous complaints throughout the district of the hardships imposed. “ Sidey ’ time,” lie said, “was the greatest imposition ever placed on the dairy farmers 'of the Dominion.” The .chairman said that throughout the country the people had' all changed to “Sidey’s time” before the period expired. He did not see any disadvantage and had not heard of any hardships. Mr W. Jones said that the hardships were where the mothers had to do milking and children had to get their, own breakfast. Mr Barriball said that as the same motor-bus transported children to Tur rua and Ngatea schools, it was necessary to work in with Turua. The Turua school"now commenced at 9 a.m., and ini summer* at 8 a.m. The headmaster said that a rdfer-. endum of parents supported “Sidey time.” It had not affected the School work at all, and, in fact, the average attendance in that period was higher than usual. He pointed out that teachers were bound to urge children to respect the law, and it must have created a bad impression in the minds of children to see the law flouted. < ELECTION OF COMMITTEE. I The chairman ruled) that persons not present could be 'nominated. Nine were nominated, and Messrs C. S. Foster, R. Rowlings, W. McDuff, E. C. Barriball, W- P. Wylde. C. Vagg, an4“Jr E. Reid were elected. COMMITTEE MEETING. At a subsequent committee .meeting Mr W. McDuff was elected chairman for. the eighth year and' Mr E, C. Barriball secretary pro. tem. THE KEIIEPEEHI SCHOOL, At Kerepeehi, where it was antici-' pated that there wouldl be some lively discussion on account of the flack of transportation service for the Pekapeka Road children, a record number /' (16) were present, bii|t Pekapeka Road was not represented. The position in regard to the bus service proposition was explained by the committee. It appears that in the requisition for. warded! by the settlers there were many omissions of essenr tial details, and in many cases the distances, were wrongly' stated. The matter had been investigated by s® inspector for the Education Board, and he had expressed the opinion that therea</ere not sufficient children re-, far fr/om the school, to warrant the board ’establishing & bug service. He had, however, promised to leave no stone unturned to • secure a bus service for the road. The old committee iyith the exception of Mr W. Thompson, who would: not consent to nomiJiation, was reelected. They are Messrs J. H. Nicholson, (chairman), R. Carr, W. Shilton, ,W. Herkt, the new member, being Mr N. Clay, wh d was appoinetd secretary. The balapce-jsheetj showed an income of £ll5 10s, a’ nd. an expenditure of £B2. In the aiu jual report it was

stated that th a additions to the school had been' authorised, but the matter was still held up pending an inspection by the board’s architect.

THE TURUA SCHOOL. At Turua the meeting was quickly concluded. The annual report! recorded tha changes in the staff and the general improvements to the school and grounds, including the installar tiO'n of a sanitary system and the erection of a headmaster’s residence. The new committed comprises. Messrs T. White (chairman), S. GWilliams (secretary), C.. Dale, s. SMurray, W. Taylor, J. Hamilton, aind F. Loader. THE KOPUARAHI SCHOOL. A credit balance of £4l was shown in the balance-sheet of the Kopuarahi school presented to a meieting of eight. This was largely due to the amount of voluntary labour given by the settlers, of the district.. The receipts for the year, totalled' £l4B ami the expenditure £lO7. The committee has 'in band a scheme for sanding am area of acres to make a dry playing field, involving the use of 60'0 cubic yards of sand, of which 200 yards have already been delivered. The whole area has been tile drained. A vote of sympathy was accorded Mr C. Lawrence, who was. expected to be absent from the district for. five or six month© undergoing treatment at Rotorua. His place on thq committee was filled by. Mr T. Braithwaite, the other, members (re-elected) being Messrs W- E. Hale (chairman), E. CHarwood, J. G. Miller, and D. <L O’Carrdll (secretary). —- ( the waitakaruru school. As there were only six persons present at the Waitakaruru meeting there was little business done and he old committee was re-elected. They are Messrs C. W. Harris (chairman), A. Wyllie (secretary), L. Bates, H. Jo'wsey, and G. French.