New School Committee For Queenstown

Lake County Mail, Issue 46, 21 April 1948, Page 6

New School Committee For Queenstown

RESULT OF BIENNIAL ELECTION

The biennial election of. the Queenstown School Committee Avas held in the •District High School last Wednesday night. Although there were not a great number of householders present, it is considered to have been the best attendance for some yars.

On* behalf of the retiring committee, the chairman, Mr E. J. Fuller, thanked the headmaster and staff for the way in which they had co-operated with the committee during its term. Because the school roll had in-

creased it was necessary to have seven members comprising the committee, as against five in the past. The new committee, which will hold office for the ensuing two years, was:, Messrs J. E. 'Fuller (re-elected chairman), E. E. Hopwbod (re-elected secretary), D. E. Eowe, L. C. N. Wilder, C. G. Eoderick, W, Smith, J. Thompson. Mr Smith was elected secretary of the Dental Clinic. The chairman’s report showed that the retiring committee had been particularly active.

DENTAL CLINIC The work of the clinic has been efficiently carried out by Miss P. Hogg, and by Miss J. Kerr, who replaced her, For the second time tenders had been called for the erection of a dental clinic.

GROUNDS In January, 1947, the Prime Minister, the Hon. P. Fraser, visited and inspected the school in company with members of the committee and headmaster.

Subsequently a commission from the board joined the committee and headmaster in an inspection of the school, with the result that the area around the primary school has been sealed with a priming coat of tar and chips, and the concrete retaining wall completed.

Concert Tickets, Programmes, Circulars, Letterheads, Account Forms, etc., can be supplied promptly by the Lake County Mail.

IpSATING- AND CLEANING Throughout the period much difficulty had been experienced in obtaining coal for heating and labour for cleaning. Only through the co-opera-tion of the staff and pupils had it been possible to maintain the buildings in a state : of cleanliness. Special thanks are due to Mr A. Farrant, who during last winter acted as cleaner, efficiently attending to the heating.

EQUIPMENT Equipment for winter and summer sports had been provided for the use of the pupils. The committee provided an electric cooker for the staffroom and shades to improve the lighting of the High School classrooms.

Through the courtesy of the Education Board a Zip heater and additional lighting and heating points have been provided. All classrooms in the school are now equipped with electric light.

STAFF Since October 1, 1946, Mr J. 0. Forbes, 8.A., Dip.Ed., had occupied the position of headmaster. Under Mr Forbes’s direction the standard of scholarship and general demeanour had improved.

The ' committee also placed on record its appreciation of the able and conscientious manner in which Mr W. K. Hayward filled the position of acting headmaster pending *Mr Forbes’s arrival.

FINANCE The finances of the committee were in a good position, the wages account, general account and the special account being in credit. It had been the policy of the committee to exercise every care in the matter of conserving funds without detrimentally affecting

the good running of the school. In his report, the headmaster, Mr Forbes, said that there had been little variation in the school roll. At present there w r ere 91 primary and 37 secondary pupils, making a total of 128. During 1947 the average attendance was 106 pupils. He made reference to the effect the large moving population

had on the school. When parents came to Quenstown for their holidays they brought their children and sent them to school here. They represented an added burden to the teachers.

Health of the pupils had been good he said, and attendance satisfactory. Work had been progressing satisfactorily.