Foxton State School.

Manawatu Herald, 18 June 1895, Page 2

Foxton State School.

— . ~+ — On Friday afternoon Messrs Ray, Rhodes, Westwood, Odborne and Stansell visited the sohool to distribute the prizes to the boys and girls who passed with highest marks | at the Inspector's examination. In Saturday's issue we gave the names of the successful scholars, but owing to pressure on our spaoe had reluctantly to leave out Mr Ray's very appropriate remarks, Mr Ray, as Clerk of the Committee, in the absence of Mr Thynne the Chairman, commenced the proceedings by stating that he bad been requested by the Chairman to act for him in the distribution of the prizes which the Committee were awarding to those who had obtained the highest marks in the several standard classes at the late Standard Examinations. He congratulated those who had been successful in passing, and trusted that those who had not gained a prize would not be discouraged but would make great efforts to secure the highest number of marks in their classes at the examination next year. He thought it was quite, right that boys and girls should be encouraged to study with diligence by the proposal of reward. The objects and benefits of study were not understood when they were young, and therefore they who were older, knowing that study was necessary to prepare boys and girls for future life, considered it was a proper thing to offer rewards to those attending the sohool for doing that whioh would benefit them in their future life. He pointed oub that in the Bible we saw that God Himself, knowing that our true happiness was dependent upon our keeping His Commandments, offered rewards to those who did His will. So that he had no sympathy with those wha spoke against offering rewards to those who worked hard and successfully at school. They came there to be educated. He reminded them that education was the cultivation of our faculties. We had physical faculties, that is power > of body, intellectual faoulties, that is /power of mind or intellect, and IttMttl fatfWleij that is pewi* of

knowing right from wrong in the edfiduOt of ourselves and others and of choosing the right. In order that a boy or a girl should be fitted for life's duties all these faculties must be tMHivatedi their physical faculties were cultivated in the school ground, their intellectual faculties in the sohool room, but it - was left mainly to their parents, their Sunday School teachers, and themselves to cultivate their moral faculties. Their characters womlfL depend not upon their physical orA intellectual faculties but upon the^ 1 cultivation of their moral faculties, and he urged them by a careful avoidanco of what was wrong and a striving to do what was right to grow in moral excellence. After cheers for the Head Master, Mrs Hellish and the other members of the teaching staff and for the Chairman and Committee, the sohool dispersed,