HELPING SCHOOL COMMITTEES.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XL, Issue 1920, 28 December 1918, Page 3

HELPING SCHOOL COMMITTEES.

Snt(iESTEI) ('IIIUDUEX'S MEA US. Last year a sum of nearly £!),- 00(1 was voted liy Parliament and distributed by (lie Eduealion Department to assist the linanees ol school commit lees. This year a further sum of £O,OOO was voted for the same purpose, and regulations are now being prepared dealing with its distribution. The Minister of Eduealion (Hon. J. A. Hanan) told n reporter in Wellington in this connection that he hoped some of the additional money would be used to provide cooking appliances at some of the schools, in order that children who had to travel considerable distances to school might be given hot cocoa or soup, or even a hot meal, in the 'middle of the day. The value of an arrangement of this kind had been recognised widely in the United States and Canada. A warm meal in the middle of the day promotes the health and comfort of the children. It assists them in their studies, and it gives the teachers an opportunity to extend their influence and their sphere of usefulness. In some of the American schools,vegetaides raised in school gardens are used for the midday meal of the children, who do their own cooking and washing-up under the supervision of the teacher.