SCHOOL COMMITTEE ELECTIONS

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 77, 27 April 1909, Page 3

SCHOOL COMMITTEE ELECTIONS

CENTRAL. Them was an attendance of about twenty householders at the Central • I School last night. Jlr. S. W. Shaw was I elected to the chair. | The following report of the retiring committee was read: Schools. The committee has undo' its control til,. Central School for "iris and boys, ami the Courtenay - street School for infants of both sexes'. Teachers. The headmaster, Jlr. 11. Dempsey, has now been in charge of these school* for almost a •jiiartp" of a century, having recently entered upon his twcnty-lifth year. *TI> C stall' comprises seven qualified teachers and five pupil teachers.' During the past twelve months the schools have again suffered from changes, but this is an inconvenience which must necessarily recur as members of the staff naturally seek advancement in their profession, and tlie reputation of the Central as a training school tends to assist in procurim- pro" motion. While regretting the loss of capable and conscientious" teachers, Hie committee and headmaster can only join in wishing them prosperity in their iiew spheres. Those who have left duriii" the tear are Mfcs Mack. B.A. (who resigned tier appointineat after four years' "ood ieiviee), Hiss Druuton. and Jlr. William Davidson. Scholars.—The school year commenced ii'ith a roll of 543 and closed with 593. :h:s being the greatest number on the •egisters since the establishment of the schools. Attendance. The average daily ateudance has been 512, as "against Jli'> n 1907-8. Conduct of Pupils. —The headmaster sports that during the past vear the ondiiet of the scholars has been most atisfactory. \ 0 se rious eases of misehavioiir have occurred, aad th e pupils cneiall,y have shrtnn keen interest in heir work and a praiseworthy desire to get on." School Buildings.— The committee of Jst year called attention to the fact hat the buildings are old..out-of-date,

and inconvenient, and the same conditions still ~l Cv ail. While no-serious epidemicilias depleted the attendance during 1908-1909, there has constantly been an unduly large proportion o't ailing children, and tins appears to .be due, to gome extent at any rate, to indifferent ventilation and kindred causes. Tim committee has endeavored to keep th e room* and precincts in a sweet and sanitary state, and the Board Ims assisted by having needed alterations made to some d the windows u is, however. „,„„;. fe»t that new buildings of modern design are becoming urgently necessary in the best interests of all concerned, both as to health and meatal development, wooden classrooms in constant use for nearly thirty year s ought to be replaced by better accommodation. Successes—ln Standard VI. at the annual examination twenty-three pupils gained certificates of proficiency. •Syllabus.-The members of 'the committee take this opportunity of niacin" on record their opinion that the school syllabus M overloaded, and that several subjects could advantageously be eliminated They consider that in a primary school education should be restricted to the subjects most necessary to a boy or girl going' out to fight 'the battle of life—the "three R's," with perhaps drawing and elementary science At present too many '•frill's" are attempted, and both teachers and children suffer A thorough grounding i„ the essentials is of tar more importance to a child than a smattering of a great many accomplishments. Cadets.—The two companies of cadets have been well maintained under the command of Captains Mcllrov and Boeoek. At the butts our boys again P%"n"' e X<W Zea,lln<l Kin* Association's Lhalleng 0 Cup, one of them secured the licit for the champion shot of the district, ami six others gained places in the |inze list. The Mayor's prize of a silver ;np for the best bugler at the annual amp also came to the school. Football.—At the Taranaki Primary whools Football Association competi:ion the Central School team won the ihii'ld. and each member was presented vith a cap.

Swimming. Unfortunately it was found impossible to complete the swimming pond in Pukckura Park in time for use during the past summer, but it will be available after this winter, ami « likely to prove of great benefit lo both boys and girls, besides being another attraction to the domain or which the community has reason to be proud. Picnic—This popular event was a»ain held on th,. Recreation Cround and in the Park, and th,. attendance was a record one. The committee was gratified to see so many parents present'on this occasion. It is a matter for regret that more frequent opportunities cannot be airorded for indoor gatherings in .which parent* and children may take part, but until a suitable and sufficiently commodious place of assembly can be'provided. it will not be possible to do much in the way of entertainments. Old and Xew.—On the King's Birthday the schooled assembled on St. Michael's Square, and a pleasant little function took place. The Union Jack, procured by contributions of the children, was hoisted on the s'chool staff and saluted. It «•«* then despatched to Plymouth, England. whe re on February 12 last the Mayor of that city, on behalf of the central schools, presented the symbol or Kmpire to the children of the Regent (Street Intermediate School, by whom it was received with much ceremony in tho presence of a large and representative j gathering of citizens.- The Plymouth girls and boys are now reciprocating the compliment, and it is anticipated that | their flag will arrive here,in time to be ! displayed on Empire Day, May 24. | Bible Reading.—Short Bible lessons have been givra by the members of the Ministers' Association once a week |before statutory school hours, and have been attended by a large proportion of the pupils. Finance.—The accounts show that, as usual, the committee has had a difficult task to make ends meet, hut in this respect it only shares the experience of nearly every committer in the Dominion.

Thanks.—The committee, in conclusion, desires to express its acknowledgements to all who have assisted to further its efforts on behalf of the girls and boys attending the schools. Sympathy, whether from parents, teachers, Board's ollicers. or the general public, goes a long way towards encouraging those who have undertaken a duty which is in several respects a difficult one.. The press, in particular deserves and is ask ed to accept cordial thanks for valuable help.

Th t . balance-sheet showed that eapit-i----tion amounted to .V.S!) 17s lid, which, with the balance brought forward from the .preivons year, made the receipts trill! Us lid.' Expenditure included: Cleaning schools and outbuildings i-72 Ills, fuel Cl' 8s Sd. and secretary's honorarium (lor IHO7-8) .£5, the total amounting to .till)' I2s 4il. Discussing the accounts, several speakers referred to the fact that the cost uf cleaning ate up nearly the whole of the assured revenue.—The secretary, Mr C. T. Mills, pointed out that the committee had to maintain two school buildings and two sets of outbuildings, etc., whilst drawing capitation as only one school.—Those present felt that there was need fur <umc change in a system by which the committee was unable. ] after paying for cleaning, to pay the secretary fo r Ins work. Very con.p inientar 'vrefcreuce was mad- to the interest taken by the si-ciV.-,-.:-. Mr. ('. T. Mills, in the school au.l all its functions. The report and balance-sheet were adopted. Mr. M. Rudd moved, an-1 b'"V. S. S. Osborne seconded a motion, which was eventuallv. after «iuidry additions, put to the meeting ami carried, urging that | ill view of the lad tint the (Oinniittcc has to bear tli,. expense of maintaining two separate establishments, the Education Hoard be approached with a view to increasing the capitation grant to the Central School, the present grant being altogether inadequate to enable the committee to carry out absolutely necessary work, A hearty vote of (banks was accorded the outgoing committee. The following new j-omniittee was i elected without' ballot:--Revs. I'. ii. Evans and S. S. Osborne. Me-..r- I-'. I'. C'orklll. .1. Oraut. -1. Harvey, (1. H. MeGahcy, R. X. Rcnaud, M Rudd. and ■!. i Way.' Messrs Calran and Frethcy. memI hers of the old committee, declined nomination. Ili«hlv complimentary reference was made 3 to the teaching staff, including Mrs. Martin and her assistants in the infant school, and an unanimous vole of thanks was accorded to Mr. Dempsey and his assistants. Mention was made not onlv of the excellent tuition of the pupils, 'but also of the excellent tone which pervaded Ihc school. The meeting unanimously carried a resolution protesting against I ha overloading of the school syllabus with "frill" or useless subjects, which caused n neglect of the "three It's." At a subsequent'meeting o'f the committee Mr. F. P. Corkill was re-elected chairman and Mr. C. T. Mills secretary and treasurer, at. a salary to be fixed. "Sjei«a£inf m n <!r8 Q f #« CTlpifttea. com-

dark lust! year, and tlwy had not known until a few evenings ago that the tecre- ! tary's salary was in arrears.—The chairman admitted that he, too, had not kept himself sufficiently -posted in the accounts. At the next meeting the committee will receive a report from the chairman and secretary, relative to finance. j

WEST EXD. There was a very good attendance .it Jiv West End householder.,' meeting. Mr. G. Boeock presided. Tin' chairman of la-l year's committee, \h: 11. .1. (lilbert, delivered a verbal report (in the past year's work. The ivcrage attendance 'of the sehool lor lie year was 3(l(i. and the increasing ntendauce demanded further addition, to :he suhoo] buildings. No better proof )f th e popularity of the .school, or th« J .'Xcclleuce of the inatructio-.i given bv die teaching stall', could lie wished for. is usual, the committee had managed o pull through the year fairly well, and n spite of heavy expenditure'in various lirections, showed a credit balance of )ver ,£2B. The total expenditure tor h t . year was £l3B, of which £3O was I)'.' capitation received from the Board, md the remainder, had been raised bv .'oneerts, bazaars, and other functions. H which the teachers and the mothers Hid fathers of the children had evinced :heir usual active interest, which interest he hciped -would hj„ maintained in .he corning year. The swimming classes lad been held a.s usual during the year, mil had been very successful, several of die pupils earning certificates for Ion"listanee swimming. It had been in:«nded to hold a picnic during the venr nit for various r easons th e project' had jeen abandoned, and the !£]r> paid into die fund for the children's prizes. Dur- ! ■ng the year the committee had built r J.vmnasium, at a. cost of .el(](l, o ivWell ,€7O was received from the Edu ;ation Board and the remainder wa raised by a series oi functions, whiel ivere well supported. The bnildiii" hai proved a most useful addition to tin school premises as a shelter-shed ant play-room in wet weather. The report and balance-sheet wen adopted. _ A resolution was passed, recommending the Education Board to make an ex tension of the school'lmildings, the pre sent rooms being overcrowded. There were fourteen names submitted as candidates for election to the committee, and the following were declared elected:—Messrs F. Bacon, W. Bennett W. Evetts, T. Francis, 11. J. Hjlbert, J. dohnson, I. Morison. A. Mnrphv, and C. Sinnnonds. Mr. Enroth spoke in favor of Biblereading in schools. Hearty votes of thanks were accorded to the teaching staff fo r the excellent scholastic results of flic year and the iutcrest evinced in the pupils outside their studies; to th e parents for their loyalty to the committee; and to the outgoing committee for their careful management of the finances. The committee met subsequently and re-elcetcd Jlr. H.'.l. fiilbert chairman FRANKLEY ROAD. There was a fairly representative meeting of householders at Farnkley road, Mr. F. Jfewell presiding. The following committee was elected:— Messrs E. X. h. Okev, C. Downs J Hooker, J. H. Frethev," F. Newell H T Allen, and W Bendnll. Mr. C. Downs was elected chairman and Mr, E. N. L. Skey secretary and treasurer. It was lecided to make representations to the Education Board concerning the unsatisfactory nature of the accommodation at ihu school, there being insufficient floor ' ipaee for the children, and three teach- '!■* conducting classes in the one large •oom. which was decidedly unfair and inhealthy to both teachers and pupils, rhe usual votes of thanks were passed :o the outgoing committee and to the teaching staff. Very eulogistic refvr•nce was made to the results achieved >y Mr. Winfleld and his staff. "Till" «*»■■**-.-