HIGH SCHOOL BOARD.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 307, 20 May 1913, Page 8

HIGH SCHOOL BOARD.

MONTHLY MEETING. The monthly meeting of the High School Board of Governors was held yes- . terday afternoon. Present: Messrs. E. Dockrill (chairman), G. Grey, H. EyreKenney, M. Eraser, D. Hutchen, and Dr. Fookei. The principal (Mr. W. Moyes) recommended that Mr. Balhain be granted an increase in salary in. yew of the fact that he had recently been married, and was now resident outside the school. He pointed out that this master was indefatigable in discharging his numerous duties, and it was unwritten law in other schools to grant an increase of £4O a year at least when the house-mas-ter ceased to live at the school. An • making the salary' £l-50 a year. .An amendment by Mr! Eyre-Kenriey that > £4O only be<allowed was lost. The Principal, in a lengthy report, brought under the notice of 'the Board, the urgent need of more accommodation in the boarding department of the school. For 'the last three months, he . stated, he had been forced to give up • practically all the rooms in what was originally the private part of the house. His own family had only two rooms for their use, and« one of these had been utilised as a sick room for some three weeks of the last term. He, of course, understood that this had been unavoidable, but pointed out that such a state of affairs could not reasonably continue indefinitely. Should the number of boarders increase, considerable additions s would have to be made to the present buildings. With regard to the gymnasium, he stated that the room was in fact not a gymnasium but a badly-light-ed barn, in which it was dangerous for f. boys to perform, and he was sure that in this connection, those members of . the Board who were present at the boxing championships last year would bear him out. Money spent on such improvements as,a, gymnasium, swim- '• ming baths, and a wood-work shop would be the means of placing the school on a level with the other large schools of the Dominion. Mr. Moyes also asked, in view of approaching shooting competitions, that the Board should provide the school shooting team with regulation aperture sights, in order that a team might be entered for the New Zealand secondary schools championship, and the schools of the Empire competition to be held in November. The principal pointed out that all the leading schools'' teams. had these sights, without which it was useless to compete, i After considerable trouble he had l)?«n able to obtain twelve new Lee-Enfield rifles, and had also bought miniature rifles at a cost of £3 15s each, for use on the miniature range. Another matB ter referred to by Mr. Moves was the Jidamage done by the diversion of road '." water on the school property, and he stated that, while a great deal of time had 1 been spent by the boys irt levelling the portion of the gully for tennis courts, it was useless attempting to put courts down in grass, because of the flood that was conducted by the Council's ditch. i, The aperture sights will W procured. Mr. H. Baily, hqnorary secretary of the New Plymouth VHigti School Old Boys' Association, wrote that it was the wish of his committee that the sum of money at present lying hi the Post ' Office Savings Bank in the name of the chairman of the School Board, should lie handed over to the Board as an unconditional gift from the Old Boys' Association. The Inspector-General of Schools (Mr. G. H. Hogben) notified that he hoped to be able to visit the High School some time early in June. It was decided to purchaso a microscope and necessary accessories for the use of the botany class.