EDUCATION BOARD.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVI, Issue 272, 23 April 1914, Page 8

EDUCATION BOARD.

i MONTHLY MEETING. j

The ordinary monthly meeting of the' Taranaki iLducjjtion Board was 'held, yesterday, when, tlierc were present:' Messrs H. Trimble (chairman) G. A. Ad-i lam, A. M. Uradbury, R. Mastere, jJ Young, A. Morton, and A. H. Halcombe.' DIRECTOR'S REPORT. I The director of technical education (Mr. A. Gray) submitted the following report:— Tihe day class is keeping -up to the

numbers as mentioned in my last report. Two students have left to take up positions, one in an office, and the other in railway workshops. The sum of £ls has been collected by Mr Sanaford and handed to the secretary. With, the Go-1 vernment subsidy this will enable us to purchase an extra metal-turning lathe for engineering work. The night classes as detailed previously are continuing.~S.t luglewood, a dressmaking class started on Saturday, 19bh in St., and at

Lepperton a similar class will start on Friday, 24th irist. Stratford classes are continuing under approved instructors. I Agricultural Instructor.—l have circa- 1 lated companies contributing to the agri cultural fund, suggesting that bhey send in the first quarter's contribution >n order that the Departmental subsidy !may be claimc . | LEAVE OF ABSENCE. j The following teachers were granted leave of absence:—Miss A. U. AlacAllistcr, Waitui; .Vlrs. V. Jensen, Raupulia; . Mr. E. Barv, West Lnd; Mrs. Brereton, 1 Oeo; Miss . . O'Brien, West End. , RESIGNATIONS. I

The following resignations were ac-j cepted:—Mr. P. W. Henry, agricultural inspector; J\liss Tobin. Radnor; Miss .Tean Aukl, assistant at Cardiif; Mr. D., E. Button, art master at the Technical! College, and Miss B. King, assistant at' Stratford. I

Tne question of filling the vacancy of agricultural inspector was referred \.o' ( ,the chairman, the inspectors and the director of technical education, with power : to make a temporary appointment it thought desirable. j STRA SCHOQLHO JSE. ! Mr. Masters orought up the question of the roof at the Stratford school residence, which was so bad that the water j was pouring through. He moved that a wire he sent to the Department to the, effect that unless the Department can! give the Board an early assurance that the school residence at Stratford will be removed, it will be necessary to spend a largo amount on repairs, as the building is in sucn a condition that it is not fit for the schoolmaster to reside ill. - The motion was seconded by Mr. Bradbury and carried. i A SCIiOLARSHIJ' QUESTION. j The Department wrote stating that't could not approve of the tenure of Leslie Allen's scholarship at the Technical College, as the course of instruction there coulo not be regarded as a geueril course of secondary education.—A copy of th 6 letter is to be sent to Mr. Allen (Toko). | TRUANT INSPECTOR'S REPORT. j

The truant inspector, Mr. A. Hooker, reported that during the quarter ending .list March he had issued W) linal notices to parents m addition to interviewing a number of parents relative to sending their children to some school, which In most cases had been done. CONTESTED TRUANCY CASE. The inspector made a special report relalivo to the case of Norman Agate, of the. U remit school, in which he had issued, a summons against Mr. C. N. Rowe, who was reported to be the boy's guardian, but when the case was heard at Waitara „vtr. Rowe disclaimed, being either the parent or guardian of the hoy, who diu not evc-n reside with him. The case was eventually dismissed. The inspector attended the Board and asked for authority to apply for a rehearing. Mr. Halcombe considered that more enquiries should have been made as to the boy, who in his spare time assisted in a livery stable at Urenui. _ Mr. Trimble contended that if a boy lived at a person's place, it was that person's duty to see that the boy attended school.

Mr. Hooker stated that lie had had his returns furnished by Mr. Pope, the lad's schoolmaster, and fully explained the course taken in the matter.

Mr. Bradbury contended that from the information ttie board had before them

the truant inspector was quite justified in taking proceedings. Messrs Masters and Adlam supported this.

After some further discussion the matter was left in the hands of the chairman. OVERSEER'S REPORT. The overseer reported that the resi dence at Pukeho was near completion, but the surrounding fence was in bad order, requiring about 75 posts and 25ft battens as the Board's contribution. He recommended this being attended" to. The painting at Purangi had been attended to. The asphalting and fencing at Matau had been carried on satisfactorily. There was an obnoxious weed (wireberry) overrunning the ftorse paddock, and it required attention. The septic tank at Waitara was well for-

ward, and now that fittings were to hand the work would be completed. Halt the fencing of the Western boundary at the West End school had been completed. It was necessary to connect the school with the borough sewer, and do away with the septic tank, and he asked for authority for this to be done. The committee had considerably improved the grading of the playground. The hydroplane at Pitzroy had been fixed. He hoped to fix the tank afc the Petone school shortly. The floor at the engineering room of the Technical College had been put down and the benches fixed ready for the machinery.

The report was received, and authority given for the posts and battens at Punilio, the committee to do the labor. REPAIRS AND

The Waihi committee's application for an additional tank could not be complied with.

The Okato committee's application for

j additions to tlie school and playground ! was referred to iiio inspectors for their | report. j The West End committee applied for I a subsidy towards the co-it of reminding ' ihe playground, i.nd for a ladder for the uso of the school.—Mr. Masters said J there wag no doabt the committee had | done excellent but considered fur:thcr information was necessary.— The 'Board would consider the question of j subsidy on being furnished with infor-

mation as to the cost. j The Kina. committee applied for a .C, for £ subsidy ori .£4 19s Bd, collected for the shelter shed.-—The chairman will report on the ma tier to the next meeting. The teacher at Tataraimaka asked for furtlieraccommodation, one of the children having to bo boarded out.—Keferred ta the overseer fo; his report. The Fitzroy committee applied for n subsidy of £2 to £1 towards the cost

of raising the school grounds by nine feet, So as to throw the water off all round; also that the teacher's house be removed, eo as to enlarge the school ground.—The chairman stated that the proposed work, which it was estimated would cost £6, would certainly improve the grounds and the approaches to the 'school. He considered the question of removing the teacher's house (which was not occupied by the teacher) might well stand over.—lt was decided to grant a £ for £ subsidy up to £39, Mr. Ad- . lam urging that the Department should

: give a grant for such a necessary work, j The Kaimata and lower Mangorei committees' requests that the Board send Mr, Moore to report on urgent repairs will be complied with, i The Kent committee applied for assistance towards cutting noxious weeds, the | coat being £2 IDs.—lt was decided to I grant a £ for £ subsidy up to 30s. i The Tarata committee applied for 30

posts to replace those that were rotten. —Granted. : GENERAL. I The action of the Waihi committee in I closing the school owing to an epidemic of measles was confirmed.

Applications for altering the date of the holidays were referred to the chairman, with power to act. Mr. Jfair's application for exemption I from sending Doris Ilair to school, as i she was obtaining efficient teaching at home, wo/B referred to the Ratapiko committee for their report. SUN AS A HEALER. Frequenters of the New Plymouth Leaches do not require to be to'.d of the licalthfulni'ss 01 gun-bathing. Sunlight is beneficial in stimulating the general health and raising the tone ol mind and body, but it further possesses a therapeutic value in certain maladies which borders on the marvellous. This | new method of treatment by means of prolonged exposure to solar -rays .s termed heliotherapy. It has been found particularly helpful for tuberculosis of the joints, bones and ganglons. But it has met with marked success in other diseases also, including acute rheumatism nr.d even certain affections of the eye. Dr. Oelsnitz, of Nice, has found the I treatment useful in tubercular peritonitis | while Emmet, </f Philadelphia, and Sne- ! gureff, of Moscow, had excellent results

t from tile solar b th in cases of acute I muscular -rheumatism. It is likewse dei declared to be good for wounds, especially infected wounds, and l)r. Ainies, of ; Montepellier, even found that it hasten- ' ed the formation of scar-skin in extensive burns, which usually heal so slowly. | It has been shown to be nelpful in trachoma, while the serious eye malady, conjunctival tuberculosis, is stated to actually "vanish"' under this treatment. It will be noted that the physicians endorsing this treatment are located in cities widely differing in geographical and climate conditions. This fact lends emphasis to the statement strongly insisted upon, 'by Poncet, and Leriche--namely, .that the results can he obtained wherever direct sunlight can be got, whether on mountain-top, on sea-coast, in the desert, or even on the roof of a ' crowded tenement in a congested quarter of a «ity.