TE AWAMUTU.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXI, Issue 2525, 15 September 1888, Page 2

TE AWAMUTU.

School Matters. —The chairman of the school committee has received a circular from the Board of Education stating that if even only one pupil attends during the first half hour in the morning or afternoon tho school shall bu held to be open. Such an order if stnctly carried out would have a disastrous effect on the head teacher's salary which is now paid on the strict average, and which for the quarter ensuing is regulator) by the attendance for the pa.st quarter. In. country districts where parents frequently have to keep their children at homo during potato planting and picking seasons the averageis often greatly reduced ; reduced perhaps to such an extent as to make a difference of twenty pounds in the teacher's salary. Such a sum would be a small one to a person in receipt of perhaps £300 a year, but it. would be a very serious matter' to one in receipt of a salary, which, at its best, is no more than enough to provide the necessaries of life of himself and family, without leaving a sufficient margin to meet such contingencies as sickness or accidents, to say nothing of a surplus to lay aside for old age. The man who evolved this scheme receives a .salary which is not in any way affected by averages. He does not mind acceding to the ''roar for retrenchment," by retrenching the " other fellow," but he would make a determined stand against any reduction in his own pay. Surely some scheme could be devised by which the country teachers' salary should not fall below a certain minimum sum, regardless of the attendance. Besides the effect on the pay there i 3 another serious aspect to the question. When the attendance falls below a certain average an assistant is removed, and though the number of pupils a week after might be greater than at any time before, and continue to be so, that assistant would not be replaced until atter the expiration of another quarter, and so for three months the children would bo imperfectly instructed. Mad this school been kept open during the epidemic of diptheria, tho attendance would have been so small that the unpleasant effects just mentioned would infallibly have resulted. Thk Theatre Royal Compaxv.— This popular company will give one of their attractive entertainments on Wednesday next in the hall, when ontiroly fresh tableaux will bo put on the stage, together with songs, comic and other recitations, so that people of different tastes will bo sure of seeing and hearing something to please them. Besides the original members of the company, there will be artistes from Cambridge and elsewhere, no effort being spared by the management to mako the entertainment as successful as those previously given by this company. Those who were present at the tableaux and the Pirates of Penzauce, have such pleasant recollections of those evenings that a crowded houso will greet the performers on Wednesday evening. The proceeds are in aid of the salary of the organist of St. John's Church, Te Awamutu. The performance concludes with ft dance.