A.—3,

most elementary rules of health and sanitation. For this reason devil and witch doctors are denounced. Lessons are given on fresh air, effects of gorging and imperfect chewing of food, scabies, eye infection, flies, foods for babies, destruction of rubbish, careless expectoration, and, in fact, any topic that will be of value to them in their own homes. " History and Civics. —Niueans have no tradition behind them, and they seem to know little of their origin and history. There are no chiefs and royal families such a i are found among the Maoris, and in Samoa and other Pacific Islands. On account of this, Niueans know little of themselves. For this reason lessons have been given on Polynesians and their migrations ; but most of the history has been of a local character, as for example : the discovery of Niue ; ancient life and customs ; the coming of missionaries, traders, and Europeans in general; annexation ; form of government; and taxation. The idea was to deal with everything local, in order to get the young Niuean to understand as much as he could about his own native land before going further afield. "Geography.—Niue and all connected with it were first dealt with. The other islands of the Pacific and the more important countries about its shores then received attention. Volcanic and coral islands, tides, winds, the barometer, thermometer, exports and imports, were subjects further considered. " Reading.—The Niuean is an apt mechanical reader, but his power of comprehension and ability to gather the meaning of words from the contexts is somewhat weak. However, he is enterprising and splendid at jumping to conclusions. " Foul air is air that hens breathe "is certainly a brave attempt. Phonetics, specimen reading, use of dictionary, imitation, access to school library, rough sketches, pictures from illustrated papers, answers to questions in full for spoken English exercises, easy extracts for written or oral reproduction are the main methods used to teach reading. Children are also invited to ask questions about sections of a lesson not clearly understood. '' School Library.—A school library has been formed. This year we added 142 books to it. We now have a total of 192 books, and these make good supplementary reading for the pupils. '' Arithmetic. —This is taught with a practical bent, and aims at accuracy. Mental arithmetic prepares for more difficult problems in written work later on. The arithmetic bears a practical aspect to the life and work of these people, but the formal is not overlooked. For example, they are to know the value of their output of copra when traders pay out Is. for each 8 lb., 10 lb., or 12 lb., according to the fluctuations of the market. " Spoken English.—Pupils are encouraged but not enforced to speak English about the playground. At times they are requested to relate some experience or detail a story heard or read. Phonetic exercises are very valuable in spoken English. " Written English.—Construction of sentences, reproduction of stories, easy essay work, and letter-writing are the principal written forms. " Physical Exercises and Marching. —No hard-and-fast rules are enforced in connection with physical exercises. Their own local dances, all full of rhythm and some quite graceful, would appear almost sufficient in themselves. Exercises are given not to obtain big muscles, but for health, vitality, and endurance, as well as to obtain quick obedience and discipline. Marching in fours and in file are practised to prepare the children to march as a disciplined force through the village on fete days. Fancy marching is carried out in order to make a spectacular display on gala days and special occasions, and these children delight to march. " Organized Games.—These are. most popular, and the number known are too numerous to mention. They are carried out not only for pleasure, but to develop alertness, activity, and unselfishment. Children are under complete control during these games, and work to the whistle. " Recreational Games. —After we had prepared an area by clearing away rock and tree-stumps, two basketball grounds were made —one, standard size, for the senior girls ; the other, half-size, for the juniors. Kafika poles were obtained from the bush,' and rings were made from hoop-iron. " Athletics.—Among the boys athletics are encouraged. A sand-pit has been prepared so that the boys can broad-jump, high-leap, hop-step-and-jump, and pole-vault in safety. They were also shown how to put the stone and toss the caber. The boys entered keenly into the spirit of all these field games and the sand-pit is always in use. Hop-step-and-jump and caber-tossing were entirely new, and little seemed to be known of pole valuting. The best performances to date are : High leap, 4 ft. 7 in. ; broad jump, 17 ft. ; pole vault, 7 ft. 3 in. We are endeavouring to develop athletics not only to stimulate the boys physically and mentally, but to keep them engaged. It is more pleasant to see all the lads busy at some game than to see them sitting on verandas and under trees telling stories amidst much laughter. " Technical Instruction. —A good deal of work has been done in the workshop, and useful lessons given on the care and sharpening of tools. The boys are encouraged to make things, and are employed in the production of useful pieces of furniture, instead of wasting time and timber in making formal joints. During the year a good deal of school furniture, such as tables, shelves, benches, book-shelves, and a filing-cabinet, were made. " School Concert. —Towards the end of the year a school concert was held, and the proceeds used to buy prizes for the annual break-up. " Annual Break-up. —Niue suffered from a prolonged drought this year, and food was scarce. Taro crops were a complete failure, and yam and kumara were scarce. Taro is the staple food, and Niueans can ill afford to be without it. Eoots and coarse bush foods that no Niuean would think of eating at normal periods were very acceptable during the year 1926. On account of the drought and food scarcity all our money was expended on foodstuffs instead of on books and toys. It was thought that children whose stomachs had often been fairly empty throughout the year would appreciate food better than the usual prizes. Each child received the following foods : 1 half-loaf of bread, 1 packet of rice, 4 large cabin biscuits, J packet peanuts, 1 tin of meat or fish, 1 packet of flour,

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