CHRISTIAN BROTHERS' SCHOOL, DUNEDIN

New Zealand Tablet, 24 December 1908, Page 1 (Supplement)

CHRISTIAN BROTHERS' SCHOOL, DUNEDIN

The annual entertainment by, and distribution of prizes to, the pupils of the Christian Brothers' School, Dunedin, took place in the Garrison Hall on Monday evening. These entertainments are always remarkably well patronised by our Catholic people, but the attendance on this occasion easily established a record. At 8 o'clock there was scarcely standing room in the large hall. Owing to pressure on our space, we must content ourselves with saying the programme was an excellent one, and that tho pupils acquitted themselves in a manner, which elicited the enthusiastic _ applause of the audience, and reflected the highest credit oh themselves and on, their painstaking and popular teachers. The first part was opened by an overture by an orchestra under Mr. Vallis, and was followed by the 'Trial of Sir Thomas More,' in which the .; cast ot characters was as follows : —Henry VIII., Master H. D Moynihan; Duke of Norfolk, P. J. Collins; Sir Thomas More, T. P. Laffey; William, Sylvester Geerin; other sons, Eric Turner and James Lennon ; Cromwell, J. Moroney; Sir Alfred Allerton, P. Spiers; .First Judge, H. Drury; Second Judge, J. Stapleton; First Guard, J. McKeefry; Second Guard, P. Keligher; Usher, E. Stanaway; Gentle-man-in-waiting, T. Layburn. The second part consisted of orchestral selection i_song, ' The winking stars,' infant class; military display by Hibernian Cadets ; song, <a) ' Midshipmite ' (solo and chorus), (b) Sailors' 'Hornpipe (Master McKenzie), (c) 'Young sailors we 3 (selected voices and chorus), juniors; gymnastic display, juniors; song, e No one like mother to me,' Master A. Tarleton ; recitation, ' Rory the Rapparec,' T'. P. Laffey; selection, (a) ' Laudate Pueri,<b) 'Reapers' chorus,' school choir; gymnastics,- senior class; orchestral selection. \Mr. Vallis was musical" direc-

tor, Mr. L. Stokes was accompanist, and Mr. T.'P. Laffev gymnastic instructor. y At the interval Rev. Brother Brady said it was not Swi?!,*?/ 6^ tie annu^ report, as it had been circulated with the programme. His Lordship the Bishop, who JSL !?? \ k - eU * e ? iaterest in school, had given three scholarships, which were supplemented by one liven li^Coffey. He theA asked Father cSfffy to distribute the prizes tq the University class. T? n +w n V° n £ lusi , o, \ of , the distribution of prizes, Rev. Father Coffey thanked the audience for tieir presence in such large numbers, showing that the' Catholics of DunfeS^^V 0 * of the Christian Brothers. -B£ £ f^ e that eTenin g such large numbers terS^^*" 5 ! 1^ appreciated the charact £ f L Ch^ a !.'' moral education ' imparted " at the schoo. The Catholic people, in providing their* oWn schools realise that unless, education is thorough, unless-it-is calculated to advance the moral instincts of-th^ creature, W V?* I ?*' T d S fails in its ob ' ect * Man was SS for a high and noble purpose, and the divine instinct in the boy must be cu tivated and the faculties attended so S ?•« n? • ? im f f hl \ destlliy ' and this can only Ib done ™ * i an a^ s P he . re - I* was alleged that the' people +bJr,! 0 T d /| am ? thei - r Will to kee P «P t^ir scho6ls, but the people did. not require any persuasion to support their schools for^they thoroughly appreciated the gftat wonwhich the^ Brothers were doing and had done .-here for the past thirty-two years, and "never at any , time were their schools more successful or better ■attended than at th 6> present time The Catholic body/have- maintained their schools so that their children might be ibrbught up with a knowledge of the moral law, of loyalty t o their King and country and^ to tho King of : Kings. Exp~erience ■ teaches us that Christian- moral, education must be imparted .- in a Christian atmosphere. It was hof so much a question of the catechism, or of questions or answers, which formed tbe mind of. the pupil; it was the atmosphere and the example which he had placed before! him; such as was set before him in the lives of the Brothers. Here father Coffey gave, in support of . this contention,' a quotation from the non-Catholic author of: European -Civilisation. Continuing, he said that the boys had this Christian atmosphere, this example before them day after day in the Brothers' School. There were.men in. the world, who contended that we should leave religion. <out of the schools, but history- conclusively proved that' these m eh were entirely wrong. .Moral, teaching must "be founded on the laws ot God, and if we Jeft that out we would have a nation of pagans, and the people would not .have a knowledge of right and wrong. Catholics would continue to fightagainst that spirit; they we're determined, as -far .as they were able, to give a Christian -education to their children The speaker then gave a sketch of the history of the -Christian brothers, of the -great success "of their work in- this Dominion, and of the high repute iii which boys trained, bv them are held here. In the junior civil service examination during the year one of the boys from the Christian Brothers School headed the list of 900 boys from Otago. This showed the excellent secular teaching imparted by the Brothers, and that successful, secular teaching marched side by side with moral teaching. Here Father Coffey quoted from the report of a Royal Commission appointed to inquire into primary education in Ireland, in which the president, Earl Powis, paid a meed of praise to the excellence of the schools conducted by religious communities. It was a remarkable fact that, whilst the attendance at tlie public schools had been declining, that at the Christian Brothers' was better than ever. In conclusion, he publicly protested against the injustice that was being inflicted on the Catholic schools by the Government of the country. It makes use of our boys, and yet pays not one penny towards the upkeep of the schools, towards the education of those boys who give their time and their lives to the service of the country. The following is the annual report: — The Christian Brothers have much pleasure in presenting the report for the scholastic year 1908. In every department of school life success has been achieved. This happy result is in a great measure due to the parents themselves, who so willingly co-operated with the Brothers

in seeing that their children attended regularly throughout the year. Despite the disabilities under which our Catholic people labor in the matter of having to Support their own schools, and at a time when ' free schools and free books ' are the order of the day, it is a significant fact that the attendance roll shows a decided increase on. last year's, the number of pupils whose names were entered oil the roll for the current year being 310. This steady increase shows how much our people have at heart the true Christian education of their children, and what a value they set oe the moral training of the young. The Brothers make the moral education of their pupils the foundation of their system, because education without moral training is unworthy of the name; moreover, they realise that success in this important branch of education means success in every other department. In this part of' their work they received incalculable assistance from Rev. Father Coffey and the other priests of the Cathedral, who were most zealous in looking after the spiritual wants of the boys. Consequently, the attention of the boys to their religious duties has been. very marked throughout the year, and itwas a fitting conclusion to the year's work when a large class of over 60 boys made their First Communion. The application of the boys to their studies on. the whole has been satisfactory, and good work has been done in all the classes. Our school was visited this year by Rev. Brother Hennessy, from Dublin, and he was particularly struck with the educational tone which pervaded the whole establishment. In the public examinations the school has been very successful; six students passed the matriculation, four of them qualifying for medical preliminary, the other two for solicitor's general knowledge. In the civil service examinations the results are equally satisfactory. One student sat for senior civil, and passed in Latin, arithmetic, algebra, and commercial geography. Six passed the junior civil, five being placed on the credit list. In this examination Master George Albertson obtained first place among the boys' schools in Dunedin. The dux of the school for 1908 is Master Humphrey Moynihan. As the physical training of our boys occupies a prominent place in our school curriculum/ it is pleasing to note* that our efforts in this department have met with maeh success. And here I may mention that in this part of our work we received much assistance from a series of physiological lectures delivered to the boys by Dr. J. P. Hastings. In the schools athletic championships held in the eaily part of the year our school carried off nineteen first, fourteen second prizes; in all, thirty-four medals. The school also got fourteen thirds, but no prizes are awarded to this position. These results are truly meritorious when we consider that twenty-four schools were represented and the conditions equal for all competitors. In the football field we had three teams playing. The Fourth Grade team were runners-up for the Association Cup, having lost but two matches during the season. In the Senior School Grade competition our A team sliowed themselves champions by going through the season without a defeat, winning the championship and five-aside tournament, thus securing the silver cup and sixteen silver medals. In the Jtinior Grade our B team came third on the list of thirteen, and runners-up in the five-aside tournament. In Seuior School Grade cricket the school was likewise successful, our A team having gone through the season without a defeat, thus winning the pennant and the championship for -the year. Continued interest has been taken with the Cadet Corps, and in the capable Jfands of Captain Columb and Lieutenants Callan and Columb the corps has reached a high state of efficiency. The corps won the silver cup presented by the Dresden Company for drill competition among' defence cadets. The devotion of the old boys to the school and their interest in its doings is very gratifying, and the Brothers take this opportunity to thank ,their many ex-pupils throughout the Dominion for the practical interest taken in their work. To the generous donors to the prize list, to the many friends of the school, to the parents who entrust their children to our keeping we return our most sincere thanks, and wish them a very happy Christmas and a bright and prosperous New Year. The following is the prize list: — • Dux-of school: H. D. Moynihan (gold medal presented by Dr. J. P. Hastings), Matriculation 1' orm.'<— -Class prizes — French and science, E. B. Walmseley; English and algebra, P. J. Collins; Latin and essay writing, G. Wakelin; mathematics, J. Fogarty; Latin and physiology, J. Moroney; geography and arithmetic, v J. Monaghan ; general knowledge and history, T. Fitzgerald; general improvement, H; McK«9fry.- „ : . Civil Service FoTm.^-First aggregate — H. Drury (gold medal presented by Mrs. Miller); French and essay writ-

ing, J. Stapleton; science and arithmetic, P. Spiers; Lati.i and English, F. Le .u evre; general improvement, J, Joyce ; mathematics, ; M. McKeefry ; history, A. Burke. Standard VII. — First in aggregate, T. Layburn ; second in aggregate, C. Dunn; third in aggregate, J. Walsh; fourth in aggregate, F. Cameron ; arithmetic, J.. Salmon; English and writing, L. Bourke ; geometry, E. Salmon ; Christian, doctrine and geography, •R. O'Neill; general improvement, F. Powell; mathematics, P. O'Connor; Christian doctrine prize, A. Burke (gold medal); regular attendance prize, J. Walsh. •"..'• Sixth Class.— Errol Stanaway,. 1 ; Francis Yule, 2; James McKeefry, 3; Edward Nolan, 4 ; Leonard Walsh, 5; Francis Marlow, 6; John Hally, 7; Michael Lawless, 8; Philip Callery ,9; John McDonnell, 10. Special prizes — Geography, James Marlow ; . arithmetic, Joseph Brady ; science, Hubert Sweeney; arithmetic, Leonard McKeefry; oral composition and" reading,.- Patrick Keligher; drawing, Joseph McKenzie; dictation, L. Shiel; industry and reading, Ji Thompson ; industry and general improvement, James Daly; drawing, W. Mead; arithmetic and reading, S. Geerin. Fifth Class. — Francis Corcoran, 1; Bert Fogarty, 2; John Berin, 3; John Keenan, 4; Martin Rings, 5; Edward Sandys, 6; John Flannagan, 7-; Thomas Muirhead, 8. Special prizes — Comprehension, A. Walsh; Christian doctrine, Cyril Hastings; English. James O'Brien; drawing, D. Keyes; industry and application, Peter Gaffney; reading, - John Fenton; reading, M. O'Brien; dictation, Dan Burke ; home exercise, R. Simpson ; Christian doctrine, drawing, dictation, Bernard Walsh; English, Simeon, McAllen; Christian doctrine and writing, James Moir; writing, A. Burden; English, A. Gastafson ; good conduct, H. Mulholland. Fourth Class. — Vincent Shiel, 1; Patrick Nash, 2; James Fenton, 3 ; Gerald Thompson, 4 ; James O'Connor, 5 ; Thomas Hally, 6 ; Frank Mullins, 7 ; Eustace Thompson, 8. Third Class.— James Dunne, 1; Edgar Turner, 2; Jas. Lennon, 3; William Pimbley, 4; Frank Walsh, 5; John McVeigh, 6; Patrick O'Connor, 7. Second Class. — Charles Woods, 1; Albert Davidson, 2; Joseph Walsh, 3; Eric Culling, 4; Peter McKeefry, 5; Edward Collins, 6 ; Harold Moore, 7 ; Francis Hally, 8. First Class. — Noel Mackay, 1; Louis Wakelin, 2; Maurice O'Connor, 3; Alex. Gray, 4; Percy Hesford, 5; Steve Scoles, 6; Francis Rodgers, 7; Maf eking McAllen, 8. SPECIAL PRIZES. Irish History (Standard VI.) — Celtic cross presented by Mrs. Herbert, E. Stanaway. Irish History (Standard VII.)— T. Layburn. Senior Elocution — T. P. Laffey. Junior Elocution — Sylvester Geerin. Senior Gymnastics (gold medal presented by Messrs. Metcalf and Wilkinson)— J. Salmon. Champion athlete of school (gold medal presented by Mr. J. Collins)— H. D. Moyniha'n. Batting average — P. Collins. Bowling average, J. Stapleton. Junior Gymnastics — Tasman O'Brien. Hibernian Cadet competition in mathematics, English, and w T riting (Captain Columb's prize) — M. McKeefry. The school re-opens February 1, 1909.