THE SCHOOLS.
Star , Issue 6416, 8 December 1888, Page 3
About this newspaper
THE SCHOOLS.
j I RANGIORA HIGH SCHOOL, j I The annual distribution of prizes to the pupils of the Rangiora High School took j place yesterday afternoon, in the presence of a number of ladies and gentlemen. Mr IA. H. Cunningham, Chairman of the j Board of Governors, presided. The school[ room was very prettily decorated with flowers and greenery, and in one of .the rooms there was a display of the pupils' work in the shape of specimens of writing, .mapping, drawing and painting, the whole of which was extremely creditable both to the pupils and the teachers, Mr and Mrs '.'Rowe. At the invitation of the Chairman the Yen Archdeacon Dudley opened the proceedings with prayer. Afterwards the -Revs W. E. Gillam, J. Smellie, and A. Peters spoke a few complimentary and sencoutaging words to the pupils, and the hope that they would all ithoroughly enjoy themselves during the •vacation. Mr and Mrs Rowe were also congratulated on the position of the school •and the people of the town and district on the superior educational facilities offered by it. Mr Rowe then read the annual prize examination report, prefacing it with the remark that for various reasons he had jbeen obliged to conduct the examination 'himself. The report showed the pupils to ;be well advanced in Latin, arithmetic, .Euclid, English, French, history, geo,-graphy, and science; the papers for the most part having been excellently done. The Chairman expressed hiß opinion i that the report was a fair and impartial one, and that it proved the school to be in a satisfactory condition a fact which mußt give pleasure to all interested in its welfare. Recitations were then given in a very pleasing manner by the following pupils —Collin Threlkeld, Charles Threlkeld, G. F. Howard, E. G. Blick, W. C. Wilson, F. Pegler, and Edith King. The Rev J. H. Gray, who had in the meanwhile entered the room, followed with a short address, in the course of which he strongly impressed upon the pupils the necessity for being very careful in the choice of literature, and above all not to neglect the study of the Bible. The Chairman said there was a gentleman present to whom the school owed much for its success; and no doubt a few words from him would be acceptable. He referred to Professor Haslam. Professor Haslam, who was received with applause, said Mr Cunningham had been good enough to remark that the school owed something to him. Be this as it might, he could assure them that he felt great interest in its success. He remembered a certain morning in a very rainy spring, when the waters were out in Christchurch, he was met at the College by Mr Cunningham with a list of applicants for the mastership of the school as long as his arm, and he was privileged to give assistance in the selection of a master. Mr and Mrs Rowe were both old pupils of his, and consequently he could not but take an interest in the school. Addressing the scholars he said much good advice had been givon them by previous speakers, and he felt that the best advice he could give them was to be found in that excellent book, "Tom Brown's School Days." On Tom Brown mounting the coach for school for the first time, his father told him that at school he would hear foul language and see many objectionable and bad things done, but he was never to give way to anything that "would make his mother or sisters blush. No better advice could be given than that. He thought that in a mixed school like this one the girls might do the boys a lot of good. It was a very good thing to have girls about them to teach them manner's, and to behave themselves like gentlemen. Speaking to the parents, he said it was a matter for regret that full advantage was not taken of the educational facilities offered. The youngsters, for the most part, did not get enough education. He was aware that it was often necessary to remove children from school earlier in the Colony than at Home, and probably the children themselves were not averse to this. He remembered when he was a little boy saying to his mother that he hoped she would not send him to College as tbe work there would be so hard, and he would never forget the reply she gave him. My boy, she said, if you want to lose caste, if you don't want to be as good a man as your father, don't go to College but if you want to become a man equal with your father, go to College, and I will -work my fingers to the bone to maintain you there. If it had not been for his mother he would not have been the man that he was to-day, nor have been in the position that he held. Tbe Chairman then called upon the Hon H. B. Gresson to distribute the prizes. The Hon H. B. Gresson said that before handing out the prizes he would like to be permitted to say a few words. When the question of the establishment of a High School atßan^iorawas mooted,hewas somewhat averse to the project, believing that the place had hardly attained the position to entitle it to a school of this kind. What he had seen to-day, however, had caused him to entirely alter his opinion. (Applauee.) He had been umeh interested in the observation of Professor Haslam, and would like to add something. He thought it was quite possible for the scholars at their age to fully recognise and appreciate the advantages placed before them in their school. Time would fail if an attempt were made to enumerate these advantages on the present occasion. They were, however, all comprehended in the term "A superior general education." An education of that kind must be founded on many very high qualities, amongst which were truthfulness, honesty, and manliness. He would like to impress upon them the desirability of becoming educated gentlemen gentlemen in the truest sense of the word. Wealth and rank did not make the true gentleman. A man possessed of them and being overbearing, arrogant, wanting in sympathy and kindness could be no gentleman. A high authority had said good manners were at the very bottom of true gentlemanliness. One of the principal advantages afforded them was the opportunity for acquiring knowledge that would enable them to obtain a livelihood in any profession they might adopt. Again, a good education would enable them to fully enjoy the many works of interest published in the present day. Life would be dull indeed without the enjoyment of reading. A good education I could not be obtained without good principles, such as honesty and determination. If they w«re inclined to the use of cribß, much fear could be felt for their success in after life. By this habit they would forfeit their self-respect, without which they could not enjoy their lives. If they would use fairly and honestly the means placed within their reach, they would succeed in life and obtain the respect and veneration of their teachers, parents and friends. He would hold up to them Max Muilev as an example of what a position in the estimation of men could be attained by the practising of what he had been endeavouring to impress upon them. Much of what he had said applied to the girls also. But for their benefit he would like to impress upon them the necessity of not neglecting domestic duties. In conclusion, he trusted that those pupils who had failed to obtain prizes would not be discouraged; and he sincerely wished the school every success in the future. The Hon H. B. Gresson then handed the prizes to the successful scholars, who were as follows Form IV. Banks and Pegler (equal), 1; Johnston, 2. Form 111. Mary Gardner, 1 Maude Tait, 2 May Hurse, 3 Stackwood and Wilson, diligence and improvement. Form II. Upper: Minnie M elvey, mapping and improvement. Form II. Edith King, 1; Howard, 2. Form ll.— Lower: Chinnery, diligence and improvement. Form I.— Threlkeld n., 1; Threlkeld i., Skevington, diligence and improvement mapping, upper division, Mary Gardner 1, Stackwood 2; lower i division, Blick 1, Skevington 2. Mrs Rowe's special prize, M'Donald. Good j behaviour, Polhill. The proceedings were then brought to a close with cheers for the Hon H. B. j Gresson and a vote of thanks to Mr and Mrs Rowe. The visitors were afterwards invited I by Mrs Rowe to partake of refreshment. I
