ELECTION OF SCHOOL COMMITTEE.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXV, Issue 96, 22 April 1904, Page 3

ELECTION OF SCHOOL COMMITTEE.

■ [ SL_*__KANNUATK)3t FOE TEACHERS. j The following circular, which explains j itself, has been sent to the chairman jot every school committee in the col- °. n 3' : —Dear Sir.—ln connection with ! the propo .al to establish a. fund to proi vide for the retirement of aged and inI firm teachers, I have been" requested j by the Executive Committee of the j New Zealand Educational Institute to I respectfully draw your attention to the I following points:— (1) It is the durv of the Government to secure f._ the | State the best possible return for the j money spec: ou education. f-Z> Tins j cannot oe ._o_.e while men and wcnien jare allowed T- remain in the teaJiiag j service long after they have become inj capable of pcvr.nnr.g" their dutie_ with j sat_.iaet.on either to themselves or to ; their employers. (3)) The retention of I their position by such teachers is dej trirnental to the best interests of eduI cation, and is a serious injustice to the i children under their charge. <£) A snp- . erannuation fund, by providing for the | retirement of aged and infirm teachers [ and officials, and for the promotion of I tlie younger men and women, will put ! heart into the whole service, will cause I good men now in the service to remain ; there, and will tend to induce our best boys to become teachers. to) It should be noted that teachers are not asking that the Government should provide contributions to the fund. This will virtually be aone by teachers paying into the fund a o ..centase of their salaries. Teachers are simply as k_ng that the Government will introduce such le-| gislation as will enable them to give effect to their proposed scheme. If j you approve of the principle of superannuation for aged and infirm teachers >js I feel sure every true educationist does i. will you kindly bring the matter before the annual meeting of householders, and endeavour to carry a| resolution in something like the follow-! ing terms: —"That the householders of school district, in meeting assembled, consider that in the best interests! of education, and as an act of justice to i the rising generation, the establishment I of a fund for the snperaamnation, of' aged and inarm tea.i_h.er~ ii an urgent necessity, and that the Government be: re. pectfully requested to introduce, j withon. delay, the legislation to give effect to a scheme established on a sound pnaneial ba_i__." If you succeed in carrying some -uch resolution as the i.hc'-<r. will you kindly send to the Premier and to mc. as soon as possible, a copy of the same signed by the ehairaau of the meeting: —Yours faithfully. A. Erskine, secretary New Zealand Educationa. institute. DEVONPORT. Th. _t__iow_ng report oi the Devonport >ci__ _. Committee for the past year will be presented at a meeting oi householders in the schoolroom on Monday next: The school opened the year with ii _0 scholars on the roil, and closed with 700. For some ;ime prior to the 31st March the average attendance was 610. but several wet days and the prevalent- _ j ; of innueiiza and mumps reduced the I [average below that number This was: to be regretted, as the average required] ; for additional teaching staff (610) was not kept up. and the school is at present understaffed. The reports of the, examining inspectors for the year were j or a highly satisfactory character. Among the successful candidate, for the District Scholarships from the school. was Stanley Bongard. Class D.. value i __ 10. for three years, while certificates of proficiency were awarded to Alex. | Can Ino and G. H. Wooley. For the John T. iliiams' Scholarship Miss Annie Bon- j gard was among the winners, and in the' competition for National Scholarships the six candidates sent from Devonport I succeeded in gaining free places. Con- j sequent on the establishment of the technical education under Government j direction rise evening carpentry class had been discontinued. No satisfactory | reply had been received from the ilin- j ist:.r of Education with reference to the; application that the Devonport school might be proclaimed a District High School. The committee, after careful! consideration, had come To the opinion that it was inadvisable to erect an auxil- j iary school at as there was i then a proposal before the board for an enlargement of the present infant building, for which work a tender of £828. on plans prepared by the board's architect, had been accepted. Arrangements had been made for the use of Trinity Church schoolroom while the work was going on. A first-class piano had been provided for the infants. In conduct and proficiency the Cadet Corps was a credit to the boys' instructors. The besr thank- were due to the headmaster ami staff for the excellent work done during the year. The following nominations have been received for the Devonport School Committee: Messrs. J. M. Barr. E. Bartlej". J. F. Buddie. R. Henderson. S. C. Mackv. F. I-;. Mason. R. Mitchell, E. H. Peel. F. Ren.haw, W. Timewell. PONSO NB __. The report of the Ponsonby School l. c. mrnif tee for submission to the annual meeting of householders on Monday. April 25. states the finances to be as follow:—Receipts: balance to credit March 31. 1900. .£77 8/2: receipts from all sources, £3«0 12/4: total. £43S 0 ii. Expenditure as per vouchers, £371 2/4; balance March 31, 1904, £66 IS. -2: Total. £438 0/6. The school attendance was as follows for March 31 r 11304: Church-street —On roll 7-38, average 609: Richmond-road —On roll 722. average 626: Bayfield—on roll 308. average 274. Tjje roll number of Churchstreet is exactly the same as last year. Many applications are made for admission, but have to be refused, the school being as full as the floor space will permit. Richmond-road has increased 10 per cent., and Bayfield, which 12 months ago suffered severely from prevailing epidemics in the neighbourhood, is slowly regaining its previous position. The urgent requirements of Church-street and Bayfield, referred to in our last report, have not yet been attended to, the Board of Education having been unsuccessful in their efforts to obtain the necessary grants. However, with a Government keenly alive to the interests of the people, and an anticipated surplus of about J. 800,000, the few hundreds required for this district should very speedily be forthcoming. The Board of Education recently acquired a section of ground adjoining the Bayfield school, which will, to a certain extent, mitigate the inconvenience caused by a somewhat limited playground area. An early effort should be made to secure more ground in. that locality. The various schools ar» well staffed. During the year a ves'y handsome memorial was erected in the infant school to the late Miss J. El McLeod, who was mistress of that school for a. very long period. A balance of 3ome eisty

or seventy pounds will he devoted to the establishment of a technical scholarship. The district gained three Junior District Scholarship., value £1.3, tenable for three years, eight eertil flcates of proficiency- and nine free places in secondary "schools. Two of the scholarships were gained by Churchstreet beys—Balfour Nixon and F. J. Xewell; the other by a Bichmond-road girl, Mabel Oliver. The free places in secondary schools were the results of a special examination held by the direction of the Hon. th.c Minister for Education on sth and 6th January last in accordance with the Secondary Schools Act. 1903. GRAFTON. The annual report presented to the meeting of the Grafton School Committee last night stated that the yearwork had been very successful. One pupil had secured a scholar hip of __15 j per annum and three years rree tuition jat the Grammar School, while two other | scholars obtained second certificates of proficiency entitling them, to three years' free tuition. The average attendance had been greatly improved since the good attendance certificates had been presented, and during one week recently it reached a record—ss4 out of 600 on the roll. A new classroom had been built, which would obviate the overcrowding which had existed. The new shelter-sheds would prove a great boon during th. winter months, and should raise the average of attendance, as children from a distance could be given their lunches, and could stay at* the school during the dinner hour on wet and threatening days. The sanitary condition of the outbuildings had been thoroughly reorganised, and the whole of the improvements, the report stated, reflected great credit upon the board and the architect who supervised the work. There were still improvements to be The boys: playground demanded attention, and a series of terraces below the school was suggested. Internally the classrooms could be greatly brightened by the introduction of suitable pictures, from which the teacheis might secure good object-lessons, as Well as cultivating a taste for the beautiful. The report very warmly acknowledged the faithful and efficient 'work of the headmaster (ilr Hill) and his staff. The financial statement showed that the receipts for the year totalled £113 6,2. and the expenditure £100 0 6. leaving a credit balance of £4 5/8. MOUNT ALBERT* The report to be presented to the meeting of Mount Albert householders states that the Board of Education has treated the school much more liberally during last year than in the past. Amongst impEovements already effected must be mentioned the fencing in of the school grounds with a close-bearded fence: the erection and equipment of a washhouse for the master's residence: tarring and sanding of the playground and tennis court: and the replacing of many of the old style of desks with the more modern, more comfortable and more convenient class which have been adopted by the board. The old blinds, which were a constant source of annoyance and expense, have been removed and new- ones supplied in their place. Gas has also been laid on to the school and house. A matter requiring the attention of the board Is the repainting of the school inside and out and of the exterior of the master's residence, and the committee is gisd to be able to announce that the board has promised to undertake this work [ in due course. The average attendance of the school has risen from this time last year from 230 to 251. A ride ramie and target has been obtained and axed up for the n-e of th. School Cadets. The committee has resolved to furnish a medal half-yearly, to be awarded to the cadet who scores the most points in any twelve regular practices during the half-years ending June 30 and December 20. The whole of the money granted by the board has been swallowed up by the cost of cleaning, school stationery, fuel and repairs, leaving absolutely nothing for any other objects,; consequently everything outside these j lias had to be provided for by the com- J mittee and kind friends of the school. The committee desires to cordially thank these friends for their liberality. Brief reference was made to the death of the late headmaster ( Mr Robert Cu_-rer Whitham). For some twelve years a. occupied this position, aud by his daily life set an excellent example to the children who passed through this school during that time. In order that there might be a permanent memento of him in the school a marble memorial tablet, suitably inscribed, has been provided and erected in the main room.