INTERESTS OF SCHOOLS.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 222, 19 September 1929, Page 16

INTERESTS OF SCHOOLS.

S ASSOCIATED COMMITTEES. 3 * QUARTERLY MEETING. VARIETY OF REMITS. S The quarterly meeting of the Auckland Primary Schools Committees' Astso- '•) ciation was held last evening, under the presidency of Mr. S. E. Chappell, there being a large attendance of committee i£ j delegates. A letter was received from tho Education Board pointing out that all head s teachers were* being notified that no it special scholarship tuition should be n given to children during school hours. With regard to a remit from Mount o Roskill school it was decided that the 0 Education Board be asked to take into l ~ consideration the special circumstances applying to this school in regard to n travelling to Onehunga Training College s with a view to the board paying the fares ' of the pupils. g On the motion of Mr. G. E. Spooner d the association recorded its acknowledge ment of the good being done by the n Young Citizens' League, especially in the publication of the paper "Young [1 Citizen," and recommended that tho h paper be placed on the lists of supplet mentary readers. J Swimming Instruction. 1 A resolution advanced by the Newton i Committee that swimming be a compulsory subject in primary schools was supported by the delegate, who spoke j very strongly on the subject. He t;ugB gested that as the Government had a compulsory military training system for r training in the destruction of life, he 3 thought it was reasonable it should ) institute this swimming system for sav- , ing life. The speaker instanced a recent f accident at the wharf where a man's life j was saved by the presence of men who 3 were able to swim. 1 Other members of the association ■ expressed the opinion that more active ; encouragement of swimming was desirable and a further motion was carried r that swimming instruction be made ' available in ail primary schools. A ' remit from Mauku School that any child ' requiring .immediate dental treatment » and whose parents were willing to take the child to the dental clinic, receive that treatment irrespective of the rotation ' of schools, was adopted. Inadequate Capitation. ! The Taumarunui District High School i contended that the capitation granted to school committees was more than "totally inadequate." The existing system of basing the capitation oil the | average attendance over a given period 1 could not be equitable, owing to the ' unavoidable fluctuation due to sickness and other causes, although sickness was provided for by elimination of short periods. Approximately 75 per cent of the amount granted by the Department was utilised for cleaning and" the remainder covered supply of fuel, repairs, etc.,- so that a conservative estimate would be 85 per cent, allocated to work not • affected by any changes in the attendance average. The association objected to the last clause suggesting that capitation be calculated on floor average and held that it should be based only on roll number, the remit being carried with the clause referred to deleted. In response to a letter from the Headmasters' Association the executive was authorised to receive a deputation on the subject of the staffing of schools with probationers and report to next meeting. The New Lynn Committee's remit suggesting the association's support of the movement to obtain free school requisites from the Government was also adopted.