TOKOMAIKIRO SCHOOL COMMITTEE.

Bruce Herald, Volume XI, Issue 108, 31 January 1879, Page 3

TOKOMAIKIRO SCHOOL COMMITTEE.

The following is th« Report and Balance sheet of the above for ♦ht*ye<r 1877, held over from our own last issue : — To the Householders of the 1 ckomairiro Dstriob Gentlemen,— Your retiring School Committee beg to submit their .Report and Balance-Sheet for the. year 1878. -.-.>' The Balance-sheet for 1877 showed a babnee due the Treasurer ot £2<L2i9l, and aocmnts parsed for -payment, £.i7~16i 3d,: making together £41 19 1 for liabilities. Agfcinst thie there were tchool fees due upwards of £40 ; but only £14 2s 9d haa been recovered, and the remainder is oonaidered to be unrecoverable. The Income of the Committee for the yen(with the exception of tbevohool fees as abov*-, which went in part payment of the balance due the treasurer) has consisted wholly of quarter y grants from the Education Board, ami the refund by tbem of the cost of a new desk. Tne two first quarters w*re paid under old Regulation*, and were £28 5s each. The third quarter uod<*r the new Regulations waa only £25, when the Committee made application to get their grants on the attendance of the two schools separately. This waa granted, and the fourth quarter paid was £32 16s. This will he the allowance f<>r the future, and will _ive the Committee £130 a year, instead of £100 if all were taken aa oue school. The balance due the B-uk : of Hew Zealaed at the dose of tbe year is JJJJ 12s lOd, and during the year the Committee have paid off £20 3d 5i of former indebtedness. Tbe Committee found on taking office that the school hid just been opened u<<der tne uew Act, granting free education, and as a necessary consequence, was at once crowded to an extraordinary extent, 69 new pup Is having ent red on the list, marly all of which were only fit for the junior classes. The Rector reported the crowded state r f the school, and requested mci eased accommodation and extra teaching power. The Committee, after examination and enquiry, applied to tbe Government f <r the build ing formerly used as immigt ation barracks for a temporary school, which wag granted, ami fitted up by the Education Board as an inf mt school, and was opened by the Hector ; and Mss Grant, with assistants, has conducted it siuce the 20th June. Tbe wbo!e numher on the rod for last quarter, of this schoo', is 146, with au average attendance o f 130. Tbe attendance oi the Hiah School for tt.e same p»>i >d is oo the roll 205, average attendance, 175. The number on the roll < f both schools bein'j 352. During the year Mi*s V >ung n signed her position as Ma'ron. The Education B< a r d, wi h the approval of the C mimittee, appointed Mis< RitcliiH. tbe second f -male te ehe'*, to the Matron's place, and appointed Mr Carrington (formerly of the N«»rmai S hoo ) to the i><>ti-.ion of *_c >n-i assistant teucher iv wbat was f .ruieily M ss R;tcbie's room. Ihe Hector has had a large increase <f his *ork in superintending the two fchools, tg'ecialy a* tbey are situated so far apart, and the buildings, as a whole, are very v suira le for the inert aa=d aud increasing numbers now taking advantage of the free edicatim proviled for them. The Committee would recomrnen the new Committee to me every mea s t > in duce the Eduoatiou Bjard to provide a new set of buildings, large enough to coot .in all tbe schools in one plac>', so as to be eisier supertn tended by th»* Rector, and on this aocu it more j workable All the other hiuh school* of * amarn, ] Port Chalmers, and I awrence, have lavge and commodi us buildings iv stone or brick, and this is the only bigh school which is not so provided. From the hi^h position wnich this tcbool maiutains, it is c rtainly entit ed to receive accommodation proportionate to its ac knowledged importance. The sickness, and necessary retirement of the Matron, for a time, ald< >gave him increased woik and res pons ib lity . The Committee are glart to find that for rometime past, all the teachers bare been fie for their work ; and that the Echo 1, when br -ken up for the holidays, proved to be in a most t fficient state, and jf anything more than another would show the high position m;.iuta ; ned by this high school, it is the fact ihat ih'ee of the pupils carried off senior fch< Lrships--ouly six of which were competed Ijt within the whole Otago Educa'ioi D strict, and that Jobn Murray was first of the whole number. Uf the pupil teachers, Mr Jonathan Ooldintr, after having parsed with credit as firstclass pupil teacher, has retired from the service ; and Miss Brown has passed her examination successively as first-class pupil teacher, and as teacher third-c'a-s. She leaves for the Normal Scbool. Misfesfarah Diwson and Maty Brown, who have acted as pupil tta-hers in tbe Infant Scbool for the last year, are also about t • enter tbe Normal Scbool. Their case is a peculiar one ; they have received no remuneration for tbeir labours— nevertheless they have been a* constant iv the attendance of their duties, and have displayed as much z±al in carrying oh tbeir work as it* they had been under a regular engagement, and been paid for the same. As th y were too far advanced iv their education, and had already showed an aptitude for teaching by its actual practice ; it would have been too great a sacrifice to them to have to begin at tbe loweßt step as pupil teachers. The Rector has also devoted a large amount of time and attention to tbeir education — teaching tbtm on the same plan a* though they were under engagement to the B ard— altbough, like them, he cuu'd get no remuneration iv tbeir case. Under these circumstanc* a they have a strong claim on tbe Board to advance them as much as pos s ble in the Normal School, and the Committee desire to tbauk them for tbeir labours', a>>d to wi.-h th m every success in their eudtavums to qu* ify t.bemsel-es aa teachers. Tue Committee have made application to the Biard tor puj.il teachers to take the p'aie<f those who will no a* leave. Tbey la'«*e uomi-na'-ed the three pupils belonging to the Hi_h Scuool, who pa-sed the ti>*st <x.*msnaton for entering that class. Tbe B ard has intimated tft;.t au inspector will examine them, soon ::ftei the school re*umes, as to t.h?ir suitability for ihe work, when there is tvery probability of their bring appointed. There has been no elimination by an Inspector of - cho'>ls dur.ng 1878, hu* i". is understood that they will be examined early this ye-»r., James Llder Rkowx, Cuairman.

gillies' grammar SCHOOL fund. To Bilmce in B+'.k of New Zail=*nd ... £7,19 7 „ I it«-rest- o*i ''v benture paid into Bak f r 1878. ... ... 6 0 0 £13 19 7 Jam a Fider Bro*h, Treasurer. Audited aod fonnd correct; and I hereby cert fy tbat 1 compared the various accounts with the vouchers, a_d J that the above is a correct balance-sheet of the receiptsand expenditure. R. R. Joints, • Auditor.

Balance Sheet for 1878. bkohipts To Education Board grant, Ist quarter ... ... ... £23 5 0 „ Education Board grant, 2. id quarter ... ... ... 28 5 0 „ Education Bjard giant, 3rd quarter ... ... ... 25 0 0 „ Education Board grant 4th quarter ... ... ... 32 10 0 „ Educ»t : on B.>ard refund for new desk ... ... ... 2 15 6 „ Balance due Bank of New Zealand, Tokomairiro ... ... 7 12 10 £124 8 4 EXPESTDITTTK. By cleaning account ... ... £43 4 6 „ Kepaira and improvements ... 37 14 1L „ Fuel (wood and coah) ... 13 14 6 „ Miscellaneous ... ... 8 5 6 „ School stationery and advertising 11 8 11 „ Balance due former Secretary ... £24 2 9 „ Less fees collected by him... ... 14 2 9 10 0 0 €12* 9 4T