NEW WAIKANAE SCHOOL.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 548, 1 July 1909, Page 9

NEW WAIKANAE SCHOOL.

OPENED BY HON G. FOWLDS.."

Waikanao now -possesses an up-to-date solioolhouso, built not • far from wliere its prcdccc6sor stands. Yesterday, whenthe'Minisrer for. iSducation (Hon. G. Fowlds) officially opened tho. building,. tho township; waß en fete. Among thoso-who were present at tho ceremony. wore: Mr.; Field, Al.Pi, and: 'Mr Leo, chairman of tho Wellington Education Board, Air. Brown, chairman of tho School Committco, other members of the committco, and a'largo gathering of townspeople and tho soholara. 1 .m K / ■ Mr. Fowlds, in declaring tho building opon, said that lie trusted that agricultural scionco would continue to be taught a tj" Waikanao, as had boeii the. case" in. connection 1 with'. tho old school. Upon tho boys and girls ho impressed the fact that they. had nlany advantages which were denied their elders. Ho pointed out to thorn that, in some countries, 'tho people were so poor that they could not afford to' give their children a 1 proper meal before sending them to' sihool. Beforo him that day stood a lot of children, who ■ wero well • dressed, and boro all appearances -of i being well cared for. "Beforo J going to school,'.'-the Minister, added, "sea that your hands and faces aro < clean, and, when at ' school, try to keep your , minds [pure and clean and . sweet." . Addressing i adult onlookers; Mr. Fowlds then touched upon soverab important-phases ,of tho: education system. 1 His remarks aro 'elsewhere. t Mr, Leo, 1 speaking on. behalf of the Education Board,'thanked the Minister, fori attonding'itho.'.ceromony.'!,:.During ~the past eight .or ten years the- great .business of the board had becrt tho reinstating of. buildings to meet . tho increased and,', iii this case, tho new sito was undoubtedly superior to the bldj'one. -'He had rrecently the school buildings in- a -number of the centres m tlio Wairaraps district .wero being enlarged or -succeeded. In some cases the old buildings, or parts of t-hem, wero in an insanitary state.' It was possible hero and there to convert them. into class rooms for woodwork; etc. Ho had been at Home and on Iho Contincntj,na well, as throughout tho colonies/ and it was his opinion that one i would, havo to travel far and wide tfeforo -he would seo in a place of tho sameisizo as Waikanao a better school than tho one which had just been opened.'. ■, ■■•-.-:■ I .: Mr. Field, M.P.,'referred to tho superiority of'.the now site as compared. with tho old - one. , He added that the delay in the erection | of -the school was due to the difficulty in I getting, a ;title to 'tho. allotment, which was I formerly Native land. The building was'very I suitable, and ha doubted-whether tho sito was I .surpassed in the .whole,of New Zealand'. He I would have liked to seo the old, building con- I verted . into a library. or- : an 1 institute)- but: I it -had ibech decided to shift: it for theipur-! 'poses of a school to Reikorangi.. Mr. Field I also expressed tho opinion that the teacher's I .'ricW ; .'residenc(2"was '.hardly;:as artistic \as it might havo been. ' • I