TECHNICAL SCHOOL

Grey River Argus, 19 December 1940, Page 8

TECHNICAL SCHOOL

Break-up Ceremony AT TOWN HALL Th e Greymouth Town Hall was tb° scene yesterday of a pleasant ceremony, the occasion being the breakup and prize-giving of the Greymouth Technical High School. There was

a large attendance of the public. On the platform there were members of the teaching staff and. the Board of Governors. The Headmaster, Mr W. M. Stewart, presided. After the singing of the National Anthem, Miss Isobel Dunn, the head girl of the school, presented a bouquet of flowers to Mr s J- O’Brien. Mr T. E. Coates, Chairman of the

Board • -of 'Governorsi. said ..that in these strenuous times the pupils should know the full meaning of the National Anthem. When., one thought of the first line or the first word, ,on e knew that it was a prayer to God to sav e King and country. He apologised for the absence of Mr J. O’Brien, M.P., and the Mayor, Mr F A. Kitchingham. He thanked the ladies and gentlemen for attending the ceremony in such larg e numbers. It was a great encouragement to the staff and the Board. He hoped that they would assist in the future as they had in the past any effort to rais e money. There was a large sum on hand for the building'of the muchneeded Assembly Hal’, mainly due to the effqrts of vthe public. He i thanked Mr Stewart and his staff for | the able and effective help thev had ; given the Board, and he also extended his thank s to Miss McNiven and her assistants. During the year, ho continued, the school had; don n remarkably well, and Mr Stewart had retained th 6 Board’s confidence. Lately there had been an addition to the school buildings in the form of the Hom e Science Block. This gave increased opportunity for teaching the girls domestic duties. The boys of the school were, he said, very proud of the honour gained 'by u former pupil of the school, whose exploits making the school famous would go down in history. H P congratulated

th e boys and girls on having done sp well in sports, and hoped that when they left they, would carry away a determination never to forget the school. They could always be connected with it by joining fae 'Gid Boys’ Association, and/ th e .teachers were always glad to hear from old pupils. In conclusion, he urged the boy s to write to Mr Stewart and the girls to write 1 to Miss McNiven. The pupils then sang several songs, "God Defend New Zealand,” “Land of Hope and Glory,” and ‘‘There’ll Always Be An England,” Mr G. G, M. Mitchell, addressing the gathering, said he represented the Government’s humanitarian legislation. He thanked Mr Coates for the kind invitation for him to speak at the ceremony. Although he represented., humanitarian legislation, he hoped that it would not be in his time that ther P would b ( . occasion to deal with the pupils in front of him

in regard to Social Security. Although it was the custom of the school to have! well-known business men, etc., from'‘the town, to speak at the break-up ceremony, he thought how nice it would be if next year the war was ended and Pilot-Officer Denton could mak e the address. It was very fitting that a ceremony be held at the end of the year, so that •the pupils could look back on their achievements. It wa s an opportunity to consider what the school did for th e community. The basic principles motivating everyone should be democratic. At- the present time, democracy was on trial, and in danger of being ruthlessly shattered. He felt that if a right and proper attitude were adopted, there would ho no fear of that school being destroy-

ed by those men. If reviewed in a proper perspective, life woud become a mathematical proposition. He would like the pupils to see what had been gained by the so-called civilisation. Many comforts of an immaterial kind had been gained, while, there was poverty, hunger, and unemployment in many towns. However, while the school stood where it was he believed that there was hope, tor with th P men of to-morrow lay the future of the world. There were

many notable institutions of which thei public could, be proud, but he was going to suggest that there_was no institution which called for a far greater degree of reverence than a school. Newt Zealand had acquired a deep-seated reverence for schools. Only those who had heard of regret at the passing of Maori schools of learning would! know of |.he reverence in which these schools were held. He liked to think that feeling was present at the Greymouth Technical High School. In conclusion he expressed the opinion that the school would remain an abiding influence amongst the people.

The Principal in his his annual report stated: On March 1 the total roll number was 360—180 boys and 180 girls—of whom 121 w’ere firstyear pupils, this enrolment comprising 30 in the Commercial Course, 43 in the Trades Courses, 29 in the General Secondary Course, and 19 in the Domestic Science Course. With the opening of the Engineering and Woodwork shops, the enrolment in the Trades Courses was rather larger than usual; that in the General and the Commercial Courses was somewhat below the usual standard. The March strength's of the various courses were as follows: Commercial 107: Trades (Engineering and Woodwork) 90; Domestic Science 44; General Secondary 119. The average attendance over the whol P year tins been 92.1 n.er pent., being 92.2: per cent, in the first term, 92.4 per cent, in the second, and 91.6 per cent, in the third. Since March 1, 9 new pupils have been admitted, and 102 have been withdrawn, leading the present roll number at 267. Early in the year, the school was proud to say farewell, temporarily, let us hope, to Mr Tweedie, who had volunteered for active service with the Third Echelon. At this break-up ceremony I regret to say we hav c , to say goodbye to Mr Holmes, who is leaving us to accept a post on the staff of Wel-

' lington College. Forty-six primary schools are now sending pupils to the Woodwork and Cookery classes for tuition. To cope with" the, increase the Education Department approved of the appointment of two further teachers, Miss C. M. Ramsay, 8.A.. and Mr D. F. ‘Fraser. The School Hostel has once more proved its value in extending th e benefits of regular school life to many pupil's from outlying districts. The number of scnool pupils in residence has again constituted a record, having risen to a peak of 46. Th e health of all has continued good, this being due to the good work and the careful supervision of Mrs Hickman, to whom I am glad to express the thanks and appreciation of the Board for the care and skill she has fihnwn thrniip4iniit thp vear ill

thp discharge of her very onerous duties as Matron. Through the cooperation of an energetic ladies’ committee, the staff and. the pupils, and support of the public, the annual exhibition of work and fete enabled a sum of nearly £l6O to b e added to the Assembly Hall Fund, which now amounts to over £l5OO. Numerous old pupils of the school have been successful in University examinations. Four secured first section 8.A.. and

thre 6 second section. Dorothy Lindsay secured final 8.A., and F* S. Allott final B.Com. M. A. Jermyn, along with the final B.Sc., was awarded a University Senior Scholarship in Chemistry. L. G. Neubauer, M.Sc., secured an Empire Scholarsnip in Chemistry. Alister McLeod was elected the first holder of the Westland Centennial Scholarship, and proceeded to a course in Agriculture at Canterbury University College. Five passed in the Public Service Entrance Examination; twelve secured University Entrance and School Certificate;

and four partial passes in School Cor-) tificate. • Six gained the Higher Leaving Certificate, of whom three applied for entrance to Training College an d wern accepted. In the Public Service Commissioner’s Examination, one passed in the senior division and three in the junior. The’ grounds have been kept, in excellent condition, and the garden plots and

lawns have presented an attractive appearance, thanks to the unremitting care and attention of the caretaker and groundsman, Mr J. Excell.

PRIZE LIST The prizes, presented by Mr s J. O’Brien, were as follows: —- Class Prizes: C.l: Class prize, Dulcie Sole. Work and improvement, Rosa Balderstone. C.2: Class prize, Zona Gilmour. Work and improvement, Alva McArthur.

C. 3-4: Class prize (Dux of Commercial side and best student )n Commercial subjects), Greta Williamson. Work and improvement, Mae Stewart. Special Service prize (Mr Kehoe’s and Miss McDougall’s prize), Max Braithwaite.

H.l: Class prize, Josephine. Cox. Work and improvement (Mrs Btewart’s prize), Joan Coulston. H. 2-3: Class prize (Dux of Domestic Science side, Mrs Stewart’s prize), Joan Newton.

E.l: Class prize, K. Perrin. Work and improvement, K. Robinson,

W.l: Class prize, R. McCoubrey. Work and improvement, J. Payne. E.2: Class prize, B. Norcliffe. Work and improvement, K. Fredric. E.3-W.3: Class prize (Dux of Trades side, Mr Mitchell’s prizes), D. Frizzell. Work and improvement D. Nimmo.

III.: Class prize, Melva Newton. Work and improvement, D. Studholme.

IV.: Class prize, Pauline Stewart. Work and improvement, Cynthia Blair. i

Vb.: Class prize, J. Macaulay. Work and improvement, J. Haglund. Va.; Class prize, Isobel Dunn. Work and improvement, W. Evans. VI.: Class prize, Dux of General side (Mr J. Hutton’s Dux Medal), M. McGlashan. Work and improvement, D. Faris.

Special Merit Prizes in Handwork and Drawing: Merit in Cookery, Forms 111. and IV. (Miss McNiven’s prize), Chris McKenzie. Merit in Cookery,.. C.l. Audrey Davis. Merit in Cookery, H.l, 2.3, Joan Hill. Merit in Household Management, H. 2-3 (Miss MacDonald’s prize), Margaret Anderson. Merit in Practical Household Work, H.l (Miss Muir’s prize), Gladys Groom. Merit in Fine Needlework and Dressmaking. H.l-2-3. (Clark and Co. Shield and Medallion), Joan Newton. Merit in Dressmaking, Commercial Forms. Maycel Senidr. Merit in Lettering, C.l-W.l. Audrey Davis. , __ Merit in Poster Drawing. C?2. Marjorie Taylor. Merit in Freehand Drawing (Miss Ray’s nrizely Freda Baxendale and Ruvae Hughson. Merit in Woodwork (Commercial and General Firms), M. Saunders.

Saw .Sharpening and Tool Management.—lst panel saw (Disston and Co.), V. Heyward; 2nd. 3 chisels (Ward and Payn e Ltd.), J. Wilson; 3rd, claw hammer (Canada Foundries Ltd.), R. Richards. Out-of-Doors: Athletics.—Junior boy champion, G. R. Wright. Junior girl champion. Theodora Williams. Senior boy champion (Coronation Cup), J. L. Fleming. Senior girl champion (Mrs Henderson’s Cup), Joan Henderson.

I Swimming.—Junior boy champion, Athol Forrest. Junior girl champion.. Louie Henderson. Senior boy champion (Coate s Challenge Cup), E. S-, Stewart. Senior girl champion, Nancy Airey. Tennis: Girl champion (Miss Ray’s Cun). Gwynetth Gilmer. Cricket.—Best performance and service (Headmaster’s bat), J. Haglund. Improvement and service in junior cricket, J. Macaulay. Best performance in school games and snorts (James Huttori. Cup, presented by OTd Students), R. Henderson.

Tribal Competitions: 'Girls’ Tribal Drill (Sabne Nicholson Cup). Takitimu Tribe (Isobel Dunn, leader). , Girls’ Tribe (Coates Cup). rriKltimu Tribe (Isobel Dunn, leader>. . Boys’ Tribe (Hutton Cun). TaillUt' Tribe (J. L. Fleming, leader).

Special Excellence Awards: General excellence in second year forms (Dr. Mcßrearty Memorial prizes).—Boys, K. Fredric, E.2; gi>ls. Ann Teasdale, C.2_ * News prize.—Op eh. M. McGlashan; second year, S. R. Davis. General excellence (girls) and excellence in social activities (Headmaster’s prize). Isobel Dunn. General excellence (boys), Mi’ T. Eldon Coates’s prize, S. Hunter.