TECHNICAL SCHOOL.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XLVI, Issue XLVI, 5 March 1914, Page 3

TECHNICAL SCHOOL.

MEETING OF HOUSEHOLDERS

The annual meeting of householders for the purpose of electing a committee in connection with the Hawera Technical School was held in the Technical School on Wednesday evening. The meeting was not largely attended. Mr P. ODea was voted to the chair in the unavoidable absence of Mr E. Dixon, the retiring chairman. The director (Mr 14. W. Jackson) submitted the following report on the year's working: — "The compulsory continuation classes were held for the first time during 1913, and they proved in every way successful. Of the 195 students, 61 were compulsories. In many cases thel term 'compulsory' seemed to be inappropriate, for the students seemed desirous of availing themselves of tbe opportunity of receiving free instruction. Classes were conducted in English, arithmetic, book-keeping, shorthand and typing, dressmaking, first aid, cookery, drawing and painting, copperwork, agriculture, window ticket writing, magnetism and electricity. On Saturdays classes for teachers were held in agriculture, vocal music and drawing; The enrolments in the domestic course were very disappointing. The commercial course was very strongly supported, and the attendance was satisfactory right up to the close of the year. Miss Amy Jenkins and Master Chas. Wilson secured Pitman certificates in shorthand, while Miss M. Cummane was successful in gaining a shorthand theory certificate. Master Wm. Morrissey gained the Board's certificate in junior book-keeping, passing with distinction. On some nights of! the week four classes were held and the' accommodation was taxed to the utmost. The large room for which application has been made will relieve this overcrowding. There was also a shortage of desks, but this matter has now! been attended to; 195 students attend-! Ed classes during 1913. Of these 133 were females and 62 males ; 61 attended, under the compulsory clause, also three; as senior free place, and 29 as junior! free place students." j

The supervisor (Mr R. Browne) stated that the prospects for the ensuing year were very bright, while there was strong support offering for the agricultural classes, including a class in orchard work and gardening.

Mr Browne read a letter from Mr A

Gray, director of the Technical College, New Plymouth, saying that the dairy companies were approached and asked to contribute Is per ton annually on the output of butter and 6d per ton on cheese. This amount received the Government subsidy, and with this sum the college . employed an instructor whose duties were to hold classes for instruction of farmers and to supervise the agricultural and dairying instruction in the school's, and to take classes for teachers where and when possible. Eighteen companies out of twenty had agreed to contribute.

Mr G. D. Braik (chief inspector),l who was present, congratulated Mr j Jackson (the director) on his businesslike report, and a]so the committee on! the successful working of the school during the past year. The list of sub-j jeets taken showed that the pupils had; rather a nice taste as to what suited: them. The subjects covered a fairly! wide range, although he would haye1 liked to have seen a larger list, "but. no doubt it would be very much larger, I in the future. . Referring to MiBrowne's work with respect' to agri-! culture, he considered that Mr Browne [ could do very much more than he was; doing if he was not tied so much to1 the Technical School. If Mr Browne, could travel about more. lie would be able to conduct experiments which' would be of much benefit to the whole of the district. He could go into other districts and examine the most recent investigations in the various phases of agriculture, more particularly with re-, spect to dairying, upon which the prosperity of Taranaki depended. MiBrowne had very little leisure and his! work, therefore, did really not do him justice. He sincerely hoped that be-j fore many months had passed that the, dairy companies and the farmers gen-j eralTy would take this matter up the | same as was being done by the dairy i people in the Taranaki Education Board's district. He did not know! whether the County Councils did muchj in contributing to the school, but these bodies in the southern district of the Wanganui Education Board gave liberally to technical education. He hoped that the county councils and the farmers in South Taranaki would not forget this work. The Hawera Chamber of Commerce and the Borough Council were to be congratulated on the support so heartily given to the school. The district was indeed to be congratulated upon the progress made by the school.

Mr C. A. Strack said the pupils should be impressed of the advisableness of continuing their studies in the second year, and he thought the incoming committee' might consider the question of devising some means for retaining the pupils for a second, if not a third, year. j The chairman referred to the splendid assistance that was being given to technical education in the Taranaki Education Board district by the dairy companies in that,district. It seemed that no fewer than eighteen out of twenty factories in North Taranaki were contributing Is per ton on butter and 6d per ton on butter output per year. The factories in South Taranaki had not done anything in this

direction up to the present, but he understood a conference of the different factories was shortly to be held, and he had no doubt that they would give

their support to agricultural and dairying instruction on the same lines as that adopted by the factories in North Taranaki.

Mr Magnussfta mentioned that some of the' county councils and borough councils in Hawke's Bay contributed to the support of technical schools.

The. chairman, said that the Wanganui Education Board was doing more in agricultural instruction than anywhere else, and he hoped that the county councils and the farmers would come forward and assist the work in this district. Mr Bates pointed out that both Mr Browne and Mr Jackson had really too much clerical work to do, and he thought the incoming committee might consider the advisableness of appointing some clerical assistance for the office work, which consisted largely of compiling returns. ' The chairman moved the adoption of the report and balance-sheet. 'This was seconded by Mr Page and carried. The election of a committee from the householders was then proceeded with, and resulted in the return of Messrs W. C. Besky, F. G. Magnusson, H. W. Warcup, C. O. Ekdahl, and R. Tait. In addition, Messrs R. F. Page, (representing the private subscribers), E. Dixon, P. ODea (Education Board), C. A. Strack (headmaster Hawera District High School), E. Bates (chairman of District High School Committee) are ex officio members of the committee. I The Borough Council and the County have yet to appoint a member. Messrs A. Reid and F. Stevens represented the Borough Council last year; The County Covincil did not elect representatives.

The chairman proposed that Mr E. Dixon be elected chairman of the committee for the ensuing year. Mr Tait seconded the motion, and it was carried. The chairman (Mr ODea): "I hope we will have as satisfactory a year as we have had in the past."' This was all the business.