THE CONVENT SCHOOL Annual Examination.

Marlborough Daily Times, Volume X, Issue 139, 9 December 1887, Page 2

THE CONVENT SCHOOL Annual Examination .

The following 1 report on the Convent Schools has been sent in by Dr Muller, who conducted the examinations, to the Rev. Father Lewis : -

Yesterday, in n'V'rdanoe with your request-, I again i mined the schools attachod to the Convent of St Joseph, Maxwell Road, and I am happy to my that they have ; n no way deterioated from tho state in wb'ch I found them upon my former inspection. There were 11*2 children present in the lower school, and their tidy appearance, quiet and good behaviour, reflects the highest praise on tho excellent Sisters who have charge of tho school. The discipline is excellent, and the happy faces of the children and their ready way of answering tho questions put to them was extremely pleasant to witness. The new schoolroom is a great improvement—it is spacious, lofty and welt ventilated, and keeps the infant and first classes apart from the upper ones. regards tho examination, I will begin with the infant class, in which there are 30 at present. These were examined in read - ing in words of one syllable, and spelling in words of one and two syllables. Scarcely one of them made a mistake. In , arithmetic, addition of two’s, throe’s and fours, and multiplication tables to four times twelve, and time and money tables they acquitted themselves admirably. In writing the i-mall letters and ten figures on the slate they did very fairly, some of them making well-shaped letters. The first class, which is tho lowest, numbered 22. The reading from the first book and spelling from the heading of tho lessons were remarkably good, and scarcely any mistakes wore made in tho spelling. In grammar they distinguished nouns adjectives and verbs in easy sentences in a very fair manner. In multiplication to 12 times 12, with shillings and pence to 6 times 12, they are very good, few making any mistakes. Simple addition of five linos and multiplication by from two to six was good, as was also their writing from print, several of which was extremely good and equal to somo in tho higher classes. Three girls gave recitations extremely well, the omphasis and points being very correct.

The second class were examined in reading and spelling from the second book, giving the meaning of the words, and distinguishing nouns, verbs and adjectives. They all acquitted themselves well, few making any mistakes In arithmetic they worked a sum in simple addition, multiplication in three figures, and simple addition. Of those ton worked them all correctly and seven in part so.

The third class were examined in reading and spelling from tho third book, with the meaning of the words and distinguishing’ nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs, and the reading and answers were good and correct. In arithmetic 19 competed, and six sums in tho compound rules of money were given. Several did them perfectly, none failed, the majority doing four or five correctly. In Bibie history to the giving of tho law they answered intelligently. In geography they were examined on tho map of t' e world and New Zealand coast features and chief towns, and I was quite surprised at the readiness and correctness of their aDswors.

Tho fourth class wore examined in roatfing and spelliug from tho fourth book, ■wßh the meaning of tho words and the parsing of easy sentences. All did we 11 , some of them exce'lently. In arithmetic four sains were given in weights and measures, and there were thirteen workers. For” did a ll perfectly, two failed entirely, seven worl‘ng four and five correctly. In History of England to Henry tho Third a 1! answered fairly, some very well. In Bible history to Kings they gave very intclfigent answers. In geography of tho British Isles, New Zealand provinces, chief towns and physical features, all showed a knowledge, while several were well up in the subject. A portion of this class were examined with the fifth and sixth in physical geography by Geikie, and conditions of matter, and they evinced

and intelligent appreciation of tho subjeets. Tho fifth class were examined in reading

and spelling from tho fifth book, with meanings of words, parsing, and analysis of simple sentences. They all did well, some extremely so. In arithmetic they worked two sums in simple proportion. There wore nine in the class, and six worked them correctly. In the history of England, from Henry the seventh to tho Commonwealth they wero rather backward, but the rest answered very well, as also in Bible history to Kings. In Geography they were examined in tho British Isles, possessions, Oooanea, with particulars of New Zealand, they all displayed intelligence, some, of course, more than others. They drew, from memory, on their slates, a map of Now Zealand, distinguishing the chief towns, &c. They wore of various degrees of merit, but no oue was exceedingly good. In physical geography and conditions of matter they all showed a fair knowledge of the subject.

In the sixth class thoro was but one pupil, but she was a host in herself. In reading and spelling from tho sixth book, with analysis of simplex sentences, in difficult questions in compound proportion and vulgar and decimal fractions, in History of England from the Stuart lino to the House of Hanover, Bible history to Kings, in geography of Asia, Africa, and Oooanea, and drawing a map of New Zealand, in physical geography and condition of matter, she did not fail to answer and work all correctly. I may say that the writing, as shown by their copy books, was good in all classes. This ended the exara natiou. I have thus endeavored to give a fair summary of the eximinatiou, and although it is not to bo expected that all intellects could bo alike, yet I was greatly pleased to see so good an average in a school of this kind, and great pains must have been taken in their instruction. As I remarked in my last report, gr ait pains seem to have been taken in giving a gold groundwork, and there is no pushing forward of clever pupils at the expense of others of a lower class of intellect. It is aNo pleasant to observe the attention and r. 'lection displayed by the children towards the Sisters, which shows how much they appreciate their kind and considerate care.