ST. MARY'S SCHOOLBOYS.

Marlborough Daily Times, Volume X, Issue 246, 23 December 1887, Page 3

ST. MARY'S SCHOOLBOYS.

Tho following is Dr Muller’s repou of St. Mary’s School I have examined St. Mary’s Catholic Boys’ School, and was pleased with the result. There were 75 on tho roll,. and G 1 presented themselves for exam’nation. Their behaviour was oxeeedmgly good, and their cleanly and tidy appearance culled forth my approbation. The way they took their places, and the quiet way they obeyed the commands of their teachers, showed an excellent state of discipline, and reflected great credit on the master, Mr M’Cabo. Inc schoolroom is lofty and well and although tho day was warm, I did not aeol any inconver’ence from the heat. The room is also well supplied with maps. I may say that from the second to the sixth classes inclusively, the questions given were taken from tho Standard Text Questions of the Government Education Board for the relative standards. Tho Preparatory Class, containing six, were exnrr'ncd in reading from the First Royal Reader. They <?'d fairly well, one hoy veiy gcod. In epebmg they did better, three spe ,, ‘ug very correctly. In waiting words and fig cos upon the slate, they all did well, some extremely so. In arithmetic they answered : n the multiplication table to three times, and their answers wero very good. Tho First Standard, containing eight pup : ’s, were exair'ned in reading, writing, spo ’ ; ng, arithmetic and drawing. Tho read ug was good and tho spollmg excellent, not one in tho class making a in’stake. Inc writmg was variable, but some good, as was the case with the drawing. Ju aiitbmetio they were veiy good ; in mi 'tip’mation of five figees by ono figure seven worked the sen correctly. Tho Second Standard, contain"ng true pupils, were exsu ‘ued in reading, writing, spelling, arithmetic, grammar, geography and drawing, l.io reading from the second Royal Reader was only n dd’ing, but the spel’ ug was very good. Ine writing was not so good, rateably, as in somo of the other classes. In arithmetic they were very good. In simple addition they all worked the sen, and 1 simple division six worked it pe,j.ectly. In grammar they gave the pairs of speech in a sentence correctly. In geography, pointing out places on the map of the world, and writing on slates the names of oceans, seas and bays they did fairly. I may hero say that the d-aw.ng taught in all the branches is outline alone, such as chairs and other articles iu domestic use. 'lnc third standard, conta mg twelve E :, s, wero exam‘ued iu reading, spelj, writing, arithmetic, grammar, geography, histo; y, and drawing. The reading from tho tl’rd Royal Reader was variablo, tho spe” ug was very good, only ono mistake be’ng made. Ine writing was variablo but gencra”y good. In arithmetic, iu a sum worked by addition and substruction, a ll worked it correctly. In grammar, pie! ug out adjectives and pronouns in a sentence, ten answered without a fault. In bistoiy, writing cn elato tho chief events of the I .idor period, somo answered well. In geography, paining the provincial d’stripts of hiew Zealand and their chief towns, the lrkes of Europo, tho course of tho river Seine, and what they knew of Bathurst, Copenhagen, Gorald’uo, all answered well. The' • drawing was generally good. The fourth standard was the largest class, and contained seventeen pup : ’s. They wero examined in read" ig, spc’”ng, writing, arithmetic, grammar, geography, history, and drawing. They read in the fourth Royal Rerder fairly well, and in spelling not one of them failed. Ine writing, as is always found, was variable , somo very good. Jn arithmetic they forked hills of parcels, without mal. ng liny mistakes. Grammar, parsing words in sentences and comparison of adjectives and forming the possessivo plure l *. In geography they drew a map of Australia, jrnrl ‘ng the moi I tains, into’ ’gently—tkoy answered intelbgently. In history, they wrote a short account of the Conquest of Wales : a” showed inteVgonee, wh"e some wore remarkably wc v v lUen, the language being good and we’ l connected. draw ing was not so good as it ought to ’%ve been. The Fifth Standard contained eight pupils. They were examined in reading, Spelling (with meanings), wilting, arithmetic, grammar, geography, history, and drawing. The rent” 'g from the Fifth Royal Reader was only Huddling; the sped nig was good, o y one mistake beii.g made. The writing was variable, some better than others. In arithmetic, a difficult sum ;n simple interest was given, and a! 1 worked it eoircotly. In grammar, correcting sentences arid giving reasons, they all answered fa' ly. In geography, the question “ What do you know of Ajatcio. Malaeun. Coii'u ?” all their answers were good. Iu history, “ How was Dim' >k uuquTcd by the English, and how lost their t tswers were veiy good, and written in good language. Thu drawing was not very good, only

WJBftble. iSixth Stand" rd contained but ~ ill roe pupils. T 1 ey were eiMinincd iii read'Ug, spiil'ng 'with meaning.-!, writ:ig, nr’ ' luetic, ymnunn f, geography, history "id drawing. The reading f 'om ilie Sixtli I>ook was fa'-, and the spelling ami meaning’s good. The writing was exceedingly good. In a ’thmetic, a diffi-

cult sum in compound proportion given ; a 1 workedi -4 two (piito correctly. IngTamnuir they were asked to give the meaning and derivation of contradict, counteiinriid mid counteract, and to make sentences e .ntaining thcs>* words. I T sneeteded, aid the sentences were well expressed. In geography tidy were asked •• What countries are noted for expel til y lump, indigo and pipper and “ What olmct gi<,o ice ep Ipq surface of mountainous

countries?” and their answers showed great intelligence. In history they were asked “What do you know of Sir Christopher Wren, S> Howland Hill and Sir John M ere l” A’’ their answers were very satisfactory, and were written n good grammar. In drawing they acquitted themselves very creditably. In conclusion I can safely state that I was well pleased with the examination of the school, which reflects great credit on the master, who evidently has his heart 'i the work. But he labors under a great disadvantage from the irregPar attendance of tliu pup'ls, a great number of whom have not attended tho prescribed number of days. There is excellent material to work upon, and the school contains a number of fine, inte I’,gent 1 ’ , gent hoys ; and had they attended mure regularly my “ passable* ’’ and “ midd ngs would have been turned into “ good ” and “ very good.” Under tho circumstances i ’ic resu't is high’y creditable.”