SCHOOL COMMITEES’ ANNUAL REPORTS

Manawatu Times, Volume LIV, Issue 6884, 13 April 1929, Page 6

SCHOOL COMMITEES’ ANNUAL REPORTS

For Householders’ Meetings i ! HOKOWHITU SCHOOL

The annual report of tlie Hokowhitu committee to be submitted to the householders by the retiring oirdirman {Mr. T. J. Meatley) states " that during the year the cost of the general upkepp and cleaning of the grounds and playing area which had been in the past done by paid labour, had this year been carried out to a large extent by the pupils of the upper standards, for which help the committee was very grateful. The basketball area, which had been the committee ’a great aim throughout the year, had now been completed, with the result that a ground 230 x 75 feet was now available. 1

The actual cost of this work was in the vicinity of £SOO and had been carried out to the entire satisfaction of the Wanganui Education Board’s officials who had assisted the committee in every way. The committee’s thanks were duo to all who nad assisted by voluntary labour and contributions which had been the means of bringing the work to a-successful finish. During the year, a special effort had been made to procure baths for the school. and with this end in view, a deputation from the school had waited on the Borough Council, with the ob•jeet of securing a suitable baths_ site on the adjoining reserve. The deputation had received a very sympathetic hearing from the Council, which had granted the. committee the required amount ofiiland at-a peppercorn rental. In this and in other-matters, the Committee desired to appreciation of the Council’s' co-opera-tion.

An up-to-date lawn-mower had been purchased, and a bell presented by Messrs. Abraham and Williams, Ltd., was filling a long-felt want. During the year, the Huia Social Club had been formed, which had undertaken to run socials for the benefit of the school. The club had been of great assistance and the committee was greatly indebted to it for its help. as also to the ladies’ committee,;with Mrs. G. Lane as chairwoman. Scholarships and Sport.

On the field of sport, the school had upheld;the hest. traditions and had been successful.* in winning the senior B Bugby s V i; -' .v ’ -• Arbor DnV and Anzac Day had been fittingly marked, Mr..J. H. Stevens being the fepeaker bn the first occasion .and: Lieut. Joyce on the secdha 4 'i ’-V .4. \ *-- x pupria had attended Dr. Gunn’sX hpalth camp at Turakiqa and ha‘d • received great benefit from theii treatment. : The committee, had visited the camp mad had been shown over it t^ : theld,cietbr.''fe ‘ ThefpreSitot-roll number of the school Was’ 354 and' the average 315) ”-A good deal of sickness had been prevalent during the year, which had been responsible for fluctuations in the attendance. During the year, an extra classroom had been added to the school, which had relieved''much of the congestion in some of the class-rooms. The school had also been repainted, which had’‘considerably improved its outside appearance, while an extra bicjmlc shed had been erected. On the scholastic side, the school had been vefy successful, one scholar (Mas(ter/ Ralpjrjploliues) winning both a Bifie and,hi junior national scholarship. In Standhr,d- Vi;-)' a ifotal of. 35 but of 35 ’ &chmdated:;iiad secured. proficiency number of etMgStf-rbfA- "taken—place in the personnel of the-.staff during the year. Mr. H. T. MeCliine,-headmaster, had been appointed to the Nelson Central school and had been replaced by Mr. L. J. Plank. Mr. E.. Irwin had acted as ’relievihg; headmaster for a period. To the headmaster and staff, the committee its grateful thaj.ks for co-operation .during the year.

School Functions. The committee’s first attempt at running a fancy dress carnival had proved most successful, while special thanks were due to tlje‘‘headmaster and staff and the ladies'/who had assisted with: the function. " / . The. annual carnival, together with the Queen- Carnival* which had been run with the object of raising funds for swimming baths, had proved very successful from alb points of view. The report concludes with thanks to Messrs: Oram and Woodroofe, Palmerston North members of the Wanganui Education Board, and to members of the committee' for' "their co-operation during the year.

West End . The annual report of the West End committee to-be presented by the chairman (Mr. C.- H. Whitehead) states inter alia:— During the year the school had an average attendance of 370. The attendance for the year has been somewhat hindered by prevailing sickness. The school roll as at 28th February, was 354 .compared with.,4ol at the Same jjeridd of. 1928. v This shows a considefhlilb drop in pupils attending this school for which the Committee is unable to; account. The work of the scholars,,during the year has been very satisfactory. There were 30 proficiency ahd -5 competency certificates gained at , the annual examinations. The school was successful in their show entries gaining many honours. In the school did fairly well. In football, ’we reached the final of the Junior Competition losing to Hokowhitu 3 to nil. In basketball we reached the final, losing to Central in the play off. Zona Smith won the Old Pupils cup for the best all round sport (girls). George Shaw won the Old Pupils cup for the best all round sport (boys). Work Carried Out. Consequent on the > amount of sickness prevailing at the school last winter, and the school surroundings being in such a deplorable condition through the water lying in pools, the comnrttee deemed it their duty to alleviate

the situation by tho only means possible —concreting the whole of. the drill area. With this object in view, a house to house collection was made and a total of £lod.l7s. (id wns obtained which carried a government subsidy of the like amount. The committee wish to thank all those who helped by donations and otherwise to carry through this most worthy project. In all, about one thousand square yards of concreting was laid clown, and we have a very fine area where the children can gather and keep dry. The playing area is the next project requiring tho attention of the incoming committee. Some hundreds of yards of spoil has been carted on to this site by courtesy of the Borough council. This has been spread, but a great deal more requires to be done so that the whole of the area may be made level. The ladies’ committee has again to be thanked for the very arduous work it has done during the past year. As a result of the socials, they have run throughout tho year, and the garden party, the school funds have benefited to the amount of nearly £IOO. For a period of two years tho funds have been handed to us and we have utilised them for augmenting the general account. This has somewhat retarded the completion of the fund to provide swimming baths, but as the committee will not be requiring quite so much financial help in the immediate future, it is the intention of tne ladies’ committee to proceed with completion of the bath fund. With this object in view they are running their socials during the winter. A very sue-, cessful garden party was held which added to the bath fund a sum of £75 making the total of this fund nearly £SOO.

A-new piano- has-been purchased by the committee during the past year. From the time this school was opened, until the present year, wo have been indebted'to fhe . West End Anglican Sunday school for the u-SC of its piano which has always been at our disposal;- - " 4 The children’s ball which proved a fine social function netted a sum of £24 18s lOd. The annual picnic was held at the Esplanade. This proved a vory successful function. Nearly every child was able to attend, and the site chosen was an admirable one. Householders’ Meeting.

The committeemen representing the householders of West End, would appreciate the trust put in them much more fully, if tho annual meetings were better attended by the householders. The average householder does not fully realise the duties that a committeeman has thrust upon him during his term of- office. It is no light task, and one that entails , the giving up of a deal of valuable time.-.by all those serving on the.; comniittee. It would be very encouraging' to see good attendances of householders at., the annual meeting to show thatithey themselves are inferestcdiiii thpif.- i ’.ow|i : school. € Gur.'hchool museum)- started some few years ago) is griming slowly. There are many, exhibits which, are both interesting and.instructive to the children. These, have all. been donated ■eithef ‘ori.thrdhgh tho children, and a- great display comes from Niue Island, as gifts, from Mr. H. Hamilton, who was some time, first assistant at this- school, who still takes great interest in. his old schpol. The headmaster and the comtuitfee will at any time, appreciate donations for the museum, or historical pictures for the classrooms.

The report concludes with the committees’ thanks to Mr. F. W. Moore and his staff for their co-operation throughout the year, to Messrs M. H. Oram, and W. S. Woodroofc, members of the Wanganui Education board, to the' press, ltd, Mr. W. Hunter (hon. auditor).)Land to the scheM e-retaker, Mis. Phillips.,

.-.'Cdlleg'e Street The report" to be submitted to ths meeting of householders in the College street school district by Mr. S. W. Oliver, chairman, states:— ■■ The school buildings and grounds have been kept in good order by the headmaster, staff, scholars and caretaker, as far as the poor condition of the building would permit.

Anzac Day was fittingly celebrated and the excellent arrangements carried out were very much appreciated by the large assemblage. ■ A feature of the ceremony was the wonderful and affecting tribute paid by the children to the memory of those ’ gallant men who made the supreme sacrifice. During the year, two entertainments were held in aid of the school funds, one arranged by Misses E. and C. Kush and one by Mr. J. H. Runniclcs. Both these' entertainments were held in the Opera house find were financially successful and-our best thanks and appreciation arc duo to the Misses Rush and Mr Runniclcs. The annual picnic was held at Aslihurst. It was successful in every way, and shows that the decision to have the function nearer home' met with general approval. A piano was purchased under the favourable facilities offered by the Education department and is, we believe, quite a good investment. The old piano wo have decided to keep for the use of t’ha infant department. The annual bail was held in the Empire hall and proved a success in every way. The only drawback was the size of the hall and tho committee wishes to draw attention to the desirability of considering a larger building for the coming year. The new ground opposito the school has been taken in hand and at the present time it is being ploughed and levelled. It is our intention to make a plaving area find to that end we arc at present preparing a portion for a football ground. Also wo are having trenches dug to drain the stormwater. When this is accomplished, we nope to be able to have inter-sSliool matches played on our ground. The matter of school football jerseys has been under discussion and wo recommend to the incoming committee to purchase jerseys for the boys. . - • A" number of pupils attended tno health eamp at Turakina and were greatlv benefited. We "regret to report the loss through death of one of our teachers, Miss A. S. Dale. Miss Dale was a very ,efficient, kind and loving teacher. Wo greatly deplore her loss and extend to the j relatives our heartfelt sympathy. The committee has been unceasing in

its demands for a new school building, and to that end brought matters to a climax in February, when it called an indignation meeting of householders. In addition to the meeting being addressed by the committee, wo had to addvess us Mr. .T. A. Flash M.P. and M-. A. J. Graham, Mayor. At that meeting, a resolution was carried, asking the Education department to provide us with a new school. •Wo believe our efforts will Y.otm be rewarded and we have reason to believe that in the very near future, a new building will be erected on the new grounds opposite our present school. In conclusion, we wish to thank the Borough council, for the lrce Use of chairs, and for tho free use of the swimming baths during the season- Wc wish to express our thanks and appreciation for the many courtesies extended to us by Mr. Swiribourn, our headmaster and his staff, the relations existing between us being most cordial. Wc also wish to thank .Mr. Sandford, our painstaking caretaker, and to the many ladies and gentlemen who- have assisted us in many ways during the year, not forgetting the ladies’ committee and Mr. Hunter, our hon. auditor.