Central School Committee Meets

Manawatu Times, Volume LIX, Issue 7460, 10 May 1934, Page 3

Central School Committee Meets

• Mr. AY. G. Black presided over a meeting of the Central School Committee, there being also present Messrs. F. G. Major, D. Dickie, AV. Garden, L. Simmonds, A. E. Kerslake, G. Farrar, and' AA r . H. Cadwallader (secretary). In.a report the headmaster said that at the end of the last quarter there had been on. the roll 787 pupils, but with tho passing of the holidays 12S pupils had left,.including the pupils who had completed their Standard 6 year. The average school weekly toll' last term Avas 743, and the average attendance had been 657. To have only that number at school out of 743 on the roll was very low, but it could be-accounted for by the prevalence of . measles. The headmaster said that ho had applied to tho Education Board to have this term exempted for • capitation purposes. The Council of Christian Congregations had decided to commence the Bible lessons on the first Thursday after the holidays. Tho lessons would be of 20 minutes’ duration, and would commence at 9 a.m. Tho matter was not mandatory, and any parent who did not desire his or her child to attend the lessons could say so and the child would then be given . ordinary school work during the period of' the lessons. The lessons would bo confined to the pupils of Standards 4, 5 and 6. The AYanganui Board advised the appointment of. Mr .A. B. Lithgow as an assistant.' He would commenco his duties on May 21. On the motion of Mr. Major, seconded by Mr. Cadwallader, it was decided to authorise the expenditure of £lO to replenish the class library, £7 for tho pupils’ reference library, £5 for tho teachers’ reference library, and £7 for scionco apparatus. . The replenishing of the libraries'was long overdue. The money would bo spent in the course of the financial year.

A discussion took place on the matter of supervision of cars parked on the street outside the school ■when dances were held. It was stated that patrons of the dances would feel more confident if they know that the cars wero patrolled. It was decided that the matter be left in the hands of the chairman who is to make inquiries as to the possibility of having the area patrolled as similar areas aro patrolled in the city area. It was decided to leave to tho delegates to tho School Committees’ Association tho question whether they should voto for or .against the proposal that representation bo made to the Government that the minimum age for school children should be lowered to livo years. Condemnation of the fact that rail transport for school children was subsidised and no subsidy given to road transport was expressed by Mr. W. G. Black. Children who lived in the towns could easily attend high schools but when their parents lived in the country they were penalised to tho extent that if their homo was not near a railway they had to pay the whole, cost of transport. Tho present system favoured some aud drew a distinction. The people had been told that in order to improvo conditions they should get more to resido in tho country, but it was no wonder people did not want to go because of the conditions like that. Mr. Cadwallader: One subsidy is a book entry; the other is a deiinite payment. ' Mr, Garden said he did not think that the Manawatu-Oroua School Committees' Association would get any further with tho representations for subsidies to be given road transport. Mr. Black was of the opinion that the matter would merit a serious reply within a year. The committee’s delegates were given no definite instructions as to whether they should vote for or against the proposal to make representations to tbe Government for subsidies on road transport, it being left to their discretion.