Feilding Primary Schools

Manawatu Times, Volume 60, Issue 54, 6 March 1935, Page 3

Feilding Primary Schools

MEETINGS OF COALMITTEES. The Alanchestcr Street School Committee met at Feilding on Alonday night, AU-. G, J. Fitzpatrick (chairman) presiding. There were also present: Messrs. J. Campbell, E. P. Hoskiug, G. Watts, A. K. Robertshaw (headmaster) and Alesdames S. ATcDowall, K. Ross and P. G. Guy. In his report:, the headmaster stated that the roll stood at 327; (55 children had withdrawn and 51 had been admitted, and tlic average attendance for the past fortnight was 292. There was •a good deal of influenza in the school district and this was affecting the attendance. The headmaster further reported on requirements at the school.

The committee decided to ask the Wanganui Education Board for a special grant of £5 to replace windows which had been maliciously broken by some unknown persons. The board will bo.asked to replace tho unsanitary wash basins in tho boys’ department. Approval was expressed of the headmaster’s scheme-of individual towels and to abolish the communal towels at the school. Material for the handwork classes and for the' infant department was authorised to be purchased. Regarding religious instruction in the school, the chairman reported he had been interviewed by Rev. E. O. Blamircs representing the ministers of religion, when he was informed tho ministers would be willing to arrange for each one to take month about to visit the school one day a week and give religious instruction. The headmaster stated he had discussed the matter also with two of the ministers. Tho committee discussed the whole question at length and eventually tho following motion was carried: “That Air. Blamircs be informed that the committee is entirely satisfied with the present religious exercises as carried out by the headmaster, which include Bible reading, and do not think it necessary for tho ministers of religion to visit the school for tho purpose of giving further religious instruction.”

The Manawatu-Oroua School Committees’ Association wrote forwarding a copy of the Religious Exercises in Schools Bill and asked for the committee's views. A motion that the committee was not opposed to the Bill was lost. The secretary was asked to send a letter of thanks to tho Alayor (Air. 0. E. Taylor) for his donation of £1 Is and to inform him that the. gift had been devoted to the cost of tho dux medal.

Air. O. Aldis was appointed hon. audi tor for the committee’s accounts. Lytton Street School.

At the Lytton Street School Committee meeting Air. James Penney (chairman) presided. There were also present: Alessrs. R. Hcald, J. S. Tingey, T. Donaldson, C. V. Jewell, C. A. Batfr (headmaster) and Airs. AT. Green. The headmaster reported on the school for tho past month as follows: “The. roll at present is 274 and the average attendance for the month 242.6. During the past week the average attendance dropped to 237, sickness, accompanied by . high temperatures, gaining a hold on the children and accounting .for the drop. Various repairs were carried out to the school during the month. Boxes held by Aliss Gosnell for Dr. Barnardo's Homes were opened at the end of the year and yielded £2 ,16s Id. The entries for the forthcoming sports from tho school total close on 200. Aliss Cowan,- who was sent by tho board to act as additional assistant, left last week, having been transferred to another position. Eighteen new double desks have been provided by the board. These were long overdue and other rooms could do with similar provision.” Enlarging upon the report, the headmaster stated that the roll was about .10 down compared with that at the opening of the school in 1934. This state of affairs was common to all schools generally, and Air. Batt thought the case of Lytton street, in particular was not so bad.

Notification was received from the Wanganui Education Board that the Easter holidays would this year be from Friday, April 19, to Alonday, April 29.

From the board the committee also received an additional £9 by way of a. supplementary grant to the yearly allocation.

The chairman, in expressing the committee's thanks for the grant, said, the

amount was the largest it had yet received from tho board in a supplementary payment. Mr. Tiugey (district member of tho board) explained that this year the board has had a little in extra funds to allocate among tho schools in its area. Tho board further wrote giving particulars of its intention to subsidise the purchase of books for school libraries to the extent of 10s in the £ and the purchase of lawn mowers for school use by £2 for £l, the maximum subsidy iu tho latter case to be £2 10s. Both subsidies would be contingent upon the money used by the committco being locally raised.

The committee decided to avail itself of the library subsidy, but in the case, of the lawn mower it was agreed that expenditure in this direction at the moment was not warranted. The matter of applying for the library subsidy and selecting the books required was left in the hands of Mr. Batt.

Commenting on the headmaster's report, the chairman questioned whether the fall in the Toll was due to the nonadmission of live-year-old children. Mr. Batt said that -while very few primers had commenced school at the beginning of the year, he did not think the five-year-old question was tho cause, as that matter had adjusted itself by this time. The admission of children of bigger ages had been good and as a matter of fact ho had ondeavoured to stop some as they were from another school.

Mr. Tingoy considered that the iive-year-old question would not now be making much difference, and other members thought that it was more like ]y. to be a matter of small families affecting the roll in this particular year. Tho report was adopted. Mr. C. H. Tate was appointed auditor to the school for the year.

It was decided to apply to the Parents’ Association for the money raised at the various school functions to be placed in the charge of the committee and used as required for school needs.