WAITAKI HIGH SCHOOLS.

North Otago Times, 9 December 1910, Page 4

WAITAKI HIGH SCHOOLS.

As mentioned yesterday, owing to the length of the reports and prize lists wo were unable to give oven an outline of the speeches and the proc:eiinga generally, The functWwas a happy one, marred oMy. by the heavy heating of rain on the roof, which made at times such a noiss that the voiceß of the speakers were completely drowned. The ralri' was" Particularly heavy when -Miss Fergueon, Lady Principal of the Girls' School, rose to read'her report, and she was compelled to desist, thereport Weing 1 taken' as read! and handed to the press for publication, The same course was fallowed in connection with the report of Mr Milner, Rector of the' Boys' School. But n 0 one' was in the least depress-. cd by these circumstances; on the contrary, there was' a feeling of general elation for all were • conscious of the urgent need of rain,. and welcomed it as a g r£ at blessill* The prizes were kindly distributed by Mrs St. J. Buckley; and ell the recipients were warmly applauded as they came forward to receive at her gracious hands the rewards of honest work in diverse directions, special recognition being made of those whoa performances lisd been particularly meritorious, The proceedings were opened by the school's capital orchestra playing, under Mr Hurry's baton, a spirited march. Later on the orchestra also contributed another item, the playing of the boys 'being, highly appreciated,

Thj Chairman said lie regretted that Mr Sutherland was unable to attend the fraction, 'but this was for him the busiest time of the year. He read apologies from Sir H. J. Miller and the Rev. R. J. Porter. The year had been a very successful one-even more successful than its predecessor. There tad been, a record attendance at -both the schools. The Board had in each school a staff in which they had tki fullest confidence, and at no time had the relations between the heads and their staffs been Of a more sunicable nature. Spewing of the Girls' School, he said that the time had come when they should consider the question of providing a 'boarding establishment for ths girls. The matter had alrea'dy been before tile Board, and it was for the public to say whether it should be provided,-

Dr HigM, said he was obliged tg the Board o! Governors and tlio Rector tor the opportunity afforded hjpi for inspecting the schools, and learning fit first hand something of the work 'done. The Boys' School, had eanK/d a Dominion reputation, • which wus 'founded on a, ? olill bas ' j ' He had sat on the same bench as Mr Milner at tlinterbury College,.', They <had all felt that Mr Milner would mate a name, and 'after inspecting the school he was satisfied that the anticipation was more than realised. The only permanent personal influence wielded by the teacher was through the intellectual side. There was at the Waitaki School this imprint of individuality, not only intellectually, but in the physique and, morale. There was the preparation for complete living, and other authorities expressed the same thought in other words, The school was tliej nursery of life, and its purpose was to fit men to become citizens with a full appreciation oE the rights and duties of citizenship. Work and knowledge were the key t 0 a , complete life, and the two should not'to, divorced. If the technical! sought' only tcJ develop skill they would not contribute t 0 the improvement of our industries, but would simnly turn out superior mechanics for a stationary industry. On the other hand, if the general education did not eventuate in skill it would give a scholastic clasr. wh 0 could; only look helplessly on at the progress of an industrial life in which they had no part. AH work must be based on knowledge, but in the process of acquiring, knowledge work played an important part. It seemed to him clear.that the Waitai School was proceeding' wisely, rooting out only the bad and preserving the good, Speaking of the needs of girls in this respect, lie said that In Cliristclmrch a scheme had been adopted for establishing „ domestic hostel foi the 'domestic training of girls, and- it was hoped.to. raise domestic work to the level o! a profession in the same manner as n.ursjng, Greek and Latin and mathematics w°uld not darry far in relation to industry and commerce, What must be known ware the salient facts of our civilisation, and we must look'to history, geography and economics-subjects that were occupying more and more o[ the hcliool course in countries thsit were '.advancing educationally. After elaborating this theme, Dr Hight spok« of the subject? named as distinctly humanistic and practical, and said that by applying! this test he found that the Waitaki Schools were 'doing sound work in training for citizenship and general social service, He advised'the boys and girls to connect their school knowledge with their life work and civic duties. The boys of the High Schools enjoyed fl great privilege that only ji comparatively few toys in the .Bmpirn enjoyed, and, the hoys $1 Waitaki possessed an advantage in the matter of home Ufa that no other 250 boys in the. Dominion possessed. He concluded by again expressing his great gratification as being afforded the opportunity ' of visiting, the Dominion pd the Waitaki High Schools, Mr Milner, Rector, in an! excellent speech, made public declaration of his thankg to tlie" .many friends of the school, and acknowledged the whole-hearted service p[ the staff. The success of the. school had not been due to sn infinitesimal atom of

a Rector, hut to the unity i. with which tho Board, the staff ahd tlio boys, had worked together. He haul at one time thought that the popularity, of the Boys' 'School as a boarding siminiary might prove only a flejtlnfl fancy, but-each year had proved it was lasting. He felt proud of the commendation ', of Dr Bight, who was one of'tha foremost, men, in the scholastic world of New Zeaj land—a man who was jyiallfied. to fill the. position of professor in .'several directions in any university in the Empire.' They did. not attach great importance to preparing boys for the annual scholastic examinations of the Dominion, though in that respect the school had been successful, The main aim was to e.'ii' he hoys for good social life, to j-ive them an interest in other things than learning, to ma&e them strong physically as well as. mentally, and to prepare them to live upright, us-ful, and drem lives. In taking that course they were doing something more than Was necessary for mere examinations ; they were miking good citizens, capable-ot taking a n intelligent interest in all the aflairs of life. The Board of Governors had been very good ' to him, and had given him all he hoi asked for, but j still he wanted more. First, lie wanted to 3ee additional accommodation provided for boarder;, and that in the form of separate establishments, so that, the care and responsibility might be distributed over several masters. Then he would like trj see , a large hall erected, and other improvements. These might be visions of the future, but he hoped that he would never cease to have visions of progress. Ho concluded by thanking the boys for the aid they had given to him and saying that he was deeply grateful to the .staff and the Governors • ior their cordial support.

On the motion of Mr J. M. Brown a vote of thanks was. accorM with cheers, to Mrs Buckley and Dr Hight. Similar compliments were paid to the staff, on the motion of Mr J. Mitchell, and to the' Board of Governors on the motion of the Hon. G. Jones, The proceeding terminated with the National Anthem.