GENERAL NEWS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20638, 9 February 1929, Page 10

GENERAL NEWS.

The first council meeting for the year of the Dunedin Free Kindergarten Association was held in First Church classroom on Thursday afternoon, when the following members werq present:—Mesdames Phillips (chair), Batham, W. Evans, Ewing, Garth Galloway, Gilkinson, G. Mac Lean, Shahd, T. K. Sidey, Talverner, Waddell-Smith, Wright, ond Miss Scott. Apologies for absence were received from Lady Allen, Mesdames Brickell, Bundle, Halsted, Hudson, and Hutchison. Six months’ leave of absence was granted to Mrs Brickell, convenor of the Education Committee. Miss Z. Croft's resignation from the directorship of North-East Valley Kindergarten was received with regret. The following staff appointments were ratified:—Miss Gwen Saunders, promotion to directorship of North-East Valley; Miss Irene Heywood, permanent director at Kaikorai; assistants, Miss Hutton, Miss Wilkie, Miss Beth .Saunders, Miss Nancie Desmoulins. There are' five junior students enrolled. The kindergartens opened on February 5 with good attendances. St. Kilda Kindergarten has removed temporarily to the Boy Scouts' Hall, Victoria road, St. Kilda. Accounts amounting to £lO3 were passed for payment.

The monthly meeting of the Otago Labour Council was held in the Trades Hall on Thursday evening, when the president, Mr F. Jones, presided over a large attendance of delegates. The discussion centred around, the policy of the education authorities in changing the school books so frequently. The schools reopened this week after the Christmas holidays, and several of the delegates with children of the school age registered their disapproval of the manner in which it was alleged the Education Department was burdening parents with unnecessary expense. The opinion was expressed that if all the school books were issued from the Government Printing Office they would not be changed so frequently. Several unions wrote requesting the council to reaffiliate with the Trades and Labour Councils’ Federation, and thus help to give effect to the merger between the Trades and Labour Councils’ Federation and the New Zealand Alliance of Labour. It was decided that the next meeting of the council be a special meeting for the purpose of considering the requests of the unions.