KAIKORAI SCHOOL

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23335, 29 October 1937, Page 2

KAIKORAI SCHOOL

EXHIBITION OF WORK EXCELLENT ART DISPLAY There was an excellent attendance of parents and friends at the exhibition of children's work held at the Kaikorai School yesterday afternoon. The display covered all phases of the work in the class room and gave an insight into the chances afforded the pupils to display their originality and follow their natural inclinations. The exhibits were arranged in groups, each group being the work of one form. The most striking exhibits were in the art section, where the children had been allowed full play of their ideas. The drawings and paintings had a clarity and perspective remarkable for such young artists. One noticeable feature was the evident appeal of typically

modem subjects, such as motor cars and aeroplanes, to the children. Other forms of art work, including pictures made of coloured paper, crayon work, and examples of printing, handwriting and mapmaking, were also on view. In the original poetry section there were remarkable examples of the natural grasp of rhyme and metre possessed by some of the children. Original playettes and illustrated short stories were a feature of this section.

One interesting innovation was the system of book preparation in which the children had been allowed to make scrap-books on some favourite subject. Many of the books were indicative of the engineering interest inherent in most children, but they covered a wide variety of subjects ranging from "Norway" to " Famous Wrestlers." In the handwork section there was a comprehensive display of woodwork, basket work, and sewing. Several boys were demonstrating their working models constructed from meccano parts, while another lad was in charge of an electric coil and battery. Various exhibits such as rug-making, " sampler " pictures, and bamboo-cane work, amply de-

monstrated the degree of proficiency attained by some of the more advanced students.

If the high standard of the work on display is taken as a criterion, it certainly appears that the system of making the class work a pleasure for the pupils by allowing them a freer hand to follow up their natural interests and inclinations is an undoubted success. The pupils of the school are to be congratulated on their excellent display, which was obviously the result of many months of preparation. During the afternoon many of the visitors availed themselves of the opportunity to inspect the classes at work and to see the improvements which are being made to the school.