Walker Street School.

Otago Witness, Issue 2649, 21 December 1904, Page 38

Walker Street School.

The breaking-up ceremony in connection with the Walker Street Kindergarten, one of the Dunedin Free Kindergarten Association's schools,, "took place •at St. Andrew's Church Hall on Friday morning in the presence of a good attendance of parents and friends. The function was in every respect a thoroughly enjoyable one. Mrs W. H. Reynolds (president of the association) presided. A very interesting programme, occupying about an hour to go through, was contributed by something over a score of little mites, among whom were quite a number of Assyrian children, and the children appeared all to thoroughly enjoy their part of fhe function, wiich consisted in singing and marching and playing games, and in simple wand and other exercises to music. Particularly enjoyable to those present was, the manner in which the children played two vor three games, one of which represented a blacksmith at .work, while another was entitled " The Little Gardener," and another " Spring Song." The programme concluded with a Ghristmas song by the children and the singing of " God save the King." The pupils went through their work under the efficient guidance of Misses Goldsmith and Gow. At the conclusion of the ceremony those present had .the opportunity of inspecting th.c great variety if work done by the pupils during the year, and found the results of the handiwork of the little ones full t>f interest. At the finish of the programme Mr Arnold, M.H.R., was called on to say a few words.

, Mr Arnold, -in a -brief and' appropriate address, said all must agree that the exercises the children had- gone through showed the excellence .of the training they had received during the short time they had been in the school. An important point of view- from which to regard kindergarten work was "the point of view, and the future x>f the colony depended not so much on those who "should come to it from elsewher-3 liere&fter aa upon tne children of the colony ; hence the necessity that they should be trained up to occupy positions of responsibility in the future with greater ability, force of character, and energy than their predecessors, so that in their day they might accomplish what .we could not accomplish in ours. speaker then went on to refer to the energy of Mrs Reynolds, which had ultimately resulted in £500 being placed by Parliament on, the • Estimates for the encouragement of kindergarten work throughout the colony, this being, however, only in the way of pound-for-pound subsidy. Although the whole of the colony was included, Christchurch was the only other centre that had a Free Kindergarten Association, and as there they were not very likely to make application for portion of the vote, there was only needed a liberal subscribing_of funds by Dunedinites in the way of an equal subsidy of £500, and this. with the vote, would make a total of £1000 available for the purposes of the Free Kindergarten Aesqciation, which, as they were aware, could make splendid use of it. Schools such as they saw that morning should be conducted in every centre of their population, snef were needed in large suburbs like South Dunedin and Cavereham, and doubtless in the hill boroughs also. It had been a great pleasure that morning to see tke children- going through physical exercises unaware, apparently, that they were engaged in anything more . -than a game. He congratulated the committee on the most excellent ,work done in the kindergarten, the teachers on ithe results of their patience and zeal, wished all a merry Christmas and happy New Year, and trusted that the future work of the Free Kindergarten Association would be even more successful than previously. — (Applause.)

Mrs Reynolds then took the opportunity of thanking those who had com© to see the work of the kindergarten, and mentioned that next year she hoped to see a combined kindergarten break-up, which would force itself irresistibly on public notice. On b&half of Vhe committee she begged to thank the teachers for their splendid work during the year.