ST. WINIFRED'S SCHOOL.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume L, Issue 16606, 9 December 1924, Page 9

ST. WINIFRED'S SCHOOL.

BBEAKING-UP CEREMONY

Tiiere was a la:ye gathering of pareuU and friends of the pupils of St. Winifred's School at the Atcicom Hall last night, un the occasion of the annual break-up u'lTinuny and prize-day.

Mis Lordship the Bishop of Waiapu presented l the prises, and t.\prt>scd plea sure at being picmil at ihe function. vh'eh ma-iked fict ou'y the distribution i.f the prizes, but aim the breaking up for tin. holidays, tc which ali v.yrc looking forward. There was s'lduess on tlv'f occasion, however, as the Misys Webb. ho had «o capably conducted the .school iucc il;! inception, weie leaving i,n thei, return to England, which he v.as s-i". '■ou'd be deeply re.grcited by parents and pupils alike. No doubt the .Misses Webl •ere glad to bo rcturnng Uotue, Kng'and >v;:s always England, and had a eal'' lu.- her sont and dauglittjs. Ue ">'as .onfideut that when they icturueil to the unpleasant weather conditions el' England they v ould often think of New Zealand, and the pupils who llit'j wjre doubtleta so sorry io leave. The day marked tiieX-losing of the. lilst chapter of trie history of tlie school. The first chapter in any work was alv.jys -t iliflieult one. and when the Misses Weblcame lo Gisborne there was no school building, nor wci o theiT any pujii'.-■. in

''•jet. Hit re v.as no St. Winifred's. The\ •nut! all agree that the Misees Webl. weio respensib'e not onN- foi the iu •itiguration of the, school, but also for the '.;ood name which currifd, and when the time came when the later chapters of the school's history were written their names would always bo associated with il.

One. great quest ion faced the school, continued the speaker, namely, wa* it k> be merely an institution for preparatory pupils, or was il to be one of the best secondary schools in the Dominion? Speaking on behalf of the Diocese, he

was not satisfied with it being the former, and the prineii als had expressed be same opiiron. Without the co-opera. lion of tho peoji'c of Gisborne-. however. •t could uexer be more than ;i p'ojiara lory school, if they continued lu .lake iheir girlf, from the school jus! at Ihe eri'icul time when they were progressing well and we.'c taking a<n interest in the chool. Thev had l a staff capable of con ducting as good a secondary school as any in the .Dominion, as was indicated l:v the fact that two girls bad sat for natiieuhitioii this year, and twelve woe

'••' sit next year. But that was where the difficulty arose. The science rnistro-s 'ia.d said that il was impossible to prepare the pupils fpr nratricu.'ation "'iiless they bud a laboratory, and that v.ould cost £450. If thev could not gel :t. laboratory they would have to close dov.ii St. Winifred's- as o secondary school. At the start. Hawkc's Bay bad assistetl, and bad given £ISOO, and Ihey looked tu Poverty Bay now to do something for the school. They must lane :i. laboratary, and ,ie was fjuite prepared at that moment to take £IOOO from anybody who wished to donate it. (Laugblcr.) Again, it was iiisential that they should purchase a section of land ui front, of the school. It they did this bv tne cud of the year they could have it for £IOOO. HaSvkc's Bay had offered £2OO, and they would havo to raiso the re.iniinder Dr. Wil'.iams had said that they acquired an isolation ward also, so that they wove facial with a grea; financial problem. It would be a most regrettable thing to have to turn such a [promising secondary school back into a primary one for lack of sufficient funds, ;md he appealed to the parents to see that such an occurrence was not necessitated.

His Luidship witheo the M'sse- Webb i most enjoyable' t;ip. thanking them for ail they had done for the, school, and wishing thtm every success in the future. Ha congratulated l the piize-winn.ers and those who had tried but had not gained a. prize, aud pointed out that there was ;iii immeasurably gicaler prize to be gained—a piize that could be won by all who tried. He also referred in eulogistic terms to the sterling qualities of Miea Stan well, who was unfortunately unable to be present, and made mention of her numerous excellent testimonials from prominent, English educationalists. Miss Webb, on behalf of herself and her sister, Miss Dorothy Webb, suitably responded, expressing thanks for the kind remarks made about them. Silo assured them that, although they must return to England, they would always think ol the Liisbome children.

Reporting on the year's progress.. Miss Webb remarked that at the end of last year there bad been fifty pupils, while this year there were sixty-three. Tho Government inspectors had visited the school early iir the year, and had upproved of the work done, especially in the English, reading, and French c-asstis. Eight pupils uf (he school bad seemed proficiency etirtifieates. Although this examination was. not of very great benefit in a course of education such as was followed iu this school, the girls hud sat for it. so as to examination experience. They were very pleased at the result when the school had entered in the choir section at the recent Competitions, the credit for which was due entirely lo her sister. Miss Dorothy Webb. Miss Webb pointed out that the parents were far too generous, and urged them to stop the worthless pleasures which they allowed their children to indulge in. and which the latter were rapidly coming to regard as tho only things worth striving for. !>ho pointed out that they should encourage the children to seek pleasure in their work, and iu simpler and more tivery-day pleasures. They should try to make the children feel that their school work was of primary importance. To assist with the training of the pupils the parents should support the teachers' opinions and instructions. Miss Webb also urged thu girls leaving school to give a little time each day lo their studies, as it would help them on greatly in life. To Hie girls leaving for other schools she pointed out that thoy should always remain loyal to their, old school. Miss Webb concluded by -once more expressing her regret at leaving the district and by again (hanking the parents for their beautiful gifts lo herself and her sister. She pointed out that the best gift of all that tin: parents could give Ihein would be tu continue helping to build up St. Winifred's, and they would then feel that their time spent in Gisborne bad not been wasted. Several dolightfu! vocal and dance items by the pupils of the .school helped to make the evening il pleasant one. The dance items were, "Wc Won't Go Home Till Morning." bv the kindergarten and form I. ; "Sellengcr's Round" and "Galopcde," by forms 11. aud TIL : and "flutheiring Peascods," "Biack Nag" aud "Jenny Plucks Pears," bv the s"niors. Before the performance of the dances Miss Dorothy Webb explained that tbey were characteristic Eup.lish folk-dances, •and had been included in the curriculum so ;is to revive this art. They were dances of the most bea'lh-giving type, and were valuable both from the standpoint of education and physical culture. Carols were rendered by the school choir as follows: "Carol. Sweetly Carol," "Come to tbe Manger." "We Three

Kings of Orient, arc," Lu'lalie." "La Ballade de JesusrL'hrisl.'' "Good King Weueu biN," end part songs "Oh ! Hush Thee. My Babie." and "Forty Years On" were also contributed by the choir. The prize list "as as follows: Divinity: Form V 1... -loan Crawford; form V., Sallie Cotlcrill : form IV.. Belly Coleman; form 111., Joeclyu Lusher; form 11., Evelyn Barns-Graham; foiui 1., Peggy Gunn. English: Jean Samson. Winnie BarnsGraliam,, Patricia Lusher, Joan Maekwy. Beading: Beiys Ball, Hazel Kinder, Mollie Smith, Peggy■Gunij.

French: Seniors, Joan Crawford; form IV., Patricia Lusher; form 11L, Elsa Scott. History: Joan Crawfo:d, Sallie Cottcril!. Mai re Roberts, Joan Morris, Valorie Barker. Valerie Cox. Arithmetic: Colcen Blackburn, Yvonne Levv'ey, Joan Morris, Mn.garet Lawric, Shona Williams, Phyllis Hudson. Geography : Jean Sanisou. Yvonne Levvey. Joan Mackay, Margaret Lawric, Antoinette Dunlon

Science: J'euni Samson, Patricia Lusher. Nature study: Jocclyn Lusher, Hilary Darker, Antoinette Dnnlop. Drawing: Joan Morris, Evelyn BarnsGraham, Shona Williams.

Spucial prizes: Church doctrine, Jean Samson; music, J. Richardson. Valeric Barker; Valerie Cox; reading, Ngaive Skcet; nei.dlcwuik, J. Richardson; help as student teacher. M. Bourgeois.