NEW SCHOOL HALL WANTED

Southland Times, Issue 23675, 25 November 1938, Page 12

NEW SCHOOL HALL WANTED

FACILITIES AT TECHNICAL COLLEGE i The need for a properly-planned school hall at the Southland Technical College was mentioned by the principal (Mr C. A. Stewart) in his report for November, presented last evening to a meeting of the Technical College Board of Managers. The college had a hall only because a home was needed for the public museum, was a statement made in the report.

The report stated:— “The annual school entertainment was staged this year in our own hall on two evenings. The receipts totalled about £36, which must be considered very satisfactory. In preparation for the entertainment there are distinct advantages in using our own hall, but no one can consider it really suitable for our purposes. Meantime, our other needs are so urgent—for classrooms, art rooms, administrative offices, library, staff room—that we have not emphasized the need of a properly-planned school hall. Yet, when we see the large and commodious halls provided for many schools, and other amenities that we have never had. we cannot but feel that there has been inequitable discrimination in the past We have a hall at all only because a home was needed for the public museum, and because the department needed _ a large room in which to conduct its examinations. We still have the museum, and for many years we had the inconvenience of having our hall used for some weeks annually by crowds of outside candidates for public examinations. For our school of 740 pupils the hall provides seating arid floor space for about 400; even for our morning assembly the electric light has to be used. Ventilation and acoustic properties leave much to be desired.

“For three days, in the week before last, the school had departmental visitors in Miss D. H. McKenzie, B.H.Sc., Mr G. V. Wild, 8.A., B.Sc. (Agric.), inspectors, Mr O. H. E. Yates, M.A., acting inspector, and Mrs E. E. Boocock, supervisor of dressmaking and needlework. Unfortunately, I had to be absent that week, and so was unable to confer much with the visitors. I gather, however, that thev were definitely sympathetic and helpful in their attitude to teachers, and that they left a very friendly impression. Last week Mr F. C. Reynard, B.Sc., the newlyappointed Superintendent of Technical Education, spent a day and a-half with us; we had very profitable discussions on equipment, evening school supervision, courses of work, and various matters on which we have had correspondence with the department. As in the past we had evidence of the goodwill and confidence of the departrhent’s officers towards us.”