PRIMARY EDUCATION

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 64, Issue 4561, 17 April 1942, Page 5

PRIMARY EDUCATION

THE TE AWAMUTU SCHOOLS HEADMASTER’S REPORT AN INSPIRING RECORD The report of the Headmaster of the Te Awamutu Primary Schools, Mr N. F. Rigby, was submitted to the householders’ meeting on Wednesday night as follows: “School Roll.—The number of pupils attending the school at the date of my arrival on September 3. 1940, was 532. The year 1940 closed with a roll of •577, At the opening of the school at the beginning of 1941 the number was 534. By the end of the year it had reached 596, the highest on record. This year we opened with a roll of 536, and at present it stands at 570 a high roll for this time of year. At the present rate of admission the roll should be well over 600 at the end of the year. “School Management and Efficiency. —The Headmaster and 13 assistants comprise the staff. Last year there were no changes in the staff except in the Standard 1 class. Here there' were at least six changes of teachers, which of course had a detrimental effect on the work of the pupils. The general efficiency of the school has been very favourably reported on by the Inspectors, and the' great help given by the Committee was also commented on by them. The work of the school is going along very smoothly. School Maintenance.—The School Committee has been very active in seeing that the buildings were kept in good repair and in making many improvements round the school. The painting of the interior of the brick building, which has been done recently, has a noticeably brightening effect on the class-rooms. The grounds are kept in very good order considering the area to be given attention. This year improvements to the banks have been made. They have been cut away to give a more gradual slope in order to facilitate mowing. Excellent work has been done at the school in the digging of trenches for the. children in case of air-raid. We are indebted to the band of country workers who so willingly gave their services for this purpose. The old building in Roche Street is still with us and likely to be for some time now. We did have hopes of having four classrooms built on to the Infant School this year, but I think our hopes will be shattered. What a pity pressure was not brought to bear when consolidation was first mooted!

“Visual Training>—This side of school life received great attention last year and proved of great benefit to the classes. Visual training is coming more and more to the fore in teaching. There is no doubt, that a child remembers what he sees better than what he hears. We made good use of our Film Strip Projector and received three or four films fortnightly. I was also able to procure a few films dealing with nursery rhymes for the infants and they thoroughly enjoyed them. The corridor in the brick building was made as dark as possible by hanging old curtains over the windows. The result was not of the best and the old curtains did not add to the appearance of the corridor. During the painting these curtains were taken down and I am now negotiating with the Education Board for a grant to have the corridor properly blacked out. Besides the Film Strip Machine, Mr Riley kindly lent his movie machine when we had movie films to show.

“Physical Training.—Last year we made the most of this branch of school life. A new style of physical training came into vogue. Team work, initiative, and freedom are the main factors of ■ this new training. The work is much more' interesting than the old drill and the children thoroughly enjoy this period of their school day. The committee has kindly supplied us with equipment and a first class wooden wall has been erected for corrective exercises and ball games. During a part of last year we had a physical instructor attached to the staff and his help was much appreciated. “School Sport.—Every encouragement has been given to this branch of school activities. This year the timetable has been arranged so that a half-hour each week will be devoted to organised games! Each year a combined schools sports’ meeting was held and our school more than held its own in the different events.

“Swimming.—We are fortunate in having our own swimming pool now. The chairman’s report will no doubt cover the actual cost and method of construction of the pool, so I will not dwell on these points. We first used the pool in November, 1941. The children are greatly delighted with this new addition to the school. Not only is the pool essential in the teaching of swimming to the standard classes, but it is also a boon to the infants in that, knowing that the water is net too deep, they acquire confidence. . I have arranged the time-table in such a way that all children in the school get at least four a week. Our aim is to teach the correct method of swimming and not to allow a child to develop bad habits. Swimming is taught in different stages and when one stage is mastered the next stage begins. We were able to arrange with the Education Board for a loan of an excellent swimming film, and by kind permission of Mr Riley the picture was shown on his machine. “School Saving Bank.—Children are making good use of the chance of saving their money by depositing their spare cash in the School Savings Bank. Last year £172 were banked, and so far this year £44 have been deposited. “Cocoa Distribution. —During the winter months children who have lunch at school receive a cup of cocoa cn payment of 3d a week per head. Most of these children travel by bus and it was thought that they should have something hot during the day. New coppers have been installed and are most satisfactory. Having them housed is a boon, especially in wet weather.

“Children’s Fancy Dress Ball.—At the end of each year, 1940 and 1941, a children’s fancy dress ball was held and each proved a great success, financially and otherwise. The proceeds from the 1940 ball went towards the erection of a learner’s swimming pool in the school grounds, and the pro-

ceeds from the 1941 ball were divided between the school funds and the patriotic funds. I wish to thank the parents for giving the children permission to take part, and for arraying them in such beautiful costumes. I also wish to express my sincere thanks to the ladies who so ably carried put the supper arrangements. To the members of the committee and to all others who gave valuable assistance I tender my thanks.

“Caretaker.—We are fortunate in having a most conscientious caretaker in Mr Purdie. There is plenty of work for him to do and he does.it willingly. He is keenly interested in the school and can always be counted on to give a helping hand where it is needed. “In conclusion, on behalf of the staff and myself I wish to thank the members of the School Committee for their loyal support and co-operation during the past twenty months. Their interest in the school has been greatly appreciated.”