NEW WELBOURN SCHOOL

Taranaki Daily News, 23 December 1931, Page 3

NEW WELBOURN SCHOOL

MEETING OF HOUSEHOLDERS. (SCHOOL COMMITTEE ELECTED. For the purpose of electing a school committee a meeting of householders of the new. Welbourn School was held on Monday night. There were fifteen nominations for the five householders to form the provisional committee, and a ballot resulted in Messrs. Macfarlaue, Warden, W. P. Nicoll, Gore aud Clark being elected. At a subsequent meeting of the committee Mr. Macfarlane was elected chairman and Mr. Nicoll secretary. Mr. Mcfarlane presided at the general committee, amongst those present being thre® representatives of the Education Board, Messrs. J. A. Valentine (deputychairman), C. H. Moore (architect) and H. 'W. Insult (secretary).

In outlining the purpose of the school, Mr. Valentine said it was not intended, to make it a side school at all. It was to be a separate school for the benefit of the district, and the number of teachers that would be appointed would depend on the support given to the school by the parents. At the same time he did not think it would be advisable to take, standard V. children away from the Central School, or whatever school they had been attending. He thought it would he better for the older children to finish their primary school training at their old school, but most certainly all the younger children should attend the school. An average attendance of 36, continued Mr. Valentine, would entitle them to the services of two teachers, and they should endeavour to do that. The committee would then have more money to carry on with, and it would, ensure them a better type of teacher. Manifestly two teachers could carry on better than one. The board, could, if it wished, see that children from this district did not attend any other school, but it was not its intention to use that. power that present. It preferred that the parents themselves should recognise the advantage of the school and support it. He suggested that the committee to be appointed should immediately make a canvass of the district to ascertain approximately the number of scholars that would attend the school and thus facilitate the work of the board in respect to the appointment of teachers and furnishings. The chairman raised the question of improvements to the school grounds, and Mr. Valentine suggested the best course to adopt would be to see the senior agricultural instructor, get him to make an inspection of the grounds and then give them a comprehensive plan of improvements, so that any work done would form part of a definite scheme. This course was agreed to. ■Arrangements were made for the canvass suggested by Mr. Valentine.