END OF SCHOOL YEAR

Taranaki Daily News, 15 December 1932, Page 7

END OF SCHOOL YEAR

BERG CUP AGAIN WON BY GIRL. CANTATA AND CONCERT BY PUPILS The Berg Cup, presented by Mr. C. Berg for annual competition at the West End school nearly two . years ago, has again been won by a girl, Joyce Coppen. Last year the winner was Jean Gunson. The conditions for the trophy stipulate a combination of unusual scholastic and athletic qualities, somewhat on the lines of the requirements for a Rhodes Scholarship. The successful candidate must not only have passed high in the proficiency examination, but must; also be a member of a senior school team and a prominent player. At the annual breaking-iip ceremony in the school gymnasium last night Mr. W. H. Jones, chairman of the committee, called upon Mrs. Berg to present the trophy, after which cheers for the winner were given by the boys. Mr. Jones said he hoped that next year the boys would be able to win the honour.

There was a large attendance of parents and pupils at the gathering. The stage, which was tastefully decorated with fern fronds and the colours of the school, was principally required for a cantata, “Fairy Wood,” played and sung by the pupils of standards 4 and 5. Based on the outspoken scepticism of the boys towards the reality of fairies, the story was portrayed in an amusing fashion by the children. Under the queenship of Phyllis Hedley the bewinged girl fairies taught the boys a lesson for their rugged rudeness by miraculously fixing their hands in their pockets until they saw the error of their ways. One feature of the production, especially among the girls, was the clarity of diction and the pronunciation, an indication that speech-training was having results eminently to be desired both for boys and girls. Only now and again was it apparent that the youthful actors had missed their cues, and generally speaking their performance was most creditable. On the musical side of the piece the concerted singing (with a soprano solo part by Master Cornwall) was well balanced and effectively produced, and tonal effects were developed to a point that must have presented many difficulties before the persevering instructors had attained their object. As accompanist Mr. Nicholls deserved a good deal of credit. The. remainder of the programme matched the quality of the first part. A tap dance by a ballet in costume was cleverly done, while the -singing of the choir in “The May Song,” “Sweet and Low” and three carols reflected considerable credit on Mr. Train as conductor. In the carol “Good King Wenceslas” Mr. Train and Master Cornwall sang a duet supported by the -chorus. Ken Bullen’s solo, Mendelssohn’s “On Wings of Song,” was a. delightful item. Recitations were given by Mary Davis, Mabel Faulkner and Jean Holmes, and a violin solo by Pearl Young, a member of Miss E. Dowling’s school class. An informal interlude that succeeded in touching the funny spot of the audience was a bracket of funny stories told by Don McGregor and K. Rosser.