EDUCATION IN TARANAKI

Taranaki Daily News, 17 August 1933, Page 11

EDUCATION IN TARANAKI

APPOINTMENT OF TEACHERS MONTHLY BOARD MEETING HELD. REPORT ON WORK DURING JULY. Appointments of teachers were made at the monthly meeting of the Taranaki Education Board yesterday. Those present wefe Messrs S. G. Smith, M.P. (chairman), J. C. Barclay, J. McAllister, J. A. Valentine and H. Dempsey. On the • recommendation of the teachers’ selection committee the appointment of Miss M. G. Fleming as sole teacher at Waiteika was confirmed. The following changes in appointments of probationary-assistants for the third term were confirmed: Ohura, Mr. W, R. Brett; Manaia, Mr. D. G. McGracken; Vogeltown, Mr. M. Fleming; Fitzroy, Mr. H. K. Gruszning. Application is to be made to the department for eight additional assistants for the third term to employ where the attendance warrants it. The appointments will be left in the hands of the chan-man and deputy-chairman.-On the recommendation of the committee and the acting senior-inspector (Mr. J. A. Henry) the following appointments were made: Westown, head teacher, Mr. W. L. Wagstaff; Kapuni, head teacher, Miss Ida Burdes; Urenui, head teacher, Miss Mabel A. Jones; Tokirima, sole teacher, Mr. C. E. Baunton; Pouakai, sole teacher, Mr. E. Arnold Hart. ' . The following resignations, all dat- < ing from April 3, were received: Mr. • A. S. Burns, head teacher, Otakeho; Mr. J. Fittall, head teacher, Ararata; Miss A. McLean, assistant, Kapuni, Miss M. L. Bremner, assistant, Matapu; Miss A. M. Yandle, assistant, Oaonui; Miss D. Moore, infant mistress, Stratford. f | PORTABLE BUILDINGS AT OHURA. The department notified that a special grant pf £57 10s was approved to acquire from the Public Works Department an assistant teacher’s bach and portable school building for Ohura. The matter of paying rent to the department was referred to the chairman with power to act and to make a suitable reply. Appreciataion was expressed by the department of Mr. Richards’ services in putting out a recent fire at the Waiau school. The department advised in reply to the board’s representations for a household school at Tongahoe that it wag awaiting a- report from the inspector upon a combined school aand bach. Advice was received that the department was of the opinion that supplementary allowances for incidental expenses of school committees having charge of special classes should be met out of the special sum allotted to the board. The matter was referred by the board to the finance and buildings committee for a -report. The questions of establishing a special class at Stratford and of the retention of the class at Hawera were referred to Messrs Smith, Valentine and McAllister for a report. The board agreed to follow the procedure suggested by the department for the ad minion and withdrawal of children to and from special classes. The secretary was instructed to prepare a scheme' for the re-establishment of sewing classes in sole teacher schools conducted by males and report to the finance committee'. The department expressed the opinion that the present arrangements for the conveyance of pupils from Ahititi to Mokau should be left undisturbed and that the number of elegible children was insufficient to justify the provision of a special conveyance between Huirange and upper -Te Arei Road tha whole cost of, which would be borne by the department. An application from the Kaimata committee for alterations to the orientation of the school was referred to , the architect for a report The appointment of Messrs Randall and McKenzie as 'school commissioners at Mackford was confirmed. An application from the Egmont, A and P Associataion for - holiday for v southern schools on November 9 was 0 approved. e iThe election of the managers of the Stratford Technical High School is to be E held on September 22. £ The board decided to visit Opunake q schools on September 7 and 8. a t< ; WORK ON RESIDENCES. tl d Work at the Tariki, Waitara and Nor- a folk schools and Kaimata, Kaponga and s Niho Niho residences was referred to r: the architect on the recommendation of the finance and buildings committee. R The Mahoenui school committee is to s< be advised that in view of the special c circumstances the board is prepared to p pay for the cost of grass seed purchased, b but that the board cannot in future be si responsible for any expenditure incur- p red without prior approval having been a obtained. • gi The architect (Mr. C. H. Moore) re- vv ported having inspected a cottage offered g ( by the Public Works Department for a tl residence at Tahora. Certain require- s tnents were necessary to give the teacher p' reasonable facilities. The same applied o: to the building already purchased and f< re-erected at Niho Niho. ai A plan was prepared for additions and It alterations to the Waiau school and ap- sc plication forwardded to the department ci A grant was approved by tire department st to remove and store the science benches sc and make two rooms suitable for the le use of the Stratford Technical High School. This work had been completed, tl A, plan'was completed for a combined st pprtable classroom and teacher’s bach D for Tongahoe and application had been D made for a grant. The architect also re- si ported on repair work at Mokau, Fitzroy, fr West End Huiakama, Korito, Derby cj Road, Hawera, Omata, Puniho, Ma- sc ngatoki, Omoana. tb

WOODWORK AND COOKERY. The report of the manual supervisor (Mr. Duncan Mackay) stated that woodwork and cookery classes were carried on with no break in the normal routine except that the Toko line schools completed their attendance and that Cardiff and Mahoe schools were replaced by Pembroke and Waingongora schools. The Ohura centre was one of those visited and woodwork instruction was found to be progressing steadily, a good attitude by the boys to the work being evident. Attendance was reasonably good and the behaviour of the pupils very satisfactory. Conveyance was well carried out.

Reporting on agriculture instruction, Mr. Mackay stated that in primary schools classes had begun to dig-in the cover crops which occupied the experimental garden during the winter but most of the instructional work consisted of indoor work in which good progress was noted. Notebooks showed a satisfactory amount of notemaking of good quality. Grounds, usually at their worst in this month, were generally in good order and well provided against the worst features of winter weather. Schools were still being supplied with plans for grounds improvement and only one or two failed to appreciate the formative value to their children of artistic and well ordered environment. In face of the fact that relief labour was so easily obtained there was little excuse for their neglect. The general standard of environment would this next season reach an unprecedented high level.

Many schools availed themselves of the offer of the Forestry Service to supply trees for use in school grounds. Delivery had been made and Arbor Days were being celebrated. A small supply of eucalypt and wattle seeds from the Forest Service and of pine and cypress seeds collected by Taranaki schools would be issued for sowing in the next term. Nursery stocks were

being planted out into the school plantation and other suitable places. Suitable instruction was correlated with these practical operations. A plea was being made for the greater use of native plants in the beautifying of school grounds. In club work the various executives had held their annual meetings and preparations were in train for the new season’s work. The three Taranaki schools in the Marakopa district and the adjacent Auckland schools combined to form a boys’ and girls’ club group and a calf-rearing competition had been instituted. Visits were paid to all district high schools and science instruction was found to be suitably organised and making satisfactory progress. The attendance officer (Mr. G. Pascoe) reported having sent out 37 irregular attendance notices. In 26 schools visited the attendance, .except for sickness in some cases, was good.