THE SCHOOLS.

Timaru Herald, Volume LXXX, Issue 12354, 22 April 1904, Page 3

THE SCHOOLS.

1 The following reports are to come before the householders at- the annual meeting for the purpose of electing school committees : .... TIMARU MAIN. - In presenting a report of the work of the past year, the .Committee has much pleasure in stating that the school Has steadily maintained its high standard of profici'encv. During the early part of the year, a series of epidemics greatly interfered with the attendance, and the routine work of the school was, in consequence, seriously hindered. Thanks however to the energy and painstaking efforts of tire staff, the school has not suffered educationally, and the reports of the visiting inspectors show most gratifying. results .of the year's work. The year commenced with" 727 names on the roll, and closes with 713, the highest attendance having been 667, and the average for the year 607. During the" year .a considerable number of pupils have availed themselves of the opportunity now afforded of free education at the High School, and have passed on to that institution. This accounts for the present roll number being slightly lower than formerly. One pupil gained a Junior Board Scholarship, and another qualified for the National Scholarship. Five have been successful in the pupil-teachers' 1 ' and one pupil-teacher has passed the matriculation and-solicitor's 'gßueral knowledge examination Of the N.Z. University. In December last the lcinderspiel " Rob Roy" was performed by: the scholars at the Theatre Royal, for three nights, with ' successj producing a net' financial result of £B7 4s, and the greatest credit is due to all who assisted in th\ undertaking. In ■.his connection, special mention should be made of th? invaluable service rendered 'ov the members of the staff, ■ who spared teitlier time nor labour in the training, of Lh'e children, and to whose untiring efforts 'he succe-s of the concert was undoubtedly Ive. While deeply grateful for the he'p ,ihus afforded, the Committee feel, over, that such a means of raising funds ■s open to serious objections, und. is detrimental to-tha best interests of the school: Fh; regular'work is disorganised, and the, •»ood nature and loyalty of, the staff should 'ot be imposed upon by such extra denands upon their time and' strength. It is hoped that, in future, some other means amy.- be found "of raising necessary funds. Changes in tie staff,, etc.—At the beTinnirg of the year.Miss Goodallresigned her position as seventh asSistantj and Mfes ■ was appointed in her stead. Mr T. R. Ritchie, having received an; appointment to Orari Bridge, resigned his position af> fourth assistant, and, his place been taken by Mr. John Matjer. : MissHarris .hais recently sent- in her resignation is sixth assistant; but her successer has not yet been appointed. One- of the pupil teachers, lliss. Hall-Jones having been promoted to Wai-iti scljool, Miss Rieta Saxon ■has been appointed to the vacant pupilteachership. 5 The school lias, again been honoured by. the Wanganui Board of Education, the headmaster, Mr J. 4- Johnson, M.A., having been invited to deliver a course of lectures, last winter, on .educational methods. Mr Johnson also attended the Nelson Conference as one of the delegates for South Canterbury, and later,, was appointed to represent the . Educational Institute, at the .conference of schboi inspectors at Wellington, when the new syllabtls was under discussion.

The new janitor, Mr Keay, , jntered upon his duties at the begihnJng of the year, and has given unqualified satisfaction, .his kindly interest in the children, -■rid ready assistance in -everything- cor.■i£cied with the, school, being greatly appreciated. - Buildings, repairs, etc.—The Committee regret that its in this department have largely failed, owing tq the inadequate 'support from tlia Board of Education. Reference was made in last yenr's report to the, condemnatory report of the local Health Officer, who visited the school. At a latter period, the Distrjct> Healtlf Officer;; together with two members of the Bofird, inspected the school, aiid had pointed out to them some of the more serious defects. At the request qf the Committee, this Poi>rd's architect also" officially inspected tlie school, and reported thereon. Nothing, however, has" been doi\e io .re-" medy the defects referred to in the report, with tlies exception of the ventilation, of one class room, and a few minor repairs, although repeated : applications has ' been made by The Committee. The inside walls; are disgracefully dirty, itbeing. fully seven years sjncg they were lauF distempered; thg porches and Qutside walls are badly in need of repairs, and the outside offices are quite inadequate for so large a school. The lighting of the infant rooms is also ■ seriously defective. A careful analysis of the income of the school has shown that; while tne'" total amount received from the Board, (inclusive of all special grants) during the past: eight years has only been 1 £730, the scavenging fees and janitor's salary alone for this period have absorbed no less than ;£712 of this amount;, leaving only the infinitesi- [ mal sum of £lB for all incidental expenses : :ind special work. To mget tlie deficiencies of the grants froiil tha Board,'nearly £650 has, .during the same period, been raised by the school. Last year the grant was only £lO6, while the expenditure for purely incidental charges, excluding all. special items such as prizes, etc., was £153, thus 'eaving the Committee £47 to provide what should have been supplied by the Board. In-view of this faot, and also of the fact that the Main School, by its large capitation grant, contributes so largely to the maintenance of J the smaller schools of the district, the Committee feels that the largest and most important school in South; Canterbury is entitled to a more liberal treatment at the. hands of- th§ Board. A special dep ( iitjitjbn from the, Committee-; . waited, upon the BoaVd at its'last meeting, Vind urged the claims of the school, espe : " cially asking that the -walls might be distempered in light colours b?fpr« the winter passes, fhe. deputation was informed that the high tenders, and lack of funds were the reasons why the work had not been done, but the Board promised that the matter should be referred tq the. Building Committee for tltoii: favourable consideration. If is hoped therefore that the work will shortly be put in hand. Proposed Bazaar.—The Committee has for some time past had under its consideration the condition of the ■ school | grounds, and an effort is to be made 'o effect some much needed improvements. It is proposed to fence in the entire property ; to level a portion as a sports ground for the scholars, and to asphalt the part immediately adjoining the school building as a playground in wet weather. Should the funds permit, it is hoped also to provide ra much needed To carry: out the entire ■ proposals, about £6OO- will be required, and, to raise . this amount, .- a bazaar is to be held during the next Show week. A strong ladies' committee has been formed, and working parties arranged, with a view to the necessary preparatory work. It is hoped that this pJEort- may meet with the same hparty response from the puhlic thqt the pluvious efforts have met with. „ , Death of Mr Anthony Mills.—-During the vear, the Committee and the school sustained a severo less ..in the death of Mr Anthony Mills. For upwards of eighteen years Mr Mills was an active member of tho Committee, and for some time, was chairman. His long .experience aud wise counsel were always at the service of, the school, and his decease was deeply regretted. - The vStancy - created by 1.-is death was filled' by_the appointment qf Mr J. G. Paterson. " • - • Fifteen meetings of committee have been held during the twelve ordinary and three special, the attendance being as followsMr C. G. yogeler 15, Rev. A. E. Hunt 15, Mr. J. BpothrqydjW, Mr W..M. -Howe 13, Mr I); JlcArthur 12, Mr Frank [ Sihitfi ltpMr E. J. Barton 9, Mr J. ("Ghristmas 8,! Mr A;- Mills (decease# 7, Mr J. G. Patersqn 3. In conclusion the Committee records its high appreciation of the work of the headmastor and his staff, both-in and out- of school hours, and gratefully acknowledges its indebtedness to those ladies and gentlemen who, by donations and service, have contributed'to the success of the year. WAIMATAITAI. y Your Committee beg to report that during their term of office they held twelve ordinary meetings, .the attendance of members Sterndale 12, ..Martin 12, ; Beckini(ham 11, Tank 11, Evans 11, ■ Bpwio .10, Tennant 8, Mason 8, Hawkes 8. Teaching staff—The changes during the year Wete as followsßesigned. Miss B.rown,' Miss Donn,' Miss Zie-ler, Mr Peter Davie. 'Their places have been taken' by -Miss E: Eyfo. Miss A. Pearson, Mips Maud H\itit, .and Mr Alex. Grogs, also a probationer : Miss Williamson. Again the Oomjnittee, wish- to record- their entire appreciation of the excellent .and thorough manner in which Mr Wood and the staff under him have carried out their work and d«-

ties. This has also been endorsed by the Board's Inspectors.

The results of the annual examination held in October proved equally as. satisfactory as those of the .preceding year. A very satisfactory school entertainment was again given' this year, a pleasing feature of which was the fact that the programme was carried out entirely by the children. The success wara greatly due to ..the untiring and .painstaking efforts of the teachers in, drilling the .children in their parts. The entertainment: was given on two successive evenings, and realised the satisfactory sum of £lB 3s 2d towards the prize fund.

The cadet corps, under Captain Collins, are putting in good work, and the iciipec' tor, Major Xoveday, expressed himself as greatly pleased with the way in which tiiey- went through their drill. The-corps has, out- of their capitation grant, repaid a first instalment of £5 to the Committee towards liquidating the cost of uniforms It is a great drawback to the shooting of the corps that they are only provided-with four rifles.

An effort has been made to purchase the enlarged school ground, chiefly by subscriptions from householders -and residents : ,of th'E- district. The Board of Education - promised a subsidy of £IBO. on condition that the balance -of the'purchase money :-was raised ,by your Committee At an enthusiastic meeting held at the school the matter was fully discussed', with the result- that the substantial sum of £3O was piomis-ed in the room A personal canvass of the district, was made, but so far the amount promised is considerably short...of. what is required to purchase tlie ground, so that matter is de.'errgd fcf.the present. In aid of the above Messrs - Eerne-r and Knight gave a- limelight entertainment, very' generously donating the entire proceeds to the purchase fund. School Buildings, etc.—During the year the Boa i(l has asphalted a border round three-sides of the school building. This has been of the greatest benefit, during the -winter months. A complete, set of: now i-. desks has been supplied for the infant Lroom, and. materials procured for the teach-, •ing of brushwork in Standards 111. and !' IV. : Your Committee are very grateful to the Board of Education for the courtesy,, and !considera.tion.: they have at: all timesreceived from them and from their secretary and inspectors.: The "flnaiicial position is account? showing a-credit-balance of £1 12s.