TIMARU MAIN SCHOOL.

Timaru Herald, Volume XC, Issue 13276, 3 May 1907, Page 3

TIMARU MAIN SCHOOL.

The Timaru '-Main school committee met last evening, all the members being present. '' '- The chairman,. Rev. A. E. Hunt, reported that a. conference of headmasters and representatives of ithe three Timaru school committess, met last' Thursday, and came unanimously to the' conclusion that the holidays .should be—one week in May, two weeks in September.and six weeks at midsummer. This . arrangement "would nob increase the total duration of the holidays more than one day or at the most two days.—This decision was approved. . '±'he chairman reminded the committee that it was necessary to have new gra.es put in some of the rooms, and. experience of different :;orts of grates in the school led. the teachers to prefer college grates. — After some discussion it was resolved to ask the Board to furnish six college grates without de;ay. !lhe chairman reported that tenders had been advertised for, hut only one tender had been sent in. Instead cf tenders he had received a letter from Mr Imrie, seer retary of .the Coaldealers' Association, stating that the -members of the Association would not send in individual but • any of the • members would supply schools with coal at 2s per ton below ordinary prices, but they could make no reduction .:n the case of firewood. The one tender received (J. Jackson and Co.'s.) was just the 2s below the list prices. He had .seen a. notice Ihat the prices of coal were going up. It-was staiied that there were nine dealers in the Association, and a. ballot decided ; that the orders for the year should, go to No. 9 in the A'sociaaon's list. A letter fromv the secretary of the Technical.'Classes Association stated that the Association proposed to enlarge the school building, in order to do this it .would be necessary to lake in a small piece Of the playground on the west side. A deputa'tion would wait upon the Board of Education at its next meeting to ask permission to use this land. It was resolved that the committee had. no objection to - the Education Board granting a piecs of ground for the purpose. The headmaster reported that the attendance continued remarkably good, the average for the; past four being 614, 666. 662.8, and 678.9. The highest attendance was. 687. The roll number was 746. The alterations to the floors of three i ocms had been completed and the skylights for No. 5 room. Saviugs bank receipts were £l9 5s 8d and withdrawals £7 5s lOd. The cadets finished shooting for the season, with a match against Ashburton Boroujrh -ichool. Prizes were distributed to No. 2 Company, No. 1 Company having received' theirs before Christmas. ' Mr Stead reported, ari visitor, on his inspection of the> school that'day. He was well satisfied with the appearance of the school gardens', except that he noticed the absence of chrysanthemums?—winter flowers. He greatly admired the cadets, whom he saw at driit; they were a credit to their officers and to the school. He had looked into the question of, shingling a footpath to the northern gate, and could not recommend it, as the children could go out of the back gate over asphalt.—: Other members concurred in this view.

At the householders' meeting a resolution was carried recommending the committee to increase the janitor's salary. The chairman said he had been approached by Mr Keay, who assured him that the suggestion had not emanated from him. He did not ask for an increase, but he suggested that u grant of £5 a year to cover cost of his tools and materia.ts for cleaning would be welcome.—lt was resolved to grant £5 a year for this purpose. Another reco.ur.nendatioi by the house'holdtrs' meeting,-that ihe Minister of Education should be asked to increase the incidental allowance by 50 per cent, was considered to hi -a resolution that should have gone direct- from the meeting, not through the committee.

Accounts, amounting to £lO 0s 3d, were passed for payment. Mi- Wilson* brought up the question of erecting a gymnasium which had been talked of for* some time. A gymnasium would come in useful for the Morris-tube shooting for the cadets. The committee might not be able- to get a gymnasium this year, but they could begin to get together funds for the purpose. The chairman recalled a suggestion that, a new infant school -should be erected, and the present one be converted into a gymnasium.

Mr Vogeltr said Le had written to the Hon. W. Hall-Jones about that suggestion, and'bad urged the fairness of school committers bdng given a £ for £ subsidy on money raised by them, as v.-as dona in the cn&e of contributions to the hospital. Mr Hall-Jones replied that the cost of edu-

cation was so great that the Government I could not contemplate the addition of votea for gymnasiums. On the motion of Mr Wilson, a cubcomihifctee was set up to consider and re•port on the question.