TIMARU HIGH SCHOOL

Timaru Herald, Volume XIIC, Issue 13830, 16 February 1909, Page 2

TIMARU HIGH SCHOOL

2he ordinary Meeting. of the Tima>u High LSc'iooi Board of Governors wvs held yesterday. Present—Messrs \[; H. Howel! (ciiairman), Dr H- XJ. Barclay, Messrs J. Jackson-. J. McCaiior O. Bowker, "\i\ {.v. Armitage, J. Bit- , chener, and B. 11. Macdonald. A* ' apology for absence was received frow, •MV I'. A. Raymond. The chairman reported fcliai the' drainage at the boarding house had'' been completed; £101)0 had been paid off mortgages and the bank? ••overdraft reduced by this amount. A chairman, and committees, would require to be elected that day for the ensuing year. . With regard to the achievements of pupils at the school during the past year, the results were most creditable, and the Timaru Higli School compared very favourably with any other school of the kind iu the Dominion.

Mr Macdonald proposed, and Dr Barclay seconded, that Mr Howell should be re-elected, both making complimentary references to the past services of Mr Howell iu the cause of education. The inotiou was carried unanimously, Slid Mr Howell made appropriate acknowledgement of the compliment paid him, at the some time announcing that as soon as his time expired as representative on the Board for the Borough, he would not seek re-ele'ction. Members would not listen to this, and Dr Barclay said they must keep Mr Howell with them so long as they had financial difficulties to contend with, they : could not let him go until the overdraft- was wiped off. The headmaster drew attention in a special report, to the fact that the new regulations for free places, required them to give much greater attention to individual practical work iu science than had been fouild possible in the past. It seemed inadvisable to spend much money on structural alterations in view of the fact that they would sooner or later have to shift their quarters. On: this account he had cut- out practical chemistry from the list of subjects,suitable for their present requirements, as the institution of a chemical laboratory entailed a considerable expenditure. After careful consideration he had come to the conclusion that a course in general science would best suit present circumstances so far as the two lower classes were concerned. In the upper classes they should continue their present work m electricity and mechanics using them as university scholarship subjects. In order to carry out this course the accomodation in the way of benches for practical work would need to be largely increased, and he proposed to provide this by making a- table 2 feet wide all round the large room of the woodwork workshop (cost £5 to £6). He could give only a rough estimate of the cost of the apparatus'required; the expenditure might be spread over this and next year as the proposed course would cover two years. The amount necessary to be spent this year would be approximately:—For continuation of electrical course £3O; . proposed general physical course, £80; meteorological inalterations and timber for fixings to be' made by boys, £lO ; total £127. A further expenditure of a like amount should meet the requirements next year. 31 r Simmers waited on the Board and further explained his proposals in detail.

It was agreed that this business had been forced upon the Board by the Department, and that the position must be faced. The headmaster was therefore authorised to incur the necessary expenditure. The headmaster reported that {he new term began on February 3rd, and that the number of pupils enrolled so far was 85. Of these 57 were on the roll at the end of last year, and 28 Were new pupils. Four or fire of the old pupils would probably leave shortlv .for the University or to take up Civil Service appointments, but apart from, these,the large number of old pupils who had re-entered was extremely gratifying. The official reports on the various examinations held at the end of last year were not fully to hand, but, so far, the results were very satis- | factory. They intended to send their cadet corps into camp for military instruction on Wednesday next. The camp would last for a week. As they could not see their way to .spare a whole week from school work they had arranged that the week should he made up out of this .terms holidays. .He trusted the Board would approve of this arrangement. He drew the attention of the Board to the new regulations, for free season tickets on the railway. The Department would carry a pupil only to the nearest high school or district high school; it would not carry a pupil past a district high school to a high school unless he was the holder ot a scholarship. It would rest with the Board to decide whether it was advisable to make representations' to the Minister of the Department on the general principles of the changes. The roof of the teachers room on the boys side was still in a bad state in spite of the repairs which had been inade. During the holidays a eon-" siderable quantity of water came through, damaging books, tennis material, and the property of the school and teachers. The matter of free tickets on the railway was shortly discussed, but it was decided to take no action in the matter.

Miss Watt reported that the Girls' High School had opened with a. roll number of 60, of whom 41 were attending the school last term; 18 were new pupils, and one re-entered'after an absence of two terms. She enclosed the school roll, showing the holders of free places, so far as she knew them. Three or four were still uncertain, the Department not having yet replied to a letter sent relative to them. Of last year's girls 10 had left the school and six of these had entered the education course as pupil teachers or probationers, the four others taking up home duties. At the examination Annie Moyle obtained credit for junior university scholarship, as did Dorothy Farnie, an ex-pupil of one year's standing. Mary Black, Dora Chappie, Janet Dickson, Elizabeth McArtimr, and Frances Verity passed matriculation with sufficient marks to enable them also to a pass in solicitor's general knowledge examination, Mary Macdonald and Thursa Warring won Education Board senior scholarships, while Daisy Cain, Frances Ronaldson, Daisy N.orrisli, Kitty Cooke, and Esther J'hit. took respectively, the 7th, Bth, 10th, 12th and 18th places on the list. Alice Eraser also passed the free place examination. Kathleen Buchanan, Kuby Norrish and —. 'Callaway were awarded free places after Mr Gill's visit, and three other candidates had to qualify in mathematics only. Concerning these, she had written for definite information. Miss Hodges, the new teacher had taken up her duties at the school, and was a decided acquisition to the staff. A slight change was being made in the school work this year, domestic science (which included housewifery as well as cookery and dressmaking being brought in. In another class the study of hygiene was being introduced. The department encouraged these studies by giving credit for thorn towards a senior free place.

Dr. Barclay for himself and Mr. Jackson reported on a, visit they had paid to the Girls' School that morning. The interior of the school liad been allowed to get rather out of repair. Dr. Barclay detailed the work which required to be done in different rooms.

The chairman said that the distempering had been put off oii the scofc of expense, and the secretary said it was ten years since ihe exteriof of the school liati fceen painted; J t was decided that the work suggested by the visiting committee, should be done, under the supervision of the rector. Dr Barclay suggested means Of. iftakiug' the interior u ~of the school more attractive, W-J providing useful adjuncts to the working apparatus of the school, the headmaster should be authorised to procure £.lO or £ls worth of historical pictures—steel engravings. He knew of a. school not 100 miles from Timaru where this had been done with very good results. Members considered this an excellent suggestion and it was agreed that later on, it ought to be acted upon, Mr Jackson remarking that it would be wrong to hang pictures on the walls in their present dirty condition. The boarding-school master, Mr. llockel, reported that there were eleve boarders at the school, seven of whom were permanent —a number which was rather disappointing. He had visited the different outlying districts including Ashburton, and advertised the school well before it opened after the ■ Christmas vacation. Everything was going along smoothly at the school, the boys were a nice lot and gave no trouble. He asked that the school be connected by telephone. —This -w as agreed to. Mr J. J. Nolan, one of the Board s tenants at Clandeboye, applied for some drain pipes, and gave details and improvements ho had effected to the value of £2OO for which he asked to be allowed valuation at the end of the lease. There were improvements valued at £340 when Mr. Nolan took the land. It was ' decided that the Reserves Committee should visit the land and report upon Mr. Nolan's application, it being said that they must be careful not to.allow their tenants to eiect improvements out of proportion to the extent and value of the land. An application was received from a parent for remission of fees on account of the illness of a pupil. —This was granted. Committees were elected as follows: —Finance —Messrs. Bowker, McCahon, and Dr. Barclay. Reserves—Messrs. Macdonald, Armitage, and Bowker. Messrs. Macdonald and McCalion were appointed a visiting committee for the next two months: The Department advised payment of a capitation grant to the Board as follows:—£211 for free pupils, and Lbi 18s 9d for technical work. In reply to Mr Jackson, the secretary said that the, annual income of the Board considerably exceeded the expenditure. mtv < Accounts amounting to £lib iwcre passed for payment, and the Board rose. ■