HAMILTON EAST SCHOOL. Childrens' Concert and Prize Distribution.

Waikato Times, Volume XV, Issue 1322, 18 December 1880, Page 2

H AMILTON EAST SCHOOL. Childrens Concert and Prize Distribution.

A concert to celebrate the breaking up for the Christmas holidays, and to provide an Opportunity for presenting the prizes won at the late examination, wad held in the large room of the School on Thursday evening. All the children of. the School wete present, and were accommodated with seats at one end of the room, the other being reserved for adults. The neat and clean appmtrance, and the extremely orderly behaviour of the children, must have given gratification alike to the teachers and parents. The chair was taken by Mr W. Gumming, Chairman of the School Committee, and there was a fair number of parents aud friends present. A platform had been erected at the side of the room upon ■which the. songs and recitations were giveu. The programme, which was, if anything.a little ton long, was as follows : — Ist Part. — Pianoforte solo, Mrs Ellis ; "God bless the Prince of Wales," children ; recitation, R. Palmer ; chorus, "The hunter ranged," children; soug and chorus, "Watching for pa," children ; recitation, M. Dixon : soug, "Little Nell," children; "March of the Men of Harlech, " children ; recitation, H. Lawrence ; pianoforte solo, Miss L. Gelling ; " The old black cat," children ; " Marching through Georgia," L. Luhrs. 2nd Part.— Pianoforte solo, Mrs Ellis; "My own New Zealand home," children ; "Little Buttercup," J. Manktelow : recitation, A. Bradley ; " Hold the right hand up, " children ; recitation, J. McDonald ; "When I was a lad," L. Luhrs; recitation, E. Palmer; "Drummer boy," children ; pianoforte solo, M. Lees ; recitation, L. Luhrs ; "Brooklet on the plain," children; "Ring the bell, watchman," L. Luhrs ; recitation, M. A. Quinn ; pianoforte solo, M. McCabe ; "Jolly little 1 clacker," children; National Anthem, children. The singing of the children was remarkably good, more especially the solos given by Miss Manklelow and Master Luhrs The latter, indeed, was inten-ely amusing. The recitations of the children were fairly given, but the latter pei formers were evidently too nervous to do justice to their own capabilities. Mrs Ellis played i some graceful selections on pianoforte at the commencement of the first and second parts of the programme, and seveial of the scholars also performed very creditably on the same instrument. The direction of the musical arrangements was undertaken by Mrs Field (in the unavoidable absence of Mr Bell), and carried out in a very able manner. During the interval the ceremony of presenting the prizes was commenced by the Chairman, making a brief address on work of the school, pointing out the necessity of regular attendance, and close attention to study. He poiuted out to the boys the fact that the majority of the awards had been gained by girls, and urged the former to renewed exertion. He spoke approvingly of the manner in which the school had been conducted by Mr and Mrs Feld and Miss Stanton. The children who had won prises were then called one by one to the table, where Mrs Gumming presented the awards, making a few appropriate and encouraging remarks to the receipients. The following 1 is a list of the prizetakers ; the numbers after their names being the total of marks gained in all the classes, the greatest possible number being 1100 : — Standard IV.— Lena Gelling 1 , 880; J. McDonald, 936 ; A. Scott, 975. Extra. Prizes. — L. Luhiv», 800 (possible 1 000 ; S. Manktelow, d5O ; J. dimming, 755. Standard lll.— William Gelling, 928 ; Mary Bradley, 905 ; E. McDonald, 820; S. Vincent, 845 ; A. Loes, 755 ; J. Hunter, 875; L. Hunt, 610; A. Coombea, 705. Standard ll.— Maggie Neilson and Lizzie Cassidy, for general improvement ; E. Proctor, composition ; Mary Ngahiwi, general improvement ; E. Elliott, reading and spelling. Standard I. — Mary Wallace, composition ; Douglas Gelling, recitation ; G. Proctor, dictation and spelling ; A. Bradley, L. Keep, J. Manktelow, Mary Field, and M. Quinn, general improvement. Infant Class. — K. Beale, arithmetic and writing; A. Thomas, reading; A. Palmer, recitation ; M. Dixon, spelling ; J. Dent, G. Vincent, and J. Hill, general improvement. A number of prizes were given away to the smaller children for general improvement. The following private and extra prizes were also presented : — By Mr R. Harris, gold locket, J. McDonald, ;for needlework ; by Mr S. W. Buck, a book, J. Manktelow, general improvement; by Mr J. Moses, pair of cabinet lionite frames, L. Luhrs, general improvement ; by Mr Gelling, workbox, Mary Quinn, regular attendance ; by Mr Dickinson, a book, L. Gelling, history. Prizes in Needlework. — E. McKenzie, Maria Kellet, and L. Cassidy. Mrs Gumming's prize for the most popular boy or girl in the school, fell, after a ballot had been taken yesterday, to After the distribution of prizes, the children presented a very handsome marble time-piece to Mr and Mrs Field, accompanied by the following address :—: — "Hamilton East School, December 16th, 18S0.— Dear Mr and Mrs Field,— The pupils of this school beg you to accept this timepiece as a mark of the respect and affection they bear towards you. They desire to express to you the great sorrow they feel in parting from you, and to assure you they will ever cherish a grateful recollection of the kind interest you have taken in their welfare during the time you have had charge of the school. They unite heartily in wishing you prosperity .and happiness in the future. — Signed (on behalf of the pupils), Lena Gellixg, Louls Luhrs.'' Mr Field thanked the donors for their handsome present and kind address in very feeling terms. The presentation was a complete surprise to him. Mr Field was very much affected, and begged to be excused making anything like a speech. After the singing of the National Anthem the audience dispersed, thoroughly /pleased with the entertainment. The proceeds amounted to £2 13s. Yesterday the children were entertained with tea, etc., in the school grounds and various games were indulged in, prizes being given in the shape of lollies, small articles of dress, etc., all of which were kindly contributed by the tradespeople of Hamilton. The school broke up for the holidays yesterday.