A.—3.

26

The material used is not heavy and is well suited for wearing in the tropics. The hat is of the Australian Light Horse kind—up at one side, with a scarlet puggaree or band, and scarlet cockade made from the bark of a native tree called fow. The trousers worn are 'shorts,' with scarlet belt. " Girls : The girls' uniform is made of the same material, and is a one-piece frock faced around the neck and short sleeves with scarlet ribbon ; scarlet belt and scarlet badge ; and panama hat with scarlet band. The girls sometimes prefer to march without the hats and wear the bands on their heads. " Me and Annual Sports. —Several of the village leaders came to thank the teachers for what had been done in connection with these, and they were informed that the children were first in marching, singing, for the playing of the band, and for the best dressed. The Hakupu Village also won the sports championship for the island for the year 1925. " School-grounds.—Much work has been done on the school-grounds this year. Most of the rocky outcrops have been broken off or levered out, coconut butts cleared, coral fences reconstructed, and the grounds levelled. Several high coconut-trees which leaned over the school-ground and were dangerous to the children were felled. " School-garden. —There was no school flower-garden nor ornamental garden of any description on our arrival at Hakupu. A hedge was immediately planted, and is now quite high. Another area was reclaimed with soil carried from the bush. This was reclaimed in such a way that it received the rain-water from a downpipe after every shower. Vegetables were successfully grown. A rustic framework was constructed around the area, and a passion-vine planted. The whole framework is now covered by the vine, which, along with granadilla, is bearing fruit. This gave encouragement, and several gardens in front and at the back of the residence were made. Gardens were also made at the side of the house, at one end of the cistern, and on two sides of the school. In these, all kinds of annual flowers, bulbs, ornamental trees and shrubs were planted, and the whole now presents a changed and beautiful appearance. " Experimental Plot. —There was no room to establish a school-garden, as required by the Cook Islands syllabus, on an extensive scale, on account of the lack of ground. For this reason the head teacher discussed the matter with one of the village chiefs. The syllabus was explained, and the position we were in made clear. Interest and enthusiasm were also worked up among the other villagers interested in the ground near by. Finally it was agreed to make us a present of land 1 chain deep around the whole of the school area. This was too much, and a surrounding strip, 15 yards deep was accepted. The Administration compensated for all useful fruit-trees cut down. This area was cleared and levelled, and an experimental plot established. It contains at least three of every kind of fruit-tree growing on Niue, as well as useful fruit and nut trees that are exotics. There are twentyeight varieties of bananas alone, and until the drought came all were growing very well. " It is interesting to note that the children carried gardening activities to their own homes. Several flower-gardens were visited by the teachers, and these helped to brighten the appearance of the homes. The seeds were taken from the school-garden. Little stone fences had been built and soil carried from the bush in coconut baskets. " Our aim was to teach the children to work, and thus to prepare them for their plantations ; to teach them how to plant and space all trees ; to mulch the soil in order to conserve moisture ; to graft, spray, prune, and study the effects of manures. " Concert. —Towards the end of the year a school concert was held, and sufficient funds were raised to buy prizes and toys for every child at school. All this was new to the children, and it was the first school concert held at Hakupu. The items practised formed part of the school-work. From them lessons were obtained in singing, recitation, spoken English, expression, gesture, pronunciation, enunciation ; in fact, almost all school subjects found a place for a lesson during the practice given to the programme. The spoken vocabulary was also largely increased. " Correspondence with New Zealand Children. —A good deal of practice in letter-writing had been given in school with a definite aim behind it. In the abstract it had little meaning to the children, but when a sufficient number of boys and girls were able to write a fair letter, correspondents in New Zealand were found. This gave a real live interest, and was something entirely new to the children. These letters are of a great educational value quite unconscious to the children, and we think has brightened the lives of both pupils and parents, and brought as much pleasure to the homes as any class of school-work. ' Mail day ' is a gala day in the village of Hakupu. It has also brought pleasure to New Zealand homes, and letters of appreciation have been received by us from pupils, parents, and teachers across the seas. The children from both ends also send many presents, until the parcel-post has eclipsed the letter-post. "School Break-up.—The annual 'break-up' was held on the 17th December, and was followed by a sports programme. A Christmas tree was erected, and every child received a prize. The sports were quite a success."