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Special talks were added to programmes in connection with Anzac Day, Empire Day, Arbor Day, and United Nations Week. Owing to the outbreak of poliomyelitis, schools all over New Zealand were closed three weeks before their normal closing date. The broadcast programmes filled the gap by presenting series of stories and activity talks for children. Extended broadcasts of two hours each day were continued after January from the main National stations. Two Advisory Committees, with representatives of the Education Department, teachers, and the New Zealand Broadcasting Service, were set up, one for the primary schools and the other for the post-primary schools. The emergency programmes for the primaryschool children continued until the end of February, when most of the schools opened, with the exception of those in the Auckland district. From then on they were broadcast from Station IYA Auckland only. During the year the Senior Inspectors in each Education Board district contacted selected schools, both town and country, and teachers in these schools reported at intervals on the broadcasts. These reports were of great value in planning and arranging programmes. Mr. Arne Okkenhaug, Director of School Broadcasts in Norway, during his visit to New Zealand, visited schools, listened with classes, and discussed schools broadcasts with teachers. Later in the year Miss Mary Somerville, 0.8. E., Assistant Controller of Talks to the 8.8.C., visited New Zealand as the guest of the New Zealand Broadcasting Service. Until recently Miss Somerville was Director of Schools Broadcasts to the 8.8.C. She gave valuable demonstrations and talks to educationists and broadcasters in Wellington, Auckland, and Christchurch, and also visited schools and discussed school broadcasting. Three publications were issued this year —a General Booklet, a Music Booklet, and a Children's Booklet. Schools receiving booklets on the 31st March, 1948, numbered 1,852, an increase of 269 on last year's figure. This gives an indication of the number of schools listening to the programmes. The policy begun in 1943 of writing notes on broadcasts for the Education Gazette, which is distributed to teachers every month, was continued. In November an outline of the general plan of broadcasts for the following school year was published so that teachers could incorporate the programmes in their schemes of work. A time-table of the programme for the year was inserted as a leaflet in the Education Gazette for February. Programmes were linked when possible with articles and stories in the Education Department's School Journal, which every pupil receives. The Education Department's Correspondence School broadcast twice weekly. These half-hour programmes, arranged by Correspondence School teachers, included talks on physical education, music, travel, &c., and also talks for supervisors. Women's Sessions The interests of women listeners, especially during daytime programmes, were catered for. The session, " For My Lady," broadcast by the National stations, gave brief resumes of the lives, and featured excerpts from the works, of many world-famous artists. Talks for women were planned for a variety of tastes, domestic and otherwise. The Association for Country Education, one of the extension services of the University of Otago, again helped by providing two talks weekly throughout the University year which were broadcast by the main National stations. Round this core, stations built their own talks programmes for women listeners. Station IYA inaugurated a Women's Newsletter; Station 3YA reinforced the domestic science side by local contributions; Station 2YA initiated a series in which representative speakers considered the place of women in a modern community. These 2YA talks were recorded and broadcast later by other stations, as also were series on speechcraft and child psychology.

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