’Gisborne District High. School.

Gisborne Standard and Cook County Gazette, Volume III, Issue 426, 8 March 1890, Page 2

’Gisborne District High. School.

ABSENTATION OF PRIZES

The of prizes in • connection with the upper branch of the Gisborne District High Schoo’ was made yesterday afternoon by His Worship the Mayor, Mr PeLautohr. That geqtleman explained hew it was that the matter b r ad not been referred to when the other prices had b**en presonfceq. at the City Rink. The oirjgsion of mention was his (Mr DeLautour’s) fault, When a person gpt on a platform and faced a large audience he sometimes forgot to say all that he intended, and in this cake he had left out something. But it was his desire fo have in a measure kept the two branches of th® school district. In conversing with Apchdeaoon Williams, Chairman of the High School governors, that gentleman had ex pressed h’s pleasure at the success of that iivanch of the school. That ruo ‘ess was not els£o duo to Mr Mann and Mr Mow, but also the work of tjhd chU4»?eii. the only 4tfi?evenco between the two braushes being th nt undop Mann they learned higher sublets* of them would no doubt wonder lyhat iis# some of those subjects could be to fcbem—why they were taught algebra, euclid, ? Those subjects in thrtrnselvca would be of Ht-tle use, but it would Ivain oaoh one to a logical brain. L hoy with a logical broty would have a steady that would greatlj? fi,id Kin> in the acquiippient of a trade or profegsiou, and a trade was quite as honorable as any profession. He warned them against gstring thrir heads that because they oanfe to.that ciflhool and learned the higher subjeat’3 e r.o Roing to make a in the world. Jf they did so they wo'uld make a great mistake—4a partially quote they would vault in their ambition and make a cropper on the other side. They should make use of tha opportu. nities for etrengthaning their minds for any position allotted to them in life. He remembered a boy who came to New Zealand with no trade or profession, but who knew that

what he had to do must be done, no m-itter whether it led him to do many diff.r nt things, and in the course of his career he could count an occupation for every finger—and that eventually led to him (the speaker) being there that day. They should not be plinning all sorts of things for tha future. What they had got to do was to attend to their immediate duty in the present. Whether they matriculated or took some higher degree one should not imagine himself or herself a fullblossomed ro c e. They should do their duty thoroughly, work diligently at anything they had to do, and trust in God. They should endeavor to do some good f ir others as well as for themselves, and if they succeeded in rising to a high position, whether* in a pr - fessionoratrade.it would be to their own credit, and for the benefit of others. In congratulating Mr Mann on the success of that branch of the school, it was the more to his credit because he had (with Mr Morgan's approval) to originate it to some extent; but he did not give Mr Mann, for his success, half the credit he would have done had there nrt bean such good material to work upon, supplied by the admirable system adopted in the other branch of the school. Referring to one prize winner, Robert Carswell, as that boy had come from another school, and been in Gisborne only nine or ten month?, the credit should he pattly given to school in which he had previously been taught. His’ success was a remarkable one, serine that he had been first in every subject he had gone iu for. Mr DeLautour then presented the prizes to the for l unate winners, as follows*: — Pa3S“d Matriculation - Gladys Watson (Shakespeare’s Works), Jessie Hall (Life of Livingstone), Finny Baker (Girls’ Own Annual), Frank Henderson (Picturesque Australasia), James Poynter (Boy’s Own Annual). Lower Division—Robert Carswell, first in examination (Boy’s Own Annual) ; Kate Drummond, second in examination (Girls’ Ovn Annual). After the prizes had been distributed, Mr D?Lautour commented on the desirableness of having shorthand and modern languages taught, instead of some of the other subjects. If the use of shorthand became universal, it would economise work by one half, doing away with the present laborious system of longhand, French and German should also he taught. French, he knew, was now taught, but it was simoiy impossible for Mr Maun or anyone else to teach the language in a way that it would be of n?e, when there were so mnny other subjects to teach. Mr Morgan, referring to Robert Carswell, said that the greater credit was das to him because when he came to the school he was the least advanced of any of the scholars, and it proved how diligent ha had been when he bad worked up in such a short time. Mr Morgan also added a few words of encouragement to the scholars who had recently entered the higher branch. The scholars gave three cheers for Mr DeLautour, and three cheers for Mr Mann, and a half holiday was granted.