SICKNESS PREVALENT

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLIX, Issue 243, 12 September 1929, Page 2

SICKNESS PREVALENT

AMONG SCHOOL CHILDREN. EFFECT ON ATTENDANCE. “Wo are rather concerned with the attendance, but 1 Hunk that the position is general all over tiie town,” stated the headmaster of Hie Terrace End School (Mr A. W. Thompson) at tne monthly meeting of tho committee last evening when reference was made to the number of children absent through sickness. “The number on the roll is 700. The school re-opened yesterday with an attendance of 639 which, after a vacation of two weeks, is rather unsatisfactory,” Mr Thompson reported. “For the term ending August 23 tho average roll was 694, and average at- ; tendance 614. Owing to the low average due to sickness i have applied to have this quarter’s average eliminated when computing the grade of the school. “I think that this is the first occasion on which we have ever had to apply for the elimination of the quarter’s average,” added Mr Thompson. Indicating the falling off in the attendance, the headmaster stated that, for the past term, the average attendance had been 614 out of an average roll of 694, in the preceding term it was 673 out of 717, and tho term before that 683 out of 757. “That shows that this term has been vbry bad indeed,” commented Mr Thompson. “The staffing depends on the grade of the school, and under the provisions of the Act application can be made for the elimination of the quarter’s attendance if an epidemic of any kind has been prevalent in the district. However, so far as I can see, no difference will be made to the grade of the school. To-day, the attendance has jumped from 639 to 654.” The chairman (Mr W. B. Cameron) observed that there had been a lot of sickness this year. “I have never known this district’s average to be so low,” said tlie headmaster. “We are down 80 here.”

The chairman stated that Mr Thompson was to be thanked for applying for the exemption. He added that it might bo possible to exercise a little influence on parents in connection with the attendance at school of their children, as he did not suppose it was realised how serious the matter was from the school point of view, in order that the attendance should not fall below the required standard. The headmaster stated that the lower classes up to Standard 1 were those most badly affected. If the last quarter’s attendance were eliminated the average would be 678 and if it were not it would lie 656, a difference of twenty-two.