79

E.—l

School Handwork.—lt appears from Mr. Varney's report that interest in this form of schoolwork continues to grow. Last year (1906) handwork was taken in 121 schools, and in the year to which this report refers it was taken in 153 schools. School Technical Classes. —During the year there was a great expansion in the volume of work done in the classes that come under this heading. The Board was fortunate in securing the services of Mr. It. Browne, whose classes in dairy-work, twenty-one in number, evoked intense interest among the pupils. Mr. Grant continued his work in connection with school agriculture, and at the end of the year there were gardens attached to eighty-one schools, as against forty-six in 1906. It has been arranged—the only satisfactor} , arrangement possible in this district—that the schools may take a combination course in agriculture and dairying, and it is to be hoped that the Department will make such a grant for this course as will promote its extension among the schools. Messrs. Clark and Bannister taught woodwork in ten schools, and'Misses Mollison and Fergus taught cookery in the same number. As Miss Mollison now takes cookery classes in connection with the Wanganui Girls' College, it has been found necessar}- to appoint Miss F. Grant to assist her. The woodwork classes have also increased, and it will be necessary for Mr. Fossey, the Director of the Feilding Technical School, to take the woodwork there. Technical Instruction. —For the purposes of technical instruction, the district has been divided into three subdistricts, each under the direction of a Supervisor. The results of the labours of the Supervisors, so far as providing the means of instruction are concerned, "should satisfy the most exactingly prog-ressive minds. In the Northern District, under the supervision of Mr. Hintz, one new school—Eltham Technical School—comprising a soience-room, a woodwork-room, and a cookery-room, was completed. Another school, that at Patea, comprising a cookery and a woodwork room, was in course of construction, while, for yet a third, at Manaia, comprising a room for agricultural and dairying science, sufficient money was raised to induce the Department to make a substantial grant towards the building. Through want of a suitable site, and, perhaps, also through want of interest on the part of the public, no satisfactory technical rooms are yet available at Hawera. From Mr. Hintz's report it will bo seen that classes were conducted at different centres in the district. In all, the people of the Northern District subscribed £323 14s. id. towards the erection of technical buildings. In the Central District, under Mr. Varnoy's supervisorship, the Marton Technical School, comprising a science-room, a woodwork-room, a cookery-room, and a class-room, was completed, and opened by the Hon. the Minister of Education on the 24th August. At Taihape sufficient money was subscribed locally to justify the Department in making a grant this year of £470 towards the erection of a school, and at Bull's the amount raised should produce a liberal response from the Department. An engineering department has been added to the Wanganui School, and Mr. Denis Seaward, A.R.C.A., is being brought from England to take charge of the art department. The total amount subscribed in the Central District towards the erection of technical buildings is £266 10s. 2d. Day technical classes have been started at Wanganui, with what success the Board will be in a position to determine by the end of the year. In the Southern District, which till the close of the year had been under the supervisorship of Mr. Amos, there was great extension in the technical work. The Feilding Technical School, comprising science, art, woodwork, cookery, plumbing and class rooms, a handsome structure in brick, will bo ready for occupation when the classes start this year. Mr. H. Fossey, whose experience at Home and in the Dominion has been varied and ample, has been appointed to the directorship. Under his direction the school may be expected to prove of immense benefit to the large and prosperous district in which it is situated. During the year the sum of £424' 4s. was raised in the Southern District towards the construction of technical buildings. Physical and Military Drill.—Deep-breathing exercises are taken at nearly all the schools. There are now quite a number of cadet corps in the district, and in most cases these corps are finely officered. Arbor Day.—At most of the schools Arbor Day was enthusiastically celebrated. The day was made the occasion not only of tree-planting, which was done on an extensive scale, but also of ornamenting the school walls with pictures, as well of social intercourse and patriotic speeches. It is believed that the time was spent to distinctly educative advantage. Pupil-teachers.—At the close of the year there were in the Board's service fifty-four pupilteachers—sixteen boys and tliirty-eight girls. The Board is glad to observe that among the applicants for the position of pupil-teachers there are now considerable numbers holding the Matriculation or Civil Service Certificate. Having but a short period of service, pupil-teachers with these certificates may return from the Training College as fully trained teachers in four or five years. The scholarship system, and the extension of the district high schools, make it possible for promising pupils in every part of the district to enter the teaching profession. The system of central instruction of pupil-teachers has not been an unqualified success, and it is proposed to revert to the former method of training, except in the case of drawing and singing, which will continue to be taken at centres. Inspection of Schools. —A committee of the Board closely scrutinised the reports of the Inspectors during the year; and the opinion of the committee, as expressed to the Board, is that the work of the schools is maintained at a very satisfactory level of efficiency. One pleasing feature which a perusal of the Inspectors' reports reveals is the extension of the study of elementary science and of various practical subjects. Nearly all the candidates for the proficiency certificate were examined towards the end of the year, either by the Inspectors directly, or at special centres, supervised by the teachers. This arrangement has much to commend it, and no serious difficulty was experienced in carrying it out. School Furniture and Apparatus.—ln continuance of its previous policy, single desks alone were sent out by the Board to the schools. The desk supplied has metal standards and adjustments, with a rimu top, and there can be no question of its durability and serviceableness. Apparatus and material was also supplied on a liberal scale, the Board being of the opinion that, if modern methods be insisted on, modern appliances must be supplied. New Drains at Old Schools.—The Board had to face a serious problem in connection with sanitation at several of the largest schools. The extension or introduction of sewage systems neces-