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1 packet of lollies, 1 packet of fancy biscuits. Food left over was given to children too young for school, and to the old. ' Break-up day ' was a day of great rejoicing, beaming faces, and repleteness. " School Sports. —These were held on the same day as the break-up. The usual sports items were held, and the prizes took the form of food as above mentioned. " The year was a full one, but we enjoyed every moment of it." The following are extracts from the annual report of the headmaster of the Hakupu School: —• " Introduction and Organization. —I took over charge on the 25th March of this year, "finding everything in good order. The children appeared bright and orderly, and the work was well advanced. Pending my arrival the school had been carried on by Messrs. Fasene and Rex, Native assistants, under the weekly supervision of the headmaster, Tufukia School. " There has been an average roll number of 86, divided into six classes —(a) Primers, Mr. Rex; (b) S. 1 and S. 2, Mr. Fasene ; (c) S. 3 and S. 4, Headmaster. The attendance for the year has been very good, an average of 83-5 being maintained. " It has been decided to limit the maximum school age for 1927 to seventeen years, it being felt that those over that age should not be attending school. It will also assist in the reorganization of the classes, and permit of more attention to the younger children. " Instruction.—The revised syllabus, received in June last, was read and thoroughly discussed by the staff, and a tentative scheme of work based thereon, together with such alterations and additions as were deemed necessary to meet local requirements and environment, was drawn up. A more permanent scheme will be drawn up for 1927. Each member of the staff is required to keep a work-book in which details of proposed work for each day is entered. These books are examined by the headmaster each week. " Arithmetic. —Good work throughout the whole school. In Standards 1 to 4 the mechanical work was especially good, being, in the main, ahead of the syllabus. Simple problems involving comprehension of English was only fair ; mental, was satisfactory, improving. Analysis of numbers in the primers is well advanced. Children generally quick at figures, and written work neatly arranged. " English.—Oral language, though sufficient for all school needs, is not of a very high standard, while written work, with a few exceptions in Standards 3 and 4, is poor. Reading is clear and distinctly pronounced, but incorrect phrasing and emphasis shows lack of comprehension of matter read, which when tested is exceptionally poor. This paucity in English seems to be entirely due to the environment. No English is required or spoken by the children outside the school precincts. They appear to make fairly rapid progress up to a certain standard —sufficient for teaching need — but beyond that progress is slow and laboured. A certain amount of improvement in the senior classes has been made by the interchange of letters with New Zealand children, and by the extension of this work next year it is hoped to make more rapid progress without spending an unduely large amount of time from the time-table. (See under heading " General.") " Writing - - The general standard throughout the whole school is good. In Standard 4 especially pleasing work is being done. " Drawing. — Here again the work is good, with a fair number of exceptionally good pupils in all classes. Pen-and-ink work has been a feature of the work in Standards 3 and 4, while a start has been made in simple designing with colour suitable for use in conjunction with the Native handicrafts. " Hygiene. —A comprehensive course of work in personal and domestic hygiene and first aid has been covered by means of weekly lessons. Every opportunity is taken to impress such lessons upon the children in a practical manner. The usefulness of such lessons is evidenced by the clean, healthy, and tidy appearance of the children. The girls have been encouraged to " bob " their hair, this making the keeping of the head clean (a matter of great difficulty in the past) a simpler matter. " Nature-study and Gardening.—An increasingly large part of the oral work is passed on the study of native plants, birds, &c., and in the senior classes on gardening operations. A large part of the ground cleared by my predecessor has been dug over, cleaned, and brought under cultivation. Cotton and peanuts have been planted, and observations made and recorded. " Handicraft.-— Boys : There was no previous form of handicraft for the boys, so an experiment was made in designing, cutting, and polishing articles made from the coconut-shell. The work is interesting, and demands care and neatness. Many boys have shown much ingenuity in the making of such articles as bowls for ferns, &c., dishes for table use, inkstands, hair-combs, &c. " Girls : Regular and systematic work has been carried out under a Native handicraft teacher. Soft and hard mats and baskets of varying shapes have been made. Special attention is given to good, accurate work and neat finish. Raffia has been lately introduced as an aid to decoration, and is proving very suitable. " Primers : Plasticene modelling has been supplanted by weaving, plaiting, and the making of Native toys out of the coconut-leaf. Besides being a splendid manual training, it gives the girls good preparatory work, leading to the hat and basket making of the standards. Toys made include balls, windmills, squeakers, bubble-blowers, spectacles, &c. " Singing.—This is a very pleasing subject, the children being very musical and take very evident pleasure in the singing. A large number of songs and choruses have been learnt by means of the Tonic Sol-fa combined with staff notation. Tonic Sol-fa was new to the children, but remarkably rapid progress was made, and no difficulty is anticipated in learning any songs by means of this notation. " Swimming.—The difficulty of access to the sea precludes systematic instruction, but the majority of the children are good swimmers. Life-saving and resuscitation have been introduced. A section of the land drill has been taught, together with methods of resuscitation, but so far only a limited amount of practical work in the water has been possible. To be extended next year.

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