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During March, Mr R. McMurray commenced his duties as the new Headmaster.
Perhaps some people will remember the day when two members of the 1956 Springbok Rugby Team visited the school. They were P. S. du Toit, a forward, and P. G. Johnston, a three-quarters. This was indeed quite an occasion as some of the boys were able to see the Springboks training at Nelson Park during the morning.
During July the Standard 2 and 3 classes were able to occupy their new classrooms, now called Rooms 9 and 10. This was indeed a relief as the two classes had been travelling to Mahora each day by bus. On one occasion at least, the bus did not arrive at 3 p.m. to bring the children back to Mayfair.
Just the same, within a few days another class, Upper Primers, were being transported to Mahora where a spare room was again available.
When Hastings reached city status in September, a Children’s Day was planned as part of the celebrations. This was held at Windsor Park and consisted of a morning’s programme devoted to tabloid games, followed by less formal games and competitions in the afternoon.
Polio vaccinations commenced soon afterwards, to be followed by a booster at a later date. It was noted that some pupils appeared rather pale at the thought of the “ordeal to come”.
It was during this stage and the next year that the school started installing Multiplex fixed equipment for both junior and senior departments – such equipment as Taranaki Climbers, Climbing Bars and Maypoles.
During 1957 it was found necessary to transport a Standard 2 class to Frimley, while a P.4/Std.1 class were later sent to Central.
In August, a meeting attended by a Traffic Inspector, the Headmaster and members of the School Committee discussed the need for a pedestrian crossing in Karamu Road.
New equipment purchased during the year was a filmstrip projector, a tape recorder and a spirit duplicator.
In 1958 the covered way to the new rooms was commenced.
When Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, visited Hastings on February 5th, the standard classes were taken to the city where they lined the street to watch the royal party as they drove along Heretaunga Street.
The Governor-General Viscount Cobham visited Hastings in October. The children paraded at Windsor Park for the reception. The Governor-General was very popular when the afternoon was declared a holiday, and a further day’s holiday was granted, to be taken at the end of the year.
When a new gramophone arrived, teachers were provided with a useful teaching aid for musical appreciation.
Two members of the British Lions Rugby Team, Mr Risman and Mr Mulcahy, visited the school during 1959.
Later, a group of Standard 4 children, accompanied by a group of teachers, visited Christchurch.
In 1960 a new iron fence was erected across the western boundary, while the centre piece of the main driveway, which had been a flower bed, was sealed over.
At mid-year, parental interviews with teachers, in place of written reports, began for the first time, and was of value to both parents and teachers.
During 1961, Miss M. Atkinson the Adult Education Officer, commenced evening classes in “A Workshop of Singing”.
Twelve Hawke’s Bay Education Board Activity Day records were broken or equalled when the sports were first held at Mayfair School. Twenty-four teams of twelve children each took part in tabloid sports, relay races and athletic events. Nearly fifty parents helped the teachers to make the day a success. Green House won the sports with 854 points, followed by Red with 843, Gold with 823 and Blue with 781.
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