1937 - Convention Report

              44 ALBERTA WOMEN'S INSTITUTES
Libraries— There were many donations of money to purchase books, and
donations of books, periodicals, newspapers to the school libraries. One Branch
lias about eighty books, which are available for school pupils. Another Branch
assisted in founding a library by making a house to house canvass of the district,
asking for any books which could be donated to the library; any books which
would be loaned for the use of the pupils for a time, or any books that would be
sold to the library. The results of this canvass far exceeded the expectations of
the women who made the requests. The new course makes a library imperative,
and I am pleased to see the increased interest which is being taken in books and
reading. Our women are becoming more and more concerned to see that the
proper kind of books are available and read by ourselves and our families. I
would like to pause here to quote a little anonymous verse entitled " The Books
We Read":
" We build our home of many things,
Of little joys and sorrows—
Of broken faiths, of children's trust,
Of hope for glad tomorrows.
Of hollyhocks beside the fence,
Of hours of dreary weather,
And blest are we if we can count
The books we read together.
For strong and safe that home shall stand
That knows the joy of sharing;
No burden shall be found too great,
No pains too deep for bearing.
So if you'd build your house of life
For every kind of weather,
Include good books, the kind of books
That you can read together."
Roll Calls-— There were a number of interesting roll calls on educational
subjects. Among them were, " What Branch of Education do You Consider
Most Beneficial to Women?" " A Suitable Book For My Child", " Shall We Have
Hot Lunch at Our School?" " What Do You Think of the New School Act?"
A two- minute talk on " Women of Other Countries." A spelling match of words
commonly misspelled proved interesting and instructive to one Branch, while
some others enjoyed answering a general knowledge contest.
Contests for Schools - Prizes— The majority of the Branches provide prizes
for the school, the greater percentage being given for the highest standing in the
grade. Other prizes were given for the greatest improvement in writing in each
grade from I to IV— a sample of writing to be taken in the fall and one in May,
and the child showing the most improvement to win. Several Branches had
prizes for an essay contest, and for the best booklet made in an enterprise. One
Branch sponsored a contest for the best health poster. The entries were of such
excellent quality, that after the first prize of $ 5.00 had been awarded, the W. I.
decided to give a consolation prize of $ 2.00 to each of the other schools competing.
One Branch varies its contest every year— last year the contest was in rapid
calculation; this year it is woodwork for the boys and hemming for the girls.
Five schools enter this contest, and it is felt by varying the contest that the
interest of. a greater number of pupils is stimulated. One Branch gives a prize
to the school room having the highest percentage of attendance for the year.
The prize is in the form of pictures for the room. Several Branches have given
prizes or money scholarships to the student graduating with the highest marks.
One Branch in a district, having a large percentage of non- English, holds
graduation exercises and presents each graduate with a pin. This is a splendid
gesture on the part of the Institute to promote better education among our settlers
from other lands. One Branch has a Christmas gift contest, open to any boy or
girl of school age. The children make articles suitable for gifts. These are
judged and prizes awarded in each grade.
A Branch in District No. 4 Reports an interesting contest. Six prizes were
given for the best treatment of 200 words, this to include proper pronunciation,
meaning, each word to be used in a descriptive sentence, and finally written ten