SJK(C) Chung Hua Batu 4 1/2

Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan (Cina) Chung Hua Batu 4 1/2 (Chinese: 四哩半中华公学) is a Chinese national-type primary school situated between Jalan Kong Ping and Jalan Datuk Amar Kalong Ningkang in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia. Built on a 2.6-acre (11,000 m2) site, the school has 30 classrooms, a staffroom, administrative offices, a canteen, library, science labs, computer lab, and a multi-purpose hall which doubles as an assembly area and sports hall for various activities. History Originally, the school was named Pei Yu Primary School and was founded by Zhuo Weinan. The school's original location was opened on July 1, 1932 at Jalan Keretapi (now Jalan Tun Ahmad Zaidi Adruce). Then in 1936, the school was moved to its current location at Jalan Penrissen (now a part of Jalan Datuk Amar Kalong Ningkang). During the Japanese occupation of British Borneo on December 24, 1941, the school was closed and the building was used by the Japanese troops as a hangar to store aircraft wreckage and as a garrison station. By September 11, 1945, the occupation was over, and the school soon resumed classes the following year along with the formation of a proper school council. Soon afterwards, the school was renamed to Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan (Cina) Chung Hua Batu 4 1/2 as part of a practice to rename all Chinese national-type schools to a proper standard. By 1995, there were plans to construct a new school building as the existing facilities and classrooms were no longer sufficient. However, an unexpected fire broke out at 3 a.m. on December 4, 1995, which burnt most of the original school building prompting an immediate rebuild of the school. In the meantime, classes were temporarily conducted at SJK(C) Sam Hap Hin at 7th Mile. The rebuilt school was then completed in 1996 and the first classes were conducted on January 4, 1997. On July 7, 1998, the school became one of the very first of its kind in Kuching to officially incorporate multimedia computer education online courses into its curriculum. In 2021, the Sarawak Government provided RM2.8 million in funding to support the construction of a newly built four-storey school block with additional classrooms which also includes a covered multi-purpose hall integrated in the middle of the school grounds as well as renovating the entire school to look sleeker and modern as well as allocating an additional 0.6 acres (2,400 m2) of state land in order to extend the school premises for the new block. The following year, the school held an event called the "Fund My School Run 2.0" in order to raise more money for the completion of the construction of the new school block which was steadily progressing at that point. The new block, designated as Block B, as well as the new multi-purpose school hall was completed and inaugurated on December 1, 2024 with an accompanying school anniversary dinner celebrating the 91st anniversary of the school as a whole. Classes Currently, the school has 30 classes in total with over 1000 students. Each class has 5 distinct names based on individual human traits and are colour-coded accordingly. Prior to this however, there were only 24 permanent classes and were solely named after colours in the Malay language. Note: The Kuning (Yellow) class was only meant as an additional class in case there were extra students in a particular year. School magazine The school magazine does not have an official name however it is published yearly and still continues to do so. It features academic and cocurricular achievements, essays written by students, class photos, school staff photos, and pictures of various school activities. Photos See also Jalan Arang National Secondary School References