No. 4 Primary School

Gaoxin No.4 Primary School, Kunming

1. Introduction to the School

Gaoxin No.4 Primary School in Kunming is an optimized education resource under the governance of Gaoxin District Administration Council in Kunming. Construction of the school began in June 2010 and finished in June 2011.

Covering an area of 4.9 hectares, the school has 48 classes and 2,060 students. Boasting a beautiful environment, well-designed campus and advanced facilities, the school has eight major buildings, including a teaching building, general use building, teachers’ apartment building, students’ dormitory building and the dining hall.

The new dining hall is bright, spacious and well-equipped; the new playground is impressive with an open and wide view. There are also 20 rooms and halls for different uses, including computer rooms, labs, the library, rooms for Young Pioneers, activity rooms, rooms for fine arts, music rooms, lecture theater and a multifunctional auditorium. Moreover, every teacher is offered a laptop, and each classroom is equipped with modern education technologies like LCD projectors and video presentation platforms, which are widely used in teaching.

In the past two years, thanks to the guidance of leaders and efforts by all teachers and students, Lintang Primary School, Gaodeng Primary School, Daying Primary School, Xiaoying Primary School, Hengchong Primary School, Baiyun Primary School and Zhongwei Primary School were merged into Gaoxin No.4 Primary School. They combined to gradually achieve the final goal of building a first-rate school offering high-quality education. The total number of students increased from 995 to over 1,700.

The school has an excellent panel of teachers, with an average age of 36. The teaching faculty consists of 99 members, with 81 percent college graduates or above, 42 named Senior Excellent Teacher, one named the City’s Backbone Teacher, 25 the District’s Backbone Teacher and four the New Star of Education.

These teachers are dedicated to teaching and education, with high professionalism and expertise and the goal of achieving top-class excellence. Included in the group are rural teacher Zhu Huizhi, known for her outstanding contribution; Li Yanfen who was named “the City’s Model Teacher of Moral Education”, “the City’s Backbone Teacher” and “the District’s Model Teacher of Professional Ethics”; well-known PE teacher Zhao Zhiyong, who was named “the Excellent Coach of Orienteering”, “the City’s Excellent Mentor” and “the District’s Excellent Coach”; Li Yong, who has much experience in class management and was named “the City’s Excellent Head Teacher”, and Li Yantao, who has taken part in Chinese teaching competitions and was named “the City’s Excellent Mentor”, “the District’s Discipline Leader” and “the Skilled Worker of Young Pioneers.”

Moreover, over 10 papers written by teachers from the school have won prizes and were published in the journals of education of the province, the city and the district, as well as the journal of the Society of Education. Many teachers have won first prize, second prize and third prize in the district’s teaching competitions and mentor’s skills contests, and altogether 361 prizes were won by teachers and students, 15 prizes by the school as a unit, 102 prizes by teachers and 244 prizes by students.

The school now has a panel of leaders with bachelor’s degrees or above, and an average age of 38.

With support from leaders and society as well as the concerted efforts of all the teachers and students, the school is gaining a wider reputation and has won many honors, including Gaoxin District’s Advanced Unit, Gaoxin Modern Model School, Kunming’s A-level School for “Xuelan Cup” Young Pioneers’ Drum Team and Kunming’s “Green School”.

2. School management

Over the years, Gaoxin No.4 Primary School has formed an outstanding style of management under the principle of "being ruled by regulations, based on profound culture, known for unique brand name, and aimed at further development with its brand name".

The school holds as its ideal cultivating students' interests and letting them grow in a well-rounded way, therefore many interest groups have been formed at the school, including track and field team, soccer team, and bike-riding team, which are aimed at developing students' interests and skills in sports. Many students who are good at sports have attracted attention by winning many prizes.

For example, in the Majinpu Street Primary and Middle School Students' Track and Field Sports Meeting, four students from the school placed first, second and third, and in the Kunming Primary School Students Sports Meeting, 10 students formed a team and won silver prizes and medals in the triathlon, high jump and other events. The school offers a variety of courses that suit different students, and outside sports events to enhance teachers' and students' health.

Specifically, the school has regular morning exercises regardless of rain, and during the longer break between classes and PE classes, students do different kinds of sports, including basketball, football, beanbag game and shuttlecock kicking. With one hour of exercise each day, teachers and students also have great fun.

The school's track and field team has gotten remarkable results: fifth collective prize in the 2012 Kunming Primary School Students' and Middle School Students' Winter Sports Meeting, first prize in the 2013 Yunnan Province Orienteering Contest, and top team to get the highest scores in the 2013 Kunming Primary School Students' and Middle School Students' Track and Field Sports Meeting.

Meanwhile, in 2013, the school also was named "the Base School for Campus Football" in Kunming; in 2014, the school became the city's only "School of Bike-riding Tradition" granted by the Kunming Sports Bureau.

It is not easy to build a boarding school and even harder to manage it. In order to put the students’ accommodation under standardized management, the school aims to establish a civilized, healthy and safe environment and make sure the boarders live an orderly life. With the help and care of teachers, even the first-grade children have developed the habit of dressing, making the bed, brushing their teeth and washing their face every day by themselves, as well as putting objects in the right places.

In this way, the dorm rooms are kept clean and neat, making parents, teachers and the students themselves satisfied. The efficient and standardized management of the boarding system is highly regarded.

No. 4 Primary School