The teachers and pupils at Puay Chai Primary School (SJK(C) Puay Chai) in SS2/54 Petaling Jaya are celebrating after the school hit their fundraising target of RM400,000 from a Carnival Day held at the school on Sunday July 1, 2012.
There were lots of happy smiling faces as the successful fundraising efforts mean the school’s aim to equip every classroom with smart multimedia technology for efficient delivery of lessons to the pupils could be achieved.
“We are overwhelmed with the strong show of support. We took two months to plan this and we are very happy to say that the funds received through sale of coupon booklets and donations have exceeded our target of RM400,000,” said Khoo Chew Wah, chairman of the school’s Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) or Persatuan Ibu-bapa Guru (PIBG) which organised the fund-raising carnival.
The amount raised will be used for upgrade and maintenance of the school’s teaching aids using modern multimedia technology such as the 63” touch screen, projectors and other multimedia devices.
“We believe the pupils will benefit through the use of these modern teaching aids,” added Khoo who thanked everyone for their support and contributions.
Khoo said that the teachers will be trained and equipped with skills and materials to fully utilise the multimedia technology to motivate the children.
The carnival which opened from 8.00 am till 3.00 pm attracted thousands of people, estimated around 5,000 which included children, teenagers and adults who arrived en masse to support the fundraiser and to enjoy the carnival in the spirit of have fun, laughter and togetherness.
Among those present were the school board chairman Lim Guan Teik and Petaling Jaya Utara (PJU) MP Tony Pua.
There were many fun activities and games for everyone and food stalls offering varieties of food and drinks. At the various fun and game booths, children and their families were seen playing and enjoying together enhancing and strengthening family bonds and unity.
A hit with the children was the Water Ball or water walking ball which saw children waiting in lines for hours to get inside the large inflatable sphere for walk crossing in the pool.
A school carnival is not complete without a haunted house which saw large group of children and adults alike forming long queue to get into the haunted house to have some fun and fright.
Khoo said that the school last held a carnival way back in 2006 on a smaller scale. “This year the crowd was huge. In fact, many who came late were disappointed as most of the food and drinks at the booths were sold out within the first three hours of opening. We had 3,000 sticks of satay which was snapped up within the first two hours.”
For school headmaster Chia Kei Song, he was a man with a big smile all round.
“Thank you to everybody who supported our carnival and to our PTA which organised it. Over RM400,000 was raised for the school which was a great effort!”
Chia said he was glad to meet many ex-Puay Chai students who returned to their alma mater in a show of support and solidarity to the fundraising effort.