Xinguang Elementary School

Xinguang Elementary began as a branch classroom built in 1952, operating under Xiuluan National School from 1953 before becoming fully independent in July 1961 and taking its present name in 1968. It is the most remote elementary school in all of Hsinchu County — some 50 kilometers from the Jianshi Township office, sitting at 1,650 meters elevation, roughly a two-hour drive from Zhudong. Given that remoteness, the school built dormitories for teachers and students in 1996. Its most widely known feature is the Smangus Experimental Branch Class, which the Smangus tribal community itself established in 2003; the branch gained particular significance after Typhoon Aere in 2004 cut off the mountain road to the outside world.

新光國小前身為1952年興建的分校教室，1953年起隸屬秀巒國小分校，1961年7月正式獨立設校，1968年更為現名。它是新竹縣最偏遠的國小——距尖石鄉公所約50公里，海拔1,650公尺，從竹東開車約需兩小時。正因如此偏遠，學校於1996年興建教師與學生宿舍。學校最為人熟知的特色，是由司馬庫斯部落自主於2003年設立的「司馬庫斯實驗分班」；2004年艾利颱風重創聯外山路後，這座分班的重要性更加凸顯。