Period to Dec. 15. 2003
Sony Science Education Program for Children
The Sony Science Education Program for Children has recently held its annual recruitment drive for educational projects designed to "foster children with inquiring attitudes and an appreciation for the sciences." A total of 181 applications for projects were received from primary schools, 56 from junior high schools and two from combined primary and junior high schools, for total of 239 projects. Screening commenced in early September and by mid-October the field of candidates for the Full Awardment had been narrowed down to 40 schools.
The Sony Science Education Program for Children sent its staff to each of the schools to hold interviews and gather detailed information on their educational project plans for the coming year. Staff also attended classes at the schools to gain a more in-depth perspective on each school's educational activities.
The Program finalized the awardment selections for next year, based on the information gathered, and announced them on December 15.
The number of schools selected for awardment came to 129. Three educational school projects have been granted the Full Awardment, 36 the Encouragement Awardment and 90 the Fine Effort Awardment.
The schools selected for awardment qualify for financial assistance from the Sony Education Foundation, with Full Awardment schools receiving ¥2 million, Encouragement Awardment schools receiving ¥500,000 and Fine Effort Awardment receiving ¥100,000. Total direct assistance provided by Sony Corporation for next year's projects comes to ¥33 million. Additional assistance is provided in the form of donations of Sony VAIO laptop computers and other educational equipment, which will have a total retail value of approximately ¥37.5 million.
Sony Science Teachers Association
- The Sony Education Foundation held its "Research Planning Committee General Meeting" on Nov. 15 to discuss plans of research and study for the 2004 school year. Specific activities included discussing the program content and the lecturers for the Leadership-Fostering Workshop to be conducted over a period of three days.
- The 2nd Executive Board Meeting 2003 was held December 6. The activities included reviewing the report submitted by the Research Planning Committee and approving plans for 2004.
- Editions No. 10 through No. 14 of the "SSTA Chronicle," designed to update leaders of local chapters on SSTA activities, were also issued.
Sony Preschool Education Program for Children
2003 Screening and Awardment by the 2nd Sony Preschool Education Program for Children
The Program received applications from a total of 65 of the kindergartens and nursery school's located throughout the 27 regional and municipal districts of Japan. The meticulous screening process included reviewing the various thesis papers and visiting the schools to conduct interviews. The 47 schools chosen for awardment were announced on December 15. Of this total, five received the Advanced Project Awardment, 15 the Superior Project Awardment and 27 the Fine Effort Project Awardment.
Advanced Project School Report Presentation Meetings
The schools receiving the Advanced Project Awardment last year held report presentation meetings on their activities, consisting of reviews of project implementation, symposiums and lectures. Designed to share the experiences and achievements of the best educational projects, the report presentation meetings this year were held October 4th at the Komadori Kindergarten in Akita City and the Yoikonomori Nursery School in Miyazaki City.
Early Development Activity Center
- The Early Development Activity Center (EDA) is currently in the process of building its own section on the Sony Education Foundation website to make available its extensive information resources, expertise on "Child-rearing Q&A" and introduce the model education classes to the broad spectrum of the parenting general public. Visits to the EDA site have been steadily increasing, with a total of 17,762 visits recorded in the month of November.
- Sunmark Publishing reissued a repackaged edition of Masaru Ibuka's book, "Kindergarten is Too Late" in September. As of November, sales have reached 45,000, which may account for the notable increase in visits to the website
IT Communication
- The Sony Education Foundation has recently reorganized and given the English language section of its web site a new facelift, so to speak, creating new sections and adding useful links. There are now links to the English language pages on web sites of Japanese schools and sources for statistical information on education in Japan.
- The Sony Science Teachers Association (SSTA) has also reorganized its section of the web site to make it easier to access up-to-date information on research sessions and information from local chapters.
- In response to suggestions received through its mailing list, the SSTA has uploaded data produced by the biotic indicator survey, launched recently on a trial basis. Currently, this section of the website is providing information on the progress of the seasonal turning of ginko tree leaves. Regularly updated information received from teachers at 14 schools is being plotted on a map of Japan as the season progresses.
