December 15 to January 30.2004
Sony Science Education Program for Children
Awardment presentation ceremonies for the schools selected by the Program for project assistance in 2003 are being conducted at the qualifying schools, commencing Jan.19.
Total funding for the year will come to ¥33 million, while the market value of Sony-produced educational equipment is expected to amount to ¥37.5 million.
The assistance funding, together with the educational equipment (Sony VAIO laptop computers, etc), is being presented by representatives of Sony Group sites and business units.
Recruitment for Projects Designed to Foster Children with Appreciation for the Sciences
Details of the recruitment drive for 2004 educational projects have been announced. The deadline for application will be September 6 (Monday). Applications should be dated no later than September 6.
Gathering of Leaders of Prefectural Chapters of the Sony Science Teachers Association (SSTA)
Joint orientation meetings for the Sony Science Education Program for Children project for 2004 were held in Fukushima, Nagano and Kumamoto prefectures.
Participants also visited various Sony sites to view examples of the latest technology, including batteries, artificial intelligence and VLSI chips.
The workshop leaders representing the various local chapters will be holding orientation meetings on the details for project application upon returning to their home areas.
Sony Science Teachers Association
The main activities center on the SSTA Chronicle disseminated by the association's secretariat.
- Issue 17 of the SSTA Chronicle announced the schools qualifying for awardment by the Sony Science Education Program for Children in 2003.
- Issue 18 provides information on recruitment for the leadership-fostering workshops. The deadline is set for January 31.
- Issue 18 also carries information for the leaders of local chapters concerning the Foundation's special events scheduled for 2004.
- Issued 19 will present the address for new year 2004 by managing director Nobuyuki Watanabe.
- Issue 20 will provide a report on the joint recruitment orientation meeting for 2004.
Sony Preschool Education Program for Children
Awardment for the 47 selected schools (kindergartens and nursery schools) for 2003 commenced on January 19. Representatives from regional Sony Group sites and business units will visit the schools during a period lasting till the end of February. Representatives from the Sony Foundation for Education itself will also visit 9 schools that were selected in the Tokyo area to hold awardment ceremonies. The Foundation is delighted to know that meetings with the children, their guardians, teachers and heads of the chosen schools will serve as strong encouragement for the Foundation's activities.
Details of recruitment for educational projects for the Sony Preschool Education Program for Children in 2004 have been announced. The deadline for application will be October 18 (Monday), 2004.
Early Development Activity Center
It was decided at a special board of directors meeting, held in December 2003, to wind down the activities of the Early Development Activities Center (EDA). The EDA will be closing down its operations by March 2006. The principal reason for this decision is that awareness of the "importance of the infant stage in a child's development" has come to be widely accepted throughout Japan over the course of the past 34 years of the Center's activities. The EDA feels it has now successfully accomplished its mission to raise awareness of the importance of child-rearing at the infant stage.
Please visit our website for further details of the EDA's activities.
IT Communication
- The IT Communication section of the Sony Foundation for Education website now posts information on the Sony Science Education Program for Children and the Sony Preschool Education Program for Children, including names of schools and preschools that have qualified for awardment. Also available is the full text of the academic papers that were submitted (PDF file format).
- Recruitment information for schools that wish to participate in the Sony Science Education Program for Children and the Sony Preschool Education Program for Children for 2004 is now also available on the website.
- The IT Communication section of the website has also created a page for posting the results of the biotic indicator survey conducted on a trial basis last year. Survey results will be posted on an ongoing basis. Teachers from a total of 18 schools participated in the seasonal turning of ginkgo tree leaves over three sessions. Activities have now shifted to monitoring the progression of the spring blossoming of plum tree flowers.
