February 1 to 28.2006
Sony Science Education Program for Children & SSTA
1. Combined Local Awards Ceremonies
Starting in January, awards ceremonies were held locally for award qualifying schools in the 2005 Sony Science Education for Children. Combined awards ceremonies were held in local Sony offices in Aichi Prefecture, Fukushima Prefecture, and Chiba Prefecture, which were areas with a particularly large number of award qualifying schools.
2. Evaluation of 2004 Award Qualifying Project Schools
In 2004, Ueji Elementary School (Aichi Prefecture) was selected as the Full Award Project school (top among the award qualifying schools) by the Sony Science Education Program for Children. The Sony Foundation for Education conducted a study to evaluate how well the school has fulfilled its plan.
The following URL contains the reports of the previous evaluations.
http://www.sony-ef.or.jp/science/past.html (written in Japanese only)
3. Program Briefings
In order to spread news of the Sony Science Education Program for Children even further and to revitalize the local chapters of SSTA, the Sony Science Education Program for Children has held briefings in four locations around Japan to explain the program. Starting in January, the last briefing was held at the 2005 award qualifying school, Hiyoshi Elementary School in Ehime Prefecture. After the briefing, with the cooperation of the SSTA Ehime Chapter, teachers who attended the briefing were able to listen to professionals involved in the building of the Kurushima-Kaikyo Bridge and breeders who participate in breeding the Noma horse, an indigenous horse close to extinction.
4. Theme Development Workshops
About 60 teachers met in Kokura, Fukuoka Prefecture, to discuss the theme "The Real Power of Developing Problem Solving Skills" with Dr. Shigeki Kadoya of Hiroshima University. The teachers in attendance came from many different chapters of the SSTA, including Fukuoka South, Fukuoka North, Oita, Yamaguchi, Hiroshima, Kumamoto, and Tokyo.
Over the course of two days, the teachers from these six chapters fielded questions about their suggestions and participated in panel discussions that lead to a lively exchange of information and ideas for all involved.
Sony Preschool Education Program for Children
The awards ceremonies for the award qualifying preschools in the 2005 Sony Preschool Education Program for Children were held locally around Japan.
The complete reports for the 2005 Advanced Project Award preschools and the summaries of the reports for the 2005 Superior Project Award preschools have been posted on the home page. Make sure to take a look at these award winning projects.
http://www.sony-ef.or.jp/preschool/2005/gaiyou.html (written in Japanese only)
Examples of 29 projects from the 2005 qualifying schools are currently being gathered into "Compilation of Selected Reports, Vol. 3".
Web Magazine, "See it for Yourself! Children Learning Appreciation for the Sciences"
Make sure to read Vol. 19, "Winter-Winter's so Fun that Our Spirits Spring!"
http://www.sony-ef.or.jp/preschool/webmagazine/index.html
(written in Japanese only)
Announcing Application Guidelines for 2006
The application guidelines for the 2006 educational project essays are posted on the home page.
http://www.sony-ef.or.jp/preschool/2006/index.html (written in Japanese only)
The application guidelines have also been sent to preschool educators and child-care providers around Japan. Preschool educators are invited to contact the head of the Sony Preschool Education Program for Children at the Sony Foundation for Education at 03-3442-1005. Application guidelines and materials will be sent immediately. The deadline for educational project essays is [Tuesday, September 19, 2006]. We eagerly await your fresh new endeavors.
In the News
The Japan Educational Press wrote an article about the applications for educational project essays to the Sony Preschool Education Program for Children in the February 20th edition.
"Wellspring of Science Inspiration---Children's Schoolhouse of Dreams"
Applications will be accepted for the 2006 "2nd Annual Wellspring of Science Inspiration - Children's Schoolhouse of Dreams" starting from the first week of March.
The application materials can be found on the home page.
