The school, Konan Elementary and Junior High School, was originally just the JHS, with a few smaller elementary schools located near it. Since the elementary schools were so small, and the JHS was small as well, it was decided to merge them and just add on to the JHS. The result is one of less than 5 E-JHS schools in all of Japan. It is the only combination school in Fukushima Prefecture. It has been featured on all the local news channels and in all the newspapers. It is a great school and I am honored to have been chosen to teach here.

Images:

The front left of the school. This shot shows part of the elementary school.	The front center entrance.	The right side. The first floor is the JHS lunchroom (most school don't have one). Other floors are other rooms.
The big meeting hall and music room. There is a stage on the far end, and seats behind the camera. Only 280 students and 20 teachers.	A well equipped computer room.	A typical elementary classroom. Around 20 students per class.
One of the only indoor pools in all of Japan. No one believes me when I tell them about it. Here the students are playing some game.	The playground for the young 1st years.	The ski room. This area gets so much snow, they incorporate skiing into the curriculum.
The area where students change from their outdoor shoes to indoor shoes.	The library with tons of easy books, of course all in Japanese. There is a big study area around the corner.	The only restaurant in a 10 square mile area, and it's right across from the school.
A special shower that hits the kids from all angles.	A closer view of the side sprayers.	A closer view of the top sprayers.

© Ryan McDonald 2005, for information about using images or text please click here.