| Location | 222, Yubara, Minkami-cho, Tone-gun, Gunma |
|---|---|
| TEL. | (+81)278-72-2054 |
| Website | https://minakami-es.edumap.jp/ |
| Membership | 2025 |
2025 Annual Report
Biodiversity, Climate change, Environment, Biosphere reserves
Our school was certified as a UNESCO associated school in November of 2025 under the theme of “Coexistence of Nature and Human Society”. We see the best implementation of UNESCO affiliated activities through environmental education and community collaboration. Through the promotion of ESDs, we aim to help children, who will be the leaders of the next generation, recognize the charm of their town’s rich nature and unique culture, and from that basis foster a desire to protect and promote it.
Furthermore, with the schools educational goal of “learn well, train your body and cultivate your mind“ we strive to nurture students who will become resilient, rich in humanity, who respect themselves and their community. Living in harmony with each other. In 2022 we first organized the Minakami Elementary School Management Council which promotes integrated local school activities alongside the wider community. Which has allowed not only for the students to learn about their town but has also allowed us to engage the local residents outside of the school with the ideals of UNESCO activities.
Specifically, we have promoted ESD during our comprehensive learning periods. As a school located in the heart of the Minakami Biosphere Reserve we developed “Minakami Heart Time”, where our students learn about the characteristics of Minakami town and the broader area. During such periods we aim to foster a love and pride in our home town and to foster students who can think about, engage with and communicate about what they can do to contribute to their hometown’s development. On top of presenting their research and activities to the school and staff, through the use of the Management council our students have the capacity to share their work with external stakeholders such as the Biosphere Reserve, students in other local schools or the Minakami Town local government.
Through Online and in person exchanges with other schools’ students were able to share their ideas with each other to then broaden and deepen their understanding. These exchanges include elementary school students from Tokyo and Yoron island in Kagoshima, Students at Stanford University in the United States, Highschool students from Minkami and their peers at the other elementary schools in Minakami.
To promote values prioritized by UNESCO namely, global citizenship and a culture of peace and non-violence we conducted “Minakami Mountain” activities throughout the year. Students can write notes about each other’s strengths, qualities and what they are grateful for and over the course of the year those notes become a big mountain for the whole school to see. We also run intensive study on human rights in conjunction with International Human Rights Week.
Comprehensive learning period themes
Year 1 and 2 Let’s become creature experts
Grow Flowers and Vegetables
Explore the town
Year 3
Make friends with the Elderly
“What’s life like in Minakami’s snow?” Learning about snow and people’s lives
Year 4
“Minakami Hot Spring PR Strategy” Learning about the characteristics of local hot springs
“A livable Minakami” Learning about the surrounding environment and how to sustainably develop the town
Year 5
“Learning from Oze, a Treasure Trove of Nature” leaning about the natural environment and our lives
“A Town Everyone Wants to Live in 1” Learning about and comparing the capital, Tokyo and Minakami
“Let’s become Tone River Experts” Learning about the river that our town is the source of
Year 6
“Minakami’s Mt Tanigawa, Skiing and Mountaineering” learning about how the town utilizes one of Japanese 100 famous mountains
“A Town Everyone Wants to Live in 2” Learning about an older capital of Kamakura and how it compares to Minakami
Annual Work Plan
In 2026 we will further deepen and broaden our lessons in comprehensive learning, increasing the links between the themes from last year with SDGs. Specifically we aim to encourage students to develop their own understanding of local issues and how they related to SDGs and the broader aims of UNESCO．We also aim to encourage them to share what they will learn with each other in order to foster communication skills. Through our collaboration with ASPnet and other associated schools in the town we hope to further enhance our online exchanges with schools in other regions and improve online communication.