Media Tour In The Great Earthquake Areas

Children play during the project Sports Smile Classroom in Miyanomori Elementary School, Higashimatsushima City, Miyagi Prefecture, September 8, 2018, Higashimatsushima, japan.The "Sports KOKORO Project" is a project by the sports fields in Japan to support the "mental recovery" of "all" children who were affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake.Four groups (Japan Sport Association, Japanese Olympic Committee, Japan Football Association, and Japan Top League Alliance) cooperate to conduct the "Sports KOKORO Project" and carry out Sports Smile Classroom" activities subsidized by the Japan Sport Council for the children in the districts that were greatly affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake. Athletes with passion visit elementary and junior high schools as dream teachers and pass on messages to the children.The "Sports Smile Classroom" consists of " game time" and "talking time."Based on the experiences of the dream teachers, they pass on the delightfulness of having a dream and the importance of working hard to realize it.New school building completed in December 2016 Forest school that cultivates a rich heart in the middle of nature. Miyato Elementary School has been experiencing a decrease in the number of students and Nobiru Elementary School experienced heavy damage during the Great East Japan Earthquake. Both schools were combined in April 2016 as part of the school reconstruction policy and reborn as Miyanomori Elementary School.The concept of the new school is a forest school. The school name, which was selected from public entries, takes one character each from the names of Miyato and Nobiru Elementary Schools and contains the hope of creating a new tradition in the forest.Built on a highland to avoid the risk of tsunami, it is adjacent to the reconstruction forest. The school aims to cultivate a rich heart while coexisting with nature. (Photo by Alessandro Di Ciommo/NurPhoto via Getty Images)