Nushima
Middle School
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| Where we're located, our history, and the kind of facilities we have
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About Us
Nushima Middle School is the only middle school on Nushima, founded in 1947. Most of Nushima's population are engaged in commercial fishing. See what it's like living and going to school on an island that is a designated National Park, without cars with a population of just 700.
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 ==>About Nushima |
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About Us
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Nushima is a small island
in the Seto Inland Sea, with a circumference of only 10 km (6.25
miles).
Awajishima is a large island situated
between Shikoku, one of Japan's four main islands, and Osaka Bay.
The nearest big cities are Osaka and Kobe. If you take one of the
regular boats from there due south for 10 minutes, you will reach
a tiny island called Nushima. Nushima has a circumference of only
about 10 kilometers (6.25 miles).
People in Nushima usually get
around rather leisurely on foot and by bicycle. As there are just
a few bulldozers and no one uses a car on the island, there are
no traffic lights anywhere. There are a total of about 700 people
on the island, and most of them live crowded around the island's
harbor in one- or two-story houses.
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Nushima Middle School has a
total of only 22 students, but all are full of high spirits.
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Fishing is the main industry
on Nushima. Here, many fishing boats can be seen berthed in the
harbor.
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Konnichiwa!
The middle-school students greet each other happily when they pass each other on the narrow roads that thread their way between the houses. Everyone on the island knows everyone else, and many people are related, so it is quite natural for people to greet one another. The people in Nushima are like one big family.
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The
regular ferry between the port of Habuko on the Awajishima coast
and Nushima. The ferry makes 10-11 round trips a day, carrying passengers
and supplies. |
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Time
is in no hurry on Nushima. |
Nushima Middle School (Japanese
only) (the only middle school on the island) was founded in 1947,
and about 40 or 50 new students used to enter the school every year.
Recently, though, many young people have been leaving the island after
they graduate high school, and Nushima's population has been falling
by about 30 people a year. Over the last 10 years, there have been fewer
than 10 new students each year at Nushima Middle School. Presently,
there are a total of 22 students: 8 first-year (seventh grade) students,
8 second-year (eighth grade) students, and 6 third-year (ninth grade)
students. Most of the students went to elementary school together, so
they know each other like brothers and sisters. The ratio of students
to teachers is 1.7 at Nushima. Compared with this, the national average
for public schools is 16.0, so the teachers are able to give the students
a lot of attention.
Surrounded by nature and friendly people, the kids make the most of life in Nushima. Third-year student Hideyuki Ishii says, "It's near the ocean, so you can go fishing. You can catch a lot of black porgy." Mika Koizumi, another third-year student, says, "Everyone here on the island is so friendly."
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The teachers make sure they
spend a lot of time with their students.
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Send your comments and questions here.(nushima@jcic.or.jp)
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