Japanese Individual Schools: Saint Joseph Gakuen Academy Elementary School
Figure 1.--This is the St. Joseph winter uniform. The boys wear an English stylw unifom except for the headwear. The boys wear an English stylw unifom except for the headwear. The Winter uniform has the standard soft hat worn at many Japanese schools. The uniform including the hat is all navy blue. This includes the hst, blazerr, short pants snd knee socks. This is worn with a white shirt and red tie along with black leather shoes. The sailor unifornm was adopred from the British Royal Navy in the late 19th century and with many variations is worn by girls today. This is especially the case in secondary schools and private schools.
Here we are a little confused because there seems to be a St. Joseph's Gaugkin/Academy operating in Yokahama during the late-2010s. We do not know if there was a conection with St. Joseph's College that closed in 2000 or just when the Accadrmy was operated. We suspect that the connection is St. Joseph's Church. We note that Saint Joseph Gakuen Elementary Academy was certified as the "International Baccalaureate PYP School" for the first time as a Japanese elementary school (January 9, 2018). The decision to introduce the International Baccalaureate Primary Education Program was made because the school's basic spirit and educational policy are in line with the International Baccalaureate (IB) mission statement. With the background of Christian values, the IB program has developed into a world-wide education program for nurturing international people and has spread to the world. Father Iwao Katsuno, the first principal of the Acadeny explains the school's educational policy, "We aim to develop an education that nurtures the people who create true peace and happiness of people by proactively taking the various problems of this world as other issues and not taking them as other issues. The IB mission statement is, "to foster young, inquisitive, knowledgeable and caring people who will contribute to building a better and more peaceful world through a spirit of understanding and respect for diverse cultures." The school has a traditional winter and summer uniform.
History
Here we are a little confused because there seems to be a St. Joseph's Gaugkin/Academy operating in Yokahama during the late-2010s. We do not know if there was a conection with St. Joseph's College that closed in 2000 or just when the Accadrmy was operated. We suspect that the connection is St. Joseph's Church.
Recent Developments
We note that Saint Joseph Gakuen Elementary Academy was certified as the "International Baccalaureate PYP School" for the first time as a Japanese elementary school (January 9, 2018). The decision to introduce the International Baccalaureate Primary Education Program was made because the school's basic spirit and educational policy are in line with the International Baccalaureate (IB) mission statement.
Philosophy
With the background of Christian values, the IB program has developed into a world-wide education program for nurturing international people and has spread to the world. Father Iwao Katsuno, the first principal of the Acadeny explains the school's educational policy, "We aim to develop an education that nurtures the people who create true peace and happiness of people by proactively taking the various problems of this world as other issues and not taking them as other issues. The IB mission statement is, 'to foster young, inquisitive, knowledgeable and caring people who will contribute to building a better and more peaceful world through a spirit of understanding and respect for diverse cultures.'
St. Joseph has a traditional winter and summer uniform. The boys wear an English stylw unifom except for the headwear (figure 1). The Winter uniform has the standard soft hat worn at many Japanese schools. The uniform including the hat is all navy blue. This includes the hst, blazerr, short pants snd knee socks. This is worn with a white shirt and red tie along with black leather shoes. The sailor unifornm was adopted from the British Royal Navy in the late 19th century and with many variations is worn by girls today. This is especially the case in secondary schools and private schools. Unlike many elementary schools, the girls have a differet hat, this one vhas a wide brim. The sailor dress (or blouse and skirt) is dark blue with stripe detailing and a scarfe with cheverons. The girls wear white ankle socks and black leather shoes.
As is the standard convention in Japan, the summer uniform is more informal. The boys wear the soft white cap, a light-blue short sleeved shirt and navy blue short pants. They may be dome in a lighter-weight material. Suspenders are shown in the school uniform image, but we believe are optional. We see the same navy blue knee socks and black leather shoes worn with winter uniform. The girls wear a sailor suit, but with white blouse and navy blue skirt. We see the same blue sacrfe with cheverons. The girls wear white knee socks with Mary Jane strap shoes.
