A closing ceremony was held for an elementary school that will close at the end of this school year in Goto City, Nagasaki Prefecture.
Ohama Elementary School in Goto City will be closed at the end of this school year due to a decrease in the number of students, and a ceremony was held on the 18th with approximately 200 participants including all 23 students, their parents, and local residents. I got it.
At the ceremony, Principal Takehiko Mori greeted the children by saying, ``Although the school will be closed, I hope that the entire local community will continue to love and watch over the children of Ohama, without being bound by the framework of a school.''
Next, the 5th and 6th grade students performed ``Chankoko,'' a traditional Nembutsu dance passed down in the Goto Islands, which they had learned from local people, which was met with loud applause.
After singing the school song, Principal Mori returned the school flag to Goto City.
After the ceremony, a monument to the closing of the school that had been erected in front of the school building was unveiled, and the children were sad to say goodbye to the school that had so many fond memories.
A 6th grade female student said, ``I realized that the school is about to close.I would like to end the event by expressing my gratitude to all the students who have graduated so far.''
The children will be attending Motoyama Elementary School, about 2.5 kilometers away, starting in the new school year.