Monthly Newsletter
FEBRUARY 2021 ISSUE
Dear Parents, Caregivers and Students, We hope that you all managed to enjoy your weekend and reflect on the short month of February. March is a very busy month for all of us and we encourage you to reach out to Advisors and Homeroom Teachers if you have any questions, concerns or need help with anything. This Thursday (4 March) marks twelve months of continuous Virtual Schooling for ACG School Jakarta. After receiving the devastating news of a suspected (and subsequent positive) case of a staff member with Covid-19 on 1 March, we closed the school for two days to prepare for virtual schooling and begin a 14-day self-quarantine period. It has been a monumental effort from our entire community, and we are all very proud of the way we have managed this very long stretch of Virtual Schooling. To acknowledge a full year of online learning, we will give our entire community an opportunity to take a collective breath, reflect and recharge by finishing school at 12.30pm on Friday, 5 March. Our values drive our decision making and should guide our actions every day. Please take advantage of “teaching moments” to talk to your children about our values and encourage them to discuss their own understanding of these words and how they relate to actions. At this time in the school year, we all need to work hard to strengthen our partnerships and show compassion when interacting with others.
Shawn Hutchinson Principal
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February Newsletter
Message from the
VICE PRINCIPAL Dear Parents, Caregivers and Students, And now it is March. I am not 100% sure I understand how that happened but here we are staring into the last 5 weeks of Term 3. This month has seen yet another fantastic assembly effort by Danu and Isabel in Year 13 ably assisted by Mr. Heri and Ms. Septa and a host of contributors from both Primary and Secondary. The assemblies have cemented in my mind just how capable and willing the student body is to take on full responsibility for communicating the highlights of the month in school life. It is clear to me that the students have taken this opportunity and developed a great school tradition in a unique and exciting direction that connects all parts of our community. At the beginning of this pandemic and lockdown I wondered out loud how we would rise to the challenges presented. The assemblies definitely show how our community can use these restrictions and limitations as a spur to more creative activities and determination to put a positive foot forward. Along with the Student Council’s Mental Health Awareness Week and those chirpy, cheeky Radio Wolf episodes, I see a collective defiance in the face of lockdowns. Long may it continue!
Richard Todd Vice Principal
February Newsletter
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Message from the
Senior Teacher Early Learning & PYP
Dear Parents, Caregivers and Students, In the Primary Years Programme, it is believed that education should extend beyond the intellectual to include not only socially responsible attitudes, but also thoughtful and appropriate action. Taking action is one of the five essential elements of the PYP and an intricate part of the inquiry cycle. A main goal of the PYP is to create students who care about the world around them, including the environment and living things that inhabit the planet. When taking action, students make connections to new knowledge they have acquired and apply their skills in everyday life. Action is student initiated, authentic and meaningful and can happen at any time. It can be as simple as a student wanting to share with someone what they are learning about or researching online and visiting the library to continue their learning of a particular topic. Action can also take place when students take their learning outside of the classroom in order to make a difference to the local community. Students at ACG School Jakarta are encouraged and empowered to take action at every opportunity. Action as a result of learning may not be witnessed by the teacher and often happens beyond the classroom. Read the example below of action beyond the classroom: A parent reports to a teacher that her 4-year-old child has taken action at home, after having been on a school excursion to a recycling station/sewage treatment plant/centre. Parent
On your trip, did the children learn about water conservation?
Teacher
It was one component of our investigations. Why do you ask?
Parent
Because during the weekend, I was starting the shower for my son. He ran out of the room and came back with a bucket and put it in the shower. When I asked him what he was doing, he replied “I’m catching the water that is not hot enough yet in my shower, so I can save it and give the garden a drink, after my shower.”
Teacher
That’s really interesting. He is taking action as a result of what he learned. Please let me know if this continues and if you notice anything else.
Here at ACG School Jakarta, we are always looking for examples of how our students have taken action at home. What have you noticed? Please share any examples with your child’s homeroom teacher as we love to celebrate this in class. Vanessa Ellison Senior Teacher Early Learning and PYP
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February Newsletter
School Photo We can no longer postpone this very important event that has been a part of our school calendar since the School’s opening fifteen years ago. This year, we will once again work with Kingfoto to establish a drive-thru option and invite all families to schedule a photo session on campus. We ask parents to accompany their son/daughter on campus as only the accompanying adult will be able to adjust clothing and hair. Photo sessions will be held in the cafeteria area.
Upcoming Events 5 March Early finish at 12.30pm Parents as Learners: Literacy in Today”s Society 8 - 12 March Literacy Week
The Drive-thru photo sessions will be held on Monday, 15 March (8.00 am to 16.00 pm). Further details about registration and photo ordering procedures will be released soon. For those families who are unable to come to campus for a formal school photo, we will be providing further details about how photos can be taken at home and sent to the school to be included in our Yearbook.
11 March Public Holiday: Isra Mi’Raj 15 March Teacher’s Development Day School Photo 26 March Whole School Assembly Community Group Meeting
February Newsletter
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Learner Profile Attributes Name of student: Scarlett
Name of student: Shreyash Dhiman
Year level: Kindergarten
Year level: Year 4
Learner Profile: Knowledgeable
Learner Profile: Inquirer
Reason: For confidently sharing knowledge about lots of things!
all
her
Name of student: Aheli Year level: Year 1
Reason: For being an enthusiastic learner who enjoys learning about new things as well as developing the skills of inquiry and research. It is great to see you actively develop your independence in learning and sharing what you know with others.
Learner Profile: Inquirers Reason: For being an incredible inquirer. Aheli learnt so much about homes around the world by using expert research skills, such as interviewing, online research and questioning. Never stop learning Aheli! Amazing! Name of student: Kyoko Atsumi
Name of student: Vedanshi Singh Year level: Year 5 Learner Profile: Inquirers Reason: Her amazing natural curiosity. She always goes above and beyond expectations to learn more and shares her knowledge with her peers.
Year level: Year 2 Learner Profile: Inquirers
Name of student: Kenneth Adrian
Reason: Demonstrating the attributes of an inquirer, Kyoko is always asking questions and wondering about the world around her. She is a curious and interested learner.
Year level: Year 6
Name of student: Shlok Year level: 3
Learner Profile: Knowledgeable Reason: Kenneth enjoys exploring concepts, ideas and issues that have local and global significance. He is able to conduct independent inquiry and acquires in-depth knowledge from a range of disciplines.
Learner Profile: Communicator Reason: Shlok is always confident in communicating his knowledge and ideas, including attentively listening to his peers and teachers. He also presents his work with great enthusiasm and in the most creative way with high quality of work.
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February Newsletter
Learning at ACG School Jakarta Kindergarten This month, we have been busy tuning the Kindergarten students into our new Unit of Inquiry, ‘Spaces and facilities in and around building determine how people use them’. The students have been giving us a virtual tour of their own homes, to explore the concepts of Form and Function, by sharing the different rooms and spaces in their home and what they are used for. Developing this idea further, they explored their own classroom spaces and learning areas and through discussions, drawings and verbal recounts, shared their thoughts and ideas about how these are used, and what we can learn in them.
February Newsletter
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Learning at ACG School Jakarta Year 1 Unit of Inquiry: Where We Are in Place and Time: Personal identity and surroundings can shape our homes.
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February Newsletter
Learning at ACG School Jakarta Year 2 This week, the students have been working hard on their Summative Assessments. They have done an amazing job at demonstrating their learning and should be so proud of their efforts!
February Newsletter
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Learning at ACG School Jakarta Year 4 For our fourth Unit on How the World Works, students designed and created bridges out of toothpicks and tested their weight bearing capacity. They were amazed at how some bridges could hold up to 7kg! We were also fortunate to have our guest speaker Mr John Tilley (who is an Engineer and project manager for Jakarta Metro Phase 2) present to the class. He shared his work on bridges and tunnels and students were fascinated by the large TBM (Tunnel Boring Machine) being used to create tunnels underground. For Mathematics, Year 4 took up the Sierpinski pyramid family challenge and created various levels of pyramids either by themselves or with the help of their family. For literacy, we have been learning about writing a newspaper article. Here is a sample of a hilarious take on a fairytale story by Alexandrica Salim.
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February Newsletter
Learning at ACG School Jakarta
February Newsletter
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Learning at ACG School Jakarta Year 5 This month was a great time of experimentation! Students focused on understanding the concept of a controlled experiment. They had an opportunity to choose an experiment, set the controls and variables, set up their experiments with support from their families, and document and share their results.
Yusuf’s dough experiment
Salma’s Disappearing Egg experiment
We’ve been working hard on our research skills in this unit through our science reports. Students chose a topic of interest, made research questions, participated in small discussion groups, and took notes to record their information. At the end of the month, they were able to share their information in a format of their choice.
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February Newsletter
Learning at ACG School Jakarta Year 6 Year 6 have begun the Transdisciplinary Unit, Where We Are In Place and Time. During our provocation, students shared their prior knowledge of explorers, discovery and artefacts. Students were able to make authentic connections between those concepts and went on a treasure hunt to discover artefacts in their own homes. Students presented their artefact/ artefacts and their origin. The artefact’s origins represented almost every continent in the world! During our Summative Assessment of Who We Are. Each student compiled their poems into a Poetry Portfolio. One of our aspiring poets would like to share her favourite poem with you…
February Newsletter
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Learning at ACG School Jakarta Primary Student Council Primary School was really excited to experience ‘Mental Health Week’ with the theme ‘Kindness’. During this week, students developed a better understanding of the importance of mental health and how they can embrace the act of kindness among each other. Students watched videos prepared by Student Leaders, shared stories on kindness, and watched movie clips from ‘Inside out’ to understand different emotions. The week ended with a special event called ‘Complement Day’ in which students exchanged virtual cards to complemented each other. Students were happy to receive positive feedback and appreciation from each other. Thank you all for your participation and for making it a successful event. Remember ‘Happy Mind, Happy Health!’. C omplement Day-Year 6
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February Newsletter
Learning at ACG School Jakarta Secondary Art Our Secondary School artists have been hard at work developing ideas, exploring and experimenting with different materials and producing fantastic pieces of art. Please enjoy our student artists’ work.
Sound Painting by Arief Sufian
Appropriation by Billy Gojali
Sound Painting by Jeanne Montejo
Richard_Hamilton appropriation by Shafiya Alhabsy
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Learning at ACG School Jakarta Secondary Art
Sound Painting by Pappin Ford
Sound Painting by Imaan Suliman
Sound Painting by Troy Sudarto
Richard Hamiltonappropriation by Cello Siahaan
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NAUMGABO HEAD NO 2appropriation by Salma Hassan
February Newsletter
Learning at ACG School Jakarta Secondary Mandarin Embracing the Year of the Ox this year, our Mandarin students from Years 7 and 10 have created a brief tale of the Lunar New Year in the form of a creative presentation. To view the presentation, click on the images below.
Presentation by Vivian and Dhayal
Presentation by Puti, Yasmina & Yasmine
Presentation by Rio & Hye Min
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Learning at ACG School Jakarta Secondary Sport
CHALLENGE #1: Tik Tok Dance Practice and perform any of the popular tiktok dances & send them to me! Please only use clean versions of songs. If you need help, check out some tutorials on youtube! Please note you do not need a tik tok account to complete this assignment, you can just use the camera on your cell phone and music from youtube. See the example below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FySQK4FOaVQ&t=37s
If you want to challenge yourself try a mash up of multiple dances: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3xbnumiS0E
Youtube tutorial:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Th9f7_KxMf4
If you tried hard but dance just isn't your thing, i'll give you 5 points for completing this tiktok fitness challenge instead (or you can complete it in addition to the tik tok dance to earn 5 additional points). Please see the attached video: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WLN9prWlmH87mwPQQclbGax5N1OvrHpf/view?usp=sharing
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February Newsletter
Learning at ACG School Jakarta Student Sporting Achievement Koreena Hickey, from Year 7, has been playing tennis for as long as she can remember. She first stepped onto the court when she was four years old and has been playing ever since. At age six, Koreena entered her first tournament and slowly moved into the realm of competitive tennis. When she was nine and living in Vietnam, Koreena won the U10 Ho Chi Minh City tennis championship. Playing in tennis tournaments at a young age can be intense, but her hard work has resulted in some impressive results. After moving back to Indonesia, in 2019, Koreena reached the quarterfinals in the Surabaya ITF tournament and in 2020 she reached the single finals and won the doubles tournament in the Liga National Championships in Bali. PP Pelti, the national tennis association recently released their national junior tennis rankings for the girls U12 division, and Koreena received a ranking of #16 in the country and #1 in Jakarta, which is an amazing achievement. Koreena currently trains with the Jakarta International Tennis Academy (JITA) and would love for her friends at ACG School Jakarta to come join her in training, and maybe even challenge her to a game!
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Sports Update We have now released information (to selected students) about the return of our Orcas Swim Team training sessions. Selected students will be able to register for training sessions that are to commence next week. Please see contact Ryan McPhee at Ryan.McPhee@acgedu.com, or David Firdaus at David.Firdaus@acgedu.com, if you would like your son/daughter to be considered for the Orcas Swim Team.
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February Newsletter
Community Group Update Our meeting this afternoon was postponed and we hope to see you at our next meeting scheduled for Friday, 26 March from 15.00pm. When we last met, we discussed various initiatives that would encourage engagement and community spirit. We are calling for a parent volunteer(s) to lead the way in organising a community virtual quiz night for the school. If you are interested, please contact mia.sari@ acgedu.com. We are also following up on the suggestion from Year 13 parents to run a special workshop. The working title of the workshop is “Flying the Nest – a workshop for parents who have children leaving home and heading to university.” This virtual workshop will be held on Wednesday, 28 April and further details will follow.
February Newsletter
K3&K4
Year 6
Erawaty Kriptanto
Vidya Indriani
(Gavin Kriptanto’s Mum)
(Kenneth Adrian’s Mum)
era_777@yahoo.com
indriani.vn@gmail.com
Year 1
Year 7
Vinnie Kaur
Dewi Sumawijaya
(Aheli Dhillon ‘s mum)
(Rafa Wawolumaya’s Mum)
jagsemailadd@gmail.com
dewi.sumawijaya@gmail.com
Year 2
Year 8
Rei Ooka
Leontien van Hekken-Oostrom
(Sana Ooka’s Mum)
(Sofie van Hekken’s Mum)
omaemonya55@gmail.com
leontienoostrom@hotmail.com
Year 3
Year 9
Naomi Phillip
Leah Sudarto
(Austen Philip’s Mum)
(Troy Sudarto’s Mum)
gnomes69@hotmail.com
leah@sudarto.com
Year 4
Year 10-11
Aprilia Linda Rihardini
Meity Tedjowati
(Alexandrica Salim’s Mum)
(Maliek ten Have’s Mum)
apriliazein@gmail.com
meityth@gmail.com
Year 5
Year 12-13
Nazia Saulat
Wina Darwis
(Yusuf Hashmi’s Mum)
(Anya Simanjuntak’s Mum)
naziasaulat@gmail.com
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February Newsletter
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Forging a future in mechanical engineering Both his parents studied there, and now ACG School Jakarta alumnus and former Head Boy Adam Putrayando is following in their footsteps. A student at Bandung Institute of Technology’s Faculty of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Adam is in his first year of the Mechanical Engineering International Programme – and he is in his element. “I grew up hearing all the fun stories of university life at the campus and wanted to experience something similar. I love Bandung as a city – the atmosphere, the culture and the people – and ITB is renowned for being very academically-focused which helps push me further,” says Adam. While much of his university experience has been online so far, there has been plenty to get excited about. “There have been lots of highlights already including meeting new people, learning to code with MATLAB and experiencing Bandung’s serene atmosphere. I’ve joined a number of organisations that will help me build connections and make new friends, including the student English debate forum, a study group on economic and capital markets, and the volleyball club. It’s also a goal of mine to earn a vital role in the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE ITB) by my second year.” After completing his bachelor’s degree and gaining some relevant work experience, Adam plans to head to Germany to gain his master’s degree from a TU9 university – an alliance of the country’s nine leading technical universities. He’ll be well-equipped for the challenge having already spent three years learning German. Besides, adapting to foreign cultures is nothing new for Adam. “I spent five years at ACG School Jakarta, which is the longest time I’ve ever spent in one school. Prior to that, I’d only stay for a year at each school because we would move countries for my father’s job.” During his time at ACG Jakarta, Adam created memories that will last a lifetime. “The annual sports day (especially winning a couple of them with Biawak House), competing in the ACG varsity team at a volleyball tournament in Vietnam, and organising the annual ACG ‘locked-in’ event are just some of the stories that I’ll tell my grandchildren one day.” He also took advantage of the many leadership opportunities on offer, from Biawak House Captain to Prefect and finally to Head Boy. “I got to experience first-hand my strengths and weaknesses as a leader. I worked under the tutelage of some amazing people and in return, had the chance to lead an amazing and supportive team. I enjoyed many accomplishments and equally as many failures, but those failures enabled me to reflect, re-examine myself and mature.” The two-year International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) kept him on track academically and was, says Adam, great preparation for university and life in general. “During IBDP Year 2, I realised that I had a lot to catch up on if I were to keep up with my goals. From this rise in motivation, I developed strong time management and organisational skills and discovered the value of several online resources. “I think the IBDP is a great programme – I particularly loved the Creativity, Activity, Service (CAS) project! I felt overwhelming satisfaction sending in my internal assessments, extended essay, and CAS reflections, and receiving the grades I’d worked so hard towards. It was well worth it.”
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February January Newsletter
IB delivers life changing opportunities A scholarship to study at ACG School Jakarta has been a life-changing experience for budding scientist Ratu Salsabila Astrakusuma (Salsa). Her two years at the school – and her immersion into the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) – ensured Salsa was primed for success when she began her highly anticipated Bachelor of Science degree. Currently studying chemistry in her first year at IPB University (Institut Pertanian Bogor), Salsa hopes her excellent academic results and outstanding 2020 IBDP score (40/45 points) will create a scholarship pathway into a degree majoring in chemistry and biology as a combined course in France later this year. “All my life I’ve wanted to be a scientist and the excellent resources and teachers at ACG School Jakarta have enabled me to maximise my scientific knowledge and research capabilities,” says Salsa. “With the support of the school, I’ve been able to embark on research that has helped me develop my skills as a young scientist, so now I’m a bit more familiar with analytical biology and chemistry. “ACG also helped me learn about how to gather information and ensure that the ideas I put out to the world are up to international standards which made the transition to university easier.” A keen advocate of the IBDP, Salsa says the curriculum helps students build everything from selfmanagement, research and communication skills to critical thinking and media literacy. “The International Baccalaureate trains us to strategise and plan for our work as effectively and efficiently as possible, while still creating something with depth and meaning. These are the skills we need to have when we enter university. “The IB encourages a deep understanding of the fundamental concepts for each subject area and gives students a starting framework – every topic is a basic building block for the next topic to be understood with greater depth. The more you learn, the more you understand! It’s a curriculum that allows us to learn more about ourselves, what we love, what we find more challenging, how we learn and how we can grow as lifelong learners – it’s a curriculum that allows us to explore our passions in a multidisciplinary manner.” To say Salsa enjoyed studying the IBDP is “an extreme understatement”. In fact, she found it so rewarding that after she gains her master’s degree in science, she plans to become an IB educator. “IB has been a very significant part of my life. I plan to continue drawing on the wonderful resources I’ve developed during my IB studies, and eventually, I plan to teach them as well.” But Salsa is quick to point out that it wasn’t only ACG’s curriculum that made such a positive imprint on her during her time at the school. “Being a student at ACG was remarkable. Everybody is so welcoming, respectful and open-minded. The teachers genuinely care about your education and wellbeing, and they’re passionate about what they do. They provide you with resources that not only help you through high school but also through university, and there are myriad opportunities for leadership and participation.” During her time at the school, Salsa was a prefect, led the Eco-Warriors student environmental group and the Yearbook Committee, and was also in charge of the graduation performances – “a once in a lifetime experience.” “All these opportunities have helped shape me as a leader and be the best version of myself.” And now Salsa is pouring all that rich knowledge and experience into the next phase of her learning journey – right now in Indonesia, next stop, the world. February Newsletter
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February Newsletter
Whole School Updates Library To support students’ access to reading materials, ACG School Jakarta will provide a Drive-thru Library Service. This service is to ensure the health and safety of our community while providing access to library books. Easy Steps to follow: •
Visit acgschooljakarta.follettdestiny.com to search the catalogue of books and place a hold on your selected items.
•
Once you receive an email notification to tell you that your items are ready for collection, you will have 6 days to pick them up from school.
•
The Drive-thru Service allows you to drop off and pick up library books Monday to Friday from 7.30am – 4.30pm
•
To further limit the spread of COVID-19, the library sets aside all returned materials in UV containers before staff checking items back in.
Please see our short video for further details about our Drive-thru Library Service. HERE Parent Information Portal Please visit https://jakarta.acgedu.com/school-information/parent-essentials/ for updated information for parents and students. Social Responsibility As a community of learners, we have the responsibility to model behaviours and actions that we want our students to display. We are committed to embracing the energy and events of our time to advance social change in the areas of environmental protection, animal welfare and disaster relief. Parents as Learners Parents are encouraged to visit this section of our Information Portal to learn more about upcoming parent workshops and learning opportunities. Uniforms: We now have an online uniform order system and would like to encourage parents to use this online service. Payment can be made easily by bank transfer, credit card or cash.
February Newsletter
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January Newsletter