JANUARY NEWSLETTER
EVENT OF THE MONTH Lunar New Year Assembly
In This Issue Lunar New Year Assembly Page 1
Message from the Principal Upcoming Events Page 2
Message from the Vice PrincipalPrimary Page 3
Learning at ACG School Jakarta Page 4
Learner Profile of the Month Page 5
Community Group Update Page 14
Our ACG School Jakarta Community Group continue to play a more active role in the school with many of our parents attending the Community Group meetings and volunteering. This month, the Community Group worked collaboratively with the school to support our Lunar New Year assembly and it was a great success. Special thanks to all of the parents who volunteered their time and donated.
January Newsletter
Events Page 15
Whole School Information Page 17
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Message from the Principal Dear Parents and Caregivers, It is hard to believe that January 2020 has come and gone. The first month of Semester Two has been action packed with a number of events, activities and parent sessions. On 10 January, we held the Primary School Assembly followed by the Parents as Learners Workshop that focused on the transition from Year 6 to Secondary School. Parents who missed the workshop, can follow the link to the presentation HERE. In February, we would love to see more ACG School Jakarta Community Group members volunteer as we have our International Day planning meeting after the next Parents as Learners Workshop on 14 February. Our Years 11 – 13 students are currently in the middle of their midyear and mock examination sessions and this can be a very stressful time for students. As we conclude the examination session, parents will have an opportunity to attend the next Parents as Learners Workshop where we will talk about managing stress, anxiety and examinations. Although this session is specifically designed for parents who have students in high school, it will serve as a good introduction for parents who have children in the upper primary and middle school. We look forward to seeing as many of you as possible at this workshop.
Upcoming Events 3 -6 February Year 6 Camp 3 - 7 February Midyear Mock Exams Year 11 - 13 14 February Parents as Learners Managing stress, anxiety,
In order to access up-to-date information and resources about our school, we have created a section on our school website called “Parent Essentials.” In this section of the website, you will find the following links and information:
Community Group Meeting
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Library Link
International Day Planning
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Car registration form
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Document request form
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ID card registration form
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Payment confirmation forms for school fees, uniforms, ASA and Sports Programme
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Permission forms for Friday prayer, National exams, Studio Saturday etc.
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Uniform order form
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Student withdrawal form
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School bus service
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Conference links
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Parents as Learners links
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Career and university Guidance
Primary parents are still encouraged to visit Seesaw on a daily basis and log in to Managebac to access school reports or submit an attendance excusal. Secondary parents are encouraged to log in to Managebac regularly to keep-upto-date with student results. Students will continue to have access to Office 365 and Teams for homework and learning resources.
and examinations
15 February Open Day 17 - 21 February Literacy Week 24 February Sports Season 3 Begins 26 - 28 February Year 7 - 9 Camp 28 February Primary Assembly Community Group Meeting International Day Planning
The School newsletter continues to serve as a monthly communication tool to acknowledge and celebrate success and achievements as well as provide parents and students with information about upcoming events and activities. We encourage all members of our community to get involved in our school and read our newsletter to keep up-to-date. Don’t hesitate to contact the school at any time if you have questions or need help. Shawn Hutchinson Principal 2 | ACG JKT
January Newsletter
Message from the Vice Principal - Primary Our first month of the new year has certainly been an eventful one! We have all started our new units of inquiry, which have brought many exciting learning opportunities. Our Kindergarten students have been inquiring into transportation, and they love ‘driving’ the bus in their classroom. Year 3 students are learning all about imagination and putting their creativity to the test. I had the privilege of judging their speech competition today, and I must say, it was a tough decision, as all of the finalists did a wonderful job! Students in Year 1 have been investigating what makes a home through research and creating art. Year 2 students have focused on market places as a system of exchanges, and they enjoyed visiting the mall this week on a field trip, where they experienced a variety of marketplaces in real life. Year 4 students have been designing, building, and testing bridges, as their unit of inquiry is all about structures. Students in Year 6 have been studying the changes humans go through during their lifetime, with a particular focus on adolescence, as well as wellbeing and relationship development. They are really excited about their camp in Bandung! Lastly, Year 5 students have been inquiring into conflicts, peaceful conflict resolution, and the concept of justice through a variety of role plays and literacy experiences. The Year 5 student-led assembly last week was very entertaining! Through a talk show format, the students modeled a variety of conflict situations, along with resolution strategies. The audience was keen to participate by answering questions. Well done, Year 5! February will be another busy and fun month. Our Whole School Literacy Week will be a week full of reading, writing, listening, and speaking activities. Year 3-6 students are gearing up for the Spelling Bee by practicing their word lists. Good luck to all of the participants! More information about the week’s events will be sent home next month. Our second Open Day will be held on Saturday, 15 February. Please encourage your friends and family to come along to learn more about what an education at ACG School Jakarta has to offer. Thank you to those parents and students who have volunteered to support our school on that day. Jennifer Kesler Vice Principal - Primary
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Learning at ACG School Jakarta Kindergarten Our Kindergarten students have been busy collaborating with the Year 6 and Year 11 students this week. During their library session, they had the opportunity to engage in some wonderful 1-1 and small group reading activities with the Year 11 students. They were such attentive and good listeners. Well done to the Secondary School students for providing such engaging activities for ACG’s youngest readers! We look forward to more sessions to come. Back in the classroom, the students participated in some investigations with our Year 6 students, as part of their unit of inquiry on growth and change. Our brave and courageous kindergarten students demonstrated what great thinkers and communicators they were by answering questions such as… “Which container has more water?” and “Which stick is longer?”. We hope the Year 6 students come and visit us again.
Year 5 Assembly Year 5 had a great time sharing their newly acquired knowledge of conflict resolution with the school community. As part of our central idea, students learned about how to identify causes of conflicts and how to solve conflicts in ways that not only promote justice, but also strive towards the goal of maintaining peace in communities. We decided to run our assembly as a talk show in order to be engaging and entertaining. All students contributed to the creation of our assembly through the variety of roles offered such as a talk show host, interviewer, skit actor, or our very own tech team, who were responsible for documenting our process. We’ve inquired into ways we maintain peace and one of the most important factors in this is kindness to our fellow human. We wanted to share this by singing a version of the song “Heal the World” by Michael Jackson. We are encouraging ACG students and staff to participate in random acts of kindness to see how we influence our attitudes in positive ways and encourage peaceful interactions across our campus.
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Learning at ACG School Jakarta Year 3 Speech Competition Year 3 students learned the elements of speech writing and prepared a persuasive speech to present to their peers at a Year 3 Speech Competition. Six finalists presented their speeches to their peers and Ms Kesler was the impartial judge. Congratulations to Marson Widodo (1st Place), Princess Keira Avariella (2nd Place) and Miso Panavasu (3rd Place) for placing in their first speech competition and to Atharv Gomber, James Lee and Salihah Naureen Alhabsy for reaching the finals.
Learner Profile of the Month Knowledgable As our senior students finish their Mock and Midyear Examinations this week, the Learner Profile of the Month, Knowledgeable, is definitely worth highlighting. A knowledgeable student has a clear understanding of many different facts. And while having facts is important, to be considered knowledgeable, knowing how to use facts and information is just as important. A truly knowledgeable student is able to evaluate and apply their knowledge. They use their knowledge to engage meaningfully with the world around them.
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Learning at ACG School Jakarta Year 11 students engage in Community Service During Term 3, our Year 11 students have initiated and planned shared reading activities with our Kindergarten students during their library time. It is part of their pre-CAS (Creativity, Activity, Service) activity, which aims to foster a compassionate and active student in a school community. These activities started last week and are meant to be used in addition to reading with kindergarten students each week throughout the term. Meanwhile, there were some Year 11 students who were interested in volunteering their time to help the library. As part of their pre-CAS activity, they will be helping the librarian to sort books based on genre and do some data entry by using the school online catalogue system.
Year 8 Goal Setting Year 8 students are exploring how to make their goal setting and goal achieving experience more effective. This semester, students are teaming up as goal setting and achieving buddies. They first list the good habits they each have, and the good habits they wish to develop. They then compare their notes and find out how they can help each other to add a couple of good habits tagged along with the ones they already have.
Year 7 Lab Experiments For our Year 7 and 8 students, lab experiments can be both exciting and a bit scary. Jee Jee, Sophie, Vivian and Iskandar were making the indicator solution to distinguish acids and alkalis in the test tubes. This semester, we started to have weekly lab sessions for Year 7 and 8 classes. Students certainly enjoyed various lab learning experiences.
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Learning at ACG School Jakarta Year 7 Circulatory System Model Building
Year 7 students recently explored the circulatory system and competed againts each other in a friendly race to assemble the circulatory system model.
Sports Update January has been a month of preparation for athletes and coaches at ACG School Jakarta. The U10 and U12 Wolves soccer teams are now not only competing in the toughest divisions for youth soccer in Jakarta within the JSFL, they are also set to take part in the 2020 JAMISSA Soccer tournament as well. Games for JAMISSA will take place 31 January, 14 February and 4 March at the Jakarta Intercultural School. The Orcas swim team is gearing up for their next meet; the JAAC Championships at the British School Jakarta on 7 March. This is a short course event and one of the big three meets on the season. Lastly, the U14 basketball teams have also started practicing again for their JAMISSA tournaments. These will take place 8 February, 22 February and 4 March at the Jakarta Intercultural School. February is set to be a busy and exciting month of competition for ACG student-athletes!
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Learning at ACG School Jakarta Art January whizzed by but not before Year 10 students did some heavyweight studying of the 14 Elements of Art and Principles of Design. The reason we need to know, understand and apply these words is that they are the keys to art language; without them we cannot read or make art. They have just started a fun new project that should elevate the use of subject specific vocabulary and terminology in the classroom, and in turn raise their own internal expectations for how they talk about and make art. Starting with ‘colour’, the Year 10 students will use small bags as canvases. They will shop for new, original ideas, ways to show what the elements and principals are. Watch this space as their understanding and making skills develop.
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Learning at ACG School Jakarta Student Council - Flood Donation As you are aware, the devastating floods that started during the New Year celebration caused tens of thousands of people in Jakarta city, provincial towns and outlying areas on Java, to be displaced from their homes. Many people were at risk of contracting diseases and becoming ill, and several people also died during this disaster. All these people lost their homes and everything they own; they needed clothes, food, bedding, baby formula, diapers, and more. Flood victims were given temporary accommodation in crowded, hastily made emergency camps with little to no supplies, and to make matters worse electricity and water were cut off to all areas affected by the floods. So here at ACG we have stepped up to help. We reached out to our community of students, parents and staff to give donations of food, clothing, bedding and baby supplies. Thank you to those who donated. You have been generous, and your contribution will support the flood victims.
Student Council - Spirit Week The student council would like to introduce ‘Spirit Week’! It is an event that encourages school spirit and gives students the opportunity to have fun and interact with each other. Throughout 10-14 February, there will be a new theme every day and students/staff will dress according to those themes. As well as this, activities will be run in the gym every morning break to fundraise for the student council.
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Learning at ACG School Jakarta Lunar New Year Assembly The Lunar New Year celebration at ACG School Jakarta was a blast! On Friday, 24 January, we had a Lunar New Year Assembly with the whole school community. Our Korean students put on a remarkable show by singing a Korean New Year song and performed a traditional bowing ceremony. To mark the celebration, the school community was treated to an amazing Chinese cultural experience, the lion dance performance. Rafa (Year 6) performed a mini lion dance and there were also professionals who showed a great lion dance performance on stage. We would also like to thank our parent community who were involved in preparing angpao and tangerines for our school community. Our community was hard at work celebrating this extremely important event on the calendar. What an incredible celebration! Happy Lunar New Year!
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Learning at ACG School Jakarta Coronavirus Protection Measures at ACG School Jakarta ACG School Jakarta will undertake the following preventative measures as a precaution against the spread of the Coronavirus. Please note the following: As the virus can take up to 14 days to incubate, any student, parent or staff member (no matter what nationality) who has been to China since 13 January 2020 or who has a family member that has been to China since 13 January 2020 must remain at home for 14 days (2 weeks) from the date of return to Indonesia. It is essential all families follow this requirement. Obtaining a medical clearance would also assist. Please calculate this as follows: Day 0 – the day you returned from China Day 1 -14 – stay at home, avoid crowds, read, do home-work; check for symptoms and see the doctor if sick Day 15 – return to school If you have not responded to our request to register your travel over the December/January period, please do so immediately - PLEASE CLICK ON THE LINK TO COMPLETE THE ONLINE FORM For the time being all students/staff members/parents/visitors and so on will have their temperature screened on arrival at school each day until further notice. If their temperature is over 37.5°, then they will be immediately sent home. If your child (or any member of your family) starts to cough, have a raised temperature or show flu-like symptoms, they are to stay at home and NOT come to school. Students may not return to school until they have medical clearance. Please inform the school if your child shows any of these symptoms. The school will send home immediately any child who is at school who displays a raised temperature (above 37.5°) or other flu-like symptoms. These students should immediately go to the doctor with a parent. They may return when they have medical clearance. ACG School Jakarta will encourage students to remember to wash hands thoroughly and review/increase their hygiene habits. We will also increase our cleaning efforts at school. Hand sanitizer will be available at every entry. Coronavirus Flow Chart
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Learning at ACG School Jakarta Course Selection for Students in Years 9 and 11 We would like to thank the parents who recently attended the Year 9 and Year 11 Information Sessions. For the parents who did not attend, please follow the links below to the presentations used during the sessions. IBDP Introduction and Timeline Presentation IGCSE introduction and Presentation As you are all aware, we have a partnership with Crimson Education and students are able to access a range of free resources. To receive free access to the Crimson App and other Crimson online resources, please click HERE All students in the Secondary School also have access to free university advice from Academic Colleges Group. Please follow the link: ACG University Advice Students can also receive Career Coaching through Swivel Careers. Please visit https://swivelcareers.co.nz/ programmes/private-programme and contact info@swivelcareers.co.nz However, we also know that some students may benefit from a more personalized approach to career and postsecondary school planning. Over the next two weeks, we will meet with you and your son/daughter to arrange a face-to-face or Skype meeting to discuss ways in which we can support you as you navigate through the course selection process. Please click here to book your appointment. By arranging one-on-one meetings and establishing direct communication with students and parents, we hope to achieve the following: •
All students to be able to access free Crimson Education resources
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All students to be able to access ACG portal information
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All parents of students to receive at least ONE email that provides a summary of discussions with the student’s plan
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College and university application support
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College and university campus visits, course selections etc.
We look forward to working with you all over the next few weeks to support you and your son/daughter with the course selection process.
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January Newsletter
Learning at ACG School Jakarta Jakarta Schools Enterprise Conference – 7 & 8 March 2020 •
77% of students today aged between 11-18 claim that they would like to start a business one day.
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15% of most economies around the world are made up of entrepreneurs.
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85% of jobs in 2030 have yet to be invented.
As a school, we’ve taken the next steps to ensure that we provide our students with excellent opportunities to develop critical skills that they will need in the future. As a result, earlier this week, we had the award-winning UK education company, 7billionideas, visit the school to launch an exciting and excellent opportunity for our students - The 1st ever Jakarta Enterprise Conference - which will run over the weekend of 7 & 8 March 2020! Entrepreneurship in education is so important and this conference will allow our students between the ages of 11-16 to experience a weekend they won’t forget, while also developing key skills to thrive in the future. Their attendance will also be a fantastic addition to their future University applications. Spaces are limited and there is an early bird discount offer of 20% off for you to capitalise on. To learn more about the course, please watch the attached promotional video and to book, please see the eventbrite link below. Promotion Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlkJs6VDjc4 Booking Link - bit.ly/jsec2020 Please book your son or daughter and join us on 7 & 8 March 2020 at the British School of Jakarta, which will be the host school for the event.
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Community Group Update Our next ACG School Jakarta Community Group Meeting will be held after the Parents as Learners on Friday, 28 February at 9.00am. At this meeting, the Community Group members will be discussing plans for the following upcoming events: •
Litercay Week - 17 - 21 February, 2020
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International Day – 6 March, 2020
We look forward to seeing you all at our next meeting on Friday, 14 February at 9.00 - 10.00am.
Year Level Representatives Luciana Silva (K2 & K3) lusilva373@gmail.com Jooyoung Noh (K4) joo.leo08@gmail.com Merry Slusher (Year 1) merrydw77@gmail.com Simret Kaur (Year 2) simretdeep@hotmail.com Nancy Ludlow (Year 3) nancygrace1307@yahoo.com Sumit Sonia (Year 4) sumitsonia0329@gmail.com Nolita Duder (Year 5) nolita.duder@gmail.com Dewi Sumawijaya (Year 6) dewi.sumawijaya@gmail.com Maggy Good (Year 7) maggygood2012@gmail.com Arlini Evans (Year 8) arlinisyah@gmail.com Puntipa (Ning) Dumlaeid (Year 9) puntipa_dum@hotmail.com Shawn Hutchinson (Years 10-13) shawn.hutchinson@acgedu.com
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Events
Open Day Saturday 15 February 9am - 12pm Please contact us for more info (+62) 21 2978 0200 | acgjkt@acgedu.com | jakarta.acgedu.com
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Events
Parents Workshop
ENCOURAGING ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS FROM AN EARLY AGE Friday, 3 April 9.00 - 10.00am in the ACG Library
SPEAKER:
YURI ROMERO B, SC FOUNDER MANFORUM CO-FOUNDER SUSTAINABLE INDONESIA
Environment workshop, film screening, empathy games and Q&A session
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Whole School Updates Parent Volunteer Opportunities
Lost and Found
Many parents have indicated that they would like to volunteer and help out in the Primary classrooms. We have opportunities for parents to come and read with individual students or with a small group of students in the classrooms. If you would like to volunteer your time on a weekly basis to read with children, please send me an email at Jennifer.Kesler@acgedu.com to sign up. We look forward to seeing parents supporting our students!
We have collected a large number of lost and found items over the past 6 weeks and would like to return these items to their owners. A small group of parents have kindly volunteered to help return the items to students throughout the remainder of this week during morning and lunch breaks. A table of lost and found items was set up on Wednesday – Friday THIS week in the cafeteria. Items not claimed by Friday, 29 November will be donated to a charity. Please contact Ibu Dila (dilla_march83@yahoo.com or +62 8131475-3701) or Ibu Nolita (nolita.duder@gmail.com or 0811988233) for further details or questions.
Parent Information Portal Please visit https://jakarta.acgedu.com/schoolinformation/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. Student Responsibility It is the responsibility of the student to arrive at school fully prepared for the day’s activities. We need parents to support us in establishing expectations and encourage students to be independent, responsible students. Students who arrive to school without personal items (shoes, books, swim gear, library bag, homework, etc.) should not call home and request parents, drivers, or domestic helpers to deliver items during the day.
Lunch Menu Updates: Please check the lunch menu updates (every two weeks) in the Parent Information Portal. Renewal of Car Registration: Parents should complete the online form in order to receive their new Car Pass for the 2019/2020 academic year. ID Card Registration: For new domestic staff or other family members who haven’t received an ID card, please visit this section and complete the relevant form. Transport: Parents are advised to communicate bus questions or issues to ahmad.ahmad@acgedu.com or mia.sari@ acgedu.com. 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.
Vehicle Access Only registered vehicles with an ACG School Jakarta car pass are permitted to enter the school grounds. Students / Parents arriving to school during drop off and pick up times in taxis or app-requested vehicles will be required to drop off / pick up outside of the main gate.
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Whole School Updates Term Dates 2020-2021 Please find below the approved term dates for the 2020/2021 academic year. New Teacher Orientation
Tuesday 28 July - Thursday 30 July 2020
TAs and STAs Return
Tuesday 28 July 2020
Full Staff Orientation
Monday 3 - Friday 7 August 2020
First Day of School 2020
Monday 10 August 2020
Term 1
Monday 10 August - Friday 9 October 2020
Term Break
Monday 12 - Friday 16 October 2020
Staff Only Days (required attendance for all staff)
Monday 19 October 2020
Term 2
Tuesday 20 October - Friday 11 December 2020
Winter Break
Monday 14 December 2020 - Friday 1 January 2021
Term 3
Monday 4 January - Wednesday 31 March 2021
Staff Only Days (required attendance for all staff)
Monday 15 February 2021
Term Break
Friday 2 April - Friday 9 April 2021
Term 4
Monday 12 April - Friday 18 June 2021
Eid al Fitr Holidays
Wednesday 12 May - Tuesday 18 May 2021
Disclaimer: National holidays are yet to be confirmed by the Indonesian Government. The information within the ACG School Calendar is, as far as possible, accurate and up-to-date at the time of publishing. ACG School Jakarta, however, reserves the right to make changes to the calendar during the academic year.
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Information Planning to study in the USA? Come to Parents Information Session at our Pondok Indah Center, Menara Citibank 2nd Floor. AVOID costly MISTAKES What do IVY LEAGUES Expect? Test Strategies: SAT, ACT, or Both? What is the difference? When is BEST to take the Tests? Summer Program, Internships, and Meaningful Extra-Curricular Activities – WHY THEY ARE IMPORTANT. Strategies obtaining MERIT SCHOLARSHIPS What you need to prepare to obtain USA Education VISA
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