ends. A year has 5 epoch cycles. Critical to AKG is the "patronal system", which runs parallel to the epoch system. The largest unit of community in AKG is the school year, consisting of individuals who started in the same year. "Years" are divided into "stacks", which learn epochs together. A stack is roughly 30 people, with a year being made of 2 or 3 stacks. Students of AKG pick the name of their community, so they aren't categorized into sterile, alpha-numerical systems. The name of a year is composed of the names of its stacks. For example, year "King-Kong" would have stacks named King and Kong, and a year named "Veni-Vidi-Vici" would have stacks named Veni, Vidi and Vici. Stacks are further subdivided into patronal groups. Patrons are (usually) the individuals who teach epochs to the students. PGs are the smallest unit of community in AKG, being designed as ready-made communities for students in the first few years, but they usually give way to organically formed friend-circles and lose relevance over time. Students are mandated to pick at least one extracurricular activity every year during this period. School doesn't start immediately with classes, instead, there is an opening activity every day. The activity is decided upon the patrons of that year. This acts as a buffer zone between classes and home life, so students don't just drop into a busy environment. This can be discussing important world news, upcoming school events, playing a game, or anything else that engages the students but isn't related to the curriculum. Year 11/language During this year, students learn a third language. During the previous years, all students typically reach at least mid-level competency in English. In this year, they have to drop English and learn a new language. German, Spanish, or French are the usual choices. Students are given the option to organize additional languages themselves but this is rare. The goal of this year is for students to achieve at least B2 level competency in their language of choice. They spend 18 hours every week learning with a native speaker. Education is closely tied to the culture of the language's nation, and so this doubles as cultural education as well. Students also have two media-studies classes every week and physical education. Extracurricular activities are available but not mandatory. School days are relatively short this year to let students work on their year-long-project