teacherCanada + 41 students + 2 weeks in Egypt = lifetime memories
Jan 7th, 2009, 01:00 PM
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teacherCanada + 41 students + 2 weeks in Egypt = lifetime memories
We are a school group who will be travelling to Egypt from Canada in March 2009. I have travelled with school groups to Europe in 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2008 and once before to Egypt in 2005.
While this forum is primarily geared to individual or family/friend travel and tends to be more upscale than not, it is a tremendous resource for adventurous school/group travel planners like me.
My purpose in creating this thread is to provide readers and contributors an insight into the joys and tribulations of this type of travel. I will describe our planning process and how we have worked for the past two years to bring this wonderful travel opportunity to fruition. Following our time in Egypt I will endeavour to write a trip report worthy of this forum.
While this forum is primarily geared to individual or family/friend travel and tends to be more upscale than not, it is a tremendous resource for adventurous school/group travel planners like me.
My purpose in creating this thread is to provide readers and contributors an insight into the joys and tribulations of this type of travel. I will describe our planning process and how we have worked for the past two years to bring this wonderful travel opportunity to fruition. Following our time in Egypt I will endeavour to write a trip report worthy of this forum.
Jan 7th, 2009, 02:39 PM
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I'm really looking forward to your reports, teacherCanada. How wonderful that your school group will be going to Egypt! I seem to recall that the highlight of my high school senior trip was playing mini golf during a rainstorm in a city park.
Jan 12th, 2009, 06:55 PM
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We started our planning for the Egypt 2009 trip in January 2007, about 26 months before departure. Why so early? We have found that a long lead time allows students and their families the opportunity to raise the money to pay for the trip. Each traveller (students and adult chaperones) will pay $3800 (Canadian funds) to participate. This sum covers all costs while travelling (except sundry items like ice cream, soft drinks and souvenir purchases). The only other anticipated costs are passport (about $90 Canadian) and immunization for Typhoid and Hepatitis A (about $75). Our contract with the travel company includes all meals (water or soft drinks with meals), accommodations, transport, attractions and all tipping.
This trip will be one of my last as a teacher ( I am eligible to retire within 2 years) and I do so want students to continue to have travel opportunities – so I asked a fellow teacher at a nearby school if we could “twin” together and have students from both schools participate. This teacher is no neophyte to travel or chaperoning student groups, but Egypt was a new destination for her. We had worked together organizing and chaperoning student trips to Carnaval de Quebec in February for each of the four previous years. Each of these trips lasted four days. (Those trips deserve a trip report by themselves!) I felt very comfortable working with her and we did (and still do) work well together. I am hoping she will continue offering international travel opportunities to students after I have left the system.
Each school supplied about 20 students each (my school 19, her school 22) and we have 6 adult chaperones travelling with us – a total of 49 bodies. Students are aged 15 – 18 and adults are aged 23 – 55 years. It is a large group. We anticipate excellent behaviour from all the students. From what we know now, they are a good group who will be respectful, patient and polite. The adult chaperones all have a heartfelt desire to visit Egypt. Their responsibilities are limited while we are travelling. Their role is to support decisions made by the two lead chaperones. In the past, in other groups, parent chaperones have been used by students to get permission to do something when a lead chaperone might have said “no”. Our protocol works well for our adult chaperones, since they can always tell students who ask permission to check with one of the lead chaperones for anything they think might be questionable.
Our community is predominantly rural. Many students have families based in agriculture. We are located just over 2 hours drive from Toronto, Ontario. Some students have paid the entire cost of the trip themselves by working part time jobs, summer jobs, Christmas and birthday cash gifts from parents and using provided fundraising opportunities. I believe all students have paid for at least half of the cost of the trip. I strongly support this approach because I believe when you pay for something you take more ownership. If the trip is “a gift” from parents or grandparents, one might not appreciate the effort required to make it happen.
It is a rigorous process to get permission from our school board to offer an educational excursion such as this. We must submit a complete trip plan, with itinerary, costing, educational objectives, insurance, methods for determining success, fundraising plans (to allow financially disadvantaged students equal opportunity to participate) and more for approval. We must use a certified, insured travel provider to ensure all money provided by participants is held without risk. This means a tedious, thorough application requiring hundred of hours of work be completed before we know if there are enough students interested in participating.
Next chapter - the first parent meeting, student selection, a subsidiary trip for participants.
This trip will be one of my last as a teacher ( I am eligible to retire within 2 years) and I do so want students to continue to have travel opportunities – so I asked a fellow teacher at a nearby school if we could “twin” together and have students from both schools participate. This teacher is no neophyte to travel or chaperoning student groups, but Egypt was a new destination for her. We had worked together organizing and chaperoning student trips to Carnaval de Quebec in February for each of the four previous years. Each of these trips lasted four days. (Those trips deserve a trip report by themselves!) I felt very comfortable working with her and we did (and still do) work well together. I am hoping she will continue offering international travel opportunities to students after I have left the system.
Each school supplied about 20 students each (my school 19, her school 22) and we have 6 adult chaperones travelling with us – a total of 49 bodies. Students are aged 15 – 18 and adults are aged 23 – 55 years. It is a large group. We anticipate excellent behaviour from all the students. From what we know now, they are a good group who will be respectful, patient and polite. The adult chaperones all have a heartfelt desire to visit Egypt. Their responsibilities are limited while we are travelling. Their role is to support decisions made by the two lead chaperones. In the past, in other groups, parent chaperones have been used by students to get permission to do something when a lead chaperone might have said “no”. Our protocol works well for our adult chaperones, since they can always tell students who ask permission to check with one of the lead chaperones for anything they think might be questionable.
Our community is predominantly rural. Many students have families based in agriculture. We are located just over 2 hours drive from Toronto, Ontario. Some students have paid the entire cost of the trip themselves by working part time jobs, summer jobs, Christmas and birthday cash gifts from parents and using provided fundraising opportunities. I believe all students have paid for at least half of the cost of the trip. I strongly support this approach because I believe when you pay for something you take more ownership. If the trip is “a gift” from parents or grandparents, one might not appreciate the effort required to make it happen.
It is a rigorous process to get permission from our school board to offer an educational excursion such as this. We must submit a complete trip plan, with itinerary, costing, educational objectives, insurance, methods for determining success, fundraising plans (to allow financially disadvantaged students equal opportunity to participate) and more for approval. We must use a certified, insured travel provider to ensure all money provided by participants is held without risk. This means a tedious, thorough application requiring hundred of hours of work be completed before we know if there are enough students interested in participating.
Next chapter - the first parent meeting, student selection, a subsidiary trip for participants.
Jan 18th, 2009, 03:45 PM
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Teacher Candada, I also look forward to reading about your adventures. Long ago, when my son was in highschool (we also live in Canada, but in Vancouver) he signed up for a Global Education class, that I believe is still running. The 17 students, along with the Global Ed teacher, studied the chosen country all year, and fundraised for a 'project'. Their project that particular year was to build a playgound structure at a school for deaf orphans in a small town in rural Viet Nam. For two weeks at Spring break the students, 2 teachers, a nurse, a dentist and a few other chaperones travelled there & built the playground structure. It was hard work, but they also did get to see some of the country, and do some sightseeing both in Saigon, the rural highlands of Viet Nam and Seoul, Korea. Many times our son has told us it changed his life.
I know it made him the global traveller that he is today (of course my itchy feet would have helped him there too....)
My hat's off to you and I look forward to reading about the kid's adventures.
I know it made him the global traveller that he is today (of course my itchy feet would have helped him there too....)
My hat's off to you and I look forward to reading about the kid's adventures.
Jan 19th, 2009, 12:09 PM
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Hi TC,
Like Anselm, I too am 'fingerprinting' this thread to find it readily as you post updates to it.
Theres certainly as much enjoyment in reading of your planning procedures as there is in reading the final trip report. Great stuff !
M.
Like Anselm, I too am 'fingerprinting' this thread to find it readily as you post updates to it.
Theres certainly as much enjoyment in reading of your planning procedures as there is in reading the final trip report. Great stuff !
M.
Jan 19th, 2009, 06:39 PM
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ShayTay, nukesafe, LyndaS, Anselm and Mathieu - thanks for your encouragement. Anselm, I loved your recent report from France.
As mentioned earlier, I had chaperoned 36 students to Egypt in 2005 and we contracted the services of a company based in British Columbia that specialized in travel to Egypt. They were not specialists in school group travel, but were willing to try hard to do their best. We were very pleased with the results in 2005. This did not, however, ensure they had our repeat business. I had asked 5 other travel companies that specialized in school group travel to provide a quote for the itinerary we provided to them. Some companies were not flexible and were just interested in selling their package tours, others were flexible, but were more costly and others I felt would not be able to provide our group with the type of “on the ground” support we might need if things didn’t go perfectly.
We ended up staying with our travel professionals from 2005.
As an educator responsible for chaperoning international trips and charged with the safety of teenagers, it ultimately falls on my shoulders to do everything in my power to ensure their well being and safe return. Unfortunately, the students don’t grasp this concept well and generally just want to have a good time. Our school board ensures the educational component of trips such as these (a concept I wholeheartedly support). I do try to balance the learning moments with fun because I have found everyone learns more if we have fun.
During the spring and summer of 2007 we fleshed out our itinerary and our travel professionals gave us a reasonable price. There always seem to be caveats to “contracts” and this was no exception. The price was firm – except if departure taxes change or fuel surcharges change. They made a commitment to honour their price – we made a commitment to do business with them. Now we had something on paper, the lead chaperones felt we could hold a “see if anyone is interested” meeting. We prepared an agenda that explained our qualifications as chaperones, the itinerary, what was included, the cost, the extra costs (passport, immunization, travel insurance), our expectations for student behaviour, etc. We showed a video from the 2005 Egypt trip to provide parents (and their children) an idea of our activities, modes of transport, hotels and such. Over 70 people attended (most were parents and possible participants).
We asked anyone interested in participating to provide a $500 deposit cheque. Over twenty people took out their cheque books. What a vote of confidence for us. The cheque was fully refundable until we had Board approval, but would be binding at that point. Each following payment was non-refundable.
Our application to the Board for approval requires a detailed itinerary, copies of contracts with the travel agency, evidence the travel agency has the requisite insurance through TICO, an extensive review of the curriculum connections (to justify the educational component of the trip) and provides details of fundraising activities that will be offered (to allow financially disadvantaged students equal opportunity). The application is detailed and a bit of a pain, but it forces trip planners to plan very well.
The Board approved the trip in December 2007. We were in business.
Once we received Board approval, many other students approached us with cheques. Chaperones had concerns about 2 students who brought in deposits. One student had recently travelled with me to Europe and exhibited immaturity regularly. He would pester others on the trip to the extent that half way through the trip, no one wanted to share a room with him. I had the task of phoning parents to talk about how some of his previous travelling behaviour had impacted our group. I hoped for a “good” response from his parents. They were flabbergasted at the description of his behaviour and couldn’t quite believe we were talking about their child.
The other student had travelled with us (the two lead chaperones) twice before on multi-night trips. Our concern with this student was his apparent inability (or unwillingness) to take direction from chaperones. He often spoke “out of turn” and was often rude. He wanted to purchase weapons (swords, knives) and pestered for hours to be allowed to do so. He did have difficulty establishing and maintaining friends. When sleeping arrangements put him and another boy in the same bed, he marched off to sleep in the bathtub. I prepared to telephone this boy’s parents with reasons for our decision.
As I record these memories these incidents may seem a little petty, but they don’t fully reflect the circumstances. I guess you had to be present to get the full impact.
Our school Board has a policy of “inclusion” and if a field trip is related to curriculum (as this trip was) the organizers are not allowed to restrict who participates.
This was turning into a real dilemma. The Superintendent said we were not allowed to say these students weren’t allowed to participate. On the other hand, we felt if these students participated it could jeopardize the success of the trip. What to do??
We determined the best approach was to try to convince the students and their parents that this trip to Egypt was not in the best interests of their children. This was not going to be easy and required the smoothest, least confrontational approach possible.
The phone calls were made and we tried to explain how the culture, traditions, language et al were markedly different from what they were used to and we were concerned how their children would deal with the differences in protocol, the police state, the presence of many armed police etc. We stressed that travelling with a large group may not allow each of them the attention they deserved. We talked about the importance of the group mentality where individual needs come second to the needs of the group (and mentioned several instances where their child had not demonstrated that capacity). We also talked about the need for trust and respect that need to be shown to chaperones and others and how we had witnessed episodes where that had not been demonstrated. We concluded our discussions with a reminder of how long (fifteen days) we would be away from home, the distance involved and that if there were incidents that required severe disciplinary action it would be a very expensive return trip.
Thankfully, both students, after consultation with their parents decided to withdraw from the trip. We appreciated their enthusiasm to travel, but this was not the best trip for them.
Over the next months students continued to bring in their instalment payments, most of them on time.
On our international trips we promote the “family” approach wherein ideally, everyone knows everyone else. If all travellers are from one school that is not usually an issue. However, we were putting students from two schools together, and they didn’t really know each other. The chaperones wanted to do some “team building” activities.
We arranged a full day field trip to Toronto in September, 2008 for all participants (and all chaperones). Our destinations? To see the IMAX movie at Ontario Place (a large amusement/recreation area) called “The Mysteries of Egypt” and to have a guided tour through the Egyptian exhibit at the Royal Ontario Museum. These activities were designed to “whet their appetite” for the “real thing” in March. All but one of the group attended. On the coach ride we had prepared “ice-breaker” activities where students from different schools had to interview each other and introduce that person to everyone else on the bus. We had a great day weather wise. Everyone had a great day.
As mentioned earlier, I had chaperoned 36 students to Egypt in 2005 and we contracted the services of a company based in British Columbia that specialized in travel to Egypt. They were not specialists in school group travel, but were willing to try hard to do their best. We were very pleased with the results in 2005. This did not, however, ensure they had our repeat business. I had asked 5 other travel companies that specialized in school group travel to provide a quote for the itinerary we provided to them. Some companies were not flexible and were just interested in selling their package tours, others were flexible, but were more costly and others I felt would not be able to provide our group with the type of “on the ground” support we might need if things didn’t go perfectly.
We ended up staying with our travel professionals from 2005.
As an educator responsible for chaperoning international trips and charged with the safety of teenagers, it ultimately falls on my shoulders to do everything in my power to ensure their well being and safe return. Unfortunately, the students don’t grasp this concept well and generally just want to have a good time. Our school board ensures the educational component of trips such as these (a concept I wholeheartedly support). I do try to balance the learning moments with fun because I have found everyone learns more if we have fun.
During the spring and summer of 2007 we fleshed out our itinerary and our travel professionals gave us a reasonable price. There always seem to be caveats to “contracts” and this was no exception. The price was firm – except if departure taxes change or fuel surcharges change. They made a commitment to honour their price – we made a commitment to do business with them. Now we had something on paper, the lead chaperones felt we could hold a “see if anyone is interested” meeting. We prepared an agenda that explained our qualifications as chaperones, the itinerary, what was included, the cost, the extra costs (passport, immunization, travel insurance), our expectations for student behaviour, etc. We showed a video from the 2005 Egypt trip to provide parents (and their children) an idea of our activities, modes of transport, hotels and such. Over 70 people attended (most were parents and possible participants).
We asked anyone interested in participating to provide a $500 deposit cheque. Over twenty people took out their cheque books. What a vote of confidence for us. The cheque was fully refundable until we had Board approval, but would be binding at that point. Each following payment was non-refundable.
Our application to the Board for approval requires a detailed itinerary, copies of contracts with the travel agency, evidence the travel agency has the requisite insurance through TICO, an extensive review of the curriculum connections (to justify the educational component of the trip) and provides details of fundraising activities that will be offered (to allow financially disadvantaged students equal opportunity). The application is detailed and a bit of a pain, but it forces trip planners to plan very well.
The Board approved the trip in December 2007. We were in business.
Once we received Board approval, many other students approached us with cheques. Chaperones had concerns about 2 students who brought in deposits. One student had recently travelled with me to Europe and exhibited immaturity regularly. He would pester others on the trip to the extent that half way through the trip, no one wanted to share a room with him. I had the task of phoning parents to talk about how some of his previous travelling behaviour had impacted our group. I hoped for a “good” response from his parents. They were flabbergasted at the description of his behaviour and couldn’t quite believe we were talking about their child.
The other student had travelled with us (the two lead chaperones) twice before on multi-night trips. Our concern with this student was his apparent inability (or unwillingness) to take direction from chaperones. He often spoke “out of turn” and was often rude. He wanted to purchase weapons (swords, knives) and pestered for hours to be allowed to do so. He did have difficulty establishing and maintaining friends. When sleeping arrangements put him and another boy in the same bed, he marched off to sleep in the bathtub. I prepared to telephone this boy’s parents with reasons for our decision.
As I record these memories these incidents may seem a little petty, but they don’t fully reflect the circumstances. I guess you had to be present to get the full impact.
Our school Board has a policy of “inclusion” and if a field trip is related to curriculum (as this trip was) the organizers are not allowed to restrict who participates.
This was turning into a real dilemma. The Superintendent said we were not allowed to say these students weren’t allowed to participate. On the other hand, we felt if these students participated it could jeopardize the success of the trip. What to do??
We determined the best approach was to try to convince the students and their parents that this trip to Egypt was not in the best interests of their children. This was not going to be easy and required the smoothest, least confrontational approach possible.
The phone calls were made and we tried to explain how the culture, traditions, language et al were markedly different from what they were used to and we were concerned how their children would deal with the differences in protocol, the police state, the presence of many armed police etc. We stressed that travelling with a large group may not allow each of them the attention they deserved. We talked about the importance of the group mentality where individual needs come second to the needs of the group (and mentioned several instances where their child had not demonstrated that capacity). We also talked about the need for trust and respect that need to be shown to chaperones and others and how we had witnessed episodes where that had not been demonstrated. We concluded our discussions with a reminder of how long (fifteen days) we would be away from home, the distance involved and that if there were incidents that required severe disciplinary action it would be a very expensive return trip.
Thankfully, both students, after consultation with their parents decided to withdraw from the trip. We appreciated their enthusiasm to travel, but this was not the best trip for them.
Over the next months students continued to bring in their instalment payments, most of them on time.
On our international trips we promote the “family” approach wherein ideally, everyone knows everyone else. If all travellers are from one school that is not usually an issue. However, we were putting students from two schools together, and they didn’t really know each other. The chaperones wanted to do some “team building” activities.
We arranged a full day field trip to Toronto in September, 2008 for all participants (and all chaperones). Our destinations? To see the IMAX movie at Ontario Place (a large amusement/recreation area) called “The Mysteries of Egypt” and to have a guided tour through the Egyptian exhibit at the Royal Ontario Museum. These activities were designed to “whet their appetite” for the “real thing” in March. All but one of the group attended. On the coach ride we had prepared “ice-breaker” activities where students from different schools had to interview each other and introduce that person to everyone else on the bus. We had a great day weather wise. Everyone had a great day.
Jan 20th, 2009, 12:14 PM
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Teacher canada, I am so glad that you are doing another trip. Your last report was amazing and fun to read. I hope that parents of children who are going on "school" trips read this and take in how much work it is to organize and carry out trips with teenagers. Teachers everywhere struggle with the logistics of travel, getting the best bargain for the students, having the best learning and fun time possible, and hoping that all students will present the best possible image of their home country. You seem to be at the top of the heap in all of these aspects.
You say the incidents with the two students who are not going sound petty. They don't sound petty to me! I understand fully how the needs of the group come before those of individuals. So often this is true in the classroom back home as well.
Good luck!
You say the incidents with the two students who are not going sound petty. They don't sound petty to me! I understand fully how the needs of the group come before those of individuals. So often this is true in the classroom back home as well.
Good luck!
Jan 21st, 2009, 09:21 AM
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Thanks for your encouragement irishface. I do love opening the eyes and minds of my students to new locations and cultures. This trip looks like it might be the best one ever.
lincasanova - I would love to meet up with you again. I have such fond memories of that wonderful afternoon driving around Valencia. I am confident somehow, somewhere our paths will cross again.
When I attended the Toronto GTG in August I thought how nice it would have been to have you there to share your stories. Quite a number of those present (there were about 35 Fodorites) knew you from your contributions on this forum.
tC
lincasanova - I would love to meet up with you again. I have such fond memories of that wonderful afternoon driving around Valencia. I am confident somehow, somewhere our paths will cross again.
When I attended the Toronto GTG in August I thought how nice it would have been to have you there to share your stories. Quite a number of those present (there were about 35 Fodorites) knew you from your contributions on this forum.
tC
Feb 2nd, 2009, 08:28 PM
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Much of the time dedicated to the execution of Egypt 2009 has been spent on fundraising activities for students. Both lead chaperones want to be associated with successful activities, rather than have the trip tagged to events that either didn’t please someone or didn’t raise money. We did try to have activities that would promote togetherness and bonding, but this was not always possible.
Please bear in mind that the two lead chaperones have full time jobs teaching (and both of us with additional administrative roles), we have active families and occasionally active social lives. We could not dedicate too much time to fundraising, but did want to give opportunities to those who wished to pay for the trip or supplement their spending money.
Individual fundraising activities included: selling boxed “Kernels” flavoured popcorn, selling Pizza Cards (valid for 6 months) that cost the purchaser $10 and allowed the card purchaser to buy three pizzas for the price of two (the seller kept the entire $10 proceeds), and grocery tape collection (this involves collecting $1000 worth of grocery sales tapes then redeeming them at the local store for about $3). Each of these three techniques worked well for those who were enthused about doing them. About 15 – 18 of the 41 participants used these fundraising avenues.
Our two big fundraisers were the “Turkey with Tut” dinner and facilitating a local women’s volleyball tournament.
The “Turkey with Tut” dinner was a great success. All participants (except two) participated. Proceeds from the dinner were divided among participants based on the number of hours dedicated to the dinner. Essentially, our group served a complete turkey dinner (with coffee/tea/juice and desert) to nearly 300 people in two different sittings (5:30 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.) at our high school cafeteria. The turkeys were cooked in the cafeteria and classroom ovens, 200 pounds of potatoes were peeled, cooked and mashed, 100 pounds of turnip were peeled, cooked and mashed, ... well you can imagine the effort by the great parent organizing committee and the efforts of all the students.
All student travellers wore black pants and white tops. They served and bussed the tables, set up lots of decorations (we had a massive sugar cube pyramid, had hieroglyphics pasted all over the cafeteria and even a life sized mummy wrapped in toilet paper and surrounded by sand as a focal point). There were door prizes and raffles too.
Everything (and I mean everything) was donated by local merchants. Over 300 pounds of solid turkey meat, the stuffing, the potatoes, vegetables, plates, the coffee, the desserts – everything was donated, so all the proceeds went to the deserving students. We live in a very supportive community. Over $3000 was raised for students in that one successful night.
Students from the two different schools were matched on teams and “forced” to work with others they didn’t know. This allowed them to socialize and get to know each other, yet still remain focussed on the task. The lead chaperones were very pleased with the results.
The second big fundraiser involved facilitating a ladies recreational volleyball tournament. These ladies sponsor an all-day 24 team tournament, but all would rather play than organize. The offer was made to our group to take over all aspects of organizing. All proceeds would go to our group. The group provided lunches, healthy snacks, water, a monitored coat check room, set up the scoring ladder, recorded scores, washed floors – anything that needed to be done for the ladies. Again, very successful. This event involved only about 9 participants – but raised nearly $2000 to be distributed based on the hours dedicated to the task.
We did try to organize a coach tour to CasinoRama (about 2 hours drive away). Try as we might, we just couldn’t get a sufficient number of people interested in going. We ended up cancelling the coach and calling those few who did want to go with the disappointing news.
Next instalment – closing in on the final details, the final parent meeting, tshirts and our matching travel sweatshirts, and a few “negotiables” with the travel agent.
Please bear in mind that the two lead chaperones have full time jobs teaching (and both of us with additional administrative roles), we have active families and occasionally active social lives. We could not dedicate too much time to fundraising, but did want to give opportunities to those who wished to pay for the trip or supplement their spending money.
Individual fundraising activities included: selling boxed “Kernels” flavoured popcorn, selling Pizza Cards (valid for 6 months) that cost the purchaser $10 and allowed the card purchaser to buy three pizzas for the price of two (the seller kept the entire $10 proceeds), and grocery tape collection (this involves collecting $1000 worth of grocery sales tapes then redeeming them at the local store for about $3). Each of these three techniques worked well for those who were enthused about doing them. About 15 – 18 of the 41 participants used these fundraising avenues.
Our two big fundraisers were the “Turkey with Tut” dinner and facilitating a local women’s volleyball tournament.
The “Turkey with Tut” dinner was a great success. All participants (except two) participated. Proceeds from the dinner were divided among participants based on the number of hours dedicated to the dinner. Essentially, our group served a complete turkey dinner (with coffee/tea/juice and desert) to nearly 300 people in two different sittings (5:30 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.) at our high school cafeteria. The turkeys were cooked in the cafeteria and classroom ovens, 200 pounds of potatoes were peeled, cooked and mashed, 100 pounds of turnip were peeled, cooked and mashed, ... well you can imagine the effort by the great parent organizing committee and the efforts of all the students.
All student travellers wore black pants and white tops. They served and bussed the tables, set up lots of decorations (we had a massive sugar cube pyramid, had hieroglyphics pasted all over the cafeteria and even a life sized mummy wrapped in toilet paper and surrounded by sand as a focal point). There were door prizes and raffles too.
Everything (and I mean everything) was donated by local merchants. Over 300 pounds of solid turkey meat, the stuffing, the potatoes, vegetables, plates, the coffee, the desserts – everything was donated, so all the proceeds went to the deserving students. We live in a very supportive community. Over $3000 was raised for students in that one successful night.
Students from the two different schools were matched on teams and “forced” to work with others they didn’t know. This allowed them to socialize and get to know each other, yet still remain focussed on the task. The lead chaperones were very pleased with the results.
The second big fundraiser involved facilitating a ladies recreational volleyball tournament. These ladies sponsor an all-day 24 team tournament, but all would rather play than organize. The offer was made to our group to take over all aspects of organizing. All proceeds would go to our group. The group provided lunches, healthy snacks, water, a monitored coat check room, set up the scoring ladder, recorded scores, washed floors – anything that needed to be done for the ladies. Again, very successful. This event involved only about 9 participants – but raised nearly $2000 to be distributed based on the hours dedicated to the task.
We did try to organize a coach tour to CasinoRama (about 2 hours drive away). Try as we might, we just couldn’t get a sufficient number of people interested in going. We ended up cancelling the coach and calling those few who did want to go with the disappointing news.
Next instalment – closing in on the final details, the final parent meeting, tshirts and our matching travel sweatshirts, and a few “negotiables” with the travel agent.
Feb 8th, 2009, 11:59 AM
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Our departure day looms closer and closer. The two lead chaperones are creating two lists – “must do’s’ and “should do’s”. Of course the first list is comprised of things that need to be done, but the other list is much more fun to work with.
All participants have paid in full for the trip. All participants have valid passports (we have photocopies of each one).
We have collected nearly all the required school board permission forms. We use an additional form from Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) that allows non-custodial adults (like me) to take children (the students) that don’t belong to me across an international border. These are signed by both parents in the presence of a Commissioner of Oaths or Notary Public who affixes his/her seal to the sheet. We also collect all passports. They are kept in the school safe until our departure date.
All students have applied for (and received) International Student Identity Cards (ISIC) and teachers have the equivalent ITIC cards. They cost $17 Canadian each, but allow us free entry into all Egyptian government sites and allow for free upgrades at various accommodations because we will be an “official” educational excursion.
Our air tickets have been received by our travel agency in Vancouver. They are being checked for accuracy before being forwarded to us next week.
Prior to departure, chaperones hold on to the passports, identity cards and air tickets. They are distributed on our coach just prior to crossing into the USA (we fly from Detroit). Why? This way we ensure that no matter what a student might forget, their passport and air ticket are secure and they can go on the trip.
Those Fodorites who have read of our exploits in Europe know that I try to keep a few surprises for students when we travel. The big surprise this time was to be a hot air balloon ride at sunrise over the Valley of the Kings at Luxor. My research indicated it was possible and I became excited that this could be the biggest surprise ever. Further investigation unveiled the need for a waiver to be signed in case something went wrong (we crashed) on the flight. I was not prepared to sign all the student’s permission forms, so we have had to tell the students about the possibility of the hot air balloon flight in order for their parents to sign these forms. (This opportunity is optional – no one will be forced to go up in the balloon.) Instead, we have told students we probably won’t be able to do the hot air balloon ride, but just in case it does work out, we want to have the signed forms with us. Well, it has all worked out – but the plan is not to tell the students until the day before. Of course, weather and winds can cancel the balloon ride too.
The other surprise (which hasn’t been finalized yet) is to have those who love horses go for a ride on Arabian horses in the desert near Hurghada. There are a few “horse enthusiasts” in our group.
Each participant was provided with an “EGYPT 2009” t shirt as a Christmas gift from chaperones in December. The front of the shirt has a map of Egypt and our travel destinations. The top of the front has the phrase “Travelling in Peace from Canada” written in Arabic in large characters. This allows Egyptians who don’t speak English an opportunity to try and connect with us. It certainly brings out some smiles as we walk through towns. The back of the t shirt displays our itinerary by date, destination and event. Students were urged to wear these shirts whenever they wanted prior to the trip, but to be sure to pack them to wear in Egypt. Guess what colour the t shirts are? You’re right – sand colour (light brown) with dark brown silk screening.
All participants will receive a “custom-made travelling sweatshirt” at the parent meeting. These are all black, full zippered, hooded sweatshirts with CAN ADA at the front (chest height), EGYPT 2009 (bum height) on the back, one sleeve will have their name and the other sleeve will have the Egyptian symbol for life (the ankh). Participants are asked NOT to wear the sweatshirts until departure day. We have found that if we all wear the same sweatshirt, it provides us a sense of community and often we receive special group privileges. It also makes it easier for chaperones to spot our travellers. If nothing else, it encourages other travellers at the airports to talk with us.
Our travel agent has done a great job preparing what looks like a wonderful itinerary. We have asked for a few changes – and of course they cost money, but they have been very reasonable. We agreed to have students put 3 to a room (instead of 2) if we were moved to finer hotels. My logic was – we won’t spend much time in the rooms, as long as they were clean and secure. Moving to 5 star hotels gives us higher security. We also agreed to cover the costs ($750) of a second full-time guide for our group after we realized that 49 people and 1 guide just wasn’t going to make our tours workable.
Last week chaperones had a 2 hour meeting with 2 participants and their parents. These two great kids have type 1 diabetes. Parents wanted to meet with us to explain their concerns. We had arranged for a Certified Diabetes Educator to be present. We worked through how travel and changes in diet might affect Blood Glucose levels. Both students are insulin dependent, one injects insulin with needles and the other is on an insulin pump. Everyone left the meeting feeling more confident.
We have made plans for the final parent meeting (scheduled for about 9 days prior to departure). We use this meeting to review the itinerary, flight schedules, luggage limits, behaviour expectations and to answer any questions that might arise.
Next instalment to cover last minute adjustments and currency exchange procedures.
All participants have paid in full for the trip. All participants have valid passports (we have photocopies of each one).
We have collected nearly all the required school board permission forms. We use an additional form from Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) that allows non-custodial adults (like me) to take children (the students) that don’t belong to me across an international border. These are signed by both parents in the presence of a Commissioner of Oaths or Notary Public who affixes his/her seal to the sheet. We also collect all passports. They are kept in the school safe until our departure date.
All students have applied for (and received) International Student Identity Cards (ISIC) and teachers have the equivalent ITIC cards. They cost $17 Canadian each, but allow us free entry into all Egyptian government sites and allow for free upgrades at various accommodations because we will be an “official” educational excursion.
Our air tickets have been received by our travel agency in Vancouver. They are being checked for accuracy before being forwarded to us next week.
Prior to departure, chaperones hold on to the passports, identity cards and air tickets. They are distributed on our coach just prior to crossing into the USA (we fly from Detroit). Why? This way we ensure that no matter what a student might forget, their passport and air ticket are secure and they can go on the trip.
Those Fodorites who have read of our exploits in Europe know that I try to keep a few surprises for students when we travel. The big surprise this time was to be a hot air balloon ride at sunrise over the Valley of the Kings at Luxor. My research indicated it was possible and I became excited that this could be the biggest surprise ever. Further investigation unveiled the need for a waiver to be signed in case something went wrong (we crashed) on the flight. I was not prepared to sign all the student’s permission forms, so we have had to tell the students about the possibility of the hot air balloon flight in order for their parents to sign these forms. (This opportunity is optional – no one will be forced to go up in the balloon.) Instead, we have told students we probably won’t be able to do the hot air balloon ride, but just in case it does work out, we want to have the signed forms with us. Well, it has all worked out – but the plan is not to tell the students until the day before. Of course, weather and winds can cancel the balloon ride too.
The other surprise (which hasn’t been finalized yet) is to have those who love horses go for a ride on Arabian horses in the desert near Hurghada. There are a few “horse enthusiasts” in our group.
Each participant was provided with an “EGYPT 2009” t shirt as a Christmas gift from chaperones in December. The front of the shirt has a map of Egypt and our travel destinations. The top of the front has the phrase “Travelling in Peace from Canada” written in Arabic in large characters. This allows Egyptians who don’t speak English an opportunity to try and connect with us. It certainly brings out some smiles as we walk through towns. The back of the t shirt displays our itinerary by date, destination and event. Students were urged to wear these shirts whenever they wanted prior to the trip, but to be sure to pack them to wear in Egypt. Guess what colour the t shirts are? You’re right – sand colour (light brown) with dark brown silk screening.
All participants will receive a “custom-made travelling sweatshirt” at the parent meeting. These are all black, full zippered, hooded sweatshirts with CAN ADA at the front (chest height), EGYPT 2009 (bum height) on the back, one sleeve will have their name and the other sleeve will have the Egyptian symbol for life (the ankh). Participants are asked NOT to wear the sweatshirts until departure day. We have found that if we all wear the same sweatshirt, it provides us a sense of community and often we receive special group privileges. It also makes it easier for chaperones to spot our travellers. If nothing else, it encourages other travellers at the airports to talk with us.
Our travel agent has done a great job preparing what looks like a wonderful itinerary. We have asked for a few changes – and of course they cost money, but they have been very reasonable. We agreed to have students put 3 to a room (instead of 2) if we were moved to finer hotels. My logic was – we won’t spend much time in the rooms, as long as they were clean and secure. Moving to 5 star hotels gives us higher security. We also agreed to cover the costs ($750) of a second full-time guide for our group after we realized that 49 people and 1 guide just wasn’t going to make our tours workable.
Last week chaperones had a 2 hour meeting with 2 participants and their parents. These two great kids have type 1 diabetes. Parents wanted to meet with us to explain their concerns. We had arranged for a Certified Diabetes Educator to be present. We worked through how travel and changes in diet might affect Blood Glucose levels. Both students are insulin dependent, one injects insulin with needles and the other is on an insulin pump. Everyone left the meeting feeling more confident.
We have made plans for the final parent meeting (scheduled for about 9 days prior to departure). We use this meeting to review the itinerary, flight schedules, luggage limits, behaviour expectations and to answer any questions that might arise.
Next instalment to cover last minute adjustments and currency exchange procedures.
Feb 9th, 2009, 02:19 PM
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Great stuff, tC. I eagerly await your next installments!
Good advice on getting the ISIC card. Egypt seems to one of the few places left that give significant discounts to ISIC holders.
The hot air balloon will be a wonderful treat. Luxor must be one of the the cheapest spots in the world to do this. It cost us just $80 USD per person in May '08.
Good advice on getting the ISIC card. Egypt seems to one of the few places left that give significant discounts to ISIC holders.
The hot air balloon will be a wonderful treat. Luxor must be one of the the cheapest spots in the world to do this. It cost us just $80 USD per person in May '08.
