East Coast Trip - Yesterday's lunch meeting follow-up

We had a great lunch meeting yesterday! Here's a summary of what we
discussed:

- Please stay in close communication (both parents and students) with me
if you ever have any questions or concerns. We're just over a month
away from our trip, and I know both kids and parents (especially
parents) can get anxious. Don't hesitate to e-mail or text (661)
347-4990 if even the slightest question pops up in your mind.

- If you are taking advantage of end-of-winter clearance sales right
now, remember that the best strategy is to layer your clothing. T-shirt
and jeans as a base layer is good, followed by a sweater or sweatshirt,
and then a good rain-proof jacket. At least one pair of shoes should be
hearty enough to withstand rain and keep your feet dry. DON'T wait
until right before Spring Break to buy a new pair of shoes--get them now
and start breaking them in now.

- I discussed with students how to make sure you sit with your friends
on the coach and on the plane. I will go over this again in the
Pre-Departure Meeting, so no need to detail it here. I did make an
important point that students will not reserve seats on the coach. In
the past, some students have gotten a little territorial on our tour
bus, and hurt feelings have resulted. We're all one big happy family on
our coach, so there's no need for mad-dogging over a seat.

- Finally, we talked about medications. In summary, chaperones should
be given all meds (prescription or over-the-counter) before we leave for
the trip EXCEPT life-saving meds (inhaler, epi-pen, etc.). Life-saving
meds should be kept with the student at all times. We will go over this
in GREAT detail at the pre-departure meeting, and I will devote an
entire e-mail to it very soon.

We have a great group of kids going on this trip, and I'm excited to
share all the wonderful sights and experiences this trip has to offer.
I will be away at a conference all next week, and our next student lunch
meeting won't be until Monday, March 15. Until then, you'll get at
least one or two more friendly e-mails from me.

All the best,
Mr. Ippolito

East Coast Trip - Show me the money!

Parents of students going on the East Coast trip always ask, “How much money does my child need to bring with them on the trip?”  The short answer, technically, is “none.”  Your child won’t like me telling you that, but all necessities are covered on the trip.  All meals are paid for, drinking fountains are fairly common in most of the places we’re going, all admissions to all museums, events, and attractions are included, so your child doesn’t need to bring any money.  Technically.

 

OK, seriously now.  Your child is probably going to want a bottle of water here and there, perhaps an ice cream cone, or a bag of sweets.  So he or she may want a little extra spending money for snacks and beverages beyond mealtimes (about $3-$5 per day).   Then there are souvenirs.  I’ve seen kids buy a couple small tchotchkes for family, and spend little more than $15 on souvenirs for the whole trip.  For other kids, if shopping were an Olympic sport, they could medal several times over.  One year I even had parents ask if they could wire transfer their child more money since she had already blown through the $300 they originally gave her!  Are you kidding me?  (By the way, we don’t do wire transfers).

 

You know your child and his/her shopping habits best.   Clothing is usually the most expensive item kids buy on this trip, and one sweatshirt in one “I LOVE NY” gift shop can go for $40-50, easy.  Overall, average souvenir purchases are about $10-$20 per day.

 

As I mentioned in the parent information meeting a few months ago, I do respectfully request a little tip money ($15 total) in advance from each student:  $5 for our coach driver, $5 for our tour guide, and $1 per night ($5 total) for housekeeping.  Naturally, tipping is optional, but in our country it is customary and a nice courtesy, especially for a job well done.  All other tips are included in the cost of the tour.

 

On a related note, parents also ask:  “Debit card or cash?”  There are advantages to both:  a debit card can be cancelled and its balance frozen if the card is lost, making it more secure.  Depending on the card and the issuing bank, parents can control the amount of spending per day and/or add value to the card if needed.  The downside:  even now, not every place takes plastic, and not every place honors every type (Visa and Mastercard are the most widely accepted).  Cash is accepted everywhere, but once lost is almost certainly gone for good.  Talk to your child and find out what you think will work best.  We’ll talk more about this at the pre-departure meeting.  One thing I know for sure:  travelers’ checks are a thing of the past.  Many vendors don’t accept them anymore (or the cashiers don’t know how to process them).  Don’t even bother with travelers’ checks.

 

Here’s where you can help.  This e-mail also appears on my blog, http://trippolito.blogspot.com.  If you have advice or a helpful tip to offer on debit cards or other money-related issues, feel free to make a comment or ask a question by clicking on the “Comments” link at the bottom of this blog entry.  Your comments will be viewable by other families so we can all be part of the conversation.

 

Well, our East Coast adventure is only 44 days away.  As always, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to e-mail me at rippolito@gmail.com.

 

Cheers,

Ron Ippolito

 

p.s. We have our next student meeting this coming Wednesday, 2/24, at lunch in Room B-7.  Make sure you bring your lunch and I will provide another delicious dessert!  At this meeting, I will be asking you for your t-shirt size.  T-shirts we get from the tour company are standard, adult sizes, and will come in small, medium, large, extra-large, and XXL sizes.  Feel free to e-mail your shirt size in advance; otherwise I will ask you at the meeting.

East Coast Trip - Trip blog and our next student meeting

By now you I’m sure you know about our trip blog.  You can find it at:

 

http://trippolito.blogspot.com

 

Included on the blog you will find:

- an archive of every e-mail message I send out to my East Coast Trip families

- a suggested packing list

- a countdown to our take-off

- a camera comparison guide

- more helpful information to come as we get closer to our trip

- photos and updates once we have begun our trip

 

We had a great roommate meeting today, and I would like to have our next student meeting next Wednesday, February 24, at lunch in my classroom.  You bring your lunch, and again I will provide dessert.  Some of the topics we will discuss at our meeting will be:

- packing suggestions and answering common packing questions

- how to make sure you sit with your friends on the airplane and on our motor coach

- which chaperone group you will be assigned to on the trip

 

Please feel free to email me at rippolito@gmail.com if you can think of other helpful content to add to the blog, or if you have any questions.  If you are a student, I look forward to seeing you next Wednesday at lunch.

 

If you are a parent, I look forward to seeing you on Thursday, March 18, at 7:00 p.m. for our predeparture meeting.

 

RVI

East Coast Trip - When we’re flying and why you should be walking

We have all been waiting to find out when we're flying out, and I just received tentative flight information from USA Educational Adventures.  We are scheduled to depart Los Angeles on Sunday, April 4, and return home on Saturday, April 10.  Here's our schedule at this time:

4-Apr                Depart LAX at 1055P                 Arrive BWI at 655A (5-Apr)

10-Apr                   Depart JFK at 600P                   Arrive LAX at 938p

Of course, flight information is subject to change, and we won't know our exact itinerary for sure until our pre-departure meeting on March 18.  As more information comes in, or if anything changes, I will keep you posted.

 

Our East Coast Trip is now 53 days away and now is a good time to get out and stretch those legs. We walk an average of seven miles each day in this trip--through museums, up and down the National Mall in DC, along the battlefields of Gettysburg, and through the big-city streets of Philadelphia and New York City. Even the most physically-active students can get worn out by the amount of walking in our trip.

I encourage all our East Coast Trip families to take a family walk two or three days a week. If you really feel the need to get a special new pair of shoes for the trip, get them now and start breaking them in. On every trip I've done, there's always one student asking for band-aids to patch up blistered heels from a new pair of shoes. Don't let it be you!

While on the subject of footwear, we will have one special dress-up night in New York City when we see our Broadway show. Again, consider a nice, but sensible pair of shoes for this evening. If you wear cute little strappy high-heels, it's likely your feet will be both cold and in pain by the time the evening is over. In the next few days, look for me to send out a more comprehensive list of what to pack. In the meantime, get out there and start walking!

Cheers,
Mr. Ippolito

East Coast Trip - Welcome aboard!

Dear East Coast trip family,

 

In a little less than two months, we will depart for our big adventure to New York City, Philadelphia, Gettysburg, and Washington, DC.  I love historical travel and I'm very excited to see some of our nation’s historical landmarks and greatest treasures.  I am especially excited to share these treasures with your son or daughter this April.

 

As I indicated to many families at the end of last school year and at the beginning of this, I spend a lot of time from the fall until now NOT communicating with you.  This was only because I wanted to wait until we were 100% certain of everyone going on our trip.  I don't want to start sending out e-mails, getting kids excited, and signing up roommates if we have students who are dropping from the trip.  Believe me, you will receive at least WEEKLY e-mails from me between now and Spring Break, and you'll get several updates each day we're on the trip, so I will more than make up for it!

The good news is we now know FOR CERTAIN who is going on our exciting adventure, so it's now time for me to let you know about two important dates:

 

Tuesday, February 16, lunch, my classroom (B-7) –ROOMMATE meeting

This is what so many students have been waiting for!  Bring your lunch, and meet everyone who is going on the trip.  We have 24 girls going on the trip (exactly six rooms of four) and 14 boys (two rooms of four, two rooms of three).  We will start with an icebreaker to get to know everyone, and then we’ll get down to the business of choosing roommates.  You bring your lunch; I’ll provide dessert.

 

Thursday, March 18, 7:00pm, Rio Norte Library – Pre-Departure Meeting

Organized by USA Educational Adventures, and hosted by both myself and our tour company rep, this meeting will go over the specifics of the trip.  We finally get to see our exact itinerary, hotel and flight information, and all that good stuff.  Now that we know for sure everyone who is going on the trip, our tour company is working hard right now to get us the very best flights and hotels possible.

 

Here is my very IMPORTANT request right now:  please e-mail me back just to simply say, “Yes, you have the right e-mail address, Mr. Ippolito.”  I will be using e-mail quite a bit from this point on, not only to share important trip information with you, but also to share photos and trip updates with parents while we’re back East.  It’s very important that I have an e-mail address that your family checks regularly.  Also, please let me know if you like to add an additional e-mail address (other parent, child going on trip) to get all this information as well.

If you ever miss one of these e-mails, it gets accidentally deleted, or you wonder if maybe you missed one, you can see an archive of every message on my Ippolito trip website, http://trippolito.blogspot.com.  Trip with Ippolito?  trippolito?  Get it?  :-)  In the coming weeks, this website will be full of other great resources, too, including trip photos and real-time trip updates.

 

This is a big trip, and you are placing your child into my care for a week.  Please feel free to e-mail me at rippolito@gmail.com (this is the e-mail address I check wherever I go) or call or text message me directly at the number I sent you via e-mail if you ever have any questions about the trip.

 

Cheers,

Ron Ippolito