China Trip Update

Hello everyone,

With only 10 days to go until we depart for China it is important that we take time to check all of the details and make sure that we have all of the necessary paperwork in place.
Hopefully you have by now received a cheque in the post to reimburse you for the cost of the visa and in some cases an overpayment? If so, you will see that the attached letter has a tear-off slip for you to sign and return to the school. I need to know that everyone has now received their visas for China. I would therefore urge all parents/guardians to make sure that I receive this acknowledgement asap.

Tomorrow there will be a lunch meeting for China, it is essential that all students attend.
We will discuss out departure details and rooming for our trip.
I will also be discussing the emergency cards which will be issued to all students during the trip.
At the last meeting, one of the students asked me to clarify the situation with mobile phones. I will go over this tomorrow as well.
It is important that everyone is aware of the cost of using a mobile phone whilst abroad, and although we are not banning students from taking their phones with them, we have to insist that they are used appropriately and that they declare with their family leader if they are indeed taking a mobile phone with them to China.
It is essential that the following rules are adhered to at all times if a child is planning on taking and using a mobile phone whilst in China.

• If a member of staff asks a student to switch off a phone, they do so without argument.
• Mobile phones remain switched off and packed away during travel, this includes journeys by coach/train in China.
• Mobile phones remain switched off and packed away whilst in the hotel bedrooms
• Cameras/videos on mobile phones will be used in a responsible manner. 

Faliure to comply with these rules could result in the phone being confiscated and not returned until the end of the trip.

If you are any doubt about this, or you are concerned about the phone being lost. or stolen, we would recommend that the phone remains at home.
However we do recognise that a mobile phone could be useful during the trip, provided it is used in a mature and responsible manner.
All students should let their family leader know if they plan to take a mobile phone and be prepared to share their mobile phone number with their family leader.

This will be discussed further at the next China meeting on Tuesday 11th of June!