THE FINAL COUNTDOWN Pre departure session #2 Thursday, May Parents and Travellers!

27 MORE SLEEPS!  Departure time: 6.00am sharp!  From QEO  Families to arrive from 5.30am onwards for loading

FLIGHT DETAILS China Eastern Airlines MU738 (Needs updating-don’t have details) Thursday June 2 Depart Melbourne at 11:00am arrive Shanghai at 7:20pm RETURN…  Friday June 10  MU737  Depart Shanghai at 8:15pm arrive Melbourne at 9:00am the next day

TRACK OUR FLIGHT Two handy apps!

AIRPORT REQUIREMENTS  Plastic bag containing carry on liquids- no more than 100 ml  Carry on bag- small/ medium back pack or similar which will be used everyday  Comfortable to carry

PLANE TRAVEL  Snacks to eat  Something to chew for landing in particular- ear popping difficulties  Water/drinks for journey- will need to be purchased after being cleared through customs and immigration

CLOTHING LIST  Pack light!  Team China Uniform and school uniform are key!  Please name these clearly!  Case should have plenty of space remaining!

DOCUMENTATION & SPENDING MONEY  Passports- by Wednesday, May 25  Spending Money (up to $350 maximum)- by Wednesday, May 25  Additional medical permissions  Log of any medications  Copy to parent on return

SPENDING MONEY STRATEGY  Schools will be changing A$ to Chinese Y for families to ensure consistency of amounts. To school by Wednesday, May 25  Staff member to distribute  Booklet to record amounts  Student to sign for their spending money  Money left over can be converted back into A$ at the airport if you want this sorted quickly

GIFTS  Small Aussie gifts for your children to give to Chinese buddies they already know and new buddies they will meet  Suggest- inexpensive items/ key rings/ pencils/ mini koalas/ minties/ snakes/ caramello koalas/ Furry Friend Choc blocks/ etc  Say around small items each  Each Primary School will have a small gift to present to their Sister School

OVERNIGHT & EVENING STAYS IN CHINA  Additional permissions are required for any student involved in a overnight stay and/or evening visit while in Suzhou. These have been completed  Regular communication between Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP) bureau in this organisation  Contact details of lead teacher & Shengjie, home stay expectations, child medical alerts and emergency procedures provided to Chinese host families (in Mandarin) in the event of illness, emergency or any other issue.  Lead teacher will have contact details of Chinese home stay families and Sister School emergency contact.

OVERNIGHT & EVENING STAYS IN CHINA  Arrangements for students to be picked up from Days Inn Hotel in Suzhou by Chinese host family at 2:00pm in vehicle fitted with seat belt  Lead teacher will phone student in home stay accommodation in the evening to confirm everything is okay.  Some staff members will accompany any student who visits their Chinese host family for the evening only.  Home stay student to be returned to SIP Sister School the following morning

COMMUNICATION  Key school contact for 24/7 access  BLOG  & Skype - set up addresses and skype account as appropriate  Be aware that communication with families may not be possible everyday  Communication sessions will be in the evening  Communication sessions will be supervised by staff  There is a 2 hour time difference- 9.00pm in China is 11 pm here!  There will be as a minimum one SMS provided to the school contact each day

BLOGGING UPDATES  Each school will add to the BLOG  The BLOG will record the experiences  Search facility to find student entries  Information recorded will be used by students on their return  Jenny Ashby from Epsom has developed our BLOG and led the staff training.

EXPECTATIONS ON RETURN All students will be expected to contribute to a BLOG to enable them to produce a report about their experience and their learning Reports will be presented to  Each School Community  Each School Council  Bendigo City Council  It is anticipated that each student will take a lead role in promoting Asian literacy and developing intercultural understandings in their school community and have a key role in supporting further programs

ARRIVAL INFORMATION  Parent pick up from the airport  Inside the terminal  Arrivals section  Parking at the airport is expensive- beware!  Flight arrival times will be clearly communicated to each school contact to ensure families have accurate information

PARENT CHECKLIST  A key reference  Small gifts for your child to take with them  Families will be given a package of information that includes the parent checklist, itinerary, clothing list, etc.

SCHOOL TEAMS… Leader: Andrew Schaeche (QHPS) Team Pearl Leader: Di Craig (SHPS) Team Puxi Leader: Leonie Roberts (CHPS) Team Pudong Leader: Craig Arrowsmith (ENHP) Team Bund # Shengjie Wang (Chinese teacher)-Rotate through each group throughout the Shanghai component of the trip Teacher Team: 1.Russell Marland (MGPS) 2.Ash Harvey (EPS) 3.Erin Salm (GSPS) Teacher Team: 1.Scott Pysing (SHPS) 2.Jenny Ashby (EPS) 3.Ainsley Stanley (BHPS) Teacher Team: 1.Leah Daley (KPS) 2.Aimee Welton (KPS) 3.Mandy Reagan (HPS) Teacher Team: 1.Felicity Horsburgh (KFPS) 2.Maree Wayman (KFPS) 3.Jaime Gray (WHPS) First Aid Staff: Ash Harvey (EPS) First Aid Staff: Scott Pysing (SHPS) First Aid Staff: Aimee Welton (KPS) First Aid Staff: Maree Wayman (KFPS) School Teams  Quarry Hill  Specimen Hill  KenningtonEaglehawk North  Eppalock  Epsom  Camp HillWhite Hills  Maiden Gully  Big Hill  HuntlyKangaroos Flat  Golden Square Total Staff: 4 Total Students: 11 Total Staff: 4 Total Students: 9 Total Staff: 4 Total Students: 10 Total Staff: 4 Total Students: 12

SHIRT & HAT COLLECTION (IF THIS IS THE CASE) Team Shirts & Hats- collect from Mandy Costello before you leave tonight- please be sure to name these clearly!

BON VOYAGE!