summary parents' and students' evening and more info

Thank you very much for showing up in such a large number last Wednesday! Sorry to put this info this late on the blog, due to power and internet cuts... In meantime we've had our first students' meeting in school: trip participants are competing for having their shirt design printed on our bmisgoesparislondon2011 shirt. In 2 weeks we'll decide. We have also had 2 students pulling out, but they were happily followed up by 2 from the waiting list. Went to UK visa, explained about the school trip, left info and name list and got the following useful info:

in order to get a transit visa it is better to have the Schengen visa in the passport first, so they know you will actually get back to a Schengen country; a transit visa is less expensive than a regular one and we don't need a regular one for our 1 day visit; German Embassy also got the school info

On a financially less positive note: please anticipate upon a cost rise of the trip, since Ethiopian has increased its taxes. I'm still negotiating for a better price, but extra costs seem to be unavoidable. I'll keep you updated.

Summary Wednesday evening 11th May:

USEFUL INFORMATION
 Trip open for Years 7,8,9,10,11,12,13 (in school year 2011/2)
 Staff: Mrs. Almeida, Ms. Taylor, Mr. Rajeshwar, Mr. Snieder
 Ethiopian Airlines takes care of the flights
 Ça Va Trips is UK travel organization in France with representative Julie during whole trip
 Trip cost 365,000 MKW = all inclusive except for pocket money + possible visa costs
 There is a regularly updated weblog: http://bmisgoesparislondon2011.blogspot.com
 Maximum of 40 participants
Visas
 Schengen visa for Paris
 Contact German embassy 01772555
 School does preparatory work
 Free
 Fill in application form: download from German embassy website in Lilongwe www.lilongwe.diplo.de/
 1 passport photograph
 Passport valid for at least 3 months return
 Exemption for most European countries and US
 Consulate open 8-11 working days
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 UK visa for London
 www.ukvisas.gov.uk
 Taveta House opening house 8-15, tel. 01774484
 School does preparatory work, lets know about school trip
 Takes 10 working days
 Costs involved
 2 clean pages passport
 2 passport photos
 VISAS ARE RESPONSIBILITY OF PARENTS (tip: go for one visa before (Schengen might be best idea, see supra) and one visa after (UK might be best idea) holiday)

residence permits
 TEP, PRP, other: make sure they are in passport
 RESIDENCE PERMITS ARE RESPONSIBILITY OF PARENTS

Instalments
 Students/parents must bring cheques (address to Bishop Mackenzie International School and write bmisgoesparislondon2011 on the back) into the financial office immediately on arrival at school. They will be issued with a receipt. Cheques should be placed in a sealed envelope clearly labelled with your child’s/children’s name and class.
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 *1st instalment
 May 13th 2011
 MKW 120,000
 *2nd instalment
 June 3rd 2011
 MKW 120,000
 *final payment
 August 17th 2011
 MKW 125,000

OTHER DOCUMENTS
 Behaviour contract
 Payment slip
 Indemnity form + medical information + dietary requirements + contact details
 Please fill the documents out and have relevant pages (personal details + validity and residence permit) of passport photocopied
other information
 No mobile phones allowed: security, value, focus; all communication through Head Teacher Mr Harrison + weblog we’ll update on a daily basis; bringing along of iPods/MP3 players etc. allowed, but valuables in general are at own risk
 Pocket money: guideline 150 euros, few pounds: obtain the Forex on time (letter available in school); there will simply be no time to exchange currencies in Paris and London
 Weblog should be a forum where you can ask questions and everybody can read the answers + ask your child about received letters which I will also post on the weblog
 Packing list: suggestions after holiday, but know that it could be rainy and chilly in Western Europe end September
 Waiting list: please let know if you have to pull out for a valid reason so we can fill the space up by someone from the waiting list
 Tags: each student will have one during the trip with contact details me + travel agent
 Chaperone system: students belong to a group of 10 headed by a chaperone for counting and other practical reasons, but are free to go with whom they want
 Insurance: medical and cancellation
 Malaria: please do prevention + we’ll take treatments to Paris/London
 Surprises: live show Paris e.g.
 Missed schoolwork responsibility student, so contact the teachers involved
 Rooming: boys and girls apart + we’ll follow up to students’ preferences normally speaking
 Staff will take care of pocket money and passports during the trip in order to minimize the chance of losing and maximize balanced spending