We had a great first meeting of the school year this morning!
Here’s what we covered:
We broke into small groups where we went through introductions and chatted about what we’re most excited about, what we’re most worried about, how we each can make the trip awesome, as well as went over general questions.
We went over key dates that are coming up, all of which can be viewed on the Important Dates page.
We had a free-flowing discussion where we covered things like luggage, electronics, our flight plan, and how we’ll be preparing over the coming months to help make the trip a success.
I met with the scuba kids to go over what’s coming up.
Alyssa, Lucy, Olivia, and Liz agreed to give a live announcement this Friday in assembly to promote the trip.
Remember, our next morning meeting is in two weeks on September 29th at 7:30am back in the PA room, located right next to the Dining Commons.
As always, please let me know if you have any questions!
I am SO excited for our upcoming UNREAL journey through New Zealand and Fiji!
With a trip of this scope there is a large amount to prepare, but I can guarantee that it’ll be worth it!
I work as hard as I can to explain everything clearly and in a timely fashion, as well as give you all of the support I can to make all of the preparation go as smoothly as can be… and be fun! Please do let me know if you have any questions.
Please make sure you read all of the information below and let me know if you have any questions.
Please make sure to complete all of the tasks that apply to you.
Here’s what you need to know:
1) The most up to date trip roster can be found on the portal page along with the outstanding tasks some of you need to complete. Please open item tracking spreadsheet (link on the portal page) and check to see if you have any missing items.
2) The price per person is $7,150. This does not include scuba diving costs. Everyone has already paid $350 of this amount. The remaining balance of $6,800 is due in three payments of $2,267 by each of these dates: September 12th, October 17th, December 5th. Information on how to make payments is listed on the FAQ page.
3) The overall scuba price person is $1,400. This includes the certification class and the cost of the two days of diving (4 dives total) done on the trip. This payment is due by September 5th. ($1,198 of this fee is paid to Williston. The remaining $202 is paid by each participant directly when they sign up for the eLearning course.)
4) Our scuba class plan has been set! Everything you need to know about the scuba certification is now online in the newly created scuba page. If you plan on scuba diving, you must read the information on this page very carefully and respond to the scuba confirmation survey (link on the scuba page) by September 1st.
5) Our flights have been set! Our complete flight plan can be viewed on the newly created flights page. We get to fly in and out of Hartford!
6) We will have morning meetings every blue Thursday from 7:30 to 8am in the Cox Room in the dining hall. We will keep this morning meeting schedule for the first trimester and may change schedule in T2. Here are all of the blue Thursdays in the first trimester: September 15th, September 29th, October 13th, October 27th, and November 10th. Please make sure you eat breakfast before or after the meeting.
7) The trip proctors will be determined by the end of October at the latest.
8) The trip will be chaperoned by myself and my wife, Laura Seamon-Ingalls!
9) Our travel company, Fourwinds Tours & Travel has been working exceptionally hard to put together our unreal journey, all while doing everything they possibly can to keep costs down. This is the 8th trip they have built for me since I began working with them in 2011 and each one has been perfection. We are so lucky to be working with them again.
10) There are two last open spots on the trip. If you know anyone that’s interested in applying, please have them contact me ASAP!
I so look forward to working with you all in the coming months to prepare for our incredible journey.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions.
The core of the itinerary — 7 to 9 days on the South Island of New Zealand and 3 to 5 days in Fiji — is set, but the details are not yet locked in.
After looking over the itinerary, what would you add to the trip?
More time in the mountain of the South Island? Make sure we see one specific island in Fiji in particular? Learn more about a specific aspect of indigenous cultures in both countries? Explore more of the many outdoor adventure sports in both countries?
