To All Year 8 Parents Normandy Trip from Sunday 17 to Friday 22 May 2015

crf/jro

5 May 2015

To all Year 8 Parents – Normandy Trip from Sunday 17 to Friday 22 May 2015

Dear Parents,

All the arrangements for our Normandy Trip are now in place and we are once again confident of a very successful visit. Please find enclosed:  A travel itinerary with excursion programme  A spare copy of the “what to bring” list – please ensure that your child packs their belongings in a soft travel bag, not a suitcase.  A group list for activities and rooming arrangements  A copy of the insurance cover  A list of contact numbers in case of an emergency

On Sunday 17 May, our 23 pupils and 3 members of staff, Miss Walsh, Mr Lewis and I are travelling on a 71-seater coach with Pegasus Coaches, organised by Castaway Travels. Please arrive at 8.30am (no later than 8.45am).

TRAVEL ARRANGEMENTS

Please note that the school drive needs to be clear in the morning, so that the first member of staff to arrive can open the gates. If you arrive earlier, please park on the high street and wait for the gates to open. Once on the school quad, please park nearer the Maths block, so as to leave enough room for the coach to manoeuvre.

Towards the end of our outbound journey to Portsmouth, our coach will be collecting another group from Saint Nicolas School, in Fleet, Hampshire, with 34 pupils and 3 members of staff. On our return journey, we will only share a coach up to Portsmouth with St Swithuns’ School, from Winchester, Hampshire, a group of 33 pupils and 5 staff. This is planned by Castaway Travels and happens every year when schools take smaller groups to Normandy.

As both journeys are long, we recommend for your child to wear comfortable clothes and to bring a small pillow or cushion for their comfort. They must also wear their Normandy hoodie and will need a rucksack containing what they need for the journey and ferry crossing, including a packed lunch and dinner.

PASSPORT AND EHIC CARDS

Please make sure that your child hands in their passport and EHIC card to me by Wednesday 13 May at the very latest. This is crucial as no pupil will be allowed on the trip without those documents.

MAIN LUGGAGE & HAND LUGGAGE

We insist on pupils using soft travel bags and not suitcases, as required by our organisers.

Headmaster: Mr N R Toone BSc MInstP FRSA Pitsford Hall, Pitsford, Northamptonshire, NN6 9AX Tel: 01604 880306 Fax: 01604 882212 e-mail: [email protected] Registered Charity No: 298910 Company No: 2281187 www.pitsfordschool.com

In their hand luggage, on the outward journey, all pupils should bring packed food for lunch and dinner on Sunday. They should only bring non-fizzy drinks and are not allowed to bring chewing gum, bubble gum or energy drinks. They can also bring some money in case they wish to buy anything on the ferry, which provides hot food, cold snacks and drinks.

BEHAVIOUR

As in previous years, we expect excellent behaviour throughout. Any poor conduct, especially a lack of consideration to classmates, pupils or staff from other schools or fellow passengers, will be dealt with in accordance with the Code of Conduct that was signed by your child and yourself. We simply want to ensure that everyone enjoys their week in Normandy, at no one else’s expense.

MEDICATION & SPENDING MONEY

Before embarking on the coach, your son/daughter needs to do several things immediately: 1. Hand in any medication to Miss Walsh, in its own, clearly labelled bag and with accompanying written instructions. This includes hay fever and travel sickness medication. If your child suffers from a particular condition, please give me detailed written instructions in a sealed envelope before the trip. 2. Give their Euros and sterling to Mr Lewis in a named envelope, with the amounts written on the envelope. We suggest for some money in sterling to be kept for the journey back from France.

For spending money, we recommend £50-£60 in Euros and £20-£30 in sterling maximum. Apart from the purchase of food and drinks on the travelling days (Sunday and Friday), the only expenses will be incidental ones: purchases on excursion days, drinks, postcards, presents, souvenirs, etc. It will be easiest to have SMALL denominations. In order to avoid money being spent in the first couple of days, staff will be “bankers” for their group and we have a routine where, at breakfast before excursions, youngsters decide on how much money they need for that day. All money will be kept in a safe during our stay.

MOBILE PHONES AND ELECTRONIC DEVICES

Regarding mobile phones, calls from abroad can be very expensive, not to mention internet usage, depending on the contract and service provider. Texting is much more reasonable abroad. Please note that during on-site outdoors activities, pupils will not be allowed their phones, as they can get damaged in mud and water. We will also ask pupils to switch their phones off at night. There will still be plenty of opportunities for them to keep in touch, of course. On the journey back, we will arrange a Clarion call so that you are informed of the time of arrival. Mobiles however come into their own on the return journey, once the group is back in England, if you wish to make contact with your son/daughter.

Pupils should not bring any laptops or iPads on this trip, and if they wish to take any electronic devices such as a DS or a Kindle, please remind them that it is their responsibility to look after them and that any loss or damage will be at their own risk. It is also worth pointing out that they will have very little time to use them outside travelling days.

ACTIVITY GROUPS AND ROOMING ARRANGEMENTS

The two Activity Groups (A&B) come into effect for the morning bank, for on-site activities and when they are out and about on visits and we need to count heads quickly.

The rooming arrangement at Château de la Baudonnière is two eight-bedded and one ten- bedded rooms in the La Petite Maison building, which has its own separate coded entrance. You will find a list of pupils for each room. This building is run as a youth hostel, but all rooms have their own en-suite bathrooms.

NORMANDY DIARIES

Whenever possible, before dinner, there will be a French lesson in which we will help pupils put together their Normandy Diary in French. Once they have returned from Normandy and once all the diaries have been marked, we shall be holding a “Soirée Normande” to which all parents are invited. This is an evening, largely presented by pupils in French (with English subtitles), in which you can hear all about the trip with various prizes and awards given out. This is likely to take place in June, before the examinations week, and will last just under an hour.

EMERGENCY CONTACT DETAILS

Please find below the Château contact details and emergency contact numbers:

Château de la Baudonnière Emergency Contact numbers Les Chambres UK School office: 01604 880306 50320 La Haye- Pesnel Castaway Travels: Nick Goddard 01273 202999 Normandie France France Château de la Baudonnière : (0033) 2 33 60 46 95 Mlle Filliol: 07533 819985 Tel.: (0033) 2 33 60 46 95 Fax: (0033) 2 33 60 50 23 Website: the-chateau.com

Should you have any queries or worries about the trip, please do not hesitate to contact me through the school office.

We are all looking forward very much to this trip, as it follows a very popular formula, which I hope your child will thoroughly enjoy.

Yours sincerely,

Mlle C. Filliol Head of Modern Foreign Languages