CDDHS/DCMA Battlefields Tour 2013

Feb 11, 2011

Dear Parents & Participants

I want to thank the 21 parents/participants who responded to our request for feedback as of Feb. 9.  Your willingness to be flexible and to trust us with a difficult decision has made our choice much easier.

As you read below, we offered you a significant alteration to the itinerary by dropping the UK leg of our tour and revamping the France/Holland portion of the trip. We took your feedback to Brightspark Travel who were very willing to re-examine their scheduling and offer us solutions. I want to assure you that they were very amenable to our request.

Brightspark went back to work and were able to negotiate a direct flight from Toronto to London on November 10^th @ 18:25 EST, arriving in London @ 6:30am UK time, via British Airways (BA). The cost of this direct flight is very comparable to the Air France connecting flights on which we were originally scheduled. Consequently, we have decided to take this option and stick to the original itinerary distributed in May 2010; the one that does not include Paris.

We will still require a connecting flight from Amsterdam to Toronto via London en route home on November 19^th, but the layover in London in a very short time and will still have us scheduled to arrive in Toronto at 15:00 EST on November 20^th.

I know that students/participants who had begun to get their heart set on Paris may be disappointed by this decision, but in light of the feedback we received and your overall flexibility in permitting us to make the final decision, we trust that any disappointment now will be trumped by the exhilaration of the entire tour.

A Final Itinerary will be available by March 1^st all-being-well. Please don’t hesitate to call me at 519-925-3834 or email me at neil.orford@ugdsb.on.ca 

Again, my thanks to you for your on-going support.

N. Orford

 NINE MONTHS to go until departure  -  Welcome to Semester II

January 31st has come & gone!!! - Second deposits were due !!!!

8 students have yet to pay their January 31st deposit
12 students have NOT brought in their Passport photocopies!!!
15 students have NOT completed their Veteran Consent forms

Please see that these forms are delivered on February 4th

Thank you!

Also - Please read the Feedback Request about Tour Itinerary Changes:

 Dear Parents/Participants on the CDDHS Battlefields Tour...

I need some feedback from you on a potential change to the itinerary for November’s Tour. This is only a potential change - nothing has been altered as of yet. However, I wish to get some feedback from you before I proceed

The Proposed Change:

•    Drop the UK leg of the Tour entirely
•    Fly direct from Toronto to Paris on Nov 10th
•    Take Day One/Two in Paris
•    Resume the Itinerary as scheduled on Day Three in Bayeux
•    Arrive in Holland one day early & add an extra day in Holland

The Rationale:

1.    The UK leg of the tour is (by far) the most expensive component of the tour
2.    Brightspark has been unable to arrange a direct flight to London - as it currently is scheduled, we must fly Toronto-Paris & lay-over 2 ½ hours in Paris before taking a 30 minute flight to London to begin the Tour on Day One
3.    The aforementioned change would allow student/adults to experience Paris (but not London)
4.    We could spend a bit more time in Holland, not the UK

The Impact:

□    We do not have exact figures yet, but I am led to believe that this change would result in some cost savings to all participants
□    No lay-over would be preferable for all involved
□    No need to buy UK currency - Euros will suffice for the entire tour
□    Paris (yes) / London (no) / Amsterdam/Rotterdam (yes)

Therefore:

a) Please send me your thoughts by February 9th at the latest
b) I will abide by the consensus decision after hearing from a majority of participants
c) We can get you some real expenditure numbers asap.

Call me at 519-925-3834 or email me at neil.orford@ugdsb.on.ca

Many thanks,

N.Orford