New Year Countdown

2016 is here! On New Year's Day our daily departure countdown has reduced to double figures - 98 days until we go to New York…whose excited!!?

A Special New Year Thank You

A very BIG thank you to all the families who helped at the Bunnings Barbeque on New Years Day. Although the crowd was not as big as last time (obviously lots of sleepy late night revellers!) the day was a worthwhile event for our fundraising.
Big thanks go to our early starters ready for an 8am start especially after New Years Eve - the Habibi, Parsanejad, Cameron and Pisani families - and to the Clarry, Pisani and Claydon families for managing the very busy lunchtime crowds.
Thanks also to Pat and Geoff Gettens; Sue and Graeme Melville and the Stacey family for the afternoon shift; and to Libby Cameron for organising the clean up.
We are looking forward to our next Bunnings Barbecue on the 20 March, a couple of weeks before we fly to New York! We hope that those families who have not yet assisted at a Bunnings Barbecue, will be able to participate at this time.

Happy New Year at the Bunnings Belrose Barbeque

A very special thank you to all families who have kindly given up some of their New Year's Day to help with our Bunnings barbeque. We are very appreciative of your support and assistance.
Special thanks to Nilu Habibi and family for organising the rosters and for being the early New Year helpers along with the Parsanejad family.
Special thanks go to Libby Cameron and the Pisani family for their outstanding work in buying the huge amount of supplies needed for the day.
There are still times available for parent volunteers from midday onwards, so come along and spread some holiday cheer and help with the fundraising for your child's overseas excursion.

Merry Christmas

Christmas greetings to everyone. We hope your Christmas is enjoyable as you celebrate the festive season with family and friends.

With Christmas nearly over and the New Year pending, it is exciting to realise that during the next school holidays we will be in New York and Los Angeles!

The New Yorkers really know how to celebrate during the festive season with the traditional Thanksgiving/Christmas Macy's Street Parade in late November and the elaborate seasonal decorations and lights around Manhattan.

www.wallpaperfordesktop.org.au

The Rockefeller Centre Christmas Tree is a world-wide symbol of the holidays in New York City. Its lights were turned on in early December with tens of thousands of people crowding the footpaths and millions watching it on television around the world. It will remain lit until January 7, 2016.

Christmas Traditions - Wikipedia

Giant Christmas ornaments on Sixth Ave, near Radio City Hall in New York City.

Macy's 89th Annual Thanksgiving Christmas Parade was held on November 26 2015. It is considered to be America's most beloved and biggest parade with over 10.000 people participating in the event. The parade is watched by more than 3.5 million people on the streets of New York City and over 50 million people nationwide via live streaming.

The Macy's Thanksgiving Christmas parade has been a New York tradition since 1924. It combines performers, marching bands, parade floats and giant balloons. The parade runs from the 'west side' along Central Park, heads south to skirt around Times Square on its way to Midtown Manhattan. Santa Claus closes the parade to kick off the official beginning of the Christmas holiday season.

 New York City Facebook

 www.christmasbhai.com

macysthanksgiving.wikia.com

You can view the entire parade below:

2015 Macy's Thanksgiving Parade

Next payment to school now due

The next installment payment for the trip is NOW DUE if you are paying through the school.
Please pay $1000 on December 1, 2015.

USA Visa Waiver

As some of our travellers have already bought their USA Visa Waivers individually, we are asking all travellers to go to the following website and apply for their own USA Visa Waiver.

https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/esta/

It will cost $US14 and is valid for entry into the USA for 2 years.
Please save and print out your completed visa waiver and bring it to school or email it to either:
Pat Gettens (patricia.gettens@det.nsw.edu.au) or
Sue Melville (sue.melville@det.nsw.edu.au)
BEFORE FRIDAY 4 DECEMBER

When filling out the visa waiver application, the point of Contact in the USA is:
Holiday Inn Express NYC Madison Square Gardens
232 West 29th Street,
New York, NY, 10001-5201
Ph: +1 2126957200
The address in the USA is the same as the point of contact.

Congratulations to our Hamper winners

Congratulations to the Clarry family who are now the lucky owners of our USA themed hamper.

Congratulations to Sue Doherty as the lucky winner of the Father's Day hamper.

We will raffle another hamper close to Christmas, so keep a lookout for items that could be included. More details will be given shortly.

Reminder: next payment due

For travellers paying through the school, the next instalment of $1500 is now due. Those paying directly to Gullivers Travel, payment was due on 1st October.
New information forms on the Code of Conduct and updated permission slips have been sent to all travellers via email and need to be filled in and returned to the school by Friday 9 October.

Lunchtime meeting this Friday

All student travellers are to meet during lunchtime this Friday 31 July in C13 to receive their travel diary and included information as well as Gullivers Travel raffle tickets (remember to bring your $10). Students who haven't submitted all their signed travel documents will be notified at the meeting. Students are also advised to bring in their contributions to the meeting for the Father's Day and Art Exhibition hamper raffle.

Learning French with Laurence

A HUGE BIG THANK YOU TO LAURENCE SLOOT, who has kindly donated her services to assist in our fundraising. She is teaching French to a small group of very avid learners who would like to converse in the language or at least be able to ask questions and form sentences when travelling. We had a great time last Tuesday afternoon trying to perfect our pronunciation of some basic French words, even though our tongues got in the way! Its always a pleasure to listen to Laurence's beautiful French accent!

Information forms and 2nd Payment Instalment now due

Student and adult travellers should have returned their information forms this first week back at school. These forms were included in the blue tour folders given out at the last information evening.
These forms include:

• Gulliver's Travel Passenger information
• DET traveller information including travel insurance, medical advice and emergency contacts
• Signed Student contract

The following photocopies are also required with the information forms:

• Current Passport
• Travel Insurance Certificate

Along with the paperwork, the 2nd payment instalment is now due if you are paying through the school. Those families paying direct to Gulliver's Travel will need to follow their payment instalment system.

What an Amazing Effort!!

A BIG thankyou to the Pisani family and all the amazing parent and student helpers at yesterday's Bunning's Barbeque Fundraising event.
It was a HUGE success because of your fantastic organisation and effort.
Pat, Sue and all the parents and students unable to help on the day are truly appreciative of your time, commitment and hard work cooking and serving all those sausage sandwiches!

Fundraising today at Bunnings Belrose

At very short notice we have been given the opportunity to run a barbecue at Bunnings Belrose store today, Saturday 20th June.
A VERY BIG THANKYOU to the PISANI family who have volunteered to organise and run the barbecue and to all our wonderful parents who have indicated that they will assist with today's event.
Sue and Pat are very, very appreciative of your time and effort.

Important Student and Parent Meeting

When: Tuesday 9 June at 7pm
Where: MFS in D Block

This is an important meeting where necessary documentation for each traveller will be distributed.
Discussion will be on:

• Passports
• Travel Insurance
• Medical Forms
• Student Behaviour Contracts
• Fundraising

Travel documentation distributed on the night must be fully completed and returned with the next payment instalment of $1500 on 14 July.

Time for Fundraising

Students intending to travel on the 2016 Art Tour can now start personal fundraising by selling Cadbury Chocolates. Each box cost $30 upfront and the money made from sales goes directly to the students. 

See the Personal Fundraising page for details on how to get started.

View America Live!

Earth Cam Live allows us to view some of the places we will visit on our art tour. Check out the links to Earth Cam at Times Square, Liberty Island and Hollywood on the blog.

Expressions of Interest

For all students wanting to join our art tour to New York and Los Angeles, we require the return slip on the Expression of Interest form to be handed in by Friday 24 April 2015 to either Mrs Gettens or Mrs Melville so we can ascertain the numbers. As we have limited places, first preference will go to senior students and to students who show a strong interest in visual arts.

Expressions of Interest Information Meeting

Date: Tuesday 24 March 2015
Time: 7pm
Venue: MFS in D Block

This is an information meeting for the upcoming Art Tour to New York and Los Angeles in April 2016. Parents and students are welcome to attend to hear about the purpose of the tour, an outline of the itinerary and costs.
Expressions of interest are welcome from students wishing to participate in the art tour.
The itinerary is available on this blog and on the school's website.

Welcome

Welcome art lovers to our 2016 journey to New York and Los Angeles to see the amazing art collections found at places like New York's Museum of Modern Art (MOMA), the Metropolitan Museum of Art (MET) and the Guggenheim Museum! We will immerse ourselves in American popular culture at New York's Times Square; and Los Angeles' Hollywood and Universal Studios; and we will embark on New York's architectural history by visiting the Statue of Liberty, The Empire State Building, Chrysler Building, Flat Iron Building, Grand Central Station, Rockefeller Centre, One World Trade Centre and the Brooklyn Bridge. We will wander through New York's Central Park and take in the amazingly designed gardens of Los Angeles' Getty Centre and be stimulated by the incredible displays of New York's Hayden Planetarium and the California Science Museum.
Be prepared for a trip of a lifetime!