First letter - about budgeting

I'm posting the letter that we sent out in the fall just in case you need this for reference.

Dear Families of Harbor Eighth Graders,

The school board has given approval for our 8^th grade field trip to Washington, D.C. The dates will be June 1-4, 2010.

Students will be charged $350 and chaperones $150. In addition, students should be sent with $80 for food and spending money, to be spent only if needed. (I anticipate that food will be covered by the $350, but it may not cover everything.) We know the cost of the trip is high and scholarship money is available to any family for whom the full price is a hardship.  I will begin to collect payments.  The first is a $50 deposit due on December 15^th with a  monthly installment of $60 due on 15^th of  January, February, March, April and May.

We will be traveling via Amtrak. We will be staying at the Days Inn Hotel, Washington D.C. rooming in groups of three students and one adult. Each room has two full beds, so there will be some doubling up or sleeping bags.

Students are not required to attend, and those who do will be expected to complete academic tasks connected to the trip.

In order to make this trip work, we need 7 parent chaperones. Please let me know as soon as possible if you are able to chaperone. Parent chaperones will be responsible for three students each. Parents, you will probably enjoy this trip as much or better than your children.

Please email or call me if you expect to send your child. Please email me if you would like to chaperone.

Debra McConnell

Itinerary

ITINERARY

Tuesday June 1st
8:00 a.m. Arrive at Amtrak station in Essex Junction
9:00 a.m. Departure of Train # 55
10:30pm Arrive in Washington DC Union Station, travel by Metro to our hotel
11:00 p.m. Check in and settle in rooms.
11:30 p.m. Lights out and quiet in rooms.

Wednesday June 2nd
7:00 a.m. Rise and shine, breakfast in neighborhood by Individual Groups.
8:30 a.m. LARGE GROUP meet by the Metro Station for our trip by Metro to the Capitol. We may stop by Senator Leahy’s office if time.
9:40 a.m. Arrive at Capitol for security check
10:10 a.m. Scheduled LARGE GROUP tour of The U.S. Capitol.
12:00 a.m. Individual groups depart for lunch and Smithsonian museums
8:30 p.m. Walking tour of lighted monuments.
10:00 p.m. Lights out and quiet in rooms.

Wednesday June 3rd
7:00 a.m. Breakfast in hotel neighborhood by Individual Groups.
8:30 a.m. LARGE GROUP meet by the Metro Station for our trip by Metro to Arlington Cemetary, Holocaust Museum, Fords Theater, National Archives and/or the White House.
4:00 p.mm. LARGE GROUP meet by the front entrance to the zoo
7:00 p.m. Individual Groups plan dinner and evening activities.
11:00 p.m. Lights out and quiet in rooms.

Friday June 4th
6:00 a.m. Rise and shine. Pack snacks and meals for the train ride home..
6:30 a.m. Meet outside Metro Station for our trip to Union Station
7:15 Arrive at Union Station to board Amtrak train #56
8:10 a.m. Train Departs
8:45 p.m. Train Arrives in Essex Junction

Group Lists

Here are the groups for our stay in Washington.

Pam	Fontaine	Pat	Gannon
Taylor	Fontaine	Brendan	Gannon
Amy	Conn	Max	Whitcomb
Rachel	Nigh	Patrick	Pattison
Molly	Mara	Sue	Kolk
Caty	Mara	Joe	Kolk
Ally	Stone	Cote	Pudlo
Mikala	Clark
Rick	Robert	Ann	Smith
Steven	Robert	Hayden	Smith
Erik	Bergkvist	Ryan	Schneiderman
Chris	Petrillo	Peter	Scrimgeour
Cheryl	Hathaway
Andre	Hathaway
Quintin	Cardinal

Our Hotel

Here is the information about where we will be staying.

Connecticut Avenue Days Inn
4400 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20008
Phone: 202-244-5600
http://www.dcdaysinn.com/