The Shamrock Dublin Gazette- Issue #10
Kennedy High School, La Palma, California 90623
Friday, February 20, 2004
Countdown to Departure: 20 Days
Current Email Subscribers: 102
Current Temperatures & Time 5:42am Here & 1:42pm There
Dublin: 43 Degrees-Sunny-Wind at 15 mph-Humidity 58%
Limerick: 43 Degrees-Cloudy-Wind at 14 mph-Humidity 58%
London: 37 Degrees-Overcast-Wind at 18 mph-Humidity 75%
Henri Soucy, Editor
http://www.kennedyband.org
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IN THIS ISSUE
(1) A Word from Henri
(2) The Itinerary Has Arrived
(3) Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water
(4) Ireland to outlaw smoking in pubs
(5) Kennedy Travelers Descend Upon London
(6) Schedule of Events
(7) Fund-Raising Review
(8) Frequently Asked Questions
(9) Show me the Money
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A WORD FROM HENRI:
I've been able to work out an arrangement with the company
I work for that will allow me to go on the trip. So I'm
excited I will be able to finish this adventure with you
all.
At the "All Hands" Meeting on Monday, March 1st I will be
handing out a clipboard to access the interest for the
following:
How many people want a video put together of the trip?
Also, how much would they want to spend? The video I put
together for the Australia trip in September 2000 cost
$3.00. It was a blending of the videos that chaperones had
taken during the trip. Or we could go high tech akin to the
video you get at the banquet. That runs normally $20.
We'll probably have a picture party when we get back. A
picture party is where everybody that took pictures will
bring in their extra copies. For Australia I was able to
collect a whole bunch of different pictures taken
throughout the 17-day trip. My wife took these and put
together an unbelievable scrapbook for me. I still to this
day look at it every few months because it brings back a
lot of good memories.
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THE ITINERARY HAS ARRIVED:
I received the detailed itinerary Friday afternoon.
Reading the details this weekend rather than just a summary
by day was exciting. This is really an exceptional package
Norman Travel International has put together for you.
I will hand out the official copy by Thursday, February 26th
in the band room. The travelers that do not have students
in the band will get mailed a copy.
To print copies out now would be a waste because we are
still making changes to the detail for when the band
performs in Ireland. Plus we're loading in the front end
on the schedule for your arrival times at the school prior
to boarding the buses. Also, at the Chaperone Only meeting
we'll be going over the itinerary to make sure we haven't
forgotten anything. This will give me time to incorporate
any recommended changes and print out the copies for
distribution in the band room.
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JUST WHEN YOU THOUGHT IT WAS SAFE TO GO BACK IN THE WATER:
London, England - Just when you thought it was safe to go
back in the water, a ferocious, carnivorous South American
piranha has been fished out of London's River Thames,
environmental officials say.
The 4-inch long red-bellied piranha was dropped by a
passing seagull into the deck of a boat built to oxygenate
the river. The Thames was declared "dead" in the 1960's
but is now home to 199 types of fish.
"It was very fresh and obviously only just died. You could
see the marks made by the seagull's beak on its back,
"fisheries officer Tom Cousin said.
Experts were quick to reassure Londoners they need not fear
marauding shoals of meat-eating fish. The reputation of
the piranha is worse than its bite and despite global
warming, the Thames remains too cold to support such warm
water fish.
"We imagine that it was probably released and then floated
to the surface where it was picked up by one of the very
hungry seagulls and deposited in the boat," London Aquarium
curator Paul Hale said.
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IRELAND TO OUTLAW SMOKING IN PUBS:
Ireland will outlaw smoking in all enclosed workplaces,
including pubs, on March 29. As amended, the ban would not
apply in bed-and-breakfasts, hotel rooms, prisons and
mental hospitals. An association of pub and hotel owners is
vowing to challenge the band in court, which could
complicate its launch. Leaders of Ireland's more than
10,000 pubs say the band will be impossible to enforce,
particularly on busy weekends.
This article caught my attention not as much because of the
smoking but 10,000 pubs. I guess they like their brew in
Ireland.
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KENNEDY TRAVELERS DESCIND UPON LONDON:
I'm busily working on a one-page sightseeing summary for
London. It will list a range of things to do. From free
to things costing approximately 80 Pound Sterling. I'm sure
like in the band's trip in 1998, we'll give the students 3-
4 basic options. Obviously in such a short timeframe, we
can't go everywhere.
I still have my map of London from my trip in June 2002.
I've identified where the Paragon Hotel is. The map lists
all everything include the underground (subway) stations.
I'm working in concert with the Concierge at the Paragon
Hotel so we'll be ready when Kennedy's travelers descend
upon London.
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SCHEDULE OF EVENTS:
MANDATORY BAND PRACTICES<=>
Tuesday, February 24th (7pm-9pm)
Tuesday, March 2nd (7pm-9pm)
A Special Open session on Monday, March 8th (7pm-9pm). The
band will be performing all of the songs to be played in
Ireland. All families are invited to come and listen to
the globetrotting Shamrock Regiment Ireland Band strut
their stuff.
MANDATORY CHAPERONE ONLY MEETING<=>
On Monday, February 23rd from 7pm-9pm there will be a
mandatory chaperone meeting. This meeting time will be
for the chaperones to meet each other and we'll go over
their group and individual responsibilities. We'll review
each day's itinerary in complete detail. It will be a time
for the chaperones to ask any questions that they may have.
FINAL "ALL HANDS" MEETING<=>
On Monday, March 1st 7pm-9pm we will have the final "All
Hands" meeting for everybody going on the trip. We'll be
going over the entire itinerary. The chaperones will be
introduced. The foreign currency will be distributed for
the parents that asked us to procure the Euros and Pound
Sterling on their behalf through Bank of America. This will
be your best opportunity to ask questions.
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FUND-RAISING REVIEW:
Since mid January, 128 individual donations have come
in from your sending out the letters to your family,
friends and professionals. The grand total donated is
$10,595. I've processed donations from $5 all that way up
to $2,200. Any donations I receive through Friday, March
5th you have the option for me to convert to Euros and Pound
Sterling. So keep sending those letters out in the mail.
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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
(Q1) Will we be given plane tickets?
(A1) Virgin Atlantic will be E-Tickets. Aer Lingus and
British Midlands will be paper tickets. We normally have
receipts with each passenger's individual code for the E-
Ticket and then each person will have a ticket for the
London/Dublin/London portion.
(Q2) How does the check-in at hotels work normally in
Ireland and London?
(A2) Normally people stay on the coaches, chaperones go get
room keys, announce the room number and then people go to
the room. This issue is still being worked. We will make
an announcement at the final meeting on March 1st.
Normally questions will be answered in the weekly
newsletter. If the questions require an immediate response,
I'll send out a special email.
mailto:henri.soucy@ngc.com?subject=questions
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SHOW ME THE MONEY:
$100 US Dollars = $53 Pound Sterling (Great Britain)
$100 US Dollars = $79 Euro (Ireland)
Rate valid as of: 02/20/2004
Currency conversions are based on Yahoo and CNN Currency
Conversion data.
I'll be working with Bank of America next week to convert
all of the money turned in for Euro and Pound Sterling
conversion. The Euro and Pound Sterling against the US
Dollar has continued to fluctuate. Bank of America has
promised to give us a break since we're making such a large
purchase of foreign currency. As of Thursday, I had
collected $11,630 from 27 people.
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Thank You For Your Readership!
Henri Soucy, Editor
12903 Belcher Street
Norwalk, CA 90650-3329
Telephone: 310-332-3239
Pager: 310-232-4458
http://www.kennedyband.org
Email Address: henri.soucy@ngc.com
Bob Anthony, Kennedy Band Director
Telephone: 714-220-4119
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