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The Shamrock Dublin Gazette- Issue #02
Kennedy High School, La Palma, California 90623
November 21, 2003
Countdown to Departure: 111 Days
Current Temperatures
Dublin: 45 Degrees - Partly Cloudy
Limerick: 45 Degrees - Partly Cloudy
London: 50 Degrees - Overcast
Henri Soucy, Editor
http://www.kennedyband.org
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IN THIS ISSUE
(1) A Word from Henri
(2) Dublin News Flash: New Tax May Halt Gum Crime
(3) Bank of America Visa for Teenagers
(4) Irish Slang - I Love It
(5) British Currency & Coin: the Pound Sterling
(6) Fund-Raising Review
(7) Frequently Asked Questions
(8) Show me the Money
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A WORD FROM HENRI:
We will be having on Monday, December 8th in the Kennedy
Band Room another "All Hands Meeting". I will be mailing
you the flyer this weekend. Mr. Gordon Norman and his wife
will be back to update you on the latest itinerary changes.
Plus answer any questions you might have. We'll go over
the hotel room assignments, airline passenger list,
passports/visas, chaperones, payment & cancellation policy.
All sorts of neat stuff will be handed out. Please note
this date on your calendar and come on down.
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DUBLIN NEWS FLASH: NEW TAX MAY HALT GUM CRIME
Ireland will become the first country in the world to tax
Chewing gum if plans before ministers in Dublin this month
are accepted.
Dublin, pioneering various radical environmental measures,
wants to impose a levy on every packet sold to pay for cost
of cleaning up the mess left on the streets. The
environment minister, Martin Cullen, has warned that
Ireland's growing little problem risked its thriving
tourist industry. It is thought that Dublin could put
EUR0.15 (9p) on a packet.
As well as taxing chewing gum, he is considering whether to
charge retailers for sweeping up fast food containers, and
banks for cash point receipts.
Calls to tax chewing gum, following the practice that the
polluter should pay, have not been restricted to Ireland.
Local authorities in Britain, including Brighton and
Aberdeen, have backed demands to tax gum. One estimate
suggests that EUR150m a year is spent tackling gum.
In London, a department for the Environment, Food and Rural
Affairs spokesman said yesterday that it had been
discussing the problem with gum manufacturers, adding that
one option was "to charge the recipe to make it less stickey".
Ireland recently introduced a EUR0.15 tax on all plastic bags
given out in shops to cut littler. In the three months
since the change, Irish shops have sold around 23m plastic
bags, compared with the 300m given away in the same period
previously.
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BANK OF AMERICA VISA FOR TEENAGERS:
I'm sure a lot of you parents don't want your son or
daughter walking around with a lot of currency. Here's an
option for you. Bank of America is offering a Visa Card
just for teenagers age 13 and older.
How it Works>>>
Parents apply or teens pre-enroll for the card
Parents register a funding account
Parents load funds - Teens make purchases
Parents and teens check transaction history and
balance information online
Features and Benefits>>>
Education. Provides a tool for parents to teach their
teenagers good spending habits.
Convenience. Parents and designated Gift Givers can
add value to the card online. Teens have the
flexibility to buy what they really want.
Worldwide Access. Teens can make purchases at more
than 24 million Visa merchant locations worldwide,
and access thousands of ATMs.
We will have handouts at the Monday, December 8th "All Hands
Meeting" for you to take with you if interested.
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IRISH SLANG - I LOVE IT:
The Irish have so many slang terms. I couldn't resist
showing Irish slang terms for another week. Next week, get
ready for England.
Banger: old car
Bean-jacks: ladies toilet
Black Mariah: police van
Cheese on your chin: your fly is open!
Cow Juice: milk
Fag: cigarette
Foundered: freezing cold
Gansey: sweater or jersey
Haven't got a baldy: no chance
Hole in the wall: ATM
How's the form? : how are you?
Jacked: tired
Jo Maxi: taxi
Knock someone up: call around to someone's house on business
Lift: elevator
Minerals: soft drinks in the US
Oxters: armpits
Poppies: potatoes
Put a gap in the bush: close the door
Rubber: pencil eraser
Suckin' diesel: having a good time
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BRITISH CURRENCY AND COIN: THE POUND STERLING
British Currency the Pound Sterling Note denominations are
as follows: 5, 10, 20, 50.
British Coin denominations or pence are as follows:
1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 pence.
The kicker is they have 1 & 2 pound coins. 1 Pound is equal
to 100 pence. So it's like here having a bunch of Susan B.
Anthony US One Dollar coins in your pocket instead of
dollar bills.
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FUND-RAISING REVIEW:
Scrip: I would again recommend you purchase as much scrip
as possible between now and February. If you have any
questions please contact Tammy Deptula. She can be reached
at (714) 994-1263.
The holidays provide a perfect opportunity to give Scrip as
gifts to all of your family, friends and relatives. This
way they can buy what they want and you make a little money
on the side enjoying the profit percentage to your son or
daughter's student account. I know years ago I stopped
trying to buy my Mom a Christmas gift. She loves
restaurant gift certificates.
Donation letters: The donation letter will be in Microsoft
Word. I can either send you the letter via email or I
could print hard copies for you. I know for Australia we
just printed hard copies and the students wrote in the
addresses of their family, relatives and professionals
(doctors, dentists, etc.) A sign-up list will be at the
Band Room at our "All Hands Meeting" Monday, December 8th.
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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
(Q1) I was wondering if purchasing grandstand seating was
something we could do for the parades?
(A1) The organizers set aside a good viewing area for the
parents, friends and family. The grandstand seating is
just for VIPs.
(Q2) I heard Virgin Atlantic complimentary in-flight
movies, please explain?
(A2) Yes I can speak from personal experience. In June of
2002 my wife and I with our best friends took an 8-day trip
to England. On the back of each seat of the Virgin
Atlantic airplane is a movie screen. Each person has
control of the movies they want to see. I remember there
was at least 4 movies to choose from. Maybe more. It's as
simple as working a TV remote. We all are expert at that.
At least us Dads according to our wife's on a football
Sunday afternoon.
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 = $59 Pound Sterling (Great Britain)
$100 US Dollars = $84 Euro (Ireland)
Rate valid as of: 11/21/2003
Currency conversions are based on Yahoo Currency
conversion.
Again we plan on offering through our good friends at Bank
Of America an option for you to purchase your Euros and
British Pound Sterling currency prior to leaving on the
trip. We offer it as a convenience for the students and
adults going on the trip. You are under no obligation to
accept. You provide us a check made out to the Shamrock
Regiment and the distribution between Euros and British
Pound Sterling in US Dollars. We do the rest. The
foreign currency is brought to the Band Room for you the
parent to pick up. They are all individually wrapped with
your son or daughters name on each envelope.
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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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