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The Shamrock Dublin Gazette- Issue #06
Kennedy High School, La Palma, California 90623
 
January 8, 2004    
Countdown to Departure: 62 Days
 
Current Email Subscribers: 101
 
Current Temperatures & Time 4:00am Here & 12:00pm There
Dublin: 45 Degrees - Partly Cloudy (Wind at 18mph) 
Limerick: 44 Degrees - Cloudy (Wind at 10mph) 
London: 50 Degrees - Rain (Wind at 22mph) 
 
Henri Soucy, Editor 
http://www.kennedyband.org
 
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IN THIS ISSUE
 
(1) A Word from Henri
(2) Projected Trip Costs
(3) Bank of America Currency Exchange 
(4) The British Crown Jewels
(5) Where to eat in Dublin
(6) Passport Processing on Saturday
(7) Fund-Raising Review
(8) Frequently Asked Questions
(9) Show me the Money
 
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A WORD FROM HENRI:
 
I had the newsletter ready to go a day earlier. So I
decided to send it today. I hope you all had a great
Christmas and New Year's. As shown above, only 62 days
before you board you're flight. 
 
Hard copies will be ready in the Band Room next week
showing all chaperones assigned to the students plus the
specific flight and hotel information. A point of
clarification for the hotels numbering sequence is "D" is
for Double, "T" is for triple and "S" is for single. I have
assigned just a numeric sequence such as D-01, D-02, etc.
for each room. In this way it was easy to align us to the
allocated quantity of doubles, triples and single rooms for
all Ireland and England hotels.
 
The final name list will be given to Norman International
Travel on Monday. Virgin Atlantic Airlines is requiring the
final passenger list next week to prepare the ticketing on
January 23, 2004. 
 
The assigning of flights between London to Dublin and
Dublin to London on British Midlines and Aer Lingus was
accomplished using the following criteria:
 
>>> Chaperones must be on the same flight as their assigned
students 
 
>>> Students rooming together...fly together. 
 
>>> Parents must be on the same flight as their son and/or
daughter 
 
>>> Chaperones that are teamed together, will be on the
same flight
 
>>> When possible, meet a special request from a parent for
a given flight
 
You may ask what is chaperone teaming. Rather than
assigning 8 students for instance to each chaperone only, I
have created teams of the married chaperones and single
chaperones. In this way it doesn't fall on just one
person to wake their students up and put them to bed.
This could be rather tiring considering the long hours of
each day's events. This way each team can work the best
schedule for them to cover their students so they are not
exhausting themselves from the long hours. This will keep
the parent volunteers much fresher and will contribute to
their enjoyment of the trip while they serve the students. 
 
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PROJECTED TRIP COSTS:
 
As of January 5th I asked Norman Travel International to
provide the projected cost for the trip based on that day's
currency exchange rates. Verified from two locations the
following exchange rates applied: 
 
Euro Dollar to US Dollar: 1.2768
Pounds Sterling to US Dollar: 1.8215
 
The trip prices based on those exchange rates would be the
following:
 
Student price: $2,205.00 sharing triple
Double Price: $2,236.00 sharing double
Single Price: $2,521.00 single price
 
A point of clarification, if you are in a triple in Ireland
and a double in London, you still pay the student price of
$2,205.00. I point this out because in the London Hotel
the majority of the choices only available were doubles. 
 
I will be sending everybody a bill for the final payment on
January 29th. Per the itinerary, the final payment is due
on February 1st. So if you are like most people who will
have paid $750 through the Dec 1st payment schedule, your
final payment will be $1,455.00 for triple, $1,486.00 for
double and $1,771.00 for single. 
 
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BANK OF AMERICA CURRENCY EXCHANGE:
 
Being that the exchange rates are not in our favor and the
final trip payment is due on Feb 1st, I will be mailing the
currency exchange forms to you the first week of February.
The money will be due to me by February 20th. I will
complete the exchange with Bank of America and handout your
foreign currency the week of March 5th. The foreign
currency has to be picked up by the parent. At that time
the parent will decide what amount if any, the chaperone
will keep for their son or daughter. I know some of you
would rather have the chaperone safeguard your son or
daughter's spending money.
 
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THE BRITISH CROWN JEWELS:
 
During the medieval times the Crown Jewels were the
Personal property of the sovereign. It was fairly common
Practice for the King or Queen to pawn them or use them as
Security for loans in time of war. Most were kept at the
Tower, particularly when the sovereign was in residence
there, although the Coronation Regalia was held at
Westminster Abbey. Sometime after 1660, a new set of
Regalia was made to replace what had been destroyed during
the Commonwealth. It was at that time that the Tower became
the permanent home of the Crown Jewels and put on public
display.
 
The absolute value of all the gold, silver, platinum,
diamonds, sapphires, rubies, emeralds and pearls in the
royal collection is way beyond comprehension. Added to the
fact that the crowns and other artifacts have all been worn
and used by kings and queens of England makes one quick to
realize that they, without question stand alone in their
pricelessness. Although the world boasts some incredible
treasures, suffice to sat there is absolutely nothing that
compares with the British Crown Jewels. 
 
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WHERE TO EAT IN DUBLIN:
 
If you're wondering where to eat in Dublin, I'll be
publishing the definitive list of 110 eating places that
would love to serve you. I know everybody is concerned
about the cost of lunches and so forth. This list includes
the following:
 
Quantity of Dublin Cafes, Bars and Restaurants Selections>>
 
Cost Under 10 Euros: Qty 13
Cost Under 15 Euros: Qty 34 
Cost Under 20 Euros: Qty 37
Cost Under 25 Euros: Qty 14
Cost Under 30 Euros: Qty 12
 
Suffice to say there are lots of eating establishments for
everybody's pocketbook. Plus this covers every type of
food imaginable. 
 
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PASSPORT PROCESSING ON SATURDAY:
 
I have fifteen people that have signed up so far for the
passport processing by the Buena Park Post Office. I have
worked an arrangement with the representative Carlotta
Lewis. She will be at the Buena Park Post Office on La
Palma Avenue near Knott's Berry Farm on Saturday, January
10th from 8:30am-11:00am. She will be there just to process
the Kennedy people only. On that Saturday all people must
bring their completed passport applications, 2 passport
color sized photos, a valid birth certificate, two blank
checks or money orders. If at the last minute you decide to
take advantage of this offer, please make sure you have
everything with you when you go. No appointment is
necessary. I would recommend you get there closer to
8:30am-9:00am than waiting until the last minute. She has
to leave by 11:00am. 
 
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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 Student Account Balances, which includes all of their
fundraising to-date, is posted in the Band Room. I will
be mailing a copy to everybody with his or her final bill
on January 29th. You can use this balance to offset the
final amount due for the trip. If you have any questions,
please call me. 
 
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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
 
(Q1) Can a student bring their Game Boy and/or Sony
Walkman on the plane with them?
(A1) Yes they can. But with the new security it will be
checked intensely. Being an electronic device, it cannot
be turned on during take offs or landings. 
 
(Q2) I have a question regarding purchasing items from
London and Ireland and bringing them back home. I'm talking
more like souvenirs of a collectible nature. I would think
as long as it can go in my luggage and it doesn't exceed
the weight limit, it's all right. But anything larger or
questionable should be shipped home? 
 
(A2) I would agree that items that will fit in the
suitcase could be packed and brought home that way. Often
times when items are China or Crystal it is wise to ship
them home through the store where you purchase as included
in most shipping is insurance for damage and breakage.
Which would not be available if you personally take the
items with you in your own packing and getting home.
Shipping takes usually a few weeks, so patience is also
required. 
 
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 = $55 Pound Sterling (Great Britain)
$100 US Dollars = $79 Euro (Ireland) 
Rate valid as of: 01/08/2004 
 
Currency conversions are based on Yahoo Currency
conversion. 
 
The dollar just seems to be getting weaker and weaker
against the Euro and Pound Sterling. Hopefully it will
come back a little stronger to enhance your purchasing
power prior to the trip. 
 
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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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