THE BRITISH INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL Shanghai, Puxi A NORD ANGLIA EDUCATION SCHOOL Contact us The British International School Shanghai, Puxi, 111 Jinguang Road, Huacao Town, Minhang, Shanghai, 201107 上海英国学校浦西校区上海市闵行区华漕镇金光路 111 号,201107 Email admissions@bisspuxi.com School Website www.bisspuxi.com General Enquiries +86 021 5226 3211
Year 9 Trip HeBei Province Monday 15 June - Friday 19 June 2015
Exciting Experiences Many of your sons and daughters will have experienced the excitement of a residential school trip before, while for a small number this might be the first time that they are going to be away from home for a few days at a time. In both cases, we wish to assure you that both you and they will survive the separation! To allay any worries that you may have, we have prepared some answers to what we feel will be your most common questions. If we have missed any out please feel free to contact the trip leaders, Mr Chris Baker and Ms Kernaghan at any time.
1. WHERE IS THE TRIP DESTINATION? The group will be going to the Northern Hills, Hebei Province in northern China. Hebei is a province with extraordinary mountain scenery, limitless hiking and outdoor opportunities, and fascinating mountain villages where people have maintained a traditional way of life for centuries. 2. WHEN & WHERE DO THE STUDENTS GET DROPPED OFF AND PICKED UP AT THE START & END OF THE TRIP? Students should be dropped off at school and collected promptly at either end of the trip by their parents. Students should arrive at the secondary campus and be ready to leave by 0730 on Monday 15 June. We will then travel to Hongqiao railway station by coach. We expect to be back at the secondary campus by around 1930 on Friday 19 June. 3. WHAT ARE THE TRAIN DETAILS? Monday 15 June G2 Depart Shanghai Hongqiao 0900 Arrive Beijing South 1348. Friday 19 June G3 Depart Beijing South 1400 Arrive Shanghai Hongqiao 1848. 4. WHAT ACTIVITIES WILL THE STUDENTS BE DOING? Over the course of the week, the students will have opportunities to participate in a range of outdoor activities, including camping, rock climbing, paddle boarding, kayaking, sailing, rafting and hiking. They will also have a chance to experience the food of the region and to meet local families. The exact itinerary may be subject to change as it is to some extent weather dependent, but it will be a busy week. 5. WHAT WILL THE ACCOMMODATION BE LIKE? We will be camping at the Huanghuacheng Campsite beside the Great Wall and at the Shi Men Shan Outdoor Base accommodation is made up of cabins. We will be staying in village guesthouses in Dongpo and Tianxianyu and sleeping in traditional Kang beds. 6. WHAT ABOUT THE FOOD? We will have a variety of meals during the week, including BBQs whilst camping, packed lunches between activities and hot food at local guesthouses in the evenings. These meals will generally be Chinese cuisine. There are a large range of food options and therefore there is no need to worry if you have particular requests about food such as vegetarian food. 7. WHAT CLOTHES AND EQUIPMENT WILL THEY NEED? A full packing list is included. Some clothes may get muddy during the outdoor activities so please do not pack anything that you cannot bear to see ruined.
Adventure in HeBei Province 8. CAN THE STUDENTS BRING THEIR MOBILE PHONES AND OTHER ELECTRONIC DEVICES? Students will be able to bring electronic devices with them as they will no doubt wish to record their exciting experiences and to update parents after an eventful day of activities. Students need to be aware that electronic devices which are taken on the trip will be brought at the owner s risk. They may not be suitable for some of the water-based activities. It would be useful to have a zip-up waterproof bag to store devices. 9. HOW MUCH SPENDING MONEY SHOULD STUDENTS TAKE? Although there may be an opportunity to purchase souvenirs, there will be little time for shopping in our busy schedule of activities. It will not be necessary for students to bring any more money than they would normally spend on snacks and drinks. 10. WHICH STAFF MEMBERS WILL BE GOING ON THE TRIP? There will be ten staff members supervising students on the trip: Group 1 (Ming) Ms Rebecca Kernaghan (Group 1 Leader) Ms Maria Pantasoulas Ms Marie Ma Mr Francis Gale Mr Kris Van Der Mynsebrugge Group 2 (Qing) Mr Christopher Baker (Group 2 Leader) Ms Rebecca Symonds Ms Meri Sanz Mr Jon Wasey Ms Irene Bai 11. WILL MY CHILD BE SAFE? A detailed risk assessment has been carried out by The Hutong for the visit to Hebei province. This has been reviewed by the school to ensure that the health and safety of your child is considered at each stage of the trip. This includes the safety of students travelling to Hongqiao railway station and each subsequent journey in China itself. It ensures that activity staff are trained in all of the activities that take place; it means, for example, that we check carefully that the weather is suitable for kayaking and sailing and that first aid cover is always readily available for all participants. Proper equipment will be used for each activity and relevant safety equipment will be used, such as life-jackets when on the river and seatbelts on buses. Students will be drinking bottled water only. Students will be covered by medical insurance for the duration of the trip and International SOS will coordinate the medical care and evacuation in the unlikely event of a serious injury. This means that your child is in good hands.
12. HOW WILL I KNOW IF THE TRIP IS GOING WELL? We will publish a daily trip update on the News and Events section of the school website at 8pm each day. If a journey is delayed, we will publish a notice on the home page of the school website. 13. IS THERE A PHONE NUMBER IN CASE OF EMERGENCY? The trip leaders, Mr Christopher Baker and Miss Rebecca Kernaghan, will each have a mobile phone which you can ring in case of emergency. 14. HOW CLOSELY WILL THE STUDENTS BE SUPERVISED? The supervision ratio will vary according to the activity the students are doing, but will always be in line with health and safety recommendations. Girls and boys will sleep in separate areas. They will be expected to go to bed at the specified times and to stay in their rooms until the morning. Male members of staff will supervise the areas that the boys are sleeping in and the female staff will supervise the girls areas. contains the details that you gave us to book train tickets. The passports will be looked after by the trip leader while we are away for the week. 17. HOW DO YOU DECIDE HOW MUCH THE TRIP WILL COST? All of our trips are run on a not-for-profit basis. The vast majority of the cost for this trip goes towards the payment to The Hutong, the company which is facilitating the trip, and covers rail journeys and other transport, accommodation, activities and their specialist staffing, food and other expenses. 18. WHAT IF I HAVE MORE QUESTIONS? We hope that this answers most, if not all of your questions. Please feel free to contact the trip leaders by email if you have any further queries c-baker@bisspuxi.com and r-kernaghan@bisspuxi.com. 15. WILL THE STUDENTS NEED THEIR PASSPORTS? Yes they will. It is the responsibility of parents to ensure that students bring their own passports and that they are up to date. In the situation where students hold two passports, please make sure that they bring the one which
Adventure in Nanbeihu PACKING LIST Passport High-factor sunscreen Day bag for e0xcursions 2 pairs shorts 1 pair long trousers 5 shirts 1 lightweight fleece/vest/jumper/hoodie 1 waterproof jacket 1 bathing suit 5 pairs underwear 8 pairs socks 1 towel 1 sun hat/cap 2 pair of trainers/ strong walking shoes 1 pair of flip flops/sandals/comfortable shoes for evenings 1 water bottle 1 small torch 1 small personal first aid kit Notebook and pens Camera Sunglasses Small bottle of insect repellent Plastic bag for dirty clothes Personal toiletries Any required medication Antibacterial hand gel Wet wipes A clean set of clothes, to be worn on the journey back to Shanghai, should be kept in a plastic bag. Students will have to carry their bags at times, so we recommend packing lightly. Any personal medication must be given to the trip leader at the start of the trip. All of the above should fit into a rucksack or a small suitcase.
HeBei Province Shanghai Northern Hills HeBei Province Shanghai