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<DIV>Greetings Band Families!</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>The Canada trip is just 7 weeks away and final preparations are
underway. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Latest Canada News:</DIV>
<DIV>On Monday of this week 1/3 of our group was rescheduled onto a different
(and unusable) return flight by the Alaska Airlines computer. So for
6 hrs or so on Monday we had 60 kids walking home from Seattle. Thankfully
by the end of the day, I was able to cancel their return flight on Alaska and
repurchase new return flights for them on Southwest Airlines. In the end,
it is a better flight and will get those kids home even earlier than the main
group! Unfortunately, there was a hefty cost associated with this change,
and a few kids had to be moved around from the original lists they signed
up on in class, but still, the fact that all were once again flying back from
Seattle to Sacramento on the same evening was everything I could hope for.
Departure times for Thursday 5/19 did not change at all, and new lists will
be posted to update everyone on the changes. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>And there's more great news. Due to all the great fundraising the
group has done this year, the Band Boosters was able to offer a large sum to
help offset the overall cost of this trip for us. That combined with
diligent bargaining from the trip committee folks on everything from busses to
hotels to food and activities, has resulted in a lower than expected overall
trip cost, even with the recent airline fiasco costs. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>So the final trip cost per student will be <STRONG>$750!</STRONG></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Our last installment amount for the trip is scheduled for this Friday April
1st. John Horn has been working hard to get individualized email updates
out to each of you regarding your students trip credits, so these should be
coming soon, but it is quite a big undertaking and has taken longer than
expected. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>If your student did not participate in the recent Coconut Grove event (by
either setting up, working the day of the event or playing in any band there)
then your last email update from John would still be current. You may
figure your final installment amount and send it in at anytime. (Checks made out
to DHS Band Boosters and mailed to: PO Box 73522, Davis, CA 95617).
</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> If your student did participate in Coconut Grove then it would be
best to wait for that email, as their credits will have changed, and thus your
final installment as well. If you already sent more than that
amount, John will have details on what your options are in that email.
</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Watch for official permission slips and packing information to come home
right after Spring Break. There will also be sign ups for parent
volunteers for our departure and return day activities - so if you have some
time to carpool to the airport or help check kids in for the trip, there will
soon be emails looking for volunteers with those things. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>It's going to be a great trip!</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Katie Horn</DIV>
<DIV>Trip Coordinator</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>PS. You should be very proud of your band student. The Davis HS
Combined Band has been invited to perform at Butchart Gardens this year.
The coordinator there originally told me that they only had HS bands perform
once many summers ago and it didn't go well at all. They have never
had a HS group since, and he was not interested in having our group there
either. But after reviewing a demo DVD, and after many
conversations, the owners of the Gardens decided to give it another try and they
have invited our group to play. It will get lots of publicity through the
Festival Society which promotes the weekend events during the Victoria Day
celebration. And best of all, the kids will get complimentary passes
to tour the gardens (which also helped with those trip costs! Yay!)
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