Preparing Students For Summer Trips

Final Tour Meetings before Departure are Essential for Success

Mar 21, 2009

Final trip meetings for students and parents participating on school summer trips reinforce expected outcomes and provide rich information that ensures success.

Spring is the time to plan the final trip meetings for groups preparing to travel aboard. By this time, tour providers have released flight itineraries and hotel information, allowing teacher group-leaders to disseminate relevant information and, if possible, begin the process of rooming assignments. If the group is large and will experience split flights, i.e. flying to and from the destination in more than one group, teacher group leaders can assign appropriate chaperones to the various different split groups.

Preparing for the Final Meetings

The final pre-departure meetings should give students and parents valuable information regarding the basics of the tour itinerary:

Students can readily check their flights when put onto laminated cards that are easily stored with passports and other important papers. Folding a copy of the hotel information into luggage tags, assuming there will be more than one hotel, will greatly assist airlines in forwarding lost baggage in the event luggage is misplaced during the flights. The check-lists highlight what should go into carry-on luggage, such as medications placed in transparent plastic bags, one day worth of clothing, expensive cameras, etc. It is also advisable to put a parent’s business card in the luggage tags rather than personal, home addresses, to protect from identity theft.

What to Collect in the Final Trip Meetings

Final trip meetings should be used to collect the following from every participant:

Collecting the tip money before departure is essential. Students notoriously spend on tours and collecting the recommended amounts may prove difficult while on tour. A general sum that includes tour director and driver tips should be collected as well as enough extra money to cover for local city tour guides (usually one dollar per person per local guide).

Passport information should be listed alphabetically. In most cases, tour providers will make such forms available. It is unlawful to actually copy passports.

In some cases, teacher group leaders may wish to collect fees not included in the overall tour price but relevant to optional excursions that must be paid while on tour. This is particularly relevant if the tour includes any portion of a cruise that offers optional guided excursions.

Covering the Basics One Last Time

Although tour expectations involving discipline and such matters as curfews may have already been published, the final trip meetings can reinforce desired outcomes. Additionally, important items to cover might include:

Participants should be told what kind of clothing to bring given the expected weather conditions, as well as good walking shoes. If visiting churches or mosques, females should have long sleeve tops and long skirts; males should have their knees covered. The final meetings can also cover what kinds of luggage are best on longer trips that include multiple transport and lodging exchanges.

Every trip carries with it unique circumstances. Teacher leaders should take into account any nuances that might affect the overall success of the trip. The final trip meetings, ideally 60 and 30 days before departure, will ensure smooth transitions while reinforcing guidelines and expectations.

The copyright of the article Preparing Students For Summer Trips in Middle/High School is owned by Michael Streich. Permission to republish Preparing Students For Summer Trips in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.