Greetings China Travelers!

Reminder:

September 1, 2009 - $1250.00 per traveler is due.

Please make checks payable to “Bolton High School.”

You can drop the check off to Paul Smith at the BOE Office or mail it directly to Bolton High School, 72 Brandy Street, Bolton, CT 06043 or Bolton Board of Education, 108 Notch Road, Bolton, CT 06043. We are able to accommodate anyone who was on the waiting list at this time. However, it is important for us to know exactly who is going so we can make flight arrangements and get the best price. Please be prompt with your checks.

Our guests from China, Sima Yinan his daughter, Hongze arrived in Bolton last Friday, August 21. We have them settled and comfortable. Over the last several days, they have tried American foods including hamburgers, pizza, pulled pork sandwiches, pancakes, and bacon! They have been excited to try all foods, though they are most fond of vegetables and fruits. Mr. Sima has a rental car and an international drivers permit, so he and his daughter have mastered their way to Bolton High School and Bolton Center School, where she is a 4th grade student in Mrs. Sullivan’s class.

Sima is researching Grade 9 students and classes at Bolton High School as part of a grant from the Shandong Provincial Education Department. He is the first person from the Shandong Province to be given a grant for this extended period of August – January to study an American school. Prior visits by Shandong officials have lasted two weeks, similar to the visit we had last January of the educational researchers from Shandong. We are honored that Bolton was selected for this opportunity.

Mr. Sima and Hongze live in the capital city of Jinan and he is very familiar with our sister school and its principal, Mr. Wang Pinmu.

Mr. Sima, will be offering Chinese lessons to anyone interested! Those traveling to China are urged to attend his Chinese lessons. In addition, he will give us information on Jinan and Taishan, home of Mt. Tai, which are both part of our April 2010 agenda. He will also help all of us with a few phrases to remember while in China. A schedule of events will be posted soon.

Don’t forget our September 14, author visit by Da Chen at the Senior Center at 6:00 PM. Da Chen, author of Colors of the Mountain, will visit us on the 14th and spend the day at BHS on Tuesday, September 15. The Bolton Community Education Foundation and Bolton Women’s Club have both helped to make this visit possible.

Please check out the school’s new website: http://www.boltonpublicschools.com/.

CHINA information now on Twitter!

You are invited to keep up with details on our CHINA events!

Find Paul K. Smith on Twitter.com

To find out more about Twitter, visit the link below:


http://twitter.com/pksmith427

It's time to get ready for CHINA 2010!

Greetings CHINA participants!

A couple of details as we begin actively preparing for our CHINA experience in 2010.

1. I have sent you an invite to follow CHINA details and other little tidbits on Twitter. You can follow the instructions on the separate Twitter e-mail or simply ignore.

2. The Swine Flu over-reaction on the Chinese side is starting to calm down according to our travel arranger, Peng. I have been e-mailing him as I do not want our group to be quarantined like other American and British visitors to China have been! We will watch the news carefully and we will see what happens with H1N1 in the fall and winter. I do not see that this will be a concern next April when we are traveling.

3. People have asked about upgrading through United from Economy to Business Class. The answer is “Yes!” You can use accumulated mileage to upgrade the flight. But you will need to check with United to see how much mileage is needed to upgrade from Economy to Business. It is also necessary to pay more for the Economy Class ticket to be able to upgrade with accumulated mileages. Peng is guessing that you will need to pay around $1000 more in order to purchase the upgradable ticket. It will be necessary to make this decision well in advance or you may have difficulty getting an upgrade. I will need to know this before December 1st.

4. Medical/evacuation insurance is strongly suggested for everyone. I shared this at the April meeting and will give you details in the future. You may wish for trip-interruption insurance, and I will also share information with you very soon!

Reminder: September 1, 2009 $1250.00 per traveler is due. Please make checks payable to “Bolton High School.”


Mail to Paul K. Smith, Bolton Public Schools, 108 Notch Road, Bolton CT 06043 or bring the check to the BOE office at the Center School or give to Cindy Carvalho in the main office of the high school. We cannot accept credit card payments. Personal checks, money order, etc. are fine!