Thank you to everyone who made this possible!
It’s so exciting to be part of St Stephen’s first trip to Cambodia. We are now onboard and ready for departure.
First stop, Singapore for a stopover then on to Cambodia.
Lachlan sporting our designer team t-shirts!
Happy New Year, and even more exciting because it’s the day we have been waiting all of 2014 for!!
Just a reminder that we are meeting near the Jetstar checkin section of the International Airport – Terminal 1. Please arrive at 9pm
Probably the easiest way to get there from north of the river is to head down Reid HWY, (which turns into Tonkin HWY) and then follow the airport signs to Terminal 1 (T1). It is a bit of a labyrinth due to all the new work being done on the road, so give yourself time so you aren’t rushing.
Park in the short term parking and then make your way with your bags to the departures section and look for the Jetstar checkin counters.
We will all meet near the Jetstar area and once everyone has arrived we will checkin as a group.
At the airport we will:
Parents will be able to stay with us after we checkin and continue upstairs where we can relax for a bit near Dome and fill in our departure cards. Only those flying are able to continue through immigration so we will be saying our goodbye’s there about 90 mins before our flight so that we have enough time to get through immigration prior to boarding.
Don’t forget to bring your passport, 2 x passport photos, a pen and some US Dollars (worst case you can change up some money at the airport).
In your carry-on luggage, you may want to consider a change of clothes (something cooler) to change into at Singapore airport. We are there for a while but there is heaps of stuff to do (pool, cinema, shopping etc) so you won’t be bored.
Any problems or issues finding the terminal, please give me a call – 0418 133 382
See you all tonight 🙂
With only a few more sleeps now until we leave there are a couple of points to consider when packing your bags…
1 – IF you have a softer travel bag (as opposed to a suitcase), please use that instead. We have limited space in our transport for lots of large bags, and suitcases take up the most space. Please don’t go buy anything different if you only have a suitcase, so only if you have the options.
2 – Maximum weight for your main (checkin) luggage is 20Kg. Please keep to one checkin bag and one daypack for carry on.
Please aim to pack a few Kg less than the 20Kg limit, for a few reasons…
(A) – We need to take a few Kg of screws with us for the house so I’ll distribute them across a few people’s luggage at the airport.
(B) – Mrs Legg (Duncraig Secondary Library) has some books to donate to the SALT school that RAWimpact work with so we will take as many books as we can from her at the airport. If each person takes just a couple of books in their bag then we can take quite a few without going over our baggage allowance.
(C) – You will no doubt buy some things over in Cambodia and will need to pack a few Kg less to allow you to stay under your limit for the return flight.
Happy packing…
I’ve just added 2 separate pages at the top of this blog for easy access to the following information:
Other than a couple more medical consent forms to be returned that’s about all we need to organise. The next time I see you all will be at the airport with your team t-shirts.
Reminder: We meet at the Perth International Airport at 9:00pm on Tuesday 6th January 2015
Just keeping everyone in the loop re the final instalment. I have calculated and confirmed with RAWimpact the final instalment amount for everyone today.
Shortly I’ll be sending an email to each family individually outlining their final instalment amount.
To clarify the instalment deduction for those who have raised over $1,000 by 7th December, basically it applies to the last instalment (of $625). Items such as flights and some expenses for our team can’t be deducted as a taxable expense, which for most won’t be an issue, but we just need to clarify.
We are just finalising a what-to-pack list which will be available on the blog in the next couple of days.
A reminder to please return any Medical Consent forms back to us by tomorrow (Wednesday 10th Dec). If possible, please just scan (or take a photo) and email as it’s easier and guaranteed to get to us. Please return via email where possible to dave.belson@ststephens.wa.edu.au
We really appreciate all the support parents have given to the students throughout the year, and the effort each person in the team has put in to get where we are now. The team fundraising total is a testament to the hard work every person has put in and knowing that your effort is going to change the life of a family you haven’t even met yet is unreal!
To summarise the key points from last night:
International SOS – St Stephen’s (along with other schools) have partnered with International SOS to provide international medical and security advice, assistance and alerts to us as staff and students. For an overview of how their services can look after our team in Cambodia, please fee free to peruse the following link – https://www.internationalsos.com/elearning/comprehensive/
Medical Consent form – If not already handed in, please complete and return to one of the staff (email or in person is fine) by Wednesday 10th December. I may be in touch with some families to clarify requirements where necessary so we can make sure we understand each students requirements.
Final instalment – Fundraising cut-off is Sunday 7th December. This means that any amounts added to an Everyday Hero account after this date will not be included in the final instalment amount.
On Sunday I’ll be calculating every person’s fundraising amount which will effect the last instalment amount. Basically speaking:
Each family will receive an individual email from me by COB Monday 8th December indicating the calculated final instalment amount. This list will be given to our accounts receivable department and the final payment can be made to them as per the previous ones.
The next major post we will make will be a ‘What to pack’ checklist, so keep an eye on the blog.
In the interim, things to consider would be changing up some cash into about USD$50 and getting some (2) passport photos for the visa we will get on arrival in Cambodia.
Our venue has been booked and we are all set for our last group get-together before the trip. It’s been a great year, we are excited about the trip and we know the students are too. We would like to share a few last minute trip details over some nice Asian cuisine with our team and their parents to
Our reservation has been made for Thursday 4th December
Restaurant: Tamarind
Time: 6pm
Location: 148 Scarborough Beach Rd, (Shop 44), Mount Hawthorn
Cost: Up to the family on what they order
Details: http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/338/1434284/restaurant/Perth/Tamarind-Mount-Hawthorn
Thank you to those who have RSVP’d already. So far we have about 35 parents, students and staff attending. If you have not RSVP’d yet, please do so asap by clicking here so we can inform the restaurant of extra numbers.
A couple of things we will go over at the dinner are:
Looking forward to catching up with everyone 🙂
Just a few things as we rapidly approach the end of the year. I’ll be posting information about what to take/pack etc and last minute things, but below are some events coming up and an a couple of things to think about before things get too close to leaving:
Cultural Awareness Training – Monday 24th November (that’s this coming Monday). Details on the original post (click here)
Cambodian Dinner – Thursday 4th December. Please click here to RSVP so we know how many to book for. Please come to this as we have a lot to share and I want to introduce our RAWimpact team leader to you who will be with us for the whole trip.
We get out visas at the airport in Cambodia (VOA – Visa on Arrival), however each student will need to pay in USD and have 2 passport photos with them.
Spending money – How much students take is up to them, but things to consider:
Passport photos – 2 photos are required to be brought with each person. This is for the visa and will save complications on arrival if students have them (there is no option to get photos taken at the airport)
More details to come, but if you have any questions, please ask on here, via email, or chat to us at the dinner.
Hoping to see all the students on Monday.
🙂
As the last team get-together before we depart to Cambodia we are inviting all students and parents to join us out for a group dinner. This will be a fairly informal evening where we can go through any last pieces of information about the trip and final preparedness and answer any questions parents may have about the trip.
This dinner will also provide a little introduction to some of the food students can expect to find themselves eating whilst in Cambodia. The exact restaurant will be finalised depending on numbers, so it is important that all students RSVP (whether attending or not) using the link below and indicate how many parents will be attending as well.
Details are as follows:
Date: Thursday 4th December
Time: 6pm
Cost: Depending on what students & parents order (payment will be the responsibility of the family)
Location: Probably Mt Lawley or East Perth, depending on numbers
Please RSVP by Monday 24th November
Firstly….WOW. You guys have done an amazing job as a team raising money for Cambodia. I can’t wait to share with you the project that we will be working on and where this money will be going. So far our team has raised over $24,000 (we’ve actually raised more than what is displayed on the Everyday Hero balance). Some have absolutely smashed their targets, and some of us have a little more to go to reach the goal.
As we mentioned way back at the initial presentation with parents and students, some portions of the instalments can be tax-deductible (not all, e.g. flight costs etc). In order for RAW Impact to issue a tax invoice, it must be requested. Tax invoices won’t be issued unless requested (this is because a fee is charged to RAW Impact for processing these).
If you would like a taxable invoice to be provided, please email Mr Belson directly with the following by 30 November:
The last payment amount will be slightly different for some people, depending on whether they have exceeded the $1,000 target or not. If students have met the $1,000 target, then the last and final payment will be $625. If there is a gap in meeting the $1,000 target, students will be responsible for reaching up to the $1,000. Amounts over $1,000 means that for every $2 over, $1 will be deducted from their last instalment.
The cut-off for fundraising is 1st December. This means that anything added to your Everyday Hero account after then won’t be included the deduction from your instalment amount.
If you have any questions about this process or the above information, please direct them to Mr Belson.
Below is a snapshot of fundraising as at Mid October, to give you an idea of how we have progressed as a team (haven’t put anyone’s name next to the amounts though).
