Tour Update for Participating Families

All tour participant families are asked to read the following update regarding the 2016 tour.

Click here for access to a PDF file containing the letter.

Forms Update

Thank you to all our tour participants for finalizing the Host Family Information Surveys. We now have 100% of the submissions needed, and we have shared the information with our friends in Germany.

There are several participants that have yet to submit their completed Medical Form, Travel Agreement, Insurance Card copy, Passport Copy, etc.  Please get these turned in to our faculty early next week.

Missing Host Family Information Surveys! Please Check!!

We need to send the Host Family Info survey data to our friends in Germany by the end of this week, and we are currently missing survey info (and photos) from the following tour participants:

• Connery, P.
• Dwyer, E.
• Griffin, K.
• Henriksen, K.
• Mason, C.
• McDaniel, A.
• Patrick, O.
• Tingzon, M.
• Wener, T.

We respectfully urge these participants to fill out the form, linked below, immediately.   
It is possible that a participant filled out the form but the information did not "stick" when submitted.  If that's the case, we ask you to kindly fill out the form again.

Thank you for your help and cooperation.

http://tinyurl.com/D99HonorsBandHostFamilyInfo

Jersey Sizes - Ordering Update

Thanks to all our families who attended the trip meeting this evening. We're very excited about what is sure to be a great tour!

As a point of clarification on available jersey sizes:

-Sample jerseys were available tonight in men's and women's cuts in sizes S-XL. As you will note on the order form, sizes extend up to XXXL. We heard several comments about the jerseys fitting a bit smaller than expected. Please feel free to request these larger sizes.

-If you have already filled out the online order form and would like to update your order, please visit the order form again and resubmit YOUR WHOLE ORDER. Each entry is automatically timestamped, so we will refer to the most recent form you completed.

-If you have any additional questions please contact Mr. Miller.

Jersey Order Form Link (Must be logged in to CSD99 Google Account):

http://tinyurl.com/D99HonorsBandJersey2016

Do you have a hotel roommate preference?

At our required meeting (Thursday, February 25th) tour participants will have the opportunity - if they desire - to express a roommate preference for the hotel in France.  Students are not required to express a roommate preference, but if they have one, they will be asked to list that preference on a sign in the Auditorium Lobby at the conclusion of the meeting.  All hotels will be assigned as DOUBLES.

Meeting Day/Date Clarification

One of the documents we originally posted on Feb. 11 (cover letter) had a mistake. It referenced our Tour Meeting as "Monday, February 25."  The letter should have read, "Thursday, February 25."

To clarify, the meeting is on Thursday, February 25.  The online document has been updated, and now reflects the correct day/date.

Thank you.

February Mailing / Forms To Be Addressed Prior to February 25th Meeting

We have important forms and documents to share with our D99 Honors Band families!

Please click here to be redirected to a Google Drive folder that contains the following PDF's:

1. February 10th Letter (explaining all the documents that you need to address now)
2. Passport Form (to collect a copy of your passport on Feb. 25)
3. Medical Form (to be completed and returned on Feb. 25)
4. Student Information Survey (to provide information to German Host Families)
5. Schedule of Required Rehearsals

125 Days, and Planning! Sign up for our Text Alerts!

Our Tour Departure is 125 Days away ... but the planning is in FULL SWING.  

Don't forget our upcoming required tour meeting, Thursday, February 25th.  Location and time details here.

Tour participant families will be receiving - within the next several days - important information regarding our rehearsal schedule in June, as well as forms to fill out in advance of our February 25th meeting.  Please continue to monitor your email carefully.  And ...

... why not sign up for our Text Alerts?

You have already registered your email address with the tour blog, which means you will receive an email within 24 hours of a new post.  But maybe you would prefer a text message alert within an hour of a new post?!

Now you can receive a text message, with a direct link to new announcements, every time the Tour Blog is updated.  It couldn’t be easier to stay informed about the tour ...

To subscribe:

1. Send a text (SMS message) to: 40404

2. In the message body type this exactly: follow @d99honorsband

Note: you MUST make sure you leave a space between the word “follow” and the “@d99honorsband”

To unsubscribe:

1. Send a text (SMS message) to: 40404

2. In the message body type this exactly: unfollow @d99honorsband

Save The Date - Tour Meeting on February 25th

Tour participants and at least one parent/guardian will be required to attend a mandatory meeting on Thursday, February 25th, at 7:00 PM in the DGN Auditorium.

More details about the meeting, and the required paperwork that will be completed that evening will be forthcoming in January.  For now ask that families block out the date/time for the meeting.

Scholarships for Student Tour Participants

Bob Rogers Travel is promoting two different scholarships for students participating in group travel with their school music programs.  Both scholarships have entail a competitive application process..

For information about the scholarships, please follow the links below.  

BRT’s Moments That Matter Scholarships, and the Student and Youth Travel Association’s Road Scholarships are open for application.  Clicking on either of those links will take you to all info you need to complete the application process.

European Tour Registration Deadline is Wednesday!

Registration Deadline: Wednesday, September 23
Any student who completed preliminary registration with our staff on or prior to July 1st may register now, and should do so by September 23 to guarantee a spot on the tour.

Meeting Follow-Up Annoncements

Thank you for attending our Parent/Student information meeting last night at North High.  The information provided below is offered as clarification, and to answer some questions that were raised after the meeting.

Registration Deadline: Wednesday, September 23
Any student who completed preliminary registration with our staff on or prior to July 1st may register now, and should do so by September 23 to guarantee a spot on the tour.  The deposit will not be charged to families until October 1.

Total Package Cost
The total package cost is correct as listed on the IPS Registration Instructions ($3,360). There was a $10 discrepancy on our slide last night (#3,350), but it has been corrected and appears accurately on the slides that are running on our tour website.

Will there be an additional meeting to cover logistics like currency exchange and medical forms?
Yes! We should have clarified last night that there will be a meeting scheduled in January or February where students and parents will receive a great deal of information about money management, packing lists, medical forms, etc.  Stay tuned!

Help me understand why I need to "Follow By Email"?
As we mentioned last night, all future correspondence about the tour, after October 1st, will be done by posting to the Tour Blog.  It is important that family members (parents, and student participants) register their preferred email addresses through the form in the upper left corner of the Tour Blog.  Don't forget to look for a verification email (from Google, or FeedBurner), and verify your email address.

What do I do if I'm in Wind Ensemble, but did not express an interest in the tour prior to July 1st? 
For now, please hold. Do not register yet on the IPS system. Make sure your band director knows of your interest, and we will be back to you after the first initial round of formal registrations.  We will do our best to accommodate your interest, but we need to check instrumentation balance after October 1 before we can move forward.

Slides from September 9 Informational Meeting

Tour Information Meeting - September 9

REMINDER: There will be a required informational meeting about the tour held on Wednesday, September 9, from 7 - 8 PM, in the Clarence Johnson Auditorium of North High School.  Any student who wishes to travel on this tour must attend with at least one parent/guardian.  At the meeting we will present the tentative tour itinerary, share procedures for official registration, and explain the payment plan/process.  

We look forward to seeing your family at North High on September 9th at 7 PM.

Tour Launch!

We are pleased to announce the 2016 District 99 Honors Band Tour!  Students from Downers Grove North and Downers Grove South are headed for France and Germany in 2016.

The initial information packet, shared this week with DGN and DGS Wind Ensemble students (2015-16) may be found here.