École BANTING MIDDLE School
820 Banting Drive, Coquitlam, British Columbia V3J 4J4
Phone: 604-939-9247 Fax: 604-939-7623
Thursday, September 24, 2015
Chers parents,
Banting Middle School’s French Immersion Programme has a tradition of organizing a trip to Quebec
for the Grade 7 students each year. We are pleased to announce that we have School District
approval for our 2015 Banting Quebec trip. Our apologies regarding the timeline, our trip was just
approved and moving on this immediately ensures the lowest possible price and guarantees our
choice of activities.
Our initial parent meeting will be Monday, September 28th at 7pm in the cafeteria. We have
tentative reservations with Immersion tours & West Jet for 78 students and 6 Banting teachers for a
total of 84 participants.
Our timelines are shorter this year, so we will begin collecting the $300.00 nonrefundable
deposits at the meeting on Monday, September 28th. The non-refundable $300.00 deposit will
be needed to confirm participation. The forms and deposits (and a cheque for $31.00 for optional
cancellation insurance, if desired) are due at the school the morning of Wednesday,
September 30ieth. Our paperwork and trip deposit must be in Quebec on October 1st.
Please note: the cheques should be made out to Banting Middle School.
Included in this package are the details of the trip we are proposing for Sunday, May 8th to Friday,
May 13th. It is intended to give a tentative overview of the trip and its highlights and to determine
interest in the trip given the information provided. and to distribute the forms necessary to confirm
participation in the trip.
École Banting Middle School
French Immersion Quebec trip proposal
Quebec City and Montréal: 6 days & 5 nights
Sunday, May 8th to Friday, May 13th, 2016
The purposes of the trip are:

to provide our Grade 7 students with the opportunity to use their developing French language
skills in a French milieu;

to provide an opportunity for our students to interact for a full day with francophone students
at l’École de Rochebelle with whom they will have been corresponding throughout the year;

to allow our students to experience the cultural and historic aspects of Quebec City and
Montreal;

to help our students understand the value of learning in French and increase their interest to
learn more about new people, languages and cultures

to help forge new friendships in a fun French context among Late and Early Immersion
students who will be learning together in Grades 8-12
The trip:
Over the years we have been able to refine our itinerary to include the most fun, fascinating,
inspiring, and educational activities Quebec has to offer. We work with Immersion Tours, a
Quebec City-based educational tour operator that features highly personalized and professional
services at a very competitive price.
Please see the attached draft trip itinerary.
Tentative costs:
This year the costs are a bit higher since we were not able to book airfare earlier; we are
estimating the cost to be between $2,250 and $2,350 per participant; however the trip costs will
depend on the number of confirmed participants. We are very cognizant of the fact that this is a lot
of money for any family, we are very careful to keep costs under control. The trip cost is in line
with other middle schools’ Quebec trips and provides an excellent immersion experience.
This cost includes everything except spending money: tour activities, flights, round trip baggage
surtax, outstanding tour guides, motor coaches and drivers, hotels, night security guards, all
activities, all meals, gratuities, basic travel insurance and the students’ share of chaperon costs. In
order to keep trip costs down we have been fortunate to apply for and receive grants from District
and School French Immersion funds, sales tax exemptions, and other sources and will continue to
so. The new Federal Child Arts Credit also allows you to deduct a portion of the cost from your
income when you file your income tax returns (up to $500 in 2015 and $500 in 2016). With the
Federal election looming, this is subject to change. 
We will be asking for a non-refundable $300 deposit by the morning of Wednesday, September
30ieth and the rest in monthly instalments via post-dated cheques to be deposited as per a
payment schedule to be determined when participant numbers are confirmed
Supervision Plan: The teacher chaperones will be on supervision 24/7.
Mme Hawley & M. Kimura in consultation with the Banting Teacher Chaperons will be in charge of
student discipline and will establish Quebec Trip rules in line with school and district codes of
conduct. They will also establish a supervision plan and schedule for the other adult chaperones.
Method of financing the trip:
Families of trip participants will pay for their portion of the trip, and we will apply for grants to help
reduce this cost.
We received the following bursaries/grants for our last trip and anticipate receiving them for this
trip too. They have not yet been deducted for the costs detailed above, as they have not yet been
confirmed. They include a travel grant from District French Immersion funds (70$/student) and a
grant from Banting French Immersion funds to defray the costs of activities with pen pals from
École Rochebelle and a grant from CPF and would, if received, reduce the approximate cost to
students by reducing the shared costs per student.
Payment Schedule:
$300 non-refundable deposit payable to Banting Middle School (marked 2016 Quebec Trip
deposit) due with trip reservation form and optional cancellation insurance if chosen on the
morning of Wednesday, September 30ieth. Once participant numbers have been confirmed, we
will be asking for a series of post dated cheques.
Supervision:
Banting chaperons will be on supervision 24/7 for the duration of the trip. As well, we will have a
supervision plan and trip rules in place as per School District 43 policies. At the September
meeting we will go over the supervision plan and trip organization details that we will have in place
to ensure a safe and positive French Immersion experience.
A trip of this nature requires a great deal of planning, support, and cooperation from all those
participating. At this point, we have the support of our district leadership team and our school
administration and teacher sponsors, however, parent support of this proposal will be vital if this
trip is to go forward.
Sincerely,
Mme Hawley & M. Kimura
Quebec Trip Coordinator