7th Grade Trip

Until 2012, all students went to Bayonne, which is in southwestern France. As our numbers have grown L&F developed relationships with other schools in the area to accommodate the larger number of student travelers. Currently, all of our students travel at the same time, but they are divided into groups at different schools in different towns. The size of the each group determines how many chaperones are with them. There is at least one chaperone at each location.

Parents register, apply, submit all materials, and make payments online using the Language & Friendship website.

Originally the school principal organized the trip. However, as the number of students traveling grew this was too difficult to manage. In 2006, Language & Friendship, a company based in Bloomington, Minnesota, was hired to coordinate this trip. According to their website, “Language & Friendship, Inc., was created in 1988 to offer maximum personalized service, custom-designed travel, and family-stay programs for language teachers and their students.”

After thorough research, we chose Language & Friendship because it was competitive on cost and offered us the unique opportunity to coordinate a relationship with the school and host families in Bayonne, France, and surrounding areas.

You have until October of your child’s 7th grade year to register for the trip. However, if October is your first payment, you will owe that payment, plus the previous two, all at once before your registration will be complete.

This is one of the unique aspects of our trip that turns it into a true immersion experience and helps the kids fully experience the culture of France.

Host families volunteer, are personally screened by teachers or school administrators from the hosting school, and are matched using each AL student’s Family Stay Questionnaire and a Host Family Questionnaire.

Yes. It is encouraged that you do. You should receive all contact information — family name, children’s names and ages, address, phone, email — several months before the trip. The host family will receive your child’s information also. Some families speak English better than others, so your child may need to translate any message you have.

The first payment of $400 is made payable to Language & Friendship online is due in March/April TBD of your child’s 6th grade year. If this is turned in by the exact due date, which will be communicated to you that year, you will receive an early bird discount of $150 which will be deducted from your final payment. If this payment is not made, there is a secondary early bird discount of $100 if all registration materials, including the $400 payment, is made by the end of May, specific date given at that time. If either of these $400 payments are made, $400 is due by October 15 directly to Language & Friendship.

If no early bird payments are made, the completed application, family letter, profile picture, etc.. are to be completed online on the L&F website with a $800 payment to L&F by October 15. All subsequent payments are made directly to Language & Friendship with due dates listed on their website. Once you are fully registered, you can make payments at any time online as long as they receive the total due by the due date.

The cost of the trip to France is divided into two parts: travel costs and other costs.

The travel portion is not fixed because it can change from year to year based on airfare. The cost is also determined by the number of students and chaperones who travel. Typically the travel portion of the trip costs between $3,700 and $3,850 per student. This includes:

• Extensive preparation materials for students and leaders before the trip
• Round trip airfare between Kansas City and Biarritz or Pau (southwestern France)
• Meet & Assist upon arrival in Paris (person who meets group at Charles de Gaulle airport and helps them find their bus for their transfer to Orly)
• Three (3) bus transfers (from CDG to Orly upon arrival in France; from airport to hotel upon arrival in Paris after Family Stay; from hotel to airport on departure day)
• Family Stay placements, which includes visiting with, matching, and preparing host families
• All meals during Family Stay
• All excursions and activities during Family Stay (including school days)
• Three (3) nights hotel in Paris
• Three (3) dinners in Paris
• All entrance fees that can be prepaid to museums, etc., in Paris
• Medical and accident insurance
• Cost of chaperones

The student and his/her family are responsible for the travel costs of the trip. Typically $400–$500 scholarships are available to students who need travel assistance. The school, with fundraising assistance from the proceeds of the $10,000 Cash Raffle and PTO-led fundraising events, is responsible for the Other Costs associated with the trip. PTO events can change from year to year but typically include: Allez5K fun run, Trivia Night, and the PTO gala, An Evening in Paris.

Language & Friendship’s website states that chaperones are included at a 1:8 ratio in the travel costs for students. Although they may discount the price slightly for the chaperones, the majority of their costs (airfare, hotel in Paris, etc.) are folded into each student’s cost. However, without these chaperones, the trip would not be possible.

Language & Friendship doesn’t know their final costs until airline tickets are purchased and hotel rooms are booked. They will send each family the final invoice with the final amount due about two months before the trip.

Since airfare prices and currency exchanges change almost daily, Language & Friendship has to estimate what the prices may be. They don’t want to lock us into a higher price than is necessary, but they don’t want to lose money on it either.

That is a great way to help subsidize your payments. Those interested should contact Language & Friendship to determine the best way to make a gift to your child.

Any family who thinks they may not be able to pay for the entire trip is eligible to apply. However, keep in mind that the more families who apply, the less money each family may get, so if at all possible, save the scholarships for those families who truly need it. Usually the maximum has been $500 per family.

An application will be available for all families who would like one. To be eligible, you must fill out the online application letter and submit one adult reference using the forms on the travel website by the due date on the application.

For parents who have already sent a child on this trip, please read this carefully, as this process has changed. Make all payments to Language & Friendship online. (See How do I register my child to go on the trip? above.) This may be done by check mailed in or with a credit card using a link on your account page with L&F.

A ratio of approximately 1:8 to 1:10.

All chaperones are staff members. Those interested in going submit a request based on availability. A committee including the principal and the trip leader determines who should go based on the group of students going.

No. It takes away from the experience for the child, and the host family feels obligated to feed and “host” the parents.

A series of parent informational meetings will be scheduled throughout the year, usually beginning February or March of your child’s 6th grade year, continuing in September, January, and March of his/her 7th grade year. Although these are not mandatory, it is strongly encouraged you attend as there is a lot of useful information. There is one mandatory meeting a few weeks before the trip in May to sign authorization for your child to travel outside of the country without a parent. Emails that are provided on Tyler Parent Portal is how the group email list is composed so make sure this email is up to date during your child’s 7th grade year.

All students will be given a lanyard at the airport with emergency contact numbers for all chaperones. They are to have these with them and wear them at all times so numbers are available.