Presentation for TAP Parents about France 2016 Trip.

2. Minooka TAP is..
• Mike Curtis
• Jackie Harig
• Angelica Lara
• Kris Doerr
• Cathy Tadey
• Jim Keeton

3. WEBSITE
www.minookatap.com
Blog
Calendar
Meeting Schedule
Forms
Online Assignments
FACEBOOK
www.facebook.com/minookatap
YOUTUBE – minookatap
EMAIL – minookatap2@gmail.com
minookatapfundraising@gmail.com

4. •We schedule a total of 15
meetings. One per month.
•We hope that with that
few meetings, every
student can attend almost
all of them.
•We meet on Saturdays.
•We also have one “online”
meeting per month.
•These are mandatory and
done on your own time.
You have one month to
complete the activities in
an online meeting.

5. • 15 meetings = 30 hours
• The basketball
practices twice as many
hours before the first
game.
• English class has twice
as many hours before
midterms.
• 30 hours is only 4 ¼
school days.
Yet, in that time…

6. We focus on
four key areas to
get the kids
prepared…
•Financially
•Logistically
•Socially
•Academically

7. We understand this
trip is expensive, and
we know the #1
concern for most
parents is financial.
Your payments to EF
cover:
•Airfare
•Bus drivers/trains
•A 24/7 tour director
•Hotels
•Dinners and
Breakfasts
•Entrance to most
activities

8. Your payments to EF
Tours do not cover:
• Educational expenses
here at home, like
books, paper, or
other materials
• Renting meeting
space
• Tips for our guides
and drivers
• Extra activities
• Souvenirs
• Lunches, snacks, and
drinks
• Our student books

9. As a group, we run three
fundraisers a year.
Little Caesar’s Pizza
HoopsMania
Chicago White Sox
If you would like to form a
fundraising committee with other
parents, please do, but please
communicate with us before using
TAP’s name to sell any products and
coordinate with us so we don’t
overlap with current successful
fundraisers.

10. When it’s all said and done,
TAP spends about $400
per student to cover
expenses.
We can not operate at a loss.
We don’t want you to have to
pay more than just the
price of the trip.
We need that money.
So, we expect each student to
raise $400 for TAP
through our fundraisers.
We will keep track of the
money made at each
fundraiser, and periodically
we will let kids and parents
know if the individual goal
was met.
If it was not met, we will need
to collect the difference
before departure.

11. These kids are able-bodied,
intelligent, and could be hard-
working.
Over the years we’ve had dozens
of kids pay for their entire
trip themselves.
• Rake leaves
• Mow lawns
• Shovel snow
• Pull weeds
• Babysit
• Housesit
• Pet sit/walk dogs
• Plant sit

12. Besides money, these
logistical concerns are what
weigh most on kids and
parents…
•Phones/Skype/Wifi/Communication
•ATMs and Credit Cards
•Passports
•Foreign Currency
•Foreign Languages
•Foreign Customs
•Behavior and Expectations
•Hotels and Rooming
•Planes
•Airport Procedures and Pickup
•How and What to Eat?

13. Here’s the stuff that concerns the
teachers the most…
•These are 14-16 year old kids, away
from home for 12 days in strange places.
•They have to know us (the teachers), so
they trust us to keep them safe and
know that we care.
•They have to know and trust one
another.
•We have to know and trust them.
This is why attendance at as many
meetings as possible and participation in
our online activities is so important.

14. Here’s the other
stuff that concerns
the teachers the
most…
• This is an
educational trip.
• We are teachers,
not tourists.
• We are students,
not sightseers.

15. Online Meetings
Each month, except the
summer, we have two
online activities for the
kids.
One is an academic
activity.
The other is the TAP
Movie of the Month.
These assignments are for
their benefit, and will help
them connect better to
the places we’ll be visiting
and the people we’ll meet.

16. Writing
We publish a student written
book every year.
This book acts as a travel guide,
a text book, a journal, and an
activity book.
Each student will be expected
to research a variety of
topics and contribute
articles to the book.
At the end, each student in our
program will be a published
author.

17. • We need kids to be
prepared for the
trip – financially,
logistically, socially,
and academically
• If they are not
prepared, we, as
teachers, do not
feel comfortable
taking them.
• It’s not fair to us,
and it’s not fair to
the group.

18. 1. We want the kids to have fun.
Fun is worth 100 points.
2. We want the kids to learn.
Learning is worth 1,000
points.
3. We want the kids to be safe.
Safety is worth 1,000,000
points.

19. The kids have to be active in TAP.
We don’t’ feel we can reach all
three of our goals if the kids
are not prepared.
We understand that you can’t
make every meeting, but we
need you to come as often as
you can.
We understand that some people
have no luck selling, but we
need you to try.
We need you to be there when you
can, participate in what you can,
and be an active member of this
group.

20. For participating whenever
they can, kids can earn TAP
points throughout the year.
Points will be given for:
Meeting attendance
Writing assigned articles on
time and up to standards
Participating in online
activities
Watching Movies of the
Month and joining the online
discussions
Asking questions and
participating at meetings
Helping with fundraisers
Other opportunities may arise

21. Kids who aren’t active in
the TAP Community will
not travel with us. That
is for the good of the
group.
Students must earn 75%
of the available points to
travel.
Students who earn 100%
of the points will get a
free TAP t-shirt before
the trip.
The student who has the
most TAP points will get a
free lunch from Mr.
Curtis while we’re on
tour.

22. Thank you for your time.
If you don’t know any of the TAP
teachers, please introduce yourself
to at least one of us before you
leave.
We need to have a positive
relationship with you as much as we
do with your kids.
If you have any questions that you
don’t feel comfortable asking out
loud, please feel free to see us or
email us.
Please make sure we have your
contact info (if you’ve been receiving
our emails, then we do).