A Concise Guide to the Journalism Education/National Scholastic
Press Association High School Journalism Convention trip
Welcome to the San Diego trip!
San Diego is a great city to visit, and a good place to learn more about journalism and the media. And, the individuals going have the potential to make it more than just a trip—we will consider it an adventure.
Instructions: Read this material; take action as requested. Give one copy to your parents to keep. Bring one copy on the trip.
General Instructions and Information:
Behavior…Let me make this perfectly clear. All school rules apply. Do not do—or allow to be done in your presence—anything which will ruin your chances for scholarships, awards, athletic eligibility, staff eligibility, etc. I do not expect any problems.
The Board of Education has guidelines which govern overnight trips. The BOE wants to make sure the trip is truly educational. Our trip is.
I will be monitoring students. There are convention-set rules which will be followed. There is a curfew. Howell North kids have behaved well on past trips and I do not expect this year to be any different. If it is different, it will be our last trip to one of these things.
Behavior Contract…You all have already signed one of these. I know this won’t be a problem.
Clothing…Usual school clothes for sessions. Weather-appropriate clothing and comfortable walking shoes. Temps are looking to be in the mid to upper 60s.There is usually a student dance. We may or may not be around for it. If we are around, please don’t feel the need to wear anything which causes people to stop, point and laugh.
Date of Trip: Wednesday, April 9-13
Elevators…Big hotels have elevators. Many people need to use the elevators, all at the same time. Common sense dictates you plan ahead for elevator waits and you let people on the elevator off before you try to pile on and only a reasonable number of people will fit on one elevator at one time.
Emergency…Someone should be able to find me at all times. I will more than likely be within shouting distance of you at all times. If you can’t see me I can be found on my cell phone. My cell is xxx-xxx-xxxx. Kate’s cell phone is xxx-xxx-xxxx. Mr. Schott from FHC will be there, if you have an emergency and can’t find Kate or I you can reach him at xxx-xxx-xxxx. If, for some crazy reason none of us can be found, ask for Mark Newton. He is the President of JEA (Journalism Educators Association). He is a good friend of Mr. Manfull. Everyone knows Mr. Newton and they should be able to find him. Tell him who you are and that you lost me and he should be able to help you.
Parents calling in with an emergency situation should tell the hotel their child is with the student journalism convention. There are going to be 5,000 of us there, so it is unlikely they won’t have heard of us.
Food…You will need money for some meals. I suggest bring a lot of snacks from home to save money. There are all kinds of food options in and around the hotel. You will eat. Eating each meal is not optional.
Hotel…
Address
Hilton San Diego Bayfront
1 Park Blvd
San Diego, CA 92101
Phone:(619) 564-3333
Flight…
United Airlines
April 9
flight number 3680 departs 6a.m. arrive Denver 7:23a.m.
flight 596 depart 8:20a.m. arrive San Diego 9:42a.m.
United Airlines
April 13
flight number 484 departs 7:25a.m. arrives Denver 10:46a.m.
flight number 3646 departs 12:35p.m. arrives St. Louis 3:37p.m.
It is a very nice place. Please treat it with respect. If you have any questions about the hotel or the area, ask at the concierge desk. These people are highly trained in being helpful. They will probably also hope you tip them.
Luggage…Don’t bring more than you can carry. We will only be gone for four days, not four weeks. No one will steal our clothes if you leave them at home so don’t worry about bringing everything for safe keeping. Plan to carry your own bags unless you intend to tip the bellman, etc. Looks like United will charge you an extra $25 for a checked bag each way. Be ready to pay for that at the airport. Consider packing with a roomie.
Manners…Be respectful, be kind and be very responsible. This trip is a good place to continue displaying those virtues. Sometimes city people are curt and very abrupt, and kindness totally charms them. Also, quite a few people will actually know me at this thing. I love hearing good things about my crew. Never heard a bad thing. I don’t anticipate this trip being the first.
Monday…Attending school Monday following the trip is an absolute necessity. NO exceptions.
Money…Please take a reasonable amount of money. If you should run short, see me for a temporary loan.
Music…You may bring an iPod or any other headset. Do not use it at inappropriate time, such as when I am talking or any other adult is talking. Don’t use it when you are with others either, that is just rude.
Cell Phones…A cell phone is not a necessity but would be nice for you to have. Please be sure it is turned on silent when you are in sessions. You don’t want it to go off in the middle of someone talking and be “that kid.” Also, please don’t talk in it for extended periods of time when you are with others. It’s rude also. We will talk about acceptable times to use it. More on this later.
Nametags…Wear them in the hotel. They are your tickets to events. Do not wear them out of the hotel unless you want to look like a dork.
Night time…We will not be leaving the hotel after dark without a special purpose.
Permission forms…Please have parents fill out the back page and return it ASAP.
School Work…Students are to inform their teachers of their absence one week in advance. Then politely remind the teachers until you have obtained the assignments. Have all work completed and be ready to move forward with the class on Monday. I will do a spot check of this advance warning procedure the week of the trip.
Sessions…You all will be attending a variety of presentations. Write down all good ideas—don’t think you’ll remember. Sit near the front for your sessions, take notes, and then thank the presenter at the end. Get to sessions quickly and early. Space fills up quickly. You all will be responsible for teaching the class a mini-lesson on something when you get back.
Supplies…Bring notebook and pen to take notes in sessions. If you are part of the online write-off team you will need some tools. If you are in a write-off, you can often take an AP stylebook to use as well.
Tentative Schedule
Wednesday:
Meet at school at 3:30 a.m. We will be leaving FHN at 3:45 a.m. to make it to the airport and get checked through in time for our flight. We are going to have a full day. It’s recommended you get some sleep Tuesday night or Wednesday is going to be long and rough. If we are heading out Wednesday, we will be making the most of our time there. We will land and get checked in and go do some things.
Thursday:
There will be a few different things going on today. Today will be spent with all of you doing something a little different. Some of you will be exploring career/college areas, others of you will be working to make yourselves smarter and the room better. More info on this. Manfull will speak to you if you need to take something specific. We will get everyone registered, you will likely have time for the free room and getting signed up for your sessions. We will have dinner together. Opening Ceremony will be that night with the keynote speaker. The keynote speaker is Laura Castañeda(@presspasslc). She is an Emmy Award-winning journalist who now is a college professor.
Friday:
Meet at 8 a.m. to get rolling for the day.
Sessions all day.
Keynote at 1 p.m. Larry Himmel– (@himmelCBS8).
Write-offs in the afternoon
Plans for tonight - TBD
Saturday:
Meet at 7:30 a.m.
Sessions all day
Awards Ceremony 3:30
Evening Plans - TBD
Sunday:
Meet at 5 a.m.ish to head to the airport to get home. It was the cheapest flight we could get and get home in an hour that made sense. We will be missing the write-off winner announcements. Sorry.
We will be back in St. Louis by mid-afternoon. You all will go home and get rest and we will see one another back at school Monday morning.
*Mr. Manfull reserves the right to change this very tentative schedule at any time and you all will be fine with any changes that are made and not complain. You will also not complain about what he has planned or not planned during the trip. You will pretend you are having fun on this trip and he will pretend he is glad he brought you.
Money Owed –
Flight/Transportation/Hotel
Meals/night activity
Includes: All transportation and activities, Thursday supper, Friday supper, Saturday supper.
TOTAL OWED: $--- (less whatever deposit you have put down)
- - -
Money breakdown (This is the original email I sent when you all confirmed. Just want to let you know where it stood from the start. I have worked to not change it).
Flight/Transportation/Hotel - I worked to keep this price as low as I could and still keep everyone sane. Trying to book flights is the main thing and with 22 of you going we had to book a group rate which made things a little more limiting. Anyway, this takes care of your hotel for four nights, your flight and transportation in San Diego (to and from the airport and around town when we go do things.) We are staying at the convention hotel. It’s a Hilton. I'm sure we could stay at another, cheaper hotel that is not where the convention is at -- I just do not recommend it for many reasons. If you or your parents have questions about that, please call, but I like keeping you all in the same place as much as possible, especially when we are away in a different city.
Meals – You will need to pay for these as well. I generally tell people $10 for breakfast, $10 for lunch and $20 for supper. Of course, that is all up to you. Many people bring food for breakfast in their suitcase so that $10 is out. Lunch is on your own most of the time but we generally eat at food stands or something in the convention center. These are roughly $10 or less if you're smart. Finally, we don't always eat $20 meals for supper, sometimes they are cheaper but I want you all to plan just in case. One night we usually do pizza which is substantially cheaper. Depending on how much you eat, this number will flux. However, YOU ALL WILL eat each meal. If you don't, you get hungry and sick and then we have to adjust things because you didn't eat. Eating is not an option. You will eat in some form.
Misc – We don’t have all of our itinerary worked out yet so there may be some entertainment/activity we end up adding that may cost. We try to keep things as cost-efficient as possible so it won’t be crazy but I would probably budget an extra $50 for that. Odds are you will not need it, but I would budget it.
Registration and convention fees- Fees for the convention are more than $100 for each of you. You don't have to pay that though. It's covered by the room and the school.
Behavior Contract
Between ______and Mr. Manfull, FHN, FHSD, and room 026.
- I have read and comprehend the information about the trip to San Diego.
- I do completely understand what behavior is acceptable and expected, and the consequences of misbehavior.
- I understand the purpose of the trip is to become better educated, and that I will attend all required sessions, regardless of crowded conditions, etc.
- I understand the safety problems of a large city, and will behave accordingly.
- I will observe the announced curfew to be in my assigned room and quiet.
- I understand all school rules apply on this trip. I will not do anything—or allow anything to be done in my presence which violates any of the above and other reasonable regulations.
- I will not do anything that would disappoint Mr. Manfull or Kate or make them angry because they really like providing this opportunity to the staffs and he would hate to have to stop taking students because of me.
______
(date)student signature
Parental Acknowledgment of Behavior Contract
______
dateparent/guardian signature