Flight Details for North American Students Are As Follows

Information Letter #3

This is another in a series of communications designed to help prepare you for your upcoming year of study at the Midrasha. In this letter you will find detailed information describing group flight arrangements for this coming year.

TRAVEL

We are happy to announce that registration for the Midrasha's group flight is now open. Ariel Tours will be handling the flight arrangements for our group. They can assist you with alternative travel arrangements as well – departing on a different date or originating from cities other than NY.
To reserve your space on the group flight you must follow the simple registration procedures as detailed on their special websitehttp://www.arieltours.com/schools. This site contains a wealth of information regarding the group flight, including frequently asked questions and luggage guidelines. Please note that if you register and pay by the Thursday, June 2nd deadline you are entitled to a free second piece of luggage on the El Al flight. The fare will also increase by $50.00 after the deadline.

With many years of experience handling school group flights, Ariel Tours has incorporated answers to most of the questions that parents usually have. Therefore, we strongly recommend that you carefully read their web pages. If you wish, you may contact them directly via email at:, or call (718) 633-6194 extension #1.

Flight details for North American students are as follows:

You will be flying on El Al flight #028, departing from Newark Liberty Airport on Monday, September 5th at 1:30 PM. Check in is three hours prior to takeoff. Our group flight will be assisted by Ariel Tours representatives in Newark Airport. The flight will be arriving at Ben Gurion airport at 7:00 AM on Tuesday September 6th. We look forward to greeting you upon your arrival at the airport.

Students flying as part of the group will be met at the airport upon their arrival in Israel. Due to scheduling conflicts, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to meet students arriving on other flights. Students arriving independently are responsible to arrange their own transportation to the Midrasha.

Please note that our experience has been that students who take the group flight generally have a more stress-free experience than those traveling alone, and we therefore recommend that you book the group flight through Ariel Tours. Nonetheless, you are not required to use this flight, nor are North American students required to use Ariel Tours as their agent. If you choose not to take advantage of the group flight, we ask that you please send us the details of your independent travel plans as soon as possible to Leiba at . In any event, all students are expected to be at the Midrasha no later than 10:30 AM on Tuesday, September 6th.

The group flight ticket is an open-ended, full year ticket. As was stressed in our previous communication, for visa renewal purposes please be sure that your passport is valid at least until February, 2018. When planning flights, please keep in mind the following dates:

Ellul Term: 3 Ellul (Tuesday, September 6th) — 11 Tishrei (Thursday, October 13th)

Winter Term: 25 Tishrei (Thursday, October 27th) — 2 Nissan (Wednesday, March 29th)

Summer Term: 27 Nissan (Sunday, April 23rd) — 20 Sivan (Wednesday, June 14th) [end of term for Northern Hemisphere students]

Please note that students are expected to participate in all educational programs and tiyulim, and you should not book flights that conflict with our term dates. This is true if you intend on returning home for vacation periods, as well as for your return flight home. According to El Al regulations, passengers flying on an open ticket must book a direct return flight, meaning that you cannot use this ticket if you wish to make a stopover in Europe before returning home.

Flight details for British and European students

Due to El AL ticketing policies, it is less expensive to book tickets directly in England or Europe as opposed to arranging a group flight from Israel. As a result, we do not sponsor a formal group flight from England. If you are registered through the Bnei Akiva Torani scheme, then your flight arrangements will be coordinated through Bnei Akiva.

If you are not traveling with Torani, we ask that you please send the details of your independent travel plans as soon as possible to Leiba at . In any event, all students are expected to be at the Midrasha no later than 10:30 AM on Tuesday, September 6th.

ANNUAL SCHEDULE

As you may recall, we attached a copy of next year's schedule to our previous mail. It is also posted on our website. Please note that due to late developing scheduling issues the calendar is subject to minor changes over the course of the year.

We can’t wait to see you in Ellul!

Chag Kasher V'Samaech,

Rabbi Michael Susman

Associate Director