SUMMER 2010 TRIP TO RUSSIA! Page update: Thursday, September 17, 2009 10:41 AM A student trip to Russia is being planned for June 2010 through EF Tours*. INFO MEETING FOR PARENTS & STUDENTS - THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, AT 5:30PM AT BEN BARBER. If you are interested in finding out more about this trip, please email Mr. Holschuh at Ben Barber Career & Technology Center at holsed@mansfieldisd.org. At least 6 students must register for this trip to make it a reality; more specific info about registration, dates, etc., will be provided after the start of the next school year at a parent/student meeting to be scheduled in August. (For look back at the 2008 trip, please visit Mr. Holschuh's blog!)		Mr. Holschuh and students on Red Square in Moscow in 2006.
The 2006 group at DFW Airport awaiting the flight to Moscow.		During this tour, we will visit many famous sites, including the Kremlin, the Armory Palace Museum, the Winter Palace, Peter and Paul Fortress, and the St. Petersburg History Museum, with optional excursions to Sergiev Posad and Petrodvorets, as well.   The itinerary is, briefly, DFW to Moscow, Moscow to St. Petersburg by sleeper train, and St. Petersburg to DFW.
In June 2006, Mr. Holschuh led a small group of students on an inaugural trip to Russia using EF Tours.  This trip was a great time and a complete success!  EF was chosen because it has been in business for over 40 years and has offices around the world.  EF is also accredited, which means that students can earn high school credit by going on tour and completing associated coursework.  And EF guarantees the lowest prices for the highest quality.  The cost of this 9-day trip is approximately $3600 for students and includes round-trip airfare, hotel accommodations, a full-time EF Tour Director, daily breakfast and dinner, entrance fees to select attractions, and guided sightseeing tours.		The Mansfield group on left (some Houston-area students on right) in front of St. Sergius monastery outside of Moscow in 2006.
On the Moscow-St. Petersburg sleeper train... Quite a cultural experience!		For college bound students, a trip like this will give them a competitive edge when applying to colleges.  For all students, it is an opportunity of a lifetime and it will not only help their school work but it will help them mature and grow as young adults.  This trip is open to recent high school graduates, as well. For additional info, view the short PowerPoint presentation prepared for us by EF.

If you have made the choice to register your child, you may go online to www.eftours.com/student and use the tour number 376076 in order to view the tour information.   Space is limited on the trip, so it is first-come, first-serve!  From there, you can select “Enroll on your Teacher’s Tour” and pay a $95 application fee with a check or credit card.  If you would like to speak with our EF tour consultant, Adam Smith, to enroll over the phone, you can call her at 800.637.8222, ext. 79757.

IMPORTANT NOTES:  Each student must have a valid U.S. passport (please call EF if you have questions about this) by the end of March 2010 at the very latest! This trip is open to all students, not just those taking Russian, and not necessarily those attending Mansfield High School.  In fact, a knowledge of Russian would be helpful, of course, but is not at all a trip requirement!

Application packets will be available during the next school year; however, the EF tour link above provides more information and a convenient online application.

*EF Tours is a commercial educational tour company. While this tour is curriculum-related, neither the tour itself nor EF Tours is endorsed or sponsored by Mansfield High School or Mansfield ISD, nor are the tour participants subsidized by any school-sponsored programs. All costs incurred are the responsibility of the participants.