For Wind Ensemble Families: October Updates from your Rome Tour Coordinators

Payment #2 ($1,000) is due on October 30. Please be sure to make your second tour payment no later than October 30, unless you have made other arrangements with Mr. McKeown. Payments can be submitted online here , or by leaving your cash or check payment in the Band Room mailbox.

Passport Copies Due by Fri., Nov. 30 Don't forget: In order to participate in the Rome tour, each Wind Ensemble student must have a passport that is valid until at least October 14, 2019 . In order to finalize our flights, we will need a copy of that passport by Friday, November 30. For more information about obtaining a passport, or uploading a copy of the passport for tour planning,  please visit this page on Samohiband.com . If you will not have a copy of your student's passport by 11/30, please reply to this email to let your tour coordinators know as soon as possible.

Airline & Accommodations Finalized We are happy to report that we have finalized flights for the tour. Please see our Alitalia itinerary (with direct flights!) below: Outbound on April 6: AZ 621  LAX-FCO. Departing 3:40p, arriving 12:40p on April 7          Return on April 13: AZ 620  FCO-LAX. Departing at 9:35a, arriving at LAX at 1:40p the same day The Tour group will be staying at the beautiful, and highly rated Hotel Kolbe Rome , in rooms of four students.

Rome Performance Updates Three of the student performances will be open to the public (though not the Friday exchange). Monday, April 8 or Tuesday, April 9: TBD Wednesday, April 10: Evening Concert in Basilica of Sant'Ignazio di Loyola, in Campo Marzio, Rome Thursday, April 11: Evening Concert in Teatro Tor Bella Monaca, just southeast of the city center  Friday, April 12: Concert & cultural exchange at Marymount Institute

Fundraising Updates If you make a Direct Donation to Samohi Bands, please be sure add a note that you'd like your donation to go toward the Tour, enabling us to support our students with the scholarships that they need! As you may visit restaurants, travel or enjoy other entertainment this fall and holiday season, don't forget to ask for donations for our Bands at the Broad silent auction, taking place on Tuesday, February 5

For Families Planning to Visit Rome Our Tour Agent Laura Bianconcini is willing to help you (as a private client) with your travel arrangements. Laura can be reached at laura@exclusivelyitalian.com or (619) 564-4798 If your student does NOT plan to use their return flight, we will need to know this by the end of January. There will likely NOT be any ability to recoup the cost of the return flight, given that the tickets were purchased as a group. You will also need to complete paperwork for the district to "release" your student after the end of the tour. As soon as we have information about how to acquire tickets to the public performances, we will be sure to share.