Issue 4 ~ May2017 Gatherings Saturday 27th May 6:30pm to 8:30pm Tour Payment Schedule 1st Aug INSIDE THIS ISSUE Chinese Language Class News/Tour Payment Schedule 1 Tour Committee Contacts/ Fundraising updates 2 Chinese Language Class photos 3 Tour Captain /Thermomix Raffles news 4 Movie Fundraising event photos 5 China Money / Travel Money 6 $3300 1st Jul $2950 $2950 1st Jun $2550 1st May $2150 1st Apr $1750 1st Mar $1350 1st Feb $950 Deposit $550 Next instalment $400 is due by 1st June. Each participant account should have reached $2550 by 1st June. We are so proud of the students who are taking our intensive Chinese classes on Mondays after school. Your enthusiasm and effort will make this trip more enjoyable and memorable. During the lesson, we will not just learn some useful Chinese words, but some culture and custom. Also the most favourite part of the lesson is to taste different types of Chinese food with chopsticks! The first lesson We had dumpling (Jiǎozi) and spring onion pancake (Cōng yóu bǐng). We had fried rice (Chǎofàn) in the second week which was donated by our lovely IEC staff, Quyen Ha. In the recent lesson we had some spring rolls (Chūnjuǎn) which was made by our very supportive HASS teacher, Thao Nguyen who was one of the Ambassadors to China Trip 2015. We will have some sweet bean paste buns (Dòushā bāo) in lesson 4 which will be supplied by our delightful Chinese teacher, Jin He. Another type of savoury dumpling (Shāomai) provided by Staff, Rebecca Gawthorpe will accompany this. See more Class photos on page 3. Page 1 1
Tour Committee Contacts Convenor & Finance: - Terry Dunn Terry.Dunn@education.wa.edu.au Tour coordinator & : - Rebecca Gawthorpe Rebecca.Gawthorpe@education.wa.edu.au Gifts & Performance consultant: - Pam Armstrong Pam.Armstrong@education.wa.edu.au We have had an amazing fundraising month! A huge thank you to everyone in the fundraising committee who keep contributing their time and efforts to make this happen! We have raised $6323 in total even though we have not yet received all the raised funds. Gumtree & ebay shop: - Margaret O'Donovan (Gary s mum) magzodonovan@gmail.com Raffle: - Ebony Duffy (Skyelar s mum) ebony_duffy@yahoo.com Sausage sizzle: - Andy Neal (Amanda s mum) & andy.muzz@iinet.net.au Hazel O Toole (Anthony s mum) hazelnut600@gmail.com The details are as the follows: Movie event: - Irene Starr (Kristina s mum) & irenestarr63@gmail Conty Koulianos (Despina & Katerina s mum) & conty78@hotmail.com Julie (Jarrod s mum) jshmid3@bigpond.com $7000 $6000 $5000 $1,500 $4000 $ 651 Flower Bulb: - Irene Starr (Kristina s mum) & irenestarr63@gmail.com Conty Koulianos (Despina & Katerina s mum) conty79@hotmail.com $3000 $2,077 Website/Blog: - Gary O Donovan (year 10) & gearoid.odonovan@hotmail.com Cameron Doyle (year 10) cameron.doyle02@gmail.com $2000 $1,247 Tour student captain: - Anabel Bullen-Randall (year 11) anabelrandall1@gmail.com $ 848 $1000 Tour student vice captain:- Anne Mansell (year 9) anne.mansell@hotmail.com If your family and friends would like to donate their stuff when they have their garage clean up, please drop the donations to: Gumtree/eBay Shop is still active! Thank you for your continued support! Message from Magz O Donovan (Gary s mum): - 67 Belvedere Road, Hamersley We have raised $848 since our shop was set up in February. Sales were very slow during the school holiday. Hopefully things will pick up again. (You can leave stuff in Magz s garage but please text her 0426 208 994 when you are calling so she knows who left it. ) Page 2 2
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Message from our tour captain My name is Anabel Bullen Randall, I am 15 years old and in year 11, I am also the captain for the 2017 China Tour. In my spare time I like to read and dance. I come from a very large family so I'm interested in being able to see families in the Chinese culture, I'm also very excited to have been given this opportunity to travel to China this year, as it is also my first time out of Australia. I am very proud to be able to represent Greenwood College, not only as a student, but as a leader for this incredible trip. After graduating from Greenwood I am hoping to attend WAAPA after I have taken some time to travel around the world. I believe that China will be a great start to my traveling days. The photo was the Thermomix Raffle winner being drawn by Mr Williams, Student Service Manager of Greenwood College on 5th May 2017. The Winner was Mark and Nicole Ryan from Queensland. Message from Ebony (Skyelar s mum):- When Nicole found out she immediately started crying. She has had a shocking week with sickness in her family and has been longing to get a Thermomix to help with her family s dietary requirements (grain free, dairy free, peanut allergy). This prize has gone to a very deserving family and an incredibly grateful mum. She had purchased 5 tickets in the draw (one every week she got paid) and her husband also purchased one and yes it was his name that got drawn. Our raffle has really changed someone s life which is just amazing so thank you everyone for supporting it. 4 Page 4
~~~ The Great Movie Night ~~~ Thank you everyone who has assisted in this event and all the Raffle donations. A special thank to the W.A. Choy Lee Fut Kung Fu troupe for the fantastic show. Irene Starr (Kristina s mum) with her helpers have done a wonderful job! Open air gondola 5 Page 5
What is the Chinese dollar? The main unit of Chinese money, what we could call the Chinese dollar, has several interchangeable names, which can be confusing. You may hear Chinese money referred to as Renminbi (人民币),or RMB, which means simply People s Currency. So, in this case you may see prices quoted like this: RMB 10. You may also hear the Chinese dollar referred to as Yuan (元). The abbreviation CNY is used, sometimes written as CN or just, and so you may see the same prices quoted as CNY 10. You will commonly hear people use the word kuai, which is still exactly the same thing. The price would be stated as 10 kuai. There are also names for denominations smaller than an RMB / Yuan / kuai: Jiao or mao are both the name for a tenth of a yuan. A fen is a hundredth of a yuan. Having traditional local dishes at an ancient market style decorated restaurant Nanjing 1Yuan (元)=10 Jiao (角)=100 Fenin(分) or 1 Jiao = 10 Fen Banknotes: Common used: 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 1 Yuan (元), 5 Jiao (角),1 Jiao(角) Coins: Common used: 1 (Yuan), 5 Jiao (角),1 Jiao (角) There are also 5, 2 and 1 Fen coins & notes, but these are rarely used as they have no purchasing power. They are almost out of circulation. **Exchange Chinese money here before departure. Money exchange system in China is completely different from other South Asian countries. There are not many exchange counters in the tourists spot. You may need to visit banks during banking hours if exchanging local currency. As our itinerary is very tight, it is impossible to arrange it. ** Bring along an ATM card if you have one (Debit card, prepaid travel card...etc) for possibly a back-up to withdraw cash. There are many ATM Machines in the big cities. (Don t worry if you don t have one!) ** Credit Cards for adult only. You can use your credit card in most hotels and shops, especially in the big cities, but China is more of a cash economy and you would do better to be ready with cash, especially some of the smaller denominations to use at stalls and on public transport. There is fake money in circulation in China and unscrupulous traders particularly look for opportunities to give it in change to foreigners or other unsuspecting people. Please avoid Tourist Traps and be alert. Carry some low denomination notes when buying things on the street to avoid being handed fake money in your change. Also, avoid showing large numbers of 100 Yuan notes in public to avoid attracting the attention of thieves. Always check your change to be sure that you have not confused Jiao and Yuan. How much spare money do you need for this trip? There are only a few meals not provided by the tour. Open air gondola A$200 worth of Chinese money should be enough to cover all the meals and some snacks/drinks. (Not for expensive dining!) And shopping money is very hard to give you advice; all depends on your own budget. 6 Page 6