GTD 2 – Date, Time and Venue

This session will take place on Thursday 10 June from 1.00 pm to 7.00 pm in the school assembly hall and training suite (for IT facilities when required).

Parents will be invited along to the school from 5.00 pm to 7.00 pm on GTD2. At this time they will receive a presentation by your Expedition Leader on his/her qualifications and experience. There will also be a presentation by you on your Expedition Itinerary. The session closes with a Q and A session.

All pupils must attend Group Training Day 2.

GTD1 Tasks to Complete - Check Progress

After Group Training Day 1 you were asked to complete a few pages in your workbook.

You should have:

•Downloaded a map of your expedition destination
•Conducted some destination research – it is important to gain a deeper understanding of the country you are visiting, the necessary inoculations, the culture and the language.

You were also asked to look at:

•Any good guide book (i.e. Lonely Planet, Footprint, Rough Guide – read the introductions and histories given for you destination as well as the location descriptions
•www.cia.gov – the CIA World fact book website
•www.news.bbc.co.uk – BBC news (country profiles)
•www.geographia.com – world facts

By Group Training Day 2 you will have to have decided whether or not you would like to borrow kit from Outlook.

The date, time and venue for Group Training Day 2 have still to be confirmed.

Next Group Meeting

A reminder that the next Borneo group meeting will take place on Tuesday 23 March at 1.30 pm in room 132.

175 Club - February Winner

The winner of £100 is ticket number 138 – Angus Strachan (pupil contact is Dean Fletcher).

Congratulations and many thanks for supporting our fund raising efforts for Borneo.

What Needs To Be Done Before GTD2?

As a group you should have completed the following:

•Printed destination map
•Completed Country Wide/Travel Wise
•Conducted some additional research on the destination
•Planned and set dates for at least one large fundraising event
•Completed all actions outlined in GTD1 Action Plan

It is also important that EVERYONE brings the following with them to GTD2:

•Passport photocopy x 3
•Passport photo x 2 (with name on the back of each)
•If applicable, Kit Request Form and cheque for £75.00, made payable to Outlook Expeditions Ltd

The date, time and venue for Group Training Day 2 have still to be confirmed.

Group Training Day 2 - Information

This session normally lasts 6 hours, from 1300 hours – 1900 hours, and will include:

•A review of all destination research
•A review of progress and report of all fundraising activities
•A review of progress against the action plan formulated at GT1
•An itinerary up-date
•Kit and equipment demonstration and the importance of equipment and safety
•Camp Craft
•Expedition Health and Hygiene
•Culture Shock
•A Parent’s Evening with presentations given by the Expedition Leader on his/her qualifications and experience. There will also be a presentation by you on your Expedition Itinerary. The session closes with a Q and A session.

The main aim of this session is to use hands-on workshops to help you gain a better understanding of expedition life, the kit and equipment you will be using and the kinds of roles you may take while on expedition. You will also get the chance to look closely at the equipment and kit that Outlook Expeditions offer for loan at reduced cost.

The date, time and venue for Group Training Day 2 have still to be confirmed.

Flight Details

OUTBOUND TO BORNEO - Wednesday 29 September 2010

Leg 1 - We will have to depart from the School at about 2am (time to be confirmed) to travel to Edinburgh Airport for a departure at 0630 hours arriving in London Heathrow Airport at 0800 hours.

Leg 2 - Depart London Heathrow at 1005 hours arriving in Brunei International Airport at 1000 hours on Thursday 30 September.

Leg 3 - Depart Brunei at 1835 hours arriving in Kota Kinabalu Airport at 1915 hours.

INBOUND TO SCOTLAND - Tuesday 12 October 2010

Leg 1 - Depart Kota Kinabalu Airport at 0850 hours arriving in Brunei International Airport at 0930 hours.

Leg 2 - Depart Brunei at 2000 hours arriving in London Heathrow Airport at 0625 hours on Wednesday 13 October.

Leg 3 - Depart London Heathrow at 0840 hours arriving in Edinburgh Airport at 1000 hours with onward travel back to the School.

There is no guarantee that the airline(s) won't impose any schedule changes further down the line, however, Outlook Expeditions will definitely not make any changes to these flight details.

You will notice that on each leg there is a wait in Brunei. In these instances, there will be money in the budget for food and we will be able to leave the airport and do some exploring.

Now that these dates have been confirmed, it will be possible for your parents to arrange any October holidays which they were planning while you are away.

Your First Geography Lesson!

The Malaysian Flag

In October, we are heading to Borneo. You need to remember that Borneo is the name of the island - it is not a country. Borneo is made up of one country in its own right - that's Brunei - and parts of 2 other countries - Malaysia and Indonesia. The largest part of Borneo, the west, south and east is called Kalimantan which is part of the group of islands called Indonesia - Jakarta, on the island of Java, is the capital city. The northwest of Borneo which is called Sarawak and the north (where we are going) which is called Sabah are part of Malaysia.

Sabah is one of the poorest parts of Malaysia with a population of over 3 million. The region's population has grown very rapidly over the past 40 years when it stood at only 650,000. The main city of Sabah is Kota Kinabalu or KK as everyone calls it. KK is a relatively modern city to look at as it was more or less totally rebuilt after the ravages of the 2nd World War.

We fly into KK and then on to our locations either in the jungle for the "forest experience" or the east coast for the "diving and marine experience". Remember that our group will split in two and swap over locations half way through before meeting up again for the journey home.

More information to follow on the diving and forest locations.