Shecana News letter by Barb Fleming - February 2010

Well hello again – welcome to another monthly newsletter; the sun is shining and the temperature is in the high single digits; oh and there is no snow on the ground
(yippee!) – I don’t know about you but I can almost taste Spring. I sincerely hope that the weather in
your area is looking as promising as it is here – it seems that as soon as the
sun comes out – so do the people.
I was walking downtown yesterday and the streets were alive with people
coming out of hibernation.

This month also marks another milestone of sorts – for those of you who arrived at the beginning of this school year – your exchange is now officially more than
half over. Some of you will be breathing a sigh of relief that you’ve come this
far and can see the end in sight; others of you may begin to panic realizing
just how quickly time is flying by and there are still so many things you’d
like to see and do. Still others
are feeling a bit hopeless, winter is long and you can’t see any light at the
end of the tunnel. These are all
pretty typical feelings at this juncture in your exchange. Please try to stay positive, stay
physically & socially active, but remember to balance your social
activities with your host family commitments – host families should be your
priority.

The excitement of Graduation & Prom

For those of you taking grade 12 classes you may be planning for your end of year celebrations. What you need to
know – most schools will allow you to take part in the Prom or Grad dance, but
they may or may not allow you to participate in the Commencement
Ceremonies. This is up to the
individual school and if you are unsure whether you will be allowed to or not,
please talk to your school counselor to clarify. It’s also important that you understand that even if you do
participate in the Commencement Ceremonies, you are not graduating. You will receive your report card at
the end of the school year – make sure you leave your forwarding address as
it’s usually mailed out after you’ve returned home. You will also receive a certificate of completion from the
Program – you will get this from your home office after you’re home.

End of program reality check!

Lately I have been getting all sorts of questions from host families, students and home countries regarding plans for the end of the program. Well it’s simple really…

• All students will return home as a group on or before July 4^th (end date of the program).
• Any student remaining after July 4^th must be released from the program by their natural parents as of the 4^th. The program and more importantly the host family is not
  responsible for the student after that date.
• A host family may submit a written invitation for the student to stay longer, but must understand that they are not obligated to do so and this invitation must
  be initiated by the host family.
  Host families must also understand that they will no longer receive
  the support of the program for the additional time the student is with
  them – the student will simply be a guest in your home.
• If natural parents are coming – they must make their own arrangements for accommodation; it should never be assumed that the host family will host them too. Again any invitation to that
  affect must be voluntarily offered by the host family.

It seems that school in Europe does not get out until mid-July and so many families are planning to come visit their sons or daughters at that time. Several of our host families are
feeling obligated to continue to host the student until the natural parents
arrive and in some cases this is simply not convenient for various
reasons. Hence if you are a
student – don’t assume – be prepared to make your own arrangements. If you are a host family – don’t feel
obligated, the student will have been released from the program and you are not
obligated to continue hosting. If
any of you need support with this – please let your area rep. or me know so
that we can address the situation with the home office. This has come up enough times that it
can pose a real problem.

Student Travel:

If you are planning to travel on your own or with anyone other than your host family, here is what you need to do:

• Students may travel alone from point ‘A’ to point ‘B’ however students are not allowed to travel overnight without a responsible adult chaperone over the age of 25
  who is known to and approved by your natural parents, host family or the
  program.
• Natural parents must submit written permission outlining the dates of travel, chaperone and contact information and reason for travel. Natural parents must assume any and all responsibility
  for you while you are traveling.
• Host families must be comfortable with all arrangements and submit written permission outlining the same information as above.
• We must receive a written invitation from the person or family hosting you at your destination. This must include confirmation that they will meet your
  flight or bus, host you during your time away (this letter must also
  include their complete contact information) and how they are related or
  known to you.
• If you will be missing any school, we must have written permission from your Principal or Counselor, including the dates you will be away.

Once all the above permissions are rec’d, final approval for your trip is at the discretion of your home office in consultation with Shecana Western
Canada.

Return Flights…

In most cases the international portion of the return flights is booked through the home office, while the domestic connection is booked through our head
office. Regardless of who books your
flights, what you need to understand is that you will all be returning as a
group on or before July 4^th unless other arrangements have been
made. All students are traveling
with an open-ended return ticket and as such have a somewhat flexible return date;
however, once the date is confirmed any changes are subject to a fee imposed by
the airline and are the responsibility of the student &/or natural
parents.

The other important thing to understand is that the return routing must remain the same as when you arrived to Canada, only in reverse.

For example if when you arrived you flew:

- Berlin – Frankfurt

- Frankfurt – London

- London – Vancouver

Your return flight will simply be the reverse of that.

If you wish to make any changes regarding your domestic flight – this may be possible, depending on the circumstances, but you will be responsible for any
difference in cost for the alternate flight.

Beware of Spring Attitude…

Earlier I made reference to the fact that Spring would seem to be just around the corner. This is a good thing – it
really is – but every year as the weather improves and social opportunities
abound, some students begin to forget about the program rules and begin to take
their host families for granted.
Well I can tell you from experience – if you do the first and are caught
you will be placed on probation immediately and may find yourselves on an early
flight home. If you do the latter
– you may also find yourself on probation &/or asked to move. Don’t get lazy – you should still be
helping out often, showing appreciation every day and saying thank you for
anything & everything your host family, area rep. teacher or friend does
for you!

I realize I may be sounding cynical, but I get so frustrated because every year at this time I start to hear the same complaints from hosts “I feel like a bed
& breakfast… our student only comes home to eat and sleep… the program
can’t be over soon enough… I’m tired of hosting…I don’t feel like we are
getting anything out of this anymore…” etc. etc…

Be different – be the student the host family is writing to tell me about because they’ve made such a positive impression and are putting in such a good
effort!! Be the student that the
host family is dreading saying goodbye to.

Skiing & Snowboarding…

We recently had a bit of a scare when one of our students went missing on their local ski hill; He had been boarding out of bounds and didn’t make it down the
mountain. Search & Rescue was
called in and the boy was eventually found – shaken but otherwise fine. Do
not ski or snowboard out of bounds – Search & Rescue have the right
to charge you for their services – the ski hill also has the right to
confiscate your ski pass. It is
very fortunate that this story has a happy ending but don’t underestimate the
very real risk of avalanche or other devastating possibilities by making stupid
choices – you are not invincible!

Banff Trip…

Speaking of Skiing and Boarding - so far the response has been very good to the Banff Trip – sounds like it will be an awesome week! If you require any information on the trip or the bus from
Prince George to Banff, please email carolyn@shecana.ca. She is the key organizer. The deadline for registration was last
Friday, but if you have not signed up and would still like to– please let
Carolyn know as she may still be able to accommodate you.

Payment and registration forms should be in by February 19th unless other arrangements have been made. We cannot accept
credit cards and no longer accept any direct deposits. Mail cheques, money orders or bank
drafts to:

Shecana International

P.O. Box 21045 Spruceland RPO

Prince George, B.C. V2M 7A5

Attention Carolyn Arlt

Conclusion…

Well that’s a wrap so to speak. I was looking at the calendar for March and for those of you who have a 2 week Spring
Break – you will have precious few days of school during the next month. My kids will only be in school for a
total of 13 days the entire month of March – so I expect this next month to fly
by and by the time it is over we will have officially welcomed the new
season. I can’t wait – I can
practically smell the blossoms on the trees and yet – there isn’t a bud in
sight. Talk to you in the Spring!