We’re thrilled to bring you some exciting updates and important announcements.

1. Enhanced Registration Website Experience: Next week, we’re unveiling a major update to the web portal used by parents for trip registration and payments. Expect a host of new features, a sleeker interface, and a smoother process for registering multiple accounts.
2. Broadway’s Grand Return: Broadway is making a triumphant comeback with a slew of captivating shows hitting the Great White Way. Look forward to upcoming productions like “Back to the Future,” “The Notebook,” “The Outsiders,” and “Water for Elephants.” And for the past few years, our student groups have been enthralled by favorites such as “Six,” “Hadestown,” “& Juliet,” “Moulin Rouge,” “Wicked,” “Aladdin,” “Blue Man Group,” “Chicago,” “MJ The Musical,” and “Harry Potter.”
3. Southwest Airlines Seats Release: This week, Southwest Airlines is opening up more seats for all flights until June 3rd. As the only major airline still offering free checked bags, Southwest remains an excellent choice for many of our groups.
4. Theatrefest in Galveston, TX (September 28-29): Join us at the Texas Educational Theatre Association’s annual conference from September 27-30, 2023. Be sure to visit Booth 400 to say hello and collect your invitation to our exclusive cocktail party on September 29th. We will also have some great chachki giveaways. https://www.txeta.com/theatrefest 
5. Fall Special Promotion: Email us today to book a new trip with Junior Tours by September 30th. You’ll receive a generous $100 Amazon Gift Card and our exclusive Junior Tours Swag Bag (valued at $100).  Click Here if you’d like us to send you an itinerary and a quote for an unforgettable trip with your students.

It is with a heavy heart that we share the news of the passing of Marty Abrams, the founder of Junior Tours.   Marty lived a full and meaningful life.   Starting out as a history teacher in Brooklyn in 1976, he went on to build one of the premier student travel companies on the east coast.

If knew you Marty, you probably remember his big bear hugs or bone crushing handshakes when you first met and his warm smile and deep belly laughs when you spoke.  He was a man of character- honest, hard-working and generous.  The impact of his leadership at Junior Tours cannot be understated.   Marty was not only the founder, but also our dad and he took tremendous pride watching his children carry on his business when he stopped working several years ago.

Junior Tours has always operated as a family run business.  We view our group leaders, employees and tour guides as part of our extended family.  With the loss of our beloved father, we are reminded of the lessons he taught us- be kind to others and always take care of your family first.   It is a big loss for us, but we are prepared to continue his legacy with the values he instilled in us.

Rich Abrams & Debra Lisser

This week, we want to celebrate all of YOU! The Fantastic Teachers and Educators of the World!

In honor of your special week, we are giving away (2) $100 Amazon Gift Cards.

To enter into our drawing, go to the Comments below and tell us your favorite classroom hack or favorite resource/website that helps you in your teaching. Give us any idea or suggestion that you think other teachers might find helpful to know about. Feel free to share more than one if you have multiple ideas! Each idea will be another entry into the drawing.

2 lucky winners will randomly be selected next Wednesday, May 17th and notified via email of their winnings.

We wish you all the best and hope you all enjoy your week about YOU!

ChatGPT has grabbed many headlines about the transformative power of AI. Each week new AI technologies are being released. With this technology at the fingertips of everyone, we wanted to share with you some of the more popular AI tools our own friends in education have found useful within their classrooms.

Gradescope www.gradescope.com
Gradescope helps you seamlessly administer and grade all of your assessments, whether online or in-class. Save time grading and get a clear picture of how your students are doing.

Whitesmoke www.whitesmoke.com
An alternative to Grammarly, WhiteSmoke is an all-in-one writing software application. It evaluates grammar, writing style, punctuation, spelling, and overall writing quality.

Curipod www.curipod.com/ai
Enter any topic and generate an interactive slide deck in seconds.

Scispace www.typeset.io
Research assistant to give you real time answers and simple explanations to complex text, math or tables.

Murf www.murf.ai
Make studio quality voice overs of any text that can be used for videos, podcasts or presentations.

DALL-E www.openai.com/dall-e-2
Type in whatever you want to see and even how you want it represented, for example pixel, cartoon, or in the style of Claude Monet. Then DALL-E will create an image based on your description.

Perplexity www.perplexity.ai/
This AI chatbot lets you ask questions and get responses conversationally. What sets Perplexity apart is that it cites sources, which are easily clickable to get more context and more information.

Overall, we hope you find the above-mentioned AI tools useful for you and your students within your classroom.

Earlier this month, Jefferson Middle School took their 8th grade class on their annual trip to Washington D.C. Each student was asked to keep a journal of their experience and then write a short essay on what they learned. Here are the musings of Sarah Harrison, president of her student body:

“Last week, I returned from the most amazing adventure with my eighth-grade classmates: a three-day trip to Washington D.C.!  We had so much fun exploring the nation’s capital, and it was such a rewarding experience to travel away from home with my friends.  From visiting the iconic landmarks to trying out new food, this trip was filled with unforgettable memories.

As we explored landmarks such as Arlington National Cemetery, toured the Capitol, and marveled at the monuments and memorials, I realized the profound impact this journey would have on me.

Arlington National Cemetery evoked a deep sense of reverence and gratitude.  As we walked through the rows of identical white headstones, I felt overwhelmed by the immense sacrifices made by our country’s brave servicemen and women. The powerful experience of witnessing the Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier further solidified my appreciation for these heroes.

Our visit to the Capitol offered a firsthand glimpse of the workings of our government. As we toured the halls where influential decisions are made, I felt a sense of awe and pride in being part of a country with such a rich democratic history.

Another highlight was our visit to the National Mall. There, we saw the Washington Monument standing tall in the sky, a symbol of our first president’s lasting impact on our country.  Next, we walked along the Reflecting Pool and were amazed by the larger-than-life statue of President Lincoln. We couldn’t resist taking selfies with Honest Abe.  I will cherish those goofy pictures forever!

I feel so fortunate to have this amazing opportunity to travel.  I am grateful to my parents and to my teachers for allowing me this once in a lifetime experience!”

Top 10 Travel Reminders to Prepare For Your Upcoming Tour:
1.    Prepare for air travel by reviewing TSA top travel tips
2.   Use our suggest packing list so you don’t leave anything behind.
3.   Arrive at the airport at least 2 hours before departure.
4.   Adults 18 years or older must have government issued photo ID (i.e., driver’s license or passport). People 17 or younger are not require to have any ID, though we suggest they bring a school ID, credit card or something that shows their name.
5.   Upon arrival, go to baggage claim to meet your tour guide and bus driver.
6.   Have everyone familiarize themselves with the rules of expected behavior.
7.   Remind your group to be patient. The hospitality industry is still recovering. Longer wait times at restaurants and attractions can be expected.
8.   We have a toll-free emergency number that is answered by LIVE PERSON 24 hours/day, 365 days a year.
9.   We suggest that you bookmark to the home screen of your phone the login to your Registration/Payment Portal. This way when you are out on tour, you can easily use the portal to communicate with your group.
10.  Let parents know that they can click on the Details button on the top of their login screen to see the updated version your group’s itinerary.

We are excited to officially kick off the Spring 2023 Tour Season. With many of you having travel plans soon, we wanted to remind you of some of the features our new online portal offers you as the Group Leader.

We recommend that you bookmark your log in to the home screen of your cell phone. Once bookmarked, the following features will be easily accessible to you:

• One Step communication via email or SMS
• The most up to date itinerary at your fingertips
• Ease of creating rooming lists, chaperone lists and airline lists
• Dashboard showing everyone who is registered for the tour
• Instant accessible to medical forms and emergency contact information
• Virtual signatures of permission slips if needed
• Set up surveys or questionnaires
• And much more!

Bottom line, we know how valuable your time is. Our new online portal is designed to make it simple to organize the details of the tour, communicate when needed and allow you time to enjoy the sights while on tour. Email or call us if you wish to schedule a quick call to help you unlock all these features.

SPECIAL PROMOTION: Now through March 15th- anyone who books a new trip will have their choice of either:

Doubling your group leader stipend from $500 to $1,000
-OR-
Additional free trip added to your tour package (domestic travel only).

This is the optimal time to lock in your travel plans for the fall 2023/spring 2024.  You can use either promotion however you wish. Whether it’s applied for a student scholarship, to offset costs for additional chaperones or to reimburse yourself for any incidental personal costs, the choice is yours.   Promotion only though March 15th so act now!

More Reasons to Be Smart and Start Early:

• Lock in the lowest prices of the year.
• Give your students maximize time to fundraise and prepare.
• First priority on the school calendar ahead of other trips and activities.
• Take advantage of either extra free trip or double travel stipend.

Let’s get you penciled in to take advantage of these promotion. Click HERE to get started or send us a quick email today! Don’t miss out on something this amazing!

SUPER BOWL CHALLENGE:
Thanks to everyone who participated in our Super Bowl Challenge.   It was a heck of game with the outcome decided in the last minute.  The following people were the closest to predicting the final score of Chiefs 38, Eagles 35.  Everyone who participated earned a 100 JTrip Reward Points and the winners each got an additional 500 bonus points.

Chiefs 37, Eagles 31    Barb B.
Chiefs 42, Eagles 32   Traci T.
Chiefs 38, Eagles 28   Mike S.

We hope you all had a chance to enjoy the holidays with your friends and family and are as excited as we are about what is to come for 2023!

Last fall, Junior Tours saw a surge in the number of travel bookings. Groups are traveling in larger sizes as attractions have reopened to full capacity.  Availability calendars with airlines and hotels are filling quickly for the spring and summer.

2024 PRICING IS NOW AVAILABLE! 
As we flipped the calendar to a new year, we’re excited to announce Junior Tours is officially accepting reservations for the Fall 2023/Spring 2024 to our most popular destinations like New York City and Washington D.C. Stay a step ahead of your surrounding schools and start booking now. By starting early, you will receive our early bird pricing. It will also allow your community more to fundraise and save.   We’re anticipating another busy year of travel and those who start first always make out the best.

Call us at 1-800-631-2241 to discuss your plans with a one of our seasoned travel professionals OR submit your request here to receive a free quote and itinerary.

JUNIOR TOURS GOES INTERNATIONAL
In just a few weeks, we will also be releasing more information about the return of our London Theater and Montreal/Quebec Cultural Immersion tours.  With the lift of all vaccine and travel restrictions, Junior Tours is excited to be offering these very popular tour packages again. Stay tuned to our JT Newsletter in the upcoming weeks for detailed itineraries and package pricing.

With everyone at Junior Tours focused on providing you and your students the best all-inclusive overnight student tours, we promise these upcoming tours will be your best yet. Thank you for your continued support and we look forward to seeing you all in the upcoming months.