Dear IST community.
 
We are pleased to announce that applications are now open for the 2017/18 funding from the James Rao – Live Your Dream Foundation.  As you are reading this, one of our lucky students Camille Privé is having the adventure of her lifetime in subtropical Ecuador. Ethan Page is preparing for his forthcoming high altitude trip to Nepal in August. Meanwhile, Alice Douvillez has just left France to discover the humid jungles of Costa Rica whilst Salome Steinke will be jetting off to the furthest place possible from Toulouse -  the tropical paradise of Fiji to complete her dream adventure.  That just leaves Paulo in G12 who is making final arrangements before setting out to travel and work in the culturally rich and amazingly beautiful Cambodia.  All of these trips were made possible last year after each of the candidates completed their applications for up to €4000 each to make their dream become a reality.
 
This could be you in 12 months’ time!
 
So, what are you waiting for? Get yourself over to www.jamesraodream.com and start your application process today by clicking on the ‘How to Apply’ tab and navigating through the four steps. Initially, there are two main options. Travel alone or go together as a small group. It’s completely up to you but remember that this is not a school run trip and there are certain age restrictions. You will meet new people. You will travel to some of the most remote and amazing places in the World and you will definitely generate memories that will last for a lifetime.  
 
To see a list of past successful participants, please click on the ‘Testimonials’ tab on the website. If you have any questions or would like to talk through a proposal, please come to see either Mr Podbury or Mr Noble, or ask our resident expert, Ethan Page. You may also want to speak to Izzy Robson (G11) who has organised and funded her own trip to Sri Lanka this summer to work in a turtle sanctuary after being inspired by the Foundation.  The deadline for the initial application is Friday 11th August 2017. Successful applicants will be invited to proceed to the final application stage. For a full list of deadline dates and when the final announcements will be made, please see the website.
 
And lastly, please don’t forget to read up about the legacy of the young man that this initiative helps to keep alive. James would be thrilled to see so many amazing IST students doing such superb things in his name!
 
Looking forward to reading your initial proposals soon and if you’re stuck, please just ask!
 
Merci
 
Mr Podbury & Mr Noble on behalf of the Rao family.

Jim Noble is finalising the whole school IST assembly to held at 12 noon on Friday 18th November 2016. We will be hearing from the 2016 applicants about their journeys and experiences as well as from the 2017 applicants. If you don't already know about them and where they are going, please use the 'Testimonials' tab at the top of the page and click on the '2017 Dream Trips' option to find out more about them. 

We will be welcoming Kiran, Alison and Emma Rao to the event as well as the parents of those students who have gone / will be going on their adventures. It will be a superb event and more to follow here over the weekend. 

​MP 

We have just completed the launch assembly and were thrilled and moved to have in our presence James's Mum and Dad as well as brother Matt and sister Emma. The date was chosen especially as it would have been James's 24th birthday and we thought that he would have been a great way to remember James and the great things that the students are doing to continue his legacy. All four successful applicants presented their ideas and Grace sent a little video from Rio as she is already undertaking her adventure. Thanks to Jim Noble for organising such a great event and to all participating students, parents and teachers for making it such a special occasion. 

News from Grace via the Twitter feed that Grace has arrived in Rio and is underway with her orientation day before the work starts tomorrow. More soon from Rio .....

Our successful students continue to plan and prepare for their trips later this year. As a reminder, Grace is heading off to Rio in Brazil, Bernardo to Galapagos Islands and Jonathan and Patrick are heading to Jamaica. We'll post more news when everything is finalised. Expect a full school assembly, photos and further detail in the next few weeks. 

All four applicants now how access to the Official James Rao Live Your Dream twitter account https://twitter.com/JamesRaoLYD

They will be beginning to tweet shortly about their experiences in the build up to the trip. Keep an eye out for progress reports! 

Their tweets will end with the following initials:

Jonathan - JKB
Patrick- PF
Bernardo - BSB
Grace - GS

We have received some very strong applications for stage 1 of the foundation process. These range from volunteer work in the education system in Nepal to conservation projects in Borneo and Costa Rica. Mr Noble and Mr Podbury will be considering each of the applications in the coming days and you will hear from us shortly. 

We are in the final stages of organising the launch on of the James Rao Live You Dream Foundation initiative on Monday 8th June. This would have have been James' 23rd birthday and with the support and blessing of the Rao family, we are ready to start the process of giving our community the chance to benefit from funding to travel to somewhere in the world to make a real difference. 

The launch assembly will include a short presentation from James' friend and past student of the school Akaash, who will talk about the work he has done and the places that he has visited as part of his GAP year abroad. There will be some readings from our English students on the theme of living our dreams as well as participation from IST staff who have also travelled far and wide and will share their experiences with all present. The launch assembly will also be the first ever public event to be held in our brand new school building and in the new purpose built assembly hall. Quite a fitting inauguration, I'm sure you'll agree. 

James' Mum and Dad, sister - Emma and brother - Matt will be attending the launch of the Foundation and we hope to that the spirit of James will shine through as well as an appreciation of how fortunate our community is to be able to benefit from such an amazing gesture. 

Check out the blog next Monday for further details and photos from the assembly.