La Belle Soirée (gala) is less than 6 weeks away. Tickets will go on sale on October 12, 2022. Look out for a link coming soon! In the meantime, please read all of the below information for ways you can help with the gala, as well as some fun details about the evening. 

Please reach out to Jen Cook or Betsy Mulvehill with any questions.

Merci, 

The Gala Committee

6:00- 8:00 pm Food & drinks, silent auction bidding, Community Connections sign-ups, entertainment (details to come next week!)

8:00 pm Silent Auction closes

8:00 - 8:45 pm Program: French Intern performance, student speakers, live auction and Fund-An-Intern giving moment

8:45 pm - 10:30 pm Dance the night away with the Bluewater Kings Band, desserts, late night snacks, photo booth and more! 

INTERN DANCE AND SONG

Each year at the gala, our French Interns put on a performance. You won't want to miss their song and dance (Can Can!). A huge thanks to Lisa Bekemeyer and her incredible mother, DeAnne Sherman, for leading the charge on this and getting our interns performance ready. 

TEACHER TICKETS

Each year, our community tries to raise funds to send interested teachers to the gala. To cover those costs, we’ve added a donation form in the Normandale Membership Toolkit. Simply go into the app, login online, or use the button below and you’ll see where you can donate. This form will work for both Normandale and Extended French. No amount is too small. Merci Beaucoup!

VOLUNTEERS

Beyond our gala committee, we need more parent volunteers at La Belle Soirée. Please click here to sign-up if you are willing and able!

The La Belle Soirée Normandale coloring contest has started! Download a coloring sheet here. Once you are finished, bring your artwork to the “Coloring Contest” box at the front desk at Normandale by October 28th. Allison Olfelt, our La Belle Soirée Art Coordinator, will collect all of the submissions. All artwork will be showcased at La Belle Soirée and two winners from each grade (one boy, one girl) will have their artwork displayed in the Normandale hallways following the gala. 

WE NEED YOU!

Consider hosting a Community Connections event. A Community Connection is a party or an event hosted/donated by Normandale, Valley View or Edina High School parents/families. The host(s) comes up with the idea for the party, then covers all costs and logistics associated with the party. Events can be hosted by one family, or multiple families to help offset costs. Examples of past parties include a food truck block party for families, an ice skating party for grades K-2 with hot chocolate, a 4th grade boys sky zone party, a 5th grade mother/daughter floral arranging class, a parents only curling party, parents only prom night, and many more. The host decides how many attendees to have at the party and how much a ticket to the event costs.

Please do not hesitate to contact Berit Allar if you have questions about Community Connections, if you would like some guidance with choosing a theme for your event, or help with pricing of your tickets. More details, event ideas, and a submission form can be found here. 

Want to get together with other families and host an event but don't know who to ask? Grade-level Facebook groups and the Normandale French Immersion Parents Group are great resources for finding co-hosts. Find links to our social media groups here.

Donate a silent or live auction item. We are on the hunt for your Silent Auction connections to tickets, gift certificates and donations from businesses and services you love to help us create a super successful silent auction! It can even be a gift basket you put together yourself or with a couple other families - beer/wine, products you love…time to get creative. Additionally we are looking for five (5) larger Live Auction items to really hit our fundraising goals. Any leads? Contact Sarah Priest

Sponsorships: NEW this year, we are offering sponsorships to offset the cost of La Belle Soirée, which will increase funds raised for the intern program. Please reach out to Lauren Warner for more information if your company or a company you know of would be interested.

Stay tuned for more updates next week. If you have any immediate questions, please reach out to Jen Cook or Betsy Mulvehill. In the meantime, book a sitter for La Belle Soirée on Saturday November 12, 2022 from 6-10:30 pm. We hope to see you there!