FROM THE PRINCIPAL

Chris Holden | @MonsieurHolden | 952.848.4100

Dear Normandale Families,

All schools in the state of Minnesota are required to practice fire/evacuation, lockdown and severe weather drills during the school year. These student safety drills take place five times during the year and are preceded by classroom instruction for students. Each of the buildings in the district has developed procedures that will ensure the knowledge of staff and the safety and comfort of students. We will conduct our first fire drill this Friday and first lockdown drill next Thursday. When planning for the first drills of the year I always inform staff of the days/times and I ask them to talk with their students about the procedures and why they are practiced. They can seem like big and scary events, especially for our younger students, but teachers do a fabulous job of preparing students for our practice sessions in a calm and caring way. As the year goes on, we will continue to have school safety drills for fire, lockdowns and severe weather.

LA BELLE SOIRÉE - ADULTS ONLY FUNDRAISER

Please join us on Saturday, November 12th for our Edina French Immersion gala - La Belle Soirée! We need many volunteers to make this wonderful event possible. If you are interested in being a part of our silent auction, live auction, or community connections teams, offering day-of support, or have other skills to lend, please email [email protected]. Merci!

ROOM PARENTS & VOLUNTEERS

Interested in being a room parent for your student's classroom? The link to sign up will go live on Thursday, September 8 at noon. Please visit the PTO Website at that time to click on the link. Please sign up for only one room parent spot, even if you have multiple children at Normandale.

The PTO is working on a final list of school-wide volunteer positions for this year. Please watch for details in upcoming editions of La Liaison. Thank you!

INTERN OVERNIGHT - VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!

Want to get to know this year's French interns? 

The French Intern overnight is coming up September 9th - 10th, and we still need a few more volunteers to chaperone the event. Chaperoning is a great way to get to know your child's intern and to introduce all of our fabulous interns to a unique Minnesota camping experience. 

Chaperones are needed to drive interns and supplies to Camp Singing Hills in Waterville, MN, stay overnight in heated cabins, and drive interns home the next morning. 

We will leave from Normandale after school on Friday, September 9th at 3pm and will return Saturday, September 10th by noon.

Unable to chaperone but still want to help? We need donations for food and other supplies. 

Sign up HERE to help! 

Any questions? Contact Anne Jennen and Mandy Bai.

NORMANDALE PICTURE DAY

Normandale Picture Day is scheduled for NEXT Tuesday September 13th, 2022.

Retakes: Thursday September 29th

2022-2023 School Picture Provider: Josten's. 

Jostens asks children to NOT wear GREEN on picture day.

NOTE: You do NOT order pictures before you see them! Josten's allows parents/caregivers to look at student pictures before ordering. 

Regardless of order status ALL students will have their picture taken for the 2022-2023 school yearbook. If you are in need of a scholarship, please contact Principal Holden. 

Pictures will be taken throughout the day with your student's classroom. 

Questions? Please contact Kelly Ingvaldson.  

ORDER YOUR 2022-23 NORMANDALE YEARBOOK

This year our Normandale Yearbook will be printed by Jostens.

For the lowest yearbook price, order your yearbook through Jostens before October 14!

Pricing is as follows:

Order until 10/14/2022 - $22 per yearbook

Order after 10/15/2022 - $25 per yearbook

Yearbooks from last school year have been distributed. There is a limited supply of extras available at the front desk for purchase. They are $25 each. Cash or a check made out to “Normandale PTO” is acceptable.

NOTES FROM THE NORMANDALE CAFETERIA

Schools are no longer required to cohort students during the lunch hour. Beginning Sept. 12, Normandale students will be able to sit at the table of their choosing. 

This year, lunch and breakfast will be available for purchase daily. Note that all Kindergarten students receive a free breakfast in the classroom daily, starting the second week of school. Manage your students' account, payment methods and payment history in Infinite Campus through the Parent Portal. Click HERE for instructions.

Families that qualify for free and reduced lunch must complete the Educational Benefits application found here. 

Students should bring a healthy nut-free snack and a labeled water bottle to school each day. See page 12 of the Parent/Student Handbook for details about snack.

FROM THE MEDIA CENTER

Do you love books? Do you love kids? Are you an organizer? Do you like to be active in our learning community? Sign up to volunteer today! “Many hands make light work.” Check out the media center calendar to view the schedule of classes. https://bit.ly/3e8sPdc Thank you! Merci!

Edina Public Schools is committed to high quality instruction with the use of technology in order to meet the needs of all of our students. Web based learning resources are increasingly being used to engage students and improve student learning outcomes. Please read this letter for additional details.

EVERY MEAL PARTNERSHIP

Healthy eating is very important for children. Research shows that children who eat regular, nutritious meals are more likely to attend school and be engaged in learning.  As a part of this, we are excited to partner with Every Meal to offer a free weekend meal program to all our students. 

Every Meal is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with a mission to fight child hunger through community and school partnerships. They strive to make a difference in children’s lives by focusing on food gaps like weekends, school breaks, and summer when they can’t receive food in school. 

• Free for all families 
• No qualifications required 
• Students enrolled in the program will receive a 4-5 pound bag of nutritious, nonperishable food each week 
• Every Meal does not collect information from families; privacy is protected 
• Families may choose to participate in the program anytime throughout the school year
• Families may choose from a variety of different weekend food bag options 

Please contact Lisa Rapke Hoffman, School Social Worker at [email protected] or call 952-848-4108 to participate or for more information .

EASY WAYS TO SUPPORT YOUR NORMANDALE PTO

Need labels for your back-to-school clothes? Purchase labels using this link from namebubbles.com and Normandale PTO will receive a portion of your purchase amount!

Shopping at Amazon? Choose "Normandale PTO Parent Teacher Organization" as your Amazon Smile charity and use smile.amazon.com when you shop.

EDINA GIVE AND GO

As you begin to register for activities this fall, did you know that Edina Give and Go grants financial assistance to students who couldn't otherwise afford to participate? This includes grants for students to participate in academic, arts, and athletic activities at Community Education (the financial assistance form can be found here.

This also includes grants for students to participate in other programs, including instrument rental, drivers ed classes, ACT prep fees, swim lessons, tutoring, and more. The financial assistance form for all non-Community Education classes can be found here.

Edina Give and Go provides up to $1,000 per student per school year for qualifying students.

Don't miss the annual Edina Give and Go Gear Swap!

Donation day is September 10 and shopping day is September 11!

EDINA COMMUNITY EDUCATION

Community Ed Fall Registration is open! Check out our before and after school enrichment, evening and weekend classes, and non school day opportunities. Register on Edina Eleyo. Enter ‘Normandale’ in the search bar to find opportunities at our site. 

ALLIANCE FRANCAISE

The Alliance Française is the non-profit French cultural center serving the Twin Cities and is a proud partner of French immersion schools and their families. Alliance Française offers a library, summer camps for children of all ages and levels, French classes for adults, cooking classes, and more than 150 cultural events each year including an annual Bastille Day festival on July 14. Learn more about Alliance Française Mpls/St Paul at www.afmsp.org.

Normandale PTO| [normandalepto.org]