Dear Normandale Families,

All schools in the state of Minnesota are required to practice emergency procedures (lockdowns), in addition to our usual fire and severe weather drills. 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 and lockdown drills of the year next week. 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.



Chris Holden

Principal, Normandale Elementary French Immersion School

NORMANDALE PICTURE DAY

Normandale Picture Day is scheduled for Tuesday September 14th 

Retakes: Tuesday October 26th 

2021-2022 School Picture Provider: Josten's. 

NEW THIS YEAR: We will not be sending home paper order forms. Instead, Josten's will be sending a link to order pictures 3-5 days AFTER picture day. See the Picture Day Flyer for more information.

Regardless of order status ALL students will have their picture taken for the 2021-2022 school yearbook. Pictures will be taken throughout the day with your student's classroom.

Josten's asks children to NOT wear GREEN on picture day.

Questions? Please contact Kelly Ingvaldson at kingvaldson@gmail.com

If you are in need of a scholarship, please contact Principal Holden.

2021-22 NORMANDALE YEARBOOK

This year our Normandale Yearbook will be printed by Jostens.

For the lowest yearbook price, order your yearbook before October 1!

Pricing is as follows:

Order until 10/1/2021 - $20 per yearbook

Order after 10/2/2021 - $25 per yearbook

STOCK THE PANTRY!

Help us say Thank You to our teachers and staff at the start of another interesting year by stocking the Staff Pantry with goodies! Items can be dropped off in the Normandale Vestibule on Monday September 13, after 8:40am and before 3pm.

LUNCHTIME AT NORMANDALE

In an effort to reduce the potential spread of COVID-19 and to reduce the need to quarantine students, we will be piloting a new lunch procedure for the start of the school year. 

• Students that bring a cold lunch to school may eat outside on the steps under the awning at door 10. We do not need, nor do we expect every student to elect this option. Each student that eats outside will effectively reduce the number of students eating in the cafeteria.
• Students eating in the cafeteria will have access to school lunch.
• Students eating in the cafeteria will sit with their classmates at assigned seats.
• 
  

This effort will require additional adult supervision beyond Normandale staff. If you are interested in helping supervise lunch please sign-up here. 

The sign up for Kindergarten bus and lunch helpers (now through 9/10) can be found here.

INTERN EVENT - VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

We are SO excited that the French Interns have arrived!!! (And some are still coming!) The Intern Committee has a fun day planned for the interns in Hudson, WI. We are looking for 4-5 parents to help drive the interns TO and FROM Hudson, WI on Sunday September 19th. We will meet at Normandale 1 PM to bring to Hudson and leave Hudson 7:15 PM to head back to Normandale. We would love for you (and your kiddo!) to hang out for the day with the interns as they will need rides into Stillwater for an activity as well. Please let kingvaldson@gmail.com know if you are available.



MASKS ARE REQUIRED AT NORMANDALE

The Health and Safety Measures resolution that was approved by the Edina School Board on August 17 includes universal masking for all students and adults in Edina transportation and indoor school settings. Please remember your mask when you visit Normandale for Partnership Planning conferences and volunteering.

PLANNED ABSENCE FORM

Do you have a trip or a holiday coming up that you'll need to miss school for?  This form or these instructions are for you! Please submit the form to the Normandale office or enter the absence online at least five school days prior to departure. Per School Board Policy 503, forms not turned in 5 school days prior to being absent will result in the absence being marked as unexcused.



COVID/ ILLNESS REPORTING FORM



The Minnesota Department of Health is requesting that schools continue to track COVID related cases among their student population.  

Please fill out this form to report ALL illness symptoms (even if you don't think they are COVID related), a positive COVID case or a quarantine due to close contact. An EPS staff member will then follow up with you.  

Monitoring the number of cases within the district is an important factor in determining when it will be safe to return to in-person learning. 

Thank you, and stay safe.

JUSTINE BRISSON - KINDERGARTEN

About me...: I live in Thilouze, a small village near Tours (in central France). It's a great place to go for a walk in the middle of nowhere, but it's also one of the best places to be in Covid time because there are only fields around and more animals than people. As I like to go out with my friends, you will find me more often with them around a good meal in the centre of Tours (place Plumereau notably). It is in this city that I did all my studies at the University in the field of Language Sciences. It is said that this is the city where French is best spoken because there is no accent! Almost all my family live near Tours, so we can see each other very regularly! We are very close and love to have fun together either bowling or canoeing. For us, a family meal is successful when it ends with a board game (I've become an expert at Time's up). I am a sporty person (I played basketball for 15 years and table tennis for 16 years). As time goes by, I admit that I watch more sport on TV than I do in practice! I like to go out with friends as much as watching series. I would never say no to playing games!

In The US...: During this exceptional year in Edina, I would love to go to lots of games in different sports (basketball, baseball, ice hockey...). As I love to travel, I would like to visit all the monuments and cities I can! Being immersed in the school and in the family will allow me to discover the American culture in all areas! I especially want to help the students discover French and I want to become bilingual.

My favorite food…: On the whole, I like to eat everything and discover new flavours! On the other hand, it may sound strange but I don't like much fruit (only apple, pear and citrus fruits)! I like to eat savoury things more than sweet ones but if someone offers me a lemon meringue pie I would never say no!



I am excited about…: After so much waiting, stress, and adventures, I can't wait to come to Edina! When I came to the United States to travel, I only went to New York and Washington, Minnesota is a state I don't know at all: I can't wait to discover it! Being a French teacher's assistant in a school and living with a host family are two new things for me. Even though I have worked a lot with children and many of my family members are teachers in France, I am curious about the American educational system.

Clinic Dates

Friday, Sept. 17

Edina High School

Performing Arts Center (EPAC), Door 3

2 - 6 p.m.

*If you are receiving a first dose at this clinic, find a location to receive your second dose of the vaccine at: mn.gov/covid19/vaccine

Normandale PTO| [normandalepto.org]