ALLIANCE FRANÇAISE DE DARWIN NEWSLETTER October 2012 ALLIANCE FUTURE A few weeks ago all our committee members and teachers gathered together to discuss different options for future events, classes, and the AFD role in Darwin. Our next Annual General Meeting will take place in February or March 2013. If you would like to become a part of the committee please come to the AGM. You don t need to speak French for that! You just have to like French culture. The busy season is almost over. We would like to take the opportunity and thank all of you for your support and interest in French culture. We hope we have delivered all activities within your expectations. There is always room for improvement, and we welcome your feedback and suggestions. Tell us what you would like to see us organize in future. Email your thoughts or simply send a message on Facebook. We would love to hear your opinion! ALLIANCE FRANÇAISE DE DARWIN GPO Box 1247 Darwin NT 0801 www.afdarwin.org president@afdarwin.org tel. 0411 652 342 Last French Movie Night for the year was a great success THE MIDNIGHT IN PARIS BALL The AFD annual ball was held at Pee-Wees at the point restaurant on 7 September 2012 with a Midnight in Paris theme. It was a glamorous event with plenty of entertainment and fun, featuring delectable French cuisine under the stars. A great time was had by all. A big thank you to Kate McTaggart, our Events Coordinator for organising such a wonderful event. Also our Committee members put a lot of time and effort to make this night a fabulous one. Here are some photos from the night.
All set and ready for the guests The winner Mary McAlpine overwhelmed with her luck 2
AFD President Lea and her stagiaire Maren Paris in Darwin We would like to thank our sponsors for many gift vouchers, prizes that were donated to us. Without our sponsors this night would have been very sad. The major prize was Tickets for two to Paris with a week s accommodation. The lucky door prize winner was Mary McAlpine. Mary is the Manager of Area 9 and is looking forward to visiting Paris for the first time when she next goes home to her native Ireland for summer next year. As we heard there were some very happy celebrations in the McAlpine home following the Ball. Alliance Française de Darwin will donate most of the profit from the Ball to the charity. We have chosen this year Variety- NT as our charity. Variety NT s vision is for all Australian children to attain their full potential regardless of ability or background. Variety NT helps Australian children who are sick, disadvantaged or have special needs to live, laugh and learn. Their cause is very important, anyone can help by donating just got to their website http://www.variety.org.au/nt/. 3
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE LUCKY DOOR PRIZE WINNERS FOR TRIP TO PARIS AFD BALL 2011 WITH THE ARRIVAL OF BABY GIRL AMELIE! Michelle and Justin Coleman were lucky to win the trip to Paris last year. What they didn t know is that their luck has not worn out with that. Surely the Love City of the World can make miracles. Congratulations once again with the baby girl Amelie! Justina Aughterson Public Relations Coordinator 4
LAST FRENCH MOVIE NIGHT FOR THE YEAR Our last French movie night was on 11 October 2012 at the Darwin Museum and Art Gallery theatrette. We screened Le Pere Noel est une ordure (Santa Claus is a Stinker). This is a popular movie in France and from most of the reviews from our screening on Thursday night, it seemed that it was a much loved French classic comedy. Food and wine before the movie set a pleasant mood to relax and have a good laugh. Our next sessions of French movies will be in year 2013, keep an eye for announcements. Sheau Quim Cham Film Coordinator Kate and Judy responsible for collecting money on the night 5
OUR STAGIAIRE IS GONE BACK TO FRANCE! It is with great sadness that we said goodbye to our stagiaire, Maren. She was not only a lovely person to have around the house, making friends with everyone (including cranky dogs), but she was also very efficient. Her main project was to analyse how AFD complied with the Demarche Qualite which has been handed down by the Fondation de Paris. For this she had to dig up vast amounts of documentation, make contact with a large number of people, both in Darwin and interstate and gather them into relevant folders. We have been told that we are not going to be audited. However we must show that we are taking steps to comply with the Demarche Qualite. This was a big task and Maren acquitted herself of this with much competence. The other project she had was to assist with the Ball preparation, and Maren was so totally reliable and helpful. She pinned Ball posters to anything that was not moving, and went to visit sponsors. Finally on the Ball night, she assisted in most tasks. We see her here with our beautiful PR Coordinator Justina in their Ball oufits. Maren has now gone back to her native Germany to complete her studies but has promised to return!!! Our committee President: Vice President: Public Officer: Secretary: Treasurer: Grant coordinator: Class Coordinator: Events Coordinator: Film Coordinator: Website: PR Coordinator: Committee Members: Lea Aitken Maria Randazzo Simon Lee Gavin Law Judy Moran Lysa Hoang Sharon Parsonson Kate McTaggart Sheau-Quim Cham Louise Lethbridge Justina Aughterson Michel Hall, Helga Driesen, Denise Edwards 6
We thank our sponsors: Reggie Sultan - Aboriginal Artist Zoe Marchan OfficeWorks Darwin Il Lido Restaurant Jozef Godolley Stone Island Hairdressers Body Sanctuary Bradlaw Agencies Seadogs Pizza and Pasta Kurt s Cakes Cut Above Palmerston 7