Letter

As you will read in this newsletter, the Lycée, its Alumni Board and the 75th Anniversary Committee are hosting two launch events on September 23rd and October 7th in New York and Paris, respectively. These events will serve as the “kick-off’ soirées for this exciting celebratory year.

Other events throughout the year will include a three-part Speakers Series with panel discussions on Human Rights, l'Art de Vivre, and What It Means to Be an LFNY Alumnus/ae, as well as a not-to-be-missed 75th Anniversary-themed gala, and our first ever Alumni Reunion Weekend in the spring of 2011!

In honor of the Lycée's 75th Anniversary, the school building will be specially decorated (why not come in for a tour?), a beautiful commemorative book has just been published by Assouline (available at the launch parties) and a movie is being created by our very own alum, Fabrice Frère (snapshots and quotes from alumni who were interviewed for the movie can be found in this issue). In this same creative spirit, the Lycée's ever-popular music teacher, Remy Loumbrozo, and our esteemed head-of-school, Yves Thézé, have been busy writing a 75th Anniversary Musical to be performed for all in the Spring of 2011. I urge all alumni with a love of songwriting, stage-designing, singing and performing to get involved now.

For more information on the 75th Anniversary Musical and any other events, please contact our new Assistant Director of Development and Alumni Relations, Claude Aska, at +1-212-439-3867 or at caska@lfny.org. Claude is the new "go-to" person at the Lycée for all matters relating to the alumni body and he is there to give all of you, as alum, a voice within the school. You can learn more about Claude's background and goals for the Lycée Alumni community in this issue. Welcome Claude: we are thrilled to have you on board!

We are expecting a great number of alumni at the 75th Anniversary events this fall. So I encourage all of you to reach out now to your friends from the Lycée and try to get your class together around the launch parties in New York and Paris. You would be surprised what a little browsing on Facebook can do! From his home in London, Alumni Board member-at-large Guillaume Rambourg (class of ‘87) has amassed an amazing contact list from the three years surrounding his class and is helping with the Paris guest list effort so that as many alums as possible receive the invitation for the launch party taking place at Le Cercle de L'Union Interalliée on October 7th.

The New York event on September 23rd will take place at the Lycée's beautiful building between 75th and 76th streets off of York Avenue and alums have already been dropping by to get a sneak peak before the festivities begin. Gabrielle Griswold and Hilda Beer Grauman, both class of 1942, traveled from Pennsylvania this summer for a tour of the school and will definitely be back for the launch party in September. In addition, with the support of the school and the Alumni Board, Class Captains* Christine Auclair, Alessandra Kelmans de Bozzo and Stephany Morrell, are putting together a double-header reunion just before the big launch parties for the classes of 1979/1980/1981 in September and October in NY and Paris. Christine, Alessandra and Stephany have already received an incredible response from their fellow alums planning to attend these reunions!

Finally, on a personal note, Class Captain for 1985, Hélène de Lailhacar-Darcet and I organized a 25th reunion dinner party in Paris this June for our class (I've included some happy snapshots from that event). It was a great event and our fellow alums traveled to Paris from all over France as well as from the US, Italy and Tunisia to attend. The event demonstrated to me first-hand the enthusiasm that alums all over the world have when they get together and reconnect. We look forward to more of that same spirit as we kick off this year of 75th Anniversary celebrations.

I'll see you in September!

Marie-Noëlle Pierce
Alumni Board President

* Becoming a Class Captain is a great way to keep in touch with alums from your class. Class Captains are appointed by the Alumni Board and are responsible for keeping members of a class in touch with one another. With very little effort, a Class Captain does a great service to the alumni community as well as the school. If you are interested in becoming a Class Captain for your year in anticipation of the 75th anniversary, please contact Claude Aska at +1-212-439-3867 or at caska@lfny.org.

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