Dinner guests arrived at 5:30 p.m. to the historical Payne Mansion, which is considered one of the most beautiful locations of domestic and Victorian-era architecture in the U.S. The dinner proceeded in a jolly mood with singing at the tables, and the energy in the mansion was very upbeat.
After dinner more guests arrived to join the party and its auctions. The mansion was filled with excitement and happy laughter which went on through the night. Guests were invited to take part in a live auction, a silent auction and a raffle with amazing prizes—the proceeds for which would benefit the Scandinavian School in San Francisco.
You could tell by the list of items—overnight stays at exclusive hotels, cooking classes and amazing getaways to Lake Tahoe, St. Helena and Napa Valley—that the organizers had the ambition to collect money for this year's Fund a Need project. The school hopes to transform their backyard into a sustainable play and education area. A key component of the Scandinavian School experience is learning through play while spending time outdoors. The school has an excellent outdoor space for their older kids but would like to offer a similar opportunity to the younger ones. The goal is to convert a concrete covered corner behind the school into an oasis of greens and flowers, including a wall of succulents that will be taken care of by the younger children. They also want to open a new playhouse that focuses on dramatic play while outdoors.
It’s truly wonderful to see how parents get engaged in their children's time at school. It's all about how to best ensure the Scandinavian School proceeds with its work—providing children with a full language immersion in the Scandinavian languages and to teach them about Scandinavian traditions and cultures.

San Francisco Scandinavian School is the only full-time Scandinavian pre-school in California.

By Emma Lööf Björnram