Principal’s Report 08/15/2014
Dear Lumen Family:
School starts next week and we are looking forward to a wonderful new school year! The first day of classes is on Wednesday, August 20. Most students will arrive around 7:30 AM. Classes start promptly at 7:45 AM. For those of you who are new to Lumen, we start the day with ‘home room’ time where students do the pledge of allegiance, prayer, and devotion. The ‘home room’ is the student’s first (period 1) class. Attached is the bell schedule for your reference.
The first day of school is also the same day as the school’s weekly Mass. Parents are welcome to join for Mass on Wednesday, August 20 at 9:15 AM in St. Benedict’s Parish. After Mass, the students will walk the Light of Christ back to the school, where Fr. Leo will bless the school, students, teachers, and staff. This is a wonderful way to fellowship with other parents, teachers, staff, and students. Please join us for this special Mass if your schedule permits.
This weekend is the 20th Annual Alaska Greek Festival at the Holy Transfiguration Greek Orthodox Church (2800 O’Malley Road) in Anchorage. Admission and parking is free. Today the event runs from 11 AM to 10 PM. Tomorrow (Saturday) the event runs from 11 AM to 10 PM. On Sunday the event runs from 11 AM to 7 PM. Students who attend Lumen from the Orthodox faith will be involved in the celebration, and they would appreciate our support.
Next Friday, from 4:00 PM until about 7:00 PM is the annual Lumen Christi ‘Back to School Picnic’ at the school. We welcome parents, family friends, and students to enjoy a picnic with the faculty and staff. The school will provide the hotdogs, hamburgers, drinks, and utensils, but we would ask the parents to bring the rest of the potluck food if you are able (although it is not required in order to attend). It would be helpful if 7th and 8th grades families bring salad and sides, 9th grade bring chips and dip, 10th grade bring fruit (or similar), and 11th and 12th grade families bring desserts.
Marcellino D’Ambrosio will be giving a presentation about “Keeping Your Kids Catholic” at Lumen Christi on Sunday, August 24 from 2 PM to 4 PM in room 104. The presentation will cover how to strike the balance between formal religious education in the home, and teaching by example, between affection and discipline, the role of parents and the help of other adults. You’ll walk away with clear strategies that you can implement in your own family life.
Parent involvement is very important for the success of Lumen Christi. If you are interested in helping with an event, please be aware that we’ve largely switched our signups to VolunteerSpot from Signup Genius, though going forward we may use Genius for some signups as well. VolunteerSpot has a single page where all our current signups should always be listed. Here is the link for opportunities: http://vols.pt/9tj8Ji?utm_source=group-badge-volunteer-green .
We have some open positions in PVO. We are looking for a ‘PVO Vice-President’. This person will shadow PVO President Gail Grafton and eventually take over as PVO President at the end of Gail’s term. We are also looking for a ‘Gold Card Chair’. Our current chair is stepping down after this year and is ready to train her replacement. This is an important position that helps raise money for the school. The ‘Teacher and Staff Appreciation Chair’ position is also open. This person takes the lead in organizing small activities and events to show our awesome teachers and staff much we appreciate them. And finally, we are looking for a ‘Craft Bazaar Assistant’. This person will help Michell Goodwin, the Craft Bazaar Chair, organize the volunteers, secure vendors, and run this important fundraising event. If you are interested in a position, please leave a message at the front desk and we will ask someone to follow-up with you.
We look forward to the new school year and encourage all of you to remember the Lumen community in your daily prayers. May God bless all of those who support the LCHS ministry of St. Benedict Parish.
God Bless, John