Lumen News 10/07/2017

Important Upcoming Dates:

• October 19th:  PSAT (grades 9-11)
• October 20th & 21st:  ½ Days for Parent Teacher Conferences
• October 28th:  No School, Inservice
• November 11th:  No School, Veteran’s Day/In-Service
• November 24th & 25th:  No School, Thanksgiving
• December 19th-21st:  1st Semester Finals

Principal’s Update:  What a blessed and wonderful week!  Monday finished up as “just a normal day,” but by early Tuesday morning, we awoke to the Holy Father’s announcement of the appointment of a new Archbishop for Anchorage!  By Wednesday, we were celebrating Mass with Archbishop-Elect Paul Etienne (pronounced “H-N”), Deacon Les Maiman, and Father Tom and Father Michael.  We presented the new Archbishop some tokens of our appreciation, including a Lumen car window sticker, a Lumen fleece vest, and a framed photo of all our students with our signatures on the matting.  Following Mass and a school photo around the altar, we welcomed the new Archbishop into our school for a short visit through the classrooms.  The students were focused and engaging as usual, and although Archbishop-Elect Etienne could only stay for about 30 minutes, he was clearly excited about serving the Anchorage Catholic faith community and obviously looking forward to spending more time with our students.  The official Installation will occur at 2pm on Wed, Nov 9th, at Our Lady of Guadalupe Co-Cathedral.  We are working on a plan to provide an opportunity for as many students to attend as possible, so please mark the date on your calendar.  We are also working to schedule a farewell Mass with Archbishop Schwietz in early November, since he has been such a visible presence for our students and a strong supporter of our school.

As noted on our Facebook page, congratulations to Parker Klem, Kaare Helgesen, and Chiamaka Labechi for winning the National Day of Prayer (Sept 9th) poetry competition.  Last week, each of them received prize money from me and Father Tom with which they will need to donate to their favorite charity.  We appreciate their inspiring contributions!  The school hallways are still adorned with student prayers, poetry, posters, articles, artwork and song that tell the story of school wide “Peace Talks.”  So take a moment when you stop by and see what our great and creative students put together.

In sports, congratulations to our varsity soccer team who placed 5th in the ASAA tournament over last weekend!  Our volleyball team suffered a disappointing loss in their first game of the season against Su-Valley this week, but are working hard to be successful next time.

As we look to the future, please continue to read and watch the Campus Ministry notes below.  We are working to bridge the 4 miles between us and St. Elizabeth’s and draw the two schools even closer together.  We are organizing weekly Lumen student and parent volunteer opportunities after school on Friday afternoons at St. Elizabeth’s.  Kathy Gustafson (Principal of St. Elizabeth’s) and I envision 5-6 Lumen students signing up and volunteering for a couple of hours at St. Elizabeth’s after Friday dismissal each week.  Not only will students earn credit towards their Faith in Action requirements while helping out their fellow Catholic school brothers and sisters, but parents can earn Share Hours for volunteering to drive and assisting where necessary.  We hope that you would take advantage of these scheduled opportunities to show our faith and put service into action!  I hope you have a great rest of the week and a blessed weekend!

TONIGHT-11th Grade Parent College Information Night:  We will be hosting a Junior Parent College and Graduation information night on Thursday, October 6th in room 108 at 6:30PM.  Come and get information on scholarships, testing, the application process and college searches.  Please RSVP to Mrs. Brewer (dbrewer@lumenchristiak.org) by Tuesday, October 4th.  Feel free to include any specific topics you would like to see covered!

Remind:  We will be using Remind this year for communicating announcements in the event of school closures, emergency notifications, and general school reminders.  Mrs. Estes will be adding each parent to Remind so look for a notification from Remind to arrive early next week.  At that time you may customize your settings to receive:  emails, text messages, or app notifications or all of the above.

PVO Meeting:  Please join us on Tuesday, October 11th from 6:30-7:30pm for our monthly PVO meeting.  One parent share hour is earned for attending.

School Board Meeting:  Our next School Board meeting will be held on Tuesday, October 18th at 6pm.

Student Volunteer Opportunity:  St. Elizabeth Ann Seton school is having their annual Halloween Carnival on October 28th and would appreciate help from Lumen Christi students from 5:45-9pm.  Please contact Mrs. Estes if your child is interested in this community service opportunity.

October Inservice/Conferences:  October 20th & 21st will be half days for parent/teacher conferences which will be held in the Student Room.  Please come at your convenience during the designated conference times to meet with the teachers.  If you have any questions, please call the office.

• Thursday, October 20th will follow a Friday B schedule with school dismissal at 12:20pm.  Conferences will be held on this day from 3pm-7pm.
• Friday, October 21st will follow a Friday B schedule with school dismissal at 12:20pm.  Conferences on this day will be held from 1pm-5pm.  Please keep in mind that the teachers will have their lunch break from 12:30-1pm so conferences will not start earlier than 1pm.

Campus Ministry News:

• All students  in grade 9-12 are invited to tonight’s St. Benedict Youth Group in the Upper room.
• Retreat was wonderful! Many thanks to parents, teachers, speakers, and clergy who so generously volunteered their time to make it a time of Prayer and fellowship. Special thanks to the Lumen Christi Campus Ministry Student Team who worked tireless hours to plan and implement the activities.
• Planning is underway for Friday afternoon service project opportunities for interested students. More information will follow next week!
• World Youth Day 2019 will be here before you know it.  This is a great opportunity for our Youth to gather as one with youth from all over the world.  Look for further information here in the next weeks.
• On the evenings October 12 and 15 Frank Mercadante will be speaking at Lumen Christi about Raising Faithful Kids. After experiencing a powerful conversion at seventeen, Frank could think of nothing better to give his life to than sharing with others the same Good News that so transformed his life. Frank received his B.A. in Christian Education from Wheaton College, a M.P.S. from Loyola University, Chicago. For 10 years he served as Director of Youth Ministry at St. John Neumann in St. Charles, Illinois. Since 1991 Frank has served as Executive Director of Cultivation Ministries. He is an author, speaker, and educator. Frank received the National Catholic Youth Ministry Award in Training from the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry in 2008. Frank is married to Diane, and they have six children (Sarah, Michael, Rebekah, Angela, Deborah, and Daniel).
• Beginning the evening of October 16 we will begin our Parents of Teens discussion group. More information will follow.

Peace of Christ Always!

Big A, little a Food Drive:  TOMORROW IS THE LAST DAY to collect food for Lumen’s Big A, little a’s food drive to benefit St. Benedict’s Outreach program.  Food items such as:  canned vegetables and fruits, canned soup, dry milk, cereal, oatmeal, peanut butter, jelly, pasta, rice beans, pancake mix, bread, canned meat, and canned fish will be collected from the student body and staff members from September 26th-October 7th.  On October 14th, a dress down day will be given to those who bring in a minimum of 5 items.  The canned food items should be turned into the student’s advisory teacher.

Archangel 1st Friday:  On October 7th, Lumen Christi parents will keep the Archangel Attic open later from 3-7pm.  This is a great time to stop by and check out the good deals or make a donation of items you no longer need.  Did you know that profits earned at the Archangel Attic benefit Lumen Christi?  Consider volunteering at the Attic or next time you are in, thank the volunteers who work there for their time and generosity.

University of Portland Visit:  A representative from the University of Portland will visit Lumen Christi on October 10th at 2pm in Mrs. Brewer’s classroom. Interested high school students and parents are welcome to join.

Next Scrip Order:  We will place our next Scrip order on October 14th, please have orders submitted either online or fill out an order form at the office no later than 3pm on October 14th to be included in this order.  As mentioned above, Erika Dahm, Gerianne Thorsness or Jessica Estes can answer questions about Scrip.  To learn more you may also visit:  shopwithscrip.com  Lumen Christi’s enrollment code is:  B968B67E44853

College Fair:  Seniors and Juniors are invited to attend the Anchorage College and Career Fair on Monday, October 17th.  We will be leaving Lumen at 9 AM and return by 11:30.  Transportation is by Lumen busses.  Interested students need to return their permission form to Mrs. Brewer by the end of school on October 13th.  The Fair is also open to families from 1 – 4 PM on Sunday, October 16th.  On Sunday there are also multiple college search and financial aid workshops available from 1 – 3:45 PM.

Gala:  If you shop at CARRS, they have a promotion going on where you can collect stamps to receive FREE Farberware cookware.  If you do not have a need for the stamps, please drop them off at the school office and we will collect the stamps to earn cookware which can be used in gift baskets for our Gala.

Winter Weather Reminder:   Just a reminder that as winter approaches, so does the possibility for school closures.  If the Anchorage School District (ASD) cancels school, so does Lumen Christi.  Sometimes ASD will close some schools for weather conditions but not all schools, please listen to the radio or check ASD’s website. If Sand Lake and/or Dimond cancel school, then so will Lumen Christi.

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton School Auction:  Our 33rd Annual Auction “Under the Big Top” is Saturday, November 5, 2016 at the Anchorage Marriott Downtown starting at 5:00 pm.  Individual tickets and tables to attend the event are available for purchase and we are currently accepting donations.  Donations can be dropped off at the school or picked up at your convenience.  We also have advertising space available for purchase in our auction booklet.  Thank you for your continued support of Catholic education.  If you have any questions, contact the auction office at 345-2327 or auction@akseas.com.

Link to Signup.com:  By now you have received emails from Signup.com (formerly known as Volunteer Spot) highlighting volunteer opportunities.  Below is a link where you will find all of Lumen’s current signups in one spot.

http://www.volunteerspot.com/group/151523700124?utm_source=group-badge-volunteer-green