Lumen News – 04/13/2018

Important Upcoming Dates:

• April 17th:  School Board Meeting, 6pm
• April 17th:  Archbishop Etienne Listening Session about Catholic Schools, 7pm
• April 20th & 21st:  Lumen’s Drama Production, 7pm at Grant Hall, APU Campus
• April 24th:  Science Day at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton School
• April 24th:  PVO Meeting, 7pm
• April 28th:  Junior/Senior Prom
• May 5th:  St. Benedict/Lumen Christi Spring Clean Up (Tentative)
• May 9th:  Baccalaureate Mass, 7pm
• May 10th:  Graduation, 7pm
• May 21st, 22nd, 23rd:  Finals
• May 24th & 25th:  Teacher Inservice

From the Principal:

Over this past week, we have received a lot of great news related to our recent service projects and school finances.  During Lent, our teacher-sponsored Friday lunches raised nearly $500 for the H20 Project. Thanks to Student Government’s efforts in encouraging students to abstain from sugary drinks during Lent, we added an additional $206.11 to support the digging of wells in South Sudan.  After getting a presentation from Mr. Thomas Awiapo from Catholic Relief Services (CRS), I challenged our students to raise at least $20 each for the CRS Rice Bowl. Together, our students raised over $500 to support the CRS efforts around the world. These numbers show the calling and commitment of our students and families to sacrifice and meet the needs of the poor and vulnerable (one of the seven Catholic Social Teaching principles).

At the same time we were working to raise money to give away to others, we received the good news that Lumen Christi will benefit from Reetz Foundation grant money next year.  The Reetz Foundation, established in 1977 and is named after long-time Anchorage resident and philanthropist, the late August F. Reetz. The Foundation aids and assists in the establishment, development, maintenance, promotion, growth and preservation of parochial education within the Archdiocese of Anchorage.  Although the Foundation has been dormant for many years, this year brought a solicitation of grant request proposals. After a needs assessment, Lumen submitted five grant requests that were recently approved by the Foundation. In coming weeks, we will receive $8000 in funding to support the following:

1. Campus Ministry Program:  Funding will support transportation for retreats/Catholic Schools Week Mass, support to community outreach and liturgical activities, and costs associated with grade-level and sports teams retreats next year.

2. School Board development:  Funding will support a professional facilitator to conduct strategic planning during the August board offsite.

3. CPR/1st Aid/AED/Bloodborne Pathogen training:  Funding will support training for our full time teachers and staff to receive a two year American Red Cross certification in the most current skills.

4. Science/Technology equipment:  Funding will support the purchase of wireless probeware and data collection equipment to allow our students to perform more advanced labs and increase skills for data analysis.

5. NCEA Teacher Attendance:  Funding will support the attendance of one Lumen faculty member at the annual National Catholic Educational Association conference.  The NCEA Conference is the largest private education gathering in the nation and brings together thousands of Catholic and other religious educators to exchange ideas and learn about cutting edge research related to educational methods.

We are very blessed by the Foundation’s generosity and look forward to additional opportunities to solicit grant money to improve and grow our school program.

Finally, for those have have attended our January State of the School addresses the past two years, you have heard me mention my desire to start an air rifle marksmanship program here at Lumen.  I’m proud to say that the National Rifle Association Foundation has approved my grant request to provide equipment and materials to start the program here at Lumen. The grant consists of shooting and safety equipment and materials, not money.  The list includes 8 sporter air rifles, pellets and paper targets, safety materials, and an 8-point target backstop. This will allow us to organize practice afterschool 2-3 times a week starting in the fall here at the school. My hope is that our students will be able to compete against JROTC and 4-H clubs here in Alaska as well as against rifle clubs and programs around the country virtually.  My ultimate vision is to grow a varsity program over the next 3-5 years in which we could compete against Anchorage School District high schools. I will have more and detailed information later, but I wanted to share the good news now. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask.

Sorry for the long update, but I wanted to keep all informed of the great things going on at our school.  Have a wonderful, safe, and enjoyable weekend!

Announcements:  

Lumen’s Drama Production of “And Came the Spring”:  Our play is Friday, April 20 and Saturday, April 21st at Grant Hall on APU campus, at 7:00 pm on both nights.  Tickets are $5.00 if you pay early and $7.00 at the door. Tickets go on sale on April 3rd. Tickets can be purchased from any drama student or at the front office.

Tuition Assistance for the 2018-19 SY:  For those wishing to apply for tuition assistance, please click on the following link and complete the application through Covenant Tuition Services no later than July 13, 2018.  http://cts-tuition.com/app/lumancak  Please let us know if you have any questions.

New Uniform Company-Tommy Hilfiger:  As mentioned at our State of the School Address, we have been working with Tommy Hilfiger as another school uniform option for our Lumen families.  Tommy Hilfiger is offering daily school uniforms, PE uniforms, staffwear, and some Lumen Wear. You can access the site by clicking on the following link and searching for Lumen Christi https://www.globalschoolwear.com There are a couple changes on the site that are being ironed out and are highlighted below but the site as a whole is ready to go and you may order at anytime.

• Under the “Lumen Wear” section, the embroidered logo option, “Staff” will be removed and only available under “Staffwear”.

• Under the “Lumen Wear” section, there will be an embroidered option “Lu-Mom” added soon so stay tuned.

• Under the 12th grade daily uniform section, the burgundy color sweaters are currently not available but will be soon.  It is a new color for the sweaters and will be added to the inventory for the coming school year. I will keep you posted on this once they are available.

Please let Mrs. Estes know if you have any questions while using this site.  We will no longer be using Parker Uniforms as a uniform source but we are still using Lands End.

Listening Session with Archbishop Etienne:  Archbishop of Anchorage Paul Etienne will be at St. Benedict Parish on Tuesday, April 17th, at 7pm for a “listening session” on Catholic schools in the Archdiocese.  If you want your voice heard and express your thoughts about Catholic education, please plan on attending this event in the Parish Hall. As the Archbishop has said, this is not a time for complaining or to ask questions, but rather an opportunity to hear from YOU, the parents and community members of Lumen Christi.

Calling Senior Parents!!  Graduation Slide Show:  Yearbook is putting together a slideshow for graduation with photos of the graduates. If you have any photos from either their childhood or young adulthood and would like to feature them in the slideshow, please send them to Mrs. Spillers (mspillers@lumenchristiak.org) by April 30th.

Pickle Jars Needed-Junior-Senior Prom:  Lumen’s Junior-Senior Prom will be on April 28th.  Michell Goodwin is organizing details for decorations and is in need of 8 empty pickle jars approximately the 32oz size.  We will also need volunteers to help decorate, set-up and clean-up. Please let us (or Michell Goodwin) know if you are able to help.

Italian Dinner and Auction:  All are invited to attend the next Italian feast and auction to benefit students going to World Youth Day.  It will be on Saturday, April 28th at 6PM. It will include 8 courses:

• Antipasta
• Bruschetta
• gnocchi
• stuffed mushrooms
• homemade pasta
• vegetable
• salad
• dessert

Tickets are 30 dollars, kids 6-13 are 15 dollars, 5 and under are free.  The Auction will feature both live and silent auctions, more details coming soon.  The dinner will be in the church basement at St. Benedict, 8110 Jewel Lake Road. Invite your friends and family for a night of great food and fellowship!  Let Bob McMorrow know how many tickets you want and he will set them aside for you. Tickets will be on sale after all St. Benedict’s Masses.

Calling All Photographers!: Do you have any great pictures of your students playing sports or participating in extra-curricular activities? Although our Yearbook team tries to be at as many events as possible, we can’t be everywhere. Please send any pictures you have to Mrs. Spillers, so that we can try to include them in the yearbook. E-mail: mspillers@lumenchristiak.org

ACYC 2018:  ACYC will take place from June 3-6th.  Registration opens on April 1, 2018. Click the following link for more information:  https://www.archdioceseofanchorage.org/?s=acyc&submit=Search

Campus Ministry:

All are invited to join us for Mass at 7:15 a.m. Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays in our School Chapel!

• Congratulations to Falon for entering the Catholic Church at Easter Vigil Mass.
• Please sign up for service at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton School.  Each Friday 4 students are needed to help in classrooms from 12:30-2:30.  Students please sign up in the main hallway.
• Sign up sheets for Friday service hours at The Archangel Attic can be found on the bulletin board across from the school office. Students please sign up!!
• All eligible students are invited to be trained as altar servers for our school Masses. Interested students please see Mrs. Loeffler.
• If you know of a worthy cause in need of volunteers let us know so we can get the word out!

Prayer Corner:

(prayer requests can be sent to Liz Loeffler – eloeffler@lumenchristiak.org)

Please Pray for:

• For the the repose of the souls of the Humboldt coach and hockey team and for comfort to their families.  May they rest in Christ’s loving peace.
• Our local, state, national, world, and Church leaders
• Those who are lacking adequate food and shelter
• Respect for all life

PVO News:

The Attic needs your help 5-7 pm on Fridays in April!!  The Attic is 100{87587bff62748d853b25c5c00e545c389c2cc3e9e64848ccec5036484113dbfe} run by volunteers, donates 100{87587bff62748d853b25c5c00e545c389c2cc3e9e64848ccec5036484113dbfe} of the money earned to our school and it adds up to over $100,000 a year!

ATTIC FRIDAYS:

• Help needed APRIL 13, APRIL 20 and APRIL 27th 5-7 pm shifts. Please sign up! http://signup.com/go/cVMeBzw

CONCESSIONS:

• Junior High Indoor Soccer- Help is needed this Saturday, April 14th- http://signup.com/go/kbSOjLi

Please consider taking a leadership role in 2018-19.

• PVO President (Danielle will be serving as one of the Gala Co-Chairs next year)

• PVO Secretary/Sign Up

• Special Events Concession Stand Helper

Our next and Final PVO Meeting of the year will be Tuesday, April 24th at 7pm. (Please note the date change.)  Please join us to look back over this school year and start planning for the 2018-19 school year.

If you have any questions or can help with any of these roles please contact Danielle- pvo@lumenchristiak.org or 227-7080.