Shane Locke, Author at Lumen Christi High School

Lumen News – September 17, 2020

Important Upcoming Dates:

Sept 18: School Mass, 9am (10th grade leads)
Sept 21-24: Spirit Week (see details below)
Sept 23: Principal/Parent Virtual Meeting, 7-8p
Sept 25: High School Retreat – see details below in Campus Ministry
Oct 14: High School PSAT (all 9th, 10th & 11th graders)
Oct 15-17: Girls Volleyball “Spiketacular” Tournament at Lumen (Tentative)
Oct 17: End of First Quarter
Oct 21-22: Parent Teacher Conferences, 1-3pm and 4-7pm
Oct 23: INSERVICE (No School)

Principal’s Update:

Our days and weeks seem to be flying by! It is hard to believe that our high school retreat is upon us and we are turning our calendar towards October already.

I want to thank our Campus Minister, Mrs. Loeffler, for organizing and coordinating what promises to be an amazing high school retreat next Friday, September 25th from 8am-2pm at the Holy Spirit Retreat Center. Our Class of 2021 seniors have been working hard to be group leaders for our freshmen, sophomores and juniors. We will start the retreat with an all high school Mass at 8am in the Resurrection Chapel, followed by the Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. Our students will hear different presentations during the morning from Mrs. Theresa Austin, Mr. Bob McMorrow, and Mr. Mike Sylvester. All groups will have an opportunity for Adoration in the Chapel as well. Following the repose of the Blessed Sacrament and closing comments from Mr. Rudy Poglitsch, our students will gather around grade level “bonfires” (fire pits) to eat a pizza lunch and reflect on the day. Given the challenges we face with COVID, we feel this is the best way to combine two time-honored, September traditions at Lumen: our high school retreat and the Homecoming bonfire. As you can imagine, we are simply unable to offer a third Lumen tradition–the Homecoming dance–this year, but will do our best to continue planning for one later in the year.

Our retreat will incorporate all of the health and safety protocols we have in place daily at Lumen, including the mask requirement, social distancing, and frequent sanitization. Further, students will remain with their grade throughout the day, with the exception of the all high school Mass at 8am and the closing ceremony. During these two times, students will be individually separated by at least one chair space and grades will be physically separated by seating section. We are looking forward to this opportunity to gather our high school students together in our faith.

So what do the junior high students do on Friday, Mr. Ross? Good question! Instead of sitting in academic classes, our 7th and 8th grade students will attend Mass here in the school (in Advisory classrooms) and do a mixture of fun, spirit, and service activities until dismissal at 12:30pm.

A special shout out to Class of 2022 Junior Brenden Gregory who is the starting quarterback for the varsity Dimond football team. Because of our unique co-op sports agreement with ASD signed last spring, our high school students can play public school sports if we do not offer them. Since we have yet to build an astroturf stadium behind our gym, Brenden is representing Lumen football as a Dimond Lynx this year. Attendance at his games is very limited, but I hope you will keep him in your thoughts and prayers. In future Updates, I plan to highlight our other student athletes who attend Lumen during the day and play for ASD in the afternoon, so stay tuned!

Finally, I hope everyone will join me for my next Principal-Parent Forum on Wednesday, Sept 23 from 7-8pm, where I plan to share some thoughts about our fall sports program, Parent-Teacher Conferences, and our October and November schedules. Please have a blessed and safe weekend!

Campus Ministry:

The Campus Ministry Office is located in the school library, students and parents are always welcome to stop by!

Virtue of the Week: Leadership

Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart. 1Peter 1:22-23

Today at 2:00 p.m. The Most Reverend Andrew E. Bellisario CM will be installed, and the Archdiocese of Anchorage-Juneau will be inaugurated. You can log in at www.Archdioceseofanchorage.org or Https:/vimeo.com452676808 if you would like to be present via technology for the events. This is a great opportunity to experience this beautiful history-making service with your families. In addition, students in several grade levels are able to earn extra credit in Theology by viewing the event and submitting a 250 word reflection on the events of the service.
I (Mrs. Loeffler) am available in the Campus Ministry office (located in the library) for student and parent support. Email or drop by any time. If I am in class, leave a note and I will get back to you within 24 hours.
Our High School retreat is Friday, September 25th and the theme is “Spiritual Warfare.” We’ll be at the Holy Spirit Center Center located at 10980 Hillside Drive, off of O’Malley. Students should be dropped off at the Holy Spirit Center by 7:50 a.m. and picked up at 2 p.m. Please contact me at eloeffler@lumenchristiak.org or let the Office know if you need help getting your student to the Holy Spirit Center. The retreat is designed to meet all COVID health and safety protocols.
We will be holding an altar server training/refresher session soon. Those interested in serving this year please email or see Mrs. Loeffler.
We are working to plan service opportunities here in our gym for students and families. If you know of a need we can meet, please email me at eloeffler@lumenchristiak.org
Birthday blessings this week to Lane Crosby, Liv Crosby, Nicholas Boring, and Tate Hart!

Prayer Spot

Please remember the following in your prayers this week:

The intentions of our Lumen families
That our country will unite in peace and justice
For healing of all infected with COVID – 19
An end to the pandemic
All first responders

If you would like special intentions listed in Lumen News and Prayer Book of Intentions send them directly to Mrs. Loeffler.

Archangel Sports

Don’t forget there’s soccer skill building all next week at Kincaid Park on the turf field from 1:30-3p. Monday & Wednesday = High School; Tuesday & Thursday = Jr. High. Give a shout to Coach Warren athletics@lumenchristiak.org if you have any questions.

Front Office News:

Spirit Week Sept 21-24

To build school spirit for our high schoolers before they go on retreat next Friday the 25th, our Student Leadership Board (SLB) is announcing a dress down/dress up Spirit Week. Daily themes are:

Monday: Black/White or Multi-Color – bust out your best monochrome or your wildest colors

Tuesday: Disney Day (dress up as your favorite Disney character- includes Disney, Pixar, Marvel & Star Wars)

Wednesday: Celebrity Day (dress up as your favorite celebrity–can include sports)

Thursday: Lumen Pride Day (Lumen Spirit Wear! All those new hoodies you ordered from TNT can finally be worn all day long with your most comfy jeans or khakis (no rips or holes in the jeans, no sweats or leggings…gotta save those for a true dress down day.)

Friday: High schoolers will be off campus on retreat, Jr. High can wear their Spirit Wear again for a second day.

Call for Pics

Our 2020-21 Yearbook is now under construction and we’d love to include candid shots of your students taken anytime in between spring break of last year (when we all went into ‘hunker down mode’) and now. Spring, summer, early fall – distance learning, summer fun, early fall activities or non-Lumen sports that your students are involved with – please forward those on to yearbook@lumenchristiak.org. It’s always fun to see what kids are up to when they’re not at school, so scroll back through all of your phone pics and send some on.

Senior Photos

Senior parents – deadline for turning in your senior’s pictures for the yearbook is Friday, October 30th. If you haven’t already scheduled those to be taken, time’s’a’wastin. Please be sure and send those digitally to yearbook@lumenchristiak.org

Mask ICK Factor

For those of you whose kids are wearing re-usable/washable masks: Please make sure they’re dropping those things in the washing machine routinely. Some of them are getting a little…..funky… and…smelly. If the Covid doesn’t get’em, their own germs will. Thanks for the help.

Drama Production

I know it’s only September, but now is when the spring play is selected by our drama coach, Mrs. Stacy Robertson. The Drama Club is open to high school students only (sorry Jr. High), please have your 9th – 12th grade students pop into the Office and sign up if they want to be a cast or crew member this year.

Merch for Sale

We have merch for sale in the Office – pink & grey headbands and 3 styles of stickers. Headbands are $15 each (just a few pink ones left); big stickers are $3 each or a set of both for $5; small stickers are $2. Perfect for laptops & hydroflasks! (The stickers anyway. Headbands, not so much. Those are much better on your noggin.)

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Lumen News – September 10, 2020

Important Upcoming Dates:

Tomorrow! Friday – Mass Day….wear Mass uniforms please.
Wednesday, Sept 23: Principal/Parent Virtual Meeting, 7-8p
Friday, Sept 25: High School Retreat

Principal’s Update:

One of the biggest highlights of my day is greeting each student every morning at the door (while taking their temperature, of course)! While I get the typical teenage response of “I’m tired, Mr. Ross” from a few of them after being asked “How are you doing today?,” I’m proud that our students are in good spirits and seem excited to be in school in person with their friends and our teachers. After finishing up nearly a month of school, we are all blessed to have this opportunity to learn and educate inside our school building.

Last week was a whirlwind of activities in our first full week of school, but stands as a testament of the goodness happening each and every day here at Lumen. On Thursday, the seven members of our Senior class went on retreat at the Holy Spirit Center on the Hillside and spent the day reflecting on Spiritual Warfare, what it means to be a Servant Leader, and how personalities and temperaments can affect group dynamics. We ended the day walking the Stations of the Cross and reflecting on Christ’s sacrifice for all of us.

Friday started with Mr. Scott Gross from Alaska’s News Source coming in to do a news story about our back to school successes. You can see his story here: (https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/careersandeducation/lumen-christi-students-complete-first-full-week-of-in-school-classes/ar-BB18IQXp). Later, we celebrated our Back to School “Mass of the Holy Spirit” at 9am. We had representatives from each high school class physically attend Mass, while our Class of 2021 Seniors led the school with readings and liturgical support. Due to capacity limitations in the church, the remainder of our school watched the live streamed Mass from their Advisory classrooms. Following the Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, our student body processed behind the Paschal Candle to our school entryway, where we transferred the Light of Christ into our hallway. Students were given an opportunity to receive Communion, and Father Tom went around the school and blessed each classroom. This is a unique, annual tradition that I am so grateful we were able to do despite the challenges of COVID.

I hope you have a great and safe weekend!

Campus Ministry:

The Campus Ministry Office is located in the school library, students and parents are always welcome to stop by!

Virtue of the Week: Leadership

Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant. Matthew 20:26

Despite COVID – 19 restrictions our Senior class had a safe, prayerful and productive retreat last Friday, great job seniors!
Our High School retreat is Friday, September 25th. Most parents signed the permission slip at registration, however if your child’s is not on file we will send one home on Monday, September 14. Our retreat is designed to meet all COVID health and safety protocols.
Thanks to Karin Helgesen who joined us for last Friday’s Mass to play guitar and transfer the Light of Christ to our class of 2021. It was great to have you back, Karin.
We will be holding an altar server training/refresher session soon. Those interested in serving this year please email or see Mrs. Loeffler.
We are working to plan service opportunities here in our gym for students and families. If you know a need we can meet here

Prayer Spot

Please remember the following in your prayers this week:

The intentions of our Lumen families
That our country will unite in peace and justice
For healing of all infected with COVID – 19
An end to the pandemic
All first responders
Those who lost their lives on 9-11-1991

If you would like special intentions listed in Lumen News and Prayer Book of Intentions send them directly to Mrs. Loeffler.

Front Office News:

Next week we’ll continue operating in YELLOW (7:45a-12:30p, all days on campus).

Google Classrooms

If your student ever forgets how to get into their virtual/Google classroom – or you want to take a stroll and look at upcoming assignments and homework – I’ve attached a cheat sheet to help you both out. This has also been posted onto the school’s website at https://lumenchristiak.org/.

Dimond High School/Lumen Opportunity

As many of you know, we have an agreement with the Alaska Schools Activity Association which allows Lumen students to participate in sports that we don’t offer e.g., football, swimming, hockey, at their home-zoned public school.

We currently have a Lumen student playing football for Dimond, and the Dimond team is recruiting for a team manager. Their primary duty at this point will be to film all the practices and games. If you think your student might be interested, email me at lchs@lumenchristiak.org for Dimond contact information.

Picture Day Wrap Up

If your kiddo forgot to turn in their picture day order form, know that you can now order on-line, simply click here: https://www.photoreflect.com/store/Photos.aspx?e=10589922 Search for your student by first and last name.

Fun factoids – you can request a cropped head shot if you want one of those. Just order the size you want as is, but write in the notes section: “Head Shot” and you’ll get a close up pic.

Class pictures are also available – pull up the grade you’re interested in by entering the grade number as both the first and last name.

Wacky Stuff Needed

Mrs. Brewer’s wild animal fur samples for her Forensic Science Class are nearly depleted. If you have any mounts that you could comb a few hairs from to share, that would be fabulous. Send anything you’ve got in a ziploc bag labeled by type of animal. Approximate location and date of kill would be a huge bonus. Send them to school with your student or drop them at the Front Desk.

Debate Team

“Don’t raise your voice, improve your argument.” -Bishop Desmond Tutu

Debate starts next week and will be meeting every Tuesday & Thursday from 1p-2p. Last year we had a team who made it to the State Tournament in Juneau – have your student join in this year and learn to critically think on their feet and argue with logic! Email the Debate Coach Mrs. Kelli Reed at kreed@lumenchristiak.org for more information.

Extra Masks

Make sure your student has an extra mask or two to throw into their Advisory Tote – I do have extras at the Front Desk but my supply is diminishing rapidly!

Enjoy the sun – have a good Friday and great weekend!

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Lumen News – September 3, 2020

Important Upcoming Dates:

Tomorrow!! – Friday, Sept 4th: Virtual Back to School Mass, 9a – see below for details!
Monday, September 7th: Labor Day – No School
Tuesday, September 8th: School Picture Day

Principal’s Update:

Well, our first full week of school is almost complete! Again, we appreciate all the parents and guardians and students who are self-screening before coming to school and staying home if warranted. As cold and flu season sets in, this will be even more important to keep our community safe and sound.

This week, the seven members of our Class of 2021 are on retreat at the Holy Spirit Retreat Center. The theme is Servant Leadership and Spiritual Warfare. Although we could not go out to St. Therese’s Camp in Wasilla for an overnight as per our tradition, our Campus Minister, Mrs. Liz Loeffler, has scheduled a deeply thoughtful, reflective, and spiritual event for our Senior class. Tomorrow–Friday–they will represent the school at our “Back to School” Mass and process the Light of Christ into our building (see details below). This a beautiful and moving annual event that we are excited to be able to do, despite the school year already starting. Even though most of our students will be watching the Mass from their Advisory classroom, tomorrow is still a Mass day, so we expect all our students to “dress up” with their oxford shirt, Lumen tie, and dress shoes.

We will also welcome Mr. Scott Gross, a local reporter from CBS5, who will be with us to do a story on how our first couple of weeks has gone. I will let everyone know when we can expect his story to air.

There is no school on Monday, and we look forward to welcoming everyone back on Tuesday. Start and end times for next week are the same, but we have modified our class meeting schedule to ensure all academic classes get sufficient classroom time. Please see just below for class meeting days.

On behalf of my family and the school staff, we wish everyone a blessed, safe, and wonderful Labor Day weekend.

Front Office News:

Next week the school will be operating in YELLOW (7:45a-12:30p, all days on campus).

Schedule for Next Week:

Monday: No School – Labor Day

Tuesday: Periods 1, 3, 5

Wednesday: Periods 2, 4, 6

Thursday: Periods 1, 3, 5

Friday: Periods 2, 4, 6 (with Mass at 9am – students need to be in their button down shirts and ties. And pants. Don’t forget the pants. Or a skirt.)

Back to School Mass – TOMORROW:

For new families: A ‘Back to School Mass” is how we kick off the ‘faith’ side of our year each fall. This year will be a bit different of course since we all can’t be in the church together, but with a combination of livestreaming and then Fr. Tom bringing the Eucharist (Holy Communion) back to the school, it will still be awesome.

Following the distribution of the Eucharist, Fr. Tom will bless individual classrooms, per tradition. While we normally encourage all parents to join us for this celebration, this year we invite you to log in to the St. Benedict’s Facebook Page to watch Mass live with us (you don’t need a FB account to watch); and then watch the school’s FB page for pictures of the “Light of Christ” candle procession (another annual tradition) and the classroom blessings!

Archangel Attic:

Students are welcome to begin volunteering at the Archangel Attic on Fridays after school. This is a great way for them to earn their “Faith in Action” hours and help the school while they’re at it. There are always 2 adults present who are there to keep them busy and on track; up to 3 students can sign up for the 12:30-2:30p shift. Have your student stop by the Office if they have questions or want to sign up.

School Picture Day:

School photos will be taken on Tuesday, September 8th. Order forms went home last week, if you suspect that form is still wadded in the bottom of your student’s backpack and you want to order items, contact Fitzgerald Photo: http://fitzgeraldphotos.com/pre-order-schools-pictures/ Students are welcome to wear their polo shirts since it’s a Monday, or if you want them looking fancy – make them dress up with their shirt and tie.

Have a great Labor Day Weekend!

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Lumen News – August 28, 2020

Important Upcoming Dates:

Friday, September 4th: Virtual Back to School Mass, 9a – see below for details
Monday, September 7th: Labor Day – No School
Tuesday, September 8th: School Picture Day

Next Week’s Schedule:

Next Week the school will be YELLOW mode.

Thank you to everyone who called in to listen, ask questions and provide feedback at last night’s Principal/Parent Forum. After considering the input from all of you, our teachers and students, we have decided to adopt a new “Academically Focused” or “Condensed” Yellow schedule.

This wasn’t a decision made lightly and we understand that a 12:30 dismissal time may be challenging for some families. If you are one of them, please let either Mr. Ross or Ms. Gore at the Front Desk know – we have had several families offer to help drive other students and are committed to finding ways to make it work for our whole community.

A copy of the new schedule is included here, but important points moving forward into next week:

Students are on campus Monday – Friday, 7:45a – 12:30p.
Both the Eagle River/St. Andrews and South Side/St. Elizabeth Ann Seton busses will continue running on the same schedule that they’ve been on the past two weeks.
Teachers will have virtual Office Hours after school up and will post specific days and hours in their Google Classrooms by the end of .
Students are encouraged to bring snacks and water bottles to school. For students (mainly high school) who are moving between classrooms, they shouldn’t leave their snacks in their Advisory Room tote, but keep them in their backpacks which they are allowed to carry between classrooms. This way, no matter what class they are in, as long as they have their backpack they have their snacks and can take them outside on mask breaks to eat.

We have a new water bottle filler in the hallway – and according to its counter, we’ve already kept a whopping 24 plastic bottles out of a landfill by refilling student containers with it! It’s absolutely fine to drink water in class, students can quickly remove their mask, take a drink and remask up. We’re also purchasing paper straws for each classroom so students can use those if they choose. Ms. Gore in the Front Office uses a straw and swears by it.

This new schedule will be posted to the school’s website on Monday, with paper copies available in the Office if you want to have one for your refrigerator.

YELLOW BELL SCHEDULE:
(All Students on campus 5 days a week; 12:30p Dismissal) “Covid Act Now” Positive Test Rate = 1.5% – 2.9%

School Announcements:

Back to School Mass:

Like so many things, Covid sidelined our traditional “Back to School” Mass usually celebrated the first Thursday we are all back together. Our new “Condensed” Yellow schedule allows us to celebrate Mass on Fridays, with that, our traditional Back to School Mass has been scheduled for next Friday, September 4th. Mass will be celebrated on-line in classrooms for all students with the exception of our Senior Class and 1-2 select underclassmen who will be present in the church and serving in different roles (lector, altar server, etc.) as appropriate. Once Mass concludes, the Seniors will process with the “Light of Christ” candle (per tradition) down to the school. Fr. Tom will also transport the Eucharist for distribution to students who wish to receive. Following the distribution of the Eucharist, Fr. Tom will bless individual classrooms, also per tradition. While we normally encourage all parents to join us in person for our Back to School Mass, this year we extend the invitation to attend mass virtually, and then watch for pictures on our FaceBook page of the “Light of Christ” candle procession and classroom blessings.

School Picture Day:

School photos will be taken on Tuesday, September 8th. An order form is attached below, and a paper copy will come home with your student next week. If you want to pre-order prior to the 8th – click here: http://fitzgeraldphotos.com/pre-order-schools-pictures/

Have a great weekend. Hopefully the weather will hold – fingers crossed!

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Lumen News – August 20, 2020

Friday, August 21st Information:

Even though students are at home tomorrow, Friday, August 20th, they are still expected to sign into all of their classes, following this schedule:

8a = 1st period
9a = 2nd period
10a = 3rd period
11a = 4th period
*lunch break*
12:30p = 5th period
1:30 = 6th period

Next Week’s Schedule:

Next Week the school will be in ORANGE mode.

See below in the Principal’s Update for more information on this.

Orange = on campus Monday-Thursday 7:45a – 12:30p, with Friday Mass and Advisory at home. Questions? Check here: https://lumenchristiak.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/2020-21-Bell-Schedule-1.pdf

There will be bus service to/from Eagle River/East Side and St. Elizabeth’s/South Side every day next week, except Friday when students are at home. Click here if you have questions: https://lumenchristiak.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Bus-Schedules.pdf

Principal’s Update:

Happy Thursday Lumen Families,

What a wonderful first week this has been! Our students’ and teachers’ smiles shone brightly even behind the masks! We all agreed it is such a blessing to see students again in our hallways and classrooms. From veterans to new, there is a spirit of cooperation, excitement, excellence, and safety among our student body.

This week, we deeply appreciate your flexibility in allowing us to orient our junior high school students to their classrooms and to our health and safety protocols over two days, and then doing the same with the high schoolers later in the week. This has given our teachers and staff some much needed time and, most importantly, space to observe, orient, decide and act on revisions, modifications, and improvements to our plan. While we had to adjust a few things, our safe return plan as written over the summer is working in our building.

The next phase is to integrate the entire school in the building at one time. This will happen on Monday, August 24th. To give us further time and space to do so safely, I am setting our operating status as ORANGE next week. Although the current positive test rate in the Municipality could allow us to open at YELLOW, in consultation with our school staff, we would like to take at least one more week to ease into the school year.

This may be disappointing news for some. While I know that many families would like their son or daughter to attend a full day of school right away, I ask for your continued patience and prayers. As stated consistently from the beginning of the planning process, the safety of our staff, students and families is our highest priority.

So just like driving a new car, I feel this school year needs a break-in period. After a great first week, I believe we are driving at about 20-25 miles per hour. Things are looking good and steady and students are doing the right thing. Adding all students together next week will increase our speed to 40-45 miles per hour. I’d like to see how the school handles at that speed without further adding the speed of a full school day and a lunch period. I have no doubt we will learn more next week that will help us confirm and validate our procedures going forward.

School Announcements:

COVID Crazy:

Know that as we adjust to operating in Covid Crazy mode, we may identify new needs around the school. One that came up this week:

Morning Temperature Taker: Mr. Ross and/or other staff have been doing this and will continue to do so, but if you’re organized early and want to knock out 30 minutes of Share Hour time in the morning – this is an easy job, plus you get to learn the name of every student at Lumen! 7:15a – 7:45a, just point & click the thermometer to make sure everyone’s under 100.0. This is not an every day commitment, you select what day(s) will work for you. Contact Anne at the Front Desk if you’re interested in flexing your medical muscle.

REMIND:

New families: within a few days you’ll be getting a text from “Remind” which is the online text system we use to communicate with parents. Don’t be alarmed, it’s not spam!

PowerSchool:

New families – if you’re having trouble logging in to PowerSchool (the Lumen equivalent to ASD’s Zangle), make sure you’re starting at this point: Ps.lumenchristiak.com otherwise you’ll get loads of error messages. Your Parent PowerSchool login was on your student’s schedule that you received at registration and is different from your student’s PS login. Contact Anne at Front Desk if you’re having difficulties.

School Picture Day:

School photos will be taken on Tuesday, September 8th and a paper copy will come home with your student next week. If you want to pre-order prior to the 8th – click here: http://fitzgeraldphotos.com/pre-order-schools-pictures/

Senior Portraits:

Senior Portraits are due on Wednesday, October 21st, please submit your digital files to arlson@lumenchristiak.org.

Thanks for a great first week everyone! Don’t forget to turn in your Covid School Waiver Forms!