Lumen News – March 31st, 2022

Important Upcoming Dates:

Mar 30-Apr 1: COGNIA Reaccreditation Virtual Review
Apr 1: All School Mass at 7:45am (Archbishop Bellisario celebrating) Apr 1: Lenten Soup Lunch (All Grades)
Apr 1: NHS Spring Cleanup, 1-3pm
Apr 4: Stations of the Cross (7th Period)
Apr 5: Lenten Reconciliation Service (Junior High–7th Period)
Apr 6: Lenten Reconciliation Service (High School–7th Period)
Apr 8: Lenten Soup Lunch (All Grades)
Apr 12: Close Up Informational Meeting, 7pm
Apr 14: Stations of the Cross (7th Period)(Holy Thursday)
Apr 15: Good Friday (No School)
Apr 15: Good Friday Faith Walk (8am from St. Benedict)
Apr 17: Easter Sunday! CHRIST IS RISEN!
Apr 18: Easter Monday (No School)
Apr 23: Spring Speaker Series (see details below)
Apr 25: 4th Quarter Principal-Parent Forum (7pm, plus virtual option)
Apr 29: Last School Mass with Seniors @ 7:45am
Apr 30: High School Prom, 8-11pm (Viking Hall)
May 4: Class of 2022 Baccalaureate Mass, 7pm
May 5: Class of 2022 Graduation Ceremony, 7pm
May 17-19: Finals
May 19: Last Day of Classes
May 26-28: Garage Sale (Set Up 26th, Sale 27th-28th)

Principal’s Update:

Last Friday, our Class of 2025 freshmen spent the afternoon on retreat focusing on the “Last Seven Words of Jesus Christ.” They heard from a series of guest speakers from our Catholic community and reflected on sacrifice, understanding, compassion, endurance, and justice. As they reflected on Jesus’ last words before He died, students were called to consider some of the following questions:

“Where in my life do I need to give or ask for forgiveness?”
“What is something good I see in someone I struggle to care about?”
“When have I seen someone who needed help, needed a friend, or felt unloved? How could I have helped?”
“What things do I hold on to that keep me from surrendering to God?”
“How can I lay myself down for others?”

As I continue my Lenten journey, I intend to reflect on these questions as well. The retreat wrapped up with the students and many 9th grade families joining St. Benedict parishioners at the Lenten fish fry followed by Stations of the Cross. It was so awesome to see our freshman class volunteer to read many of the stations and it was even better watching our students showcase the Stations of the Cross that we do as a school community each Monday. Thank you to all the families who took time out of your busy schedules to join us and many thanks to Mrs. Loeffler, Mrs. Guzman, and our other retreat facilitators for leading our students!

This week has flown by! We are on day two of our Cognia accreditation review visit and things seem to be going very well. Thank you to the parents and students and School Board members who participated in the interviews over the past two days. We look forward to receiving the preliminary results from the review team on Friday morning, and I will try to share what I can with our community as soon as possible.

Tomorrow, we welcome the Archdiocese of Anchorage Juneau Archbishop Andrew Bellisario to our all-school Friday Mass at 7:45am. I’ve been consistently pleased with how our students dress up for our school Masses and tomorrow is no exception–please make sure your son or daughter looks their “Sunday best”!

I hope you have a blessed and safe weekend!

Campus Ministry:

National Honor Society (NHS)

Front Office News:

1. NHS is hosting a grounds clean-up THIS FRIDAY, April 1st from 1pm-3pm to help clean up trash, snow, and gravel from school grounds. NHS is looking for volunteers who will earn Faith in Action hours as well as tools that can assist in clean up.

2. Spring canned food drive. Please help support the NHS. They are collecting food staples that are desperately needed currently at the Food Bank. We are asking for a minimum of 10 food items for donation. Critical items include canned soups, macaroni and cheese, pasta and sauce, as well as canned vegetables and fruits. Participating students will earn a spirit day (those that donate before April 4th will receive a casual day instead).

Good Friday Faith Walk from St. Benedict’s Parish to Downtown

The Good Friday Faith Walk will depart from the St. Benedict at 8am on April 15th to meet at Pope John Paul II Memorial (Delaney Parkstrip) at 10:00 AM.
Following will be an opportunity to watch The Passion of the Christ film.
Stay tuned for further details.

Hot Lunch

As the 2021-22 school year comes to an end, our Hot Lunch meals will no longer be charged to your Smart Tuition account after April 13th. The remaining Hot Lunches will be CASH ONLY ($5).

April: 20th, 27th May: 11th, 18th

Spring Speaker Series!!!

Continuing the fall success of our annual Speaker Series, our illustrious School Board has planned and organized the next event scheduled for Saturday, April 23rd at 7pm here at Lumen. Details are below and posted on our Facebook page. We hope you will come join us in this social, informative, and family event in a faith-filled environment. Parents, please note the reception afterward sponsored by Matanuska Brewing!!!!

REQUIRED Parent Share Hour Opportunities

As we look ahead to the end of the year, we know some families are still short on Share Hours. Know that we’ll have a couple of excellent opportunities coming up to help you meet those requirements!

1. High School Prom set up, chaperoning and clean up (Saturday, 4/30.) We anticipate needing 4-5 parents for decorating during the day (noon-8pm); 3-4 for chaperoning during the dance (8-11pm); and 5-6 for clean up afterward. Click here to sign up: https://signup.com/go/XamiDmu

2. Annual GARAGE SALE! What was once just an idea to raise a few bucks has become a large, annual 2 day event that brings in anywhere from $6,000 – $8,000!! This year we’re planning on holding the event, Friday May 27th and Saturday, May 28th. This is a labor intensive event and even though school will officially be out, volunteer hours will count towards this year’s Share Hour requirement. We anticipate needing help on Thursday afternoon, May 26th setting up tables and sorting donations; Friday and Saturday helping keep tables organized and new items placed.

Donations: start your own spring cleaning at home! We will gladly be accepting items that are in considerably good condition starting Monday, May 23rd – NO EARLY DONATION DROP OFFS due to a series of events happening on campus.

Click here to volunteer: https://signup.com/go/syUzaHu

3. It’s not on the calendar yet, but we anticipate there being a St. Benedict’s spring clean up event; in fact most parishes around town have one. If you’re a parishioner or congregant at another Catholic Church or House of Worship, know that serving in that capacity is another fantastic way to earn hours.

4. Finally, while it’s going to be a fantastic event in its own right, Principal Ross is offering Share Hours for attendance at the Spring Speaker Series (info above.) Come and support your school community, deepen your faith and have a cool beer afterwards (thank you Matanuska Brewing for your generosity in hosting the post-talk reception!)

If you’re short on hours, look for opportunities within your own ‘sphere of influence.’ Do you have an hour to help at Brother Francis Shelter or Clare House? Can you donate supplies for Friday Sandwich-Making with Mrs. Loeffler? Can you pick up trash as part of the City Wide Clean Up beginning on May 1st? Thank you for working to fulfill not just your hours, but to support our community in so many ways.

School Crest Design Contest

Awesome opportunity! Design a crest that best represents our school! The winner will be selected by a committee of faculty, students, and parents, after input via survey from the Lumen community. The winner will receive a $100 gift card of his/her choice.

Deadline for submissions is Holy Thursday, April 14, 2022 by 1pm. Click here for more information: School Crest Design Challenge.pdf

Next school year’s calendar is out! Click here to see!

Lumen Students To Visit Washington D.C- 2023 Close Up

In really exciting news, a select group of Lumen high school students will have an opportunity to visit Washington D.C. next April 2023! Close Up Foundation works with students to develop skills needed for citizenship development while introducing students to memorials, museums and monuments around our nation’s capital. Students will be expected to fundraise or pay their way and are welcome to use miles or companion fares to help with travel expenses. A sample schedule is attached below. Letters to students were sent home to all interested incoming 9th-11th graders on Tuesday. An informational meeting will be held in the Lumen Library on April 12th at 7:00 p.m. If you are interested or have additional questions, please contact Mrs. Spillers at mspillers@lumenchristiak.org for more information.

Space is limited to twenty students. For more information click here!

https://www.instagram.com/lchs_student/

@LCHS_STUDENT