What’s recently happened?
As winter approaches at La Lumiere School (La Lu), so have all of the fun winter festivities. With traditions like Thanksgiving Dinner and Bookstore Basketball coming to a close, the basketball season is busy as ever.
On November 21, La Lu hosted its annual Thanksgiving Dinner in the Moore House. Ran by Hospitality Prefect Tobin Busch, the dinner was a smashing success with the help of all the prefects.
“Thanksgiving dinner and Christmas dinner are two very fun and traditional events hosted at La Lu. Not only is it a way to celebrate the holiday season at school, but it also allows us to build our community together through a dinner meal with faculty, day students, and boarders from our community,” Busch said.
In addition to Thanksgiving dinner, the prefects also helped with a service opportunity outside of La Lu. Together, some of the prefects and other students alike participated in the Michigan City Police Department’s Shop with our Cop’ event. On December 2, the students went to the Walmart in Michigan City and helped members of the Share Foundation, Social Learning Institute, and Michigan City High School Special Education to assist them with getting items on their lists. The opportunity gave the Lakers a way to help with the community at large, while making enjoyable memories together.
The 32nd annual Bookstore Basketball season will come to a close at the end of the first semester, leaving one triumphant champion who will be crowned over the 28 competitive teams. Each Thursday, the teams face off and as teams lose, they are eliminated from the tournament leaving less teams each week.
The basketball season has continued on through the late fall and early winter, and has been exciting as ever! The Varsity National basketball team has recently begun its travels that will happen around the month of December and will conclude at the beginning of January for the fourth annual La Porte Invitational at the Civic Auditorium.
What’s coming up?
As Thanksgiving dinner passes, the prefects look forward to putting on another dinner, the Christmas dinner. Unlike Thanksgiving dinner, Christmas dinner is for all students - day and boarding alike - and serves as an opportunity to celebrate the semester with friends before everyone leaves for winter break.
Every year, the prefects do a candy cane sale to raise money for gifts for the faculty children. However, the prefects don’t give the gifts to the kids, Santa makes an appearance at the fieldhouse for the kids!
With the La Porte Invitational closely approaching, the Lakers are preparing for the busiest time of the year. The La Porte Invitational is one of the best new La Lu traditions that is ever exciting for the newest Lakers.
“It's such a cool experience to have your high school host one of the biggest basketball tournaments right here in La Porte,” Junior Erin Morrison said. “The combination of the stars showing up, and being on ESPN, the student section is crazy.”
The La Porte Invitational will take place from Thursday, January 9 through Saturday, January 11 and will feature 27 of ESPN’s top ranked recruits- three of which attend La Lu. La Lu will open the tournament playing Sunrise Christian Academy on January 9 at 4 p.m. and will continue the weekend playing Bella Vista College Preparatory Academy and Brewster Academy on January 10 and 11 respectively.
Following the La Porte Invitational, the Lakers will start its second semester on January 13.
Staff spotlight:
Coach Pat Holmes is the varsity national head coach at La Lu but before that, he served as the assistant coach as well as the associate athletic director. Holmes has been a part of the La Lu community since 2014 and has been the head coach of the Varsity National team since 2017.
Holmes is originally from the area, growing up in South Bend and gaining his undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame. At Notre Dame, Holmes gained his bachelor’s degree in sociology and furthered his education at Florida State University where he earned his master’s degree in sports management.
Beyond coaching on the court, Holmes loves the tight-knit community that La Lu has curated both on the court, in dorms, and in the classroom.
“La Lu has a very familial feel to it and prioritizes relationships amongst faculty and students. It is a very trusting and open community that allows people to grow and develop into the best versions of themselves,” Holmes said.
Becoming a high school basketball coach was not always the plan for Holmes however. Growing up, he always thought he would become a college basketball coach, but when the opportunity presented itself at La Lu, he went for it and hasn’t looked back.
“Since high school I always knew I wanted to coach basketball. In college I was set on being a college basketball coach, but when an opportunity presented itself to coach at La Lu I jumped at the opportunity, and I am extremely grateful that I did,” Holmes said.
Holmes is not the only person in his family a part of the La Lu community, however. Holmes’ wife, Torie Jaques, is the Assistant Director of Advancement.
Student spotlight:
Danny Murray is a senior boarding student from Deer Park, New York and has attended La Lu since his sophomore year. While at La Lu, Murray has immersed himself in a variety of activities such as Fishing Club and Board Games Club to sports broadcasting. In addition, Murray is a standout member and leader of the Varsity National Basketball team.
Murray has also come back to La Lu over many summers to be a part of the summer basketball camps. The summer basketball camps provide kids from the area surrounding La Lu a chance to experience what athletics are like as a Laker. These camps also help kids improve their basketball skills while playing alongside the stars they watch on the court.
Balancing academics with the demands of being on one of the highest nationally ranked basketball teams is no easy task. Murray has involved himself in La Lu beyond the basketball team in many ways.
Murray also plays an integral role in his heads cup team. In this role, Murray works to provide a teamwork camaraderie and bring energy to the team. Heads cup works to foster friendships and bring teamwork to the community, which is one of Murray's favorite parts of La Lu.
“Since I came to La Lu, I have made so many friends from places I would never have imagined and it's through this great community that I have learned so much about them and their journeys that I would have never learned anywhere else,” Murray said.
Murray’s time at La Lu shows the dedication to the community that surrounds him. Together, on the court, during school traditions, and building meaningful relationships, Murray has shown what it truly means to be involved in the community as a Laker.