Tuesday, March 9, 2010
The next cycle of treatments is going to cause me to be away from school for several weeks, so this week has included lots of wrap up meetings and contingency planning.
At our Child Service Team meeting all the department heads went around the table to give updates – School, Residential, Clinical, Pastoral Care, High School and Admissions/ Alumni. There are always setbacks and student issues, but together we find ways to meet these challenges. These team members do a great job working together to keep our programs running, if not always smoothly, at least in the right direction.
The health care center on campus takes care of the children’s daily needs, but our students also come down with illnesses that require hospital care from time to time.
Erin, one of our high school students, had surgery today to remove gall stones. When I stopped in to see how she was doing, Erin’s grandmother held up a jar with gall stones the size of shooter marbles. Erin will have to take it easy for a few days but says she feels a lot better already.
Leahanna and Angela are the two junior high girls selected to represent St. Joseph’s at the April donor luncheons in Scranton, PA. To start their preparation, we met in the chapel to get used to speaking in a larger space with a microphone. They talked of their daily routines in the school and homes and shared about their culture and their goals for the future.
The winter sports awards were handed out after school at the rec center. It’s usually obvious who’s going to get the Team Leader/ MVP award, but just as important to me are the awards for Best Attitude and Most Improved.
In life, those are the qualities you need to keep trying to better yourself and find ways to encourage and bring out the best in your teammates.
Our first through third graders are all invited to take part in Pep Club, almost everyone joins. Our youngest students enthusiastically lead cheers and add lots of spirit to the games. After the awards, they showed off the Pep Club medallions they proudly wore around their necks during the year.
First grader Pearl got most improved since she didn’t know any of the cheers at the beginning of the year and has since learned them all. Not too many students get rewarded for being loud and boisterous, but those qualities earned Devon the spirit award, as you could definitely hear his cheers.
The junior high Fisher boys moved into their newly remodeled home ahead of schedule. When I stopped in, they were at the dining room tables, doing their homework. The new floor plan brings much more light into the rooms and brightens up the common areas. They still have some unpacking and settling in to do, but are well on their way to making the house their home.