Victorious

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

I checked in on the remodeling job we’re doing on the Speyer and Rooney Homes. Our facilities crew has the project moving along quite well. This is the third set of Lakota Homes we’ve worked on, and we get a little better and faster each time.  I notice the more dramatic change when the drywall is put up, but now comes the slower and more tedious part of taping and mudding and smoothing before painting. That’s time consuming to do well. I’m sure as the days get darker and colder, the crew will enjoy having such an indoor project to work on.

A few of the students still haven’t gotten back from Thanksgiving Break yet. Some of the problem is due to snowy weather in the Western part of South Dakota. Another reality is that families often lack reliable transportation, and we’ve had a couple of students who aren’t back due to car problems. Our family service counselors are scrambling around looking for ways to get students safely back to school.

Our 4^th, 5^th and 6^th grade girls were all in action on the basketball court this afternoon. Our 5^th graders won an exciting game 12-11 on Danielle’s basket with 30 seconds left. It was her only basket of the game, and we were happy not just for the win, but for Danielle to have something to be proud of. The whole team contributed to the effort. To top that, the 6^th grade team went into 4 overtimes before emerging victorious! I felt sorry for our houseparents who were back at the homes trying to figure out what time to have dinner ready as the game went on and on and on.

Author: St. Joseph's Indian School

At St. Joseph's Indian School, our privately-funded programs for Lakota (Sioux) children in need have evolved over 90 years of family partnership, experience and education. Because of generous friends who share tax-deductible donations, Native American youth receive a safe, stable home life; individual counseling and guidance; carefully planned curriculum based on Lakota culture and individual student needs and tools to help build confidence, boost self-esteem and improve cultural awareness. All of this helps children to live a bright, productive, possibility-filled future. View all posts by St. Joseph's Indian School