Testing my foot and nerves

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Never mind that Punxsutawney Phil didn’t see his shadow, (which means a short winter) the -19 degree overnight temps were COLD and we’re tiring of the white stuff already.

Today, I checked out our remodeling efforts in the Rooney & Speyer homes. They may even be finished before school lets out in May, so we’re well on track. The work has slowed down a little as we’ve had to pull workers off that project to handle snow removal around campus, but we know that’s going to regularly happen here in South Dakota during the winter. I saw Jon, our electrician working and asked what he was doing, “Outlets” he said. Outlets don’t sound to bad, but when you have over 200 to do, that’s a big time commitment!

Today for Catholic Schools Week the day was reserved for an appreciation day. Students baked cookies and other treats and placed them in different staff work areas with  a note of thanks. The chocolate glazed popcorn the 7^th graders created was my favorite.

When I went to the Rec Center this evening to exercise, I ran into the Stevens and Matthias homes (6^th – 8^th grade girls) doing their enrichment activity. The staff created games and challenges based on the show “Minute to Win It”. The girls build ten story towers of cards, balanced dice on a tongue depressor and bounced pencils into cups. Silly games, but a nice break with lots of laughter. And as the two homes kept a running tally of points earned, it brought out the competitive juices in all the kids. What’s nice about odd games is that everyone had a chance to participate, and  the students who aren’t known as athletes might have even greater success than the ball players.

I’ve been gradually stepping up my exercises, testing the foot and nerves. I don’t want to overdo it, but I want to keep pressing forward and try to do more.

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