Last Saturday was a beautiful fall South Dakota day – perfect for a football game! We loaded up 12 of St. Joseph’s seventh and eighth-grade football players and headed down the road to Brookings South Dakota, home of South Dakota State University’s Jackrabbits.
We left in the morning and arrived early for game time. We found great seats! The house was packed, as the Jacks took on the #1 rated North Dakota State Bison. The Bison are from Fargo, North Dakota. The crowd was intense, as there was about as many Bison fans in attendance as there were Jacks fans!
We have been taking the football boys on this trip for last several years. It isn’t just about watching football… that’s just the excuse we use to extend our classroom and provide real-life learning to the Lakota boys and girls.
With this trip, the boys get to experience a college atmosphere and see a college campus. Along with soaking up college, the boys get to practice skills we teach and role model for them every day – everything from basic social skills like starting a conversation to using good manners and being accountable for themselves and their actions. Extending our classroom into the world allows our students develop Mastery on these skills and gives them a sense of Independence, which are two of the primary components of the Circle of Courage.
After a hard battle, the Jacks were defeated 20-0. We left Brookings and stopped in Sioux Falls, South Dakota for supper. The boys were all starving and we found buffet that we knew would fill them up. This was another opportunity for the boys to practice their social skills. The boys ate their fill and finished off with ice cream before we hit the road back to St. Joseph’s.
We arrived back to campus just in time for bed. The boys got off the bus and thanked us for taking them to a football game, never suspecting we actually took them to a “classroom” so they could learn something.
The boys may have thanked us for taking them but they should thank the donors who make such trips possible. So, on behalf of the St. Joseph’s Indian School Jr. High Football team, thank you for your support!
Frank W., Residential Coordinator
What a wonderful experience and I think it will spark an interest in them to further their careers through college or sports which will provide them a lifetime of good choices.
Well done staff and students.
What a nice treat and what wonderful lessons learned. God Bless you all!
Great opportunity to see the big league. Aim high! The world is yours if you put out the effort. Sky is the limit.