Category: Fr. Steve’s updates

Thursday, November 18, 2010

All my bags are packed, and in the morning I’ll travel with two students and three staff to Baltimore for donor appreciation luncheons.

When I prepare to travel, I inevitably spend the day before sorting through the piles of paperwork on my desk trying to make sure I’ve not overlooked something that should have been done yesterday. My day was taken up with lots of ten and fifteen minute tasks, sandwiched around three meetings. When I’m flustered and not centered, those tasks can seem bothersome. Today, I was able to do them with a good spirit, realizing that it’s the little chores in life that when offered up to God are the acts that can help me grow spiritually.

In the business office the good news is that we’ve done a great job of keeping up with the mail, so that people will get a speedy thank you. The bad news is that this time of year we like to be a little more behind because we’re getting so much mail. That isn’t the case this year – so many people are having to make do with less because of the economy, and have to cut back on some things, and we understand that.

Brother Clay and I met for a supervisory meeting. Brother Clay has just one month left working in the school as part of his internship, and I’ve enjoyed his presence in our religious community, and the difference he’s made in the lives of our students. He will return to Chicago to start his Master’s degree after Christmas. Working with the students as a tutor has been a growth experience for Brother Clay. Besides helping him learn patience, he sees how important it is to understand the other stresses going on for the students in their homes here, and their “home homes” as the students call them. Those issues certainly affect their ability to concentrate and learn.

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

At our management meeting we discussed our health care plan. By promoting wellness, we hope to keep our costs down, but a major illness or two can quickly put a strain on any insurance policy. We also have a system of Catastrophic Leave. One of our employees has used up all her sick leave and personal days, and faces yet another surgery. Human resources put a call out asking if any employees had extra sick days they wanted to donate to help her out. I was pleased to hear that we had a quick and generous response from co-workers. Now she has enough days to go into surgery without worrying about losing any days of pay.  We also set up our next supervisor training workshop about how to handle bad attitudes in the work place. That does come up occasionally, and we need to be proactive instead of letting hurts fester.

In other HR news we have a vacancy, a High School houseparent position, and are interviewing two candidates this week. They’ll spend some time in the homes to get a feel for what we do and see if it is a good fit. Several other houseparents will interview and put in their recommendations.

We have a number of remodeling projects around campus. The business office break room is finally getting a makeover and facelift. When I stopped by to check out the progress, I saw Mark installing more energy-efficient lights. Because of our efforts at adding more insulation, better windows and doors, and better lighting we are already seeing a savings on our electric bills. We still use a tremendous amount, but efforts at conservation help out in the long run.

For Enrichment night the students across campus are gathering in family groups, with their own brothers and sisters or close relatives, and putting together baskets of goodies to take home with them to help their families celebrate Thanksgiving.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Along with almost all our of 60 houseparents and several other staff who regularly drive our St. Joseph vehicles, I started off this morning by attending a winter safety driving class. While  most of the others and I have seen many winters, it was still good to review how we should approach driving when the roads get slick. We have one new houseparent from Louisiana that it may be the biggest adventure for! As with many things in life, we get in trouble when we take too much for granted and don’t periodically update our knowledge.

At the Summerlee Home (4^th – 5^th grade girls) they talked about this afternoon’s basketball game. They lost to Lower Brule, but just appreciated the chance to play. No students who try out are cut from the team, and our coaches are good about rotating all of the players in. The other topic of conversation was the “Dancing Dolls and Dudes” program. It’s run off campus by volunteers in the town, and most of the Summerlee girls are participating. They’re learning dance steps and a routine for a performance in early December. Excitement is building. Activities where our students can interact with peers in town are especially helpful in building social skills and self-confidence.

Monday, November 15, 2010

Tonight I helped out at the 6^th grade girls basketball practice. Basketball has always been my favorite sport to play. Growing up I loved the competition with other kids, but would also spent hours at a time alone, just shooting baskets. During turbulent times it was therapeutic – time to think and find my center.

During tonight’s warm up time it felt so good to be on the court again shooting. I still can’t run our jump much, but the old reliable set shot is still there. I enjoyed interacting with the students, observing, encouraging, and offering a tip or two. And the activity also helps me along in building back strength and agility.

When I went to Speyer Home (6^th-8^th grade boys) for supper the students were diligently working on a project. This year they are in living in temporary quarters while the real Speyer Home is in the remodeling process. Earlier in the year, the boys culled some tall and straight young trees from the woods and set them aside to dry out. Now they are sawing the wood and creating a rather large welcome banner for their home, using the wood and an Elk hide. Working on the common project has become a good way to build up their camaraderie and group spirit.

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Since St. Paul spoke about not loafing in today’s scriptures, my homily focused on putting our best efforts into work, school and prayer. I don’t know what impact it will have on study habits, but we keep trying to reinforce that message. You usually get out of something what you put into it.

At the announcement time, I was pleased to introduce to our students a woman who graduated in the class of 1947.  Afterward she spoke to me about what  little they had at St. Joseph during the early days, especially during the years of WWII.  When it came her turn to clean up the church and organize all the prayer books in the pews, Father rewarded her with  three jelly beans–but that was a treasure to her. She ran to her sister, cut one of the jelly beans in half, and shared the treat – one and a half jelly beans each!

Saturday, November 13, 2010

We had three basketball games this morning against our closest rivals, Chamberlain. Two of the games went into overtime, and the third was decided on a basket with 3 seconds left, so they were exciting all the way. When I walked over to the gym, the parking lot was full and cars were parked up and down the street. Many of the cars belonged to Chamberlain families, but several of our St. Joseph families came to see their daughters in action, then checked them out for a weekend at home.

Tonight the drama club held their play. The comedic spoof was called “An Evening of Bad Acting.” Three of our St. Joseph students had roles and have been working hard for several months to learn their lines and actions. It takes someone willing to risk and get up in front of a crowd to be in theater. It’s a growing experience for our students, and when the curtain dropped, all three were happy they’d gotten involved.

Lots of staff’s children were involved too. Our head groundskeeper got up with his son and did a rousing rendition of Jimmy Buffet’s “Cheeseburger in Paradise.” At the end of the evening the drama teacher called all the seniors to the stage and told us about them and how they’ve grown and worked together over the years. I hope some of our underclassmen stick it out and are the ones we’re applauding for a year or two from now.

Friday, November 12, 2010

Two priests from my religious order visited us today. Fr. Zenon is from Congo and Fr. Vincent from Indonesia. When they stepped into the classrooms they found a map of the world and showed the students where their homes were. One of the classes was interested in the terrain of their homeland, and learned about jungles and rain forests. Another class asked about animals and learned about elephants and monkeys. Fr. Zenon is an educator in the Congo, and ran a school with 1,200 students. He told one of his biggest struggles had to do with tuition. In his country, students dropped out as the year went on because they couldn’t afford the fees to continue school. Since  St. Joseph’s doesn’t charge tuition, our students don’t face that pressure; but it is a very real issue in most private schools.

Tonight, our local hospital held their annual fundraiser and holiday extravaganza. With all the decorations it reminded me of how soon Christmas will be here. The Nurse Practitioner who sees me at our health care center on campus, and is my local contact with the doctors at Mayo, was at table with her mom. When she introduced me she said, “This man is a walking miracle”. Hearing her describe it that way made me realize how far I’ve come since diagnosis. I’m glad I’m able to get out and around and do so much now.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

 A friend called to check on my health. During the course of our conversation I realized that even if I recover completely from this cancer and surgery, as I age I will continue to deal with physical limits, diminished and letting go. Going through this illness, I believe that I’m going to be OK when those times come. I am surely learning to take each day as it comes. I tread lightly and temporarily on this earth and only God lasts forever. I’ve feel like I’ve come through this as a better person. God has definitely walked with me every slow and painful step along the way.

We have a reading group on campus, and our book this quarter was a short but interesting work, “The Richest Man in Town”. It tells the story of Marty, a Wal-Mart cashier, who made such a difference in people’s lives just by paying attention and being kind, listening and doing his job. Robin, one of our counselors went to school in Brookings where Marty lived. She told us that she and her husband would actually wait in line 45 minutes even when the other checkout lines were open, just to be waited on by Marty, and receive a warm greeting and even a hug.

After catching up on the office work, I had the freedom just to wander the classrooms for a while. I don’t make a big deal about going into the classrooms; I just drift in and see what’s going on, ask a question or two, help if I can, and move on. It gives me a little taste of what’s going on in the life of our teachers and students. This week is mid terms already, and hard to believe how quickly we’re moving towards the holiday seasons.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

A delightful couple from Louisiana stopped by to visit. They’d received something from St. Joseph’s years ago, and put it away in a drawer. They thought the work we are doing looked good on paper, but didn’t want to give to a cause they hadn’t seen for themselves As they were preparing for a trip to this area, they rediscovered that tucked away picture and decided to make St. Joseph a stop on their tour. After learning first hand of what we are trying to do, they left a substantial donation. I wish all of our donors would have that opportunity, but many cannot make the trip.

Many folks do make sort of pilgrimage here in September when we have our annual Powwow. Because it has grown year after year, we need all hands on staff to accommodate the visitors and activities. This afternoon I spoke to the business staff to enlist their help next year. Rather than seeing it as a burden, one staff member who works with the mail every day said it will actually be nice to get out of the office and be part of the festivities.

I finished the day with supper at the William Home (4^th & 5^th grade girls). When I arrived, they were playing a game of Twister, and invited me to join in. It looked like fun. But the foot nerves haven’t completely healed, and my balance is shaky. I chose just to watch instead, and giggle at the knots they got themselves into. Before supper their counselors had a group session to teach our students about bullying. The counselors emphasized the difference between tattling (telling to get someone into trouble) and reporting (telling to keep people safe and out of trouble). That’s a valuable life lesson to learn.

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Like any community, some of our staff are dealing with sickness, while others are stressed or struggling. As we become aware of these we work to provide what support we can. Personnel work takes up a  lot of our time as administrators, but is so important. We want to be there for our staff, so they can be there for the kids and one another. Besides whatever help we can offer in the workplace, I  also keep in mind those people in prayer.

We had a substantial meeting to discuss our High School program. We covered lots of ground including retention rates, staffing, conditional contracts, academic expectations and student numbers. Our High School students typically have a lot of drama in their lives, and it takes a lot of patience and effort to find ways to get them to talk and work through their issues.

Classes began for students who are preparing to be baptized at Easter. I stopped in to the after school class to visit the 3^rd and 4^th grade session. “What does it feel like when you get baptized? What does the Bread taste like?” I pretended to pour water over one of the students’ heads and took time to answer their questions as best as I could. There’s such enthusiasm at that age. My hope is to keep nourishing that desire and faith, so it becomes a source of strength and direction in their lives.

Our safety and security team met and reviewed what has been accomplished recently. They have added new fire rated exit doors, more security cameras around campus, and wired for new fire alarms. The facilities staff has been very busy. Great job!

With work,  sports and activities the High School girls are hard to catch at home on any given night. In this short lull between volleyball and basketball season, everyone was home at Hogebach, so I joined them for supper. After supper a few of us played a silly, but energetic card game (spoons). Three of the girls from that home have been chosen to compete in an upcoming Knowledge Bowl.  We quizzed each other on the sample questions. I knew my baseball players much better than the deserts of the world. We laughed and had fun and hopefully it will help them (and me) remember those facts when they’re needed.