Guest Bloggers – Page 10 – St. Joseph's Indian School

A time of dance at St. Joseph’s Indian School!

Melanie works with the Lakota (Sioux) chidren in Chamberlain, South Dakota. — Melanie, Artist in Residence

Good afternoon from St. Joseph’s Indian School!

Today’s blog post comes from Melanie, a recent Artist in Residence at St. Joseph’s. Enjoy!

It has been such a blessing to dance with the students of St. Joseph’s through the Artist in Schools program with the South Dakota Arts Council. I was very grateful for the opportunity to be in this incredible gem of a state!

Pam, St. Joseph’s Personal Living Skills Instructor, was a great help in pulling it all together and having the residency run so smoothly! She was very supportive and helpful and made a world of difference!

With the first through eighth grades, we explored the world of dance from many perspectives! We danced to music from all of the over the world, from Ireland to Jamaica, Sweden to Oceania, India to Cuba and many other places.

Lakota (Sioux) students learning ballet moves. — Our students enjoyed learning from Melanie!

We explored ballet as a wonderful way to stay in peak performance shape, avoid injuries, build strength, flexibility and balance and respectfully warm up our bodies in the process! We released some of our pre-conceived ideas about ballet and learned that many professional athletes use ballet in their training.

The dancers also took the ‘ballet class’ taught in the language of ballet, which is French. They learned that by listening and watching, they could discern much of another language without speaking it.

The dancers explored how to embrace the RESPECT that a dancer is required to have for him/herself, for all others and for all of our environment. We spent much of our time with creative movement and learning to tap into our own creative spirit, moving through a space filled with other dancers who were also spontaneously improvising…. without bumping into one another!

A St. Joseph's student learns how to dance with props. — A St. Joseph’s student learns how to dance with props.

I LOVED seeing smiling faces of the Lakota children in each class!

We also explored many different props such as cotton bandanas, silk scarves, stretchy loops and silk streamers while we challenged ourselves to dance with others by mirroring or shadowing their movements. We learned that being a leader of movement means that we are responsible to our followers.

I am very impressed by and appreciative of the “Circle of Courage” that is emphasized at St. Joseph’s Indian School. I experienced generosity of spirit, independence in creativity, mastery of attempting difficult ‘moves’ and lastly, relationships broadening as they danced together in a new way throughout the residency.

I was sad to leave the wonderful staff, faculty and students, but delighted that I have been blessed by the opportunity to dance with the students at St. Joseph’s Indian School!

Thank you kindly.

Melanie

Artist in Residence

Fall is in the air at St. Josephs…

Fr. Anthony, St. Joseph's Chaplain — Fr. Anthony, St. Joseph’s Chaplain

Good day from St. Joseph’s Indian School!

Fall is in the air at St. Joseph’s. Leaves are changing and the students are enjoying the fall days as the football season comes to an end.

On Monday, when most of the country was celebrating Columbus Day, the State of South Dakota celebrated Native American Day. There was a large powwow in Rapid City on October 10 and a good number of our students participated in the event. They were wonderful representatives of St. Joseph’s!

Monday also saw the start of the school’s second quarter. We started the day with a Prayer Service enhanced by Native American activities at Our Lady of the Sioux Chapel. The service began with the entrance of our powwow royalty accompanied by the Chalk Hill Singers’ drum group. Several students led us in the Four Direction prayer. There were also readings from the Gospel of Luke and Joseph Marshall III, a member of the Sicangu Lakota Tribe.

Our artist in residence, V.R. Janis, made presentations in the classroom during the rest of the day. Our students learned a lot!

This past Saturday was the 16^th Annual River City Band Festival in downtown Chamberlain. Our 4^th, 5^th and 6^th grade students helped carry banners in the parade. After the parade, the bands gathered at the local athletic field to perform their field shows. St. Joseph’s drum group, the Chalk Hill Singers presented the Lakota Flag Song after the National Anthem to begin the afternoon festivities. I believe this is their first public performance outside of a powwow setting — they did a fantastic job!

A Lakota(Sioux) student participates in Explorers. — Kyle, one of St. Joseph’s students, is the new Explorers Secretary!

The local members of the Chamberlain Middle School Explorers elected their officers for the year recently and one of St. Joseph’s eighth graders, Kyle, was elected secretary. The Explorers are a service club for sixth thru eighth grade boys that meet every Thursday at 7:30 AM at Chamberlain Elementary School. This year seven St. Joseph’s students are taking part and four of them are new members.

The Explorers raise money through a variety of projects during the year and then donate the money for someone in need or to the Chamberlain community to help fund various projects. Last year, they contributed to the new Chamberlain swimming pool complex. They also focus on civics and various lessons called ‘man stuff.’

The group also travels to Pierre to visit the State Capital and meet the Governor. The year ends with a trip to a major league baseball game.

Two of St. Joseph’s students, Ramez and Tayeden, had a great time meeting donors at the luncheons in the Dallas, TX area. After the luncheons, they had the chance to visit the Texas State Fair and take a VIP tour of AT&T stadium, the home of the Dallas Cowboys. They even had the chance to visit the Cowboys’ locker room and have their pictures taken in front of the locker of their favorite player, Dez Bryant.

Last week saw the end of the golf season. Chamberlain High School’s team won multiple invitationals and had all members qualify for the state tournament. Out of the 16 teams that took part, the Cubs came in 8^th. Danny, one of St. Joseph’s students, placed in the top 25 as a junior. We are excited to support him next year!

Thank you for your generosity. YOU make everything we do possible.

Fr. Anthony Kluckman, SCJ

Chaplain

It’s a time of preparation here at St. Joseph’s!

Good day from St. Joseph’s Indian School!

This past week, two SCJ visitors from India visited St. Joseph’s to tour our campus and the surrounding reservations. Fr. Michael and Fr. Dharma were escorted by Fr. Dominic Peluse, SCJ and his associate, Pam Milczarski, from the Priests of the Sacred Heart office in Hales Corners, Wisconsin. Our guests came to visit since they are in the process of setting up a fundraising office in India to raise financial support for the SCJ ministries there. They have been traveling around the Province to see how our various offices send out mailings and stay in touch with Benefactors.

We began our Sacrament Classes this past Monday. Some of our students are preparing to receive all three of the Sacraments of Initiation—Baptism, 1st Communion and Confirmation! Our second graders who have already been baptized will prepare for 1st Communion. Some may even make a Profession of Faith and join the Church. Please keep these students in your prayers.

Fr. Anthony with three Lakota (Sioux) students at Our Lady of the Sioux Chapel in Chamberlain, SD. — Last year’s celebration of the Sacraments of Initiation was a success!

During this year’s powwow, visitors and friends who attended were able to write prayer requests. St. Joseph’s staff and students will pray for each and every request throughout this school year. Currently, the requests have been placed before the statue of the Sacred Heart in our Blessed Sacrament chapel. When I make out the prayer list for each month, I’ll take some of the requests and add them to requests for prayer that come in over the year from other Benefactors. We are always happy to pray for any specific prayer request you may have since it is one way our students can say ‘thank you’ for your generosity.

St. Joseph’s was also happy to welcome the members of our Parent Advisory Council who gathered on the Monday after the powwow. They gather regularly to review policy and offer suggestions so we can keep fine tuning the programs we have here at St. Joseph’s.

As always, thank you for your kindness and generosity. We keep you in our prayers!

Have a great week!

Fr. Anthony Kluckman, SCJ

Chaplain

It’s my favorite time of year!

Hello from St. Joseph’s Indian School in Chamberlain, South Dakota!

My name is Laura and I have been the Donor Relations Officer here at St. Joseph’s for the past fifteen years.

We are reaching my favorite time of year!

St. Joseph’s students are back on campus. They have been in school for a little over a month and are busy with class and extracurricular activities. I am currently busy speaking with donors from all around the United States, sharing information about our upcoming 39^th Annual Powwow.

I had the first donors register for the 2015 powwow during the 2014 event! There are now over 400 donors and friends registered to attend our powwow. They will begin arriving next week to take in all of the fun!

During the powwow festivities, I get to reunite with people who come every year. I also meet lots of new people who are visiting St. Joseph’s Indian School for the very first time!

The powwow is definitely a highlight of the school year here at St. Joseph’s, for students and staff alike. Don’t get me wrong, it is a lot of work for employees to have campus ready for our visitors, but we wouldn’t have it any other way! Every department on campus pitches in to make the festivities run smoothly .

A Lakota (Sioux) youth dances during St. Joseph's 38th Annual Powwow. — A Lakota (Sioux) youth dances during St. Joseph’s 38th Annual Powwow.

Our 39^th Annual Powwow festivities begin on Thursday, September 17 with guest registration, a reservation bus tour, the powwow royalty crowning ceremony and a meet & greet in the evening. at a local motel.

On Friday, guest registration will continue along with cultural activities, tours of the school, cultural performances and our Tiyospaye Banquet.

Prior to Grand Entry on Saturday, there will be tours of students’ homes and an open house at Our Lady of the Sioux Chapel. Following the powwow, Mass will be celebrated and dinner is served to everyone in attendance.

If you would like additional information about St. Joseph’s powwow or helpful links in planning your visit , please call 1-800-584-9200 or visit www.stjo.org/powwow. We would love to have you join us!

For those attending, I would like to wish you all a safe trip out to beautiful South Dakota and St. Joseph’s Indian School.

See you soon!

Laura

Donor Relations Officer

It’s almost powwow time!

Good day from St. Joseph’s Indian School! I hope everyone had a wonderful and relaxing Labor Day.

The weekend offered a variety of activities for our Lakota students to participate in. The State Fair was underway in Huron, South Dakota and several homes made the trip over to take part in the fair festivities. Another option was to attend the LifeLight Festival in the Sioux Falls area, which is a three day event celebrating Christian music. Several of our staff and high school homes attended. For the homes that decided to stay close to campus, there was the chance to attend the movie PIXELS at the local theater.

Now that Labor Day is behind us, everyone’s focus has turned to St. Joseph’s 39^th Annual Powwow taking place September 17-19. The dancers have been practicing and are also learning a few new moves.

One of our Native American Studies teachers, LaRayne, attended a recent Kiwanis’ luncheon to share information on the various dances that take place at a powwow. The Powwow Royalty Competition took place last night and winners will be announced on Friday, September 18.

Two Lakota(Sioux) girls dressed in regalia await their turn. — Two girls anxiously awaiting their turn during last night’s powwow royalty competition!

We are praying that we’ll have good weather for the powwow so that it will be pleasant for everyone.

I hope that you’ll be able to attend the powwow this year. If you cannot, keep an eye on our Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Google+ pages for photos and videos!

May God continue to bless and reward you for your generosity towards St. Joseph’s and the Native American children in our care.

Fr. Anthony Kluckman, SCJ

Chaplain

One of the best jobs around…

Kelli, Development/Child Services Liaison. — Kelli, Development/Child Services Liaison

Hello!

My name is Kelli and I am the new Development/Child Services Liaison here at St. Joseph’s Indian School. Although I may be a little biased, I think my job is one of the best jobs around! I get to spend time with the Lakota students and Child Services staff here at St. Joseph’s while still being in touch with our donors through our Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and Instagram pages.

In one month, I have already gotten to participate in some pretty amazing things.

On the first day of school for the Lakota students, our Lakota Studies teachers held a smudging ceremony outside of Our Lady of the Sioux chapel. Smudging souls is something that has been done for generations in tribal cultures. Smudging helps to rid a person or area of unwanted energies that aren’t helpful as well as bless new areas, items or places so that a fresh start is felt in the heart.

It was a powerful experience to be present during the smudging ceremony. As students and staff walked through the smoke and washed it over their bodies, they emerged with focus, grace and excitement for the year ahead!

Our Lakota (Sioux) students stand behind the Air & Space Museum sign during their field trip. — Our 5th grade students enjoyed their time at the Air & Space Museum!

Shortly after the beginning of the school year, I was invited to participate in STARBASE activities with our 5^th grade students. STARBASE is a program that combines science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) with exciting experiments and hands-on activities to motivate students to explore these subjects as they continue their education.

During one project, the students devised ways to protect an egg strapped into a model space shuttle before the shuttles were launched down a wire into a head-on collision. To culminate the week, the 5^th graders took a field trip to Rapid City, South Dakota to visit the Air & Space Museum at Ellsworth Air Force Base. Although the air conditioner on our bus did not work on the way back home, a great time was had by all!

In mid-August, St. Joseph’s Indian School started their fall sports practices. I have been enjoying spending my evenings working on volleyball skills with our 6-8^th grade girls. Our first game is in about 10 days!

On Tuesday, one of the 6^th grade volleyball girls who has been having a little bit of a tough time adjusting asked me if I would join her during Thursday’s cross country practice. As a 6th grader, it takes a lot of courage to put yourself out there, so of course I said yes! Since I am not a runner, I would greatly appreciate your prayers and good thoughts today after school!

Thank you for your generosity and support. You are truly making a difference in the lives of the Lakota students here in our care. They are becoming phenomenal young men and women because of YOU!

Kelli Swenson

Development/Child Services Liaison

It’s Officially September!

This past Sunday, we held a Lakota Mass on St. Joseph’s campus to celebrate the arrival of our high school students, who started classes with Chamberlain High School on August 26.

We currently have 50 students in the high school program; our enrollment campus-wide is 213 students.

The local public school staff and teachers visited our Akta Lakota Museum & Cultural Center ahead of the start of their school year. The tour gave the teachers and staff an idea of what to expect when they interact with Native American students living in Chamberlain or coming in from the reservation. The experience also helped the staff to have a better understanding of our high school students’ backgrounds.

A welcome back picnic for our staff and students was held at American Creek park along the Missouri River. There was laughter, kayaking, games, swimming, food and fun galore! Once the sun went down, the good times continued to roll with a bonfire and s’mores.

You may recall I mentioned that our religious community, the Priests of the Sacred Heart from Hales Corners, WI , held an election for a new Provincial and Council due to the election of our previous Provincial (and former Director of St. Joseph’s), Fr. Steve Huffstetter, SCJ, to the General Council in Rome. Our acting Provincial, Fr. Ed Kilianski, SCJ, was elected to take on the leadership role. He will be supported by Frs. Quang Nguyen, SCJ; Duy Nguyen, SCJ; Christianus Hendrik, SCJ; Jack Kurps, SCJ; and Br. Frank Presto, SCJ. We ask that you keep them in prayer that the Holy Spirit will guide and strengthen them as they lead the Province into the future.

A Lakota (Sioux) girl dances fancy shawl at last year's powwow. — Our 2014 Jr. Miss St. Joseph’s dances at last year’s powwow.

Now that we have rolled into September, we can officially say that our annual Powwow is close! Our students are practicing twice a week and our drum group, the Chalk Hills Singers, is also preparing for the event. The Chalk Hills Singers played at Mass on Sunday and 24 dancers took part in the entrance rite.

Our 39^th Annual Powwow festivities begin on Thursday, September 17 with guest registration, a reservation bus tour (pre-registration required), the powwow royalty crowning ceremony and a meet and greet with St. Joseph’s alumni.

On Friday, guest registration will continue along with a complimentary breakfast, cultural activities, a tour of the school, cultural performances and our evening Tiyospaye Banquet (pre-registration required).

Prior to the powwow on Saturday, there will be tours of students’ campus homes and an open house at Our Lady of the Sioux Chapel. Following the powwow, we will host Mass and provide a complimentary meal before prizes are awarded.

If you would like additional information about our powwow or more information on planning your visit, please call 1-800-584-9200 or visit www.stjo.org/powwow. We would love to have you join us!

May God continue to bless and reward you for your continued support and generosity to the Lakota (Sioux) children.

Fr. Anthony Kluckman, SCJ

Chaplain

Keeping busy at St. Joseph’s Indian School!

Greetings from St. Joseph’s Indian School in Chamberlain, South Dakota!

Summer is ‘officially’ over here in Chamberlain. The new city swimming pool is closed for the year and public school started this week.

Our high school students arrived on Sunday and participated in a two-day orientation program before school began on Wednesday. Our high school volleyball, cross country and football teams all have meets and games this week.

I recently attended the football team’s scrimmage and joined the coaches and players when they came out to St. Joseph’s for a team building meal at the Sheehy Home. It was a great night.

You may recall that I recently mentioned our 4-6 grade students can participate in football with the local team. They had their first practice on Tuesday evening. Our students were very excited to try on their equipment and hit the field. St. Joseph’s is honored to be able to host the practices and games as a way to help our students get to know their peers from the Chamberlain community better.

On Saturday morning, some of our students participated in the Chamberlain Youth Triathlon. They were able to swim, bike and run—all on campus. It was a fun experience for all!

A boy dances during St. Joseph's Annual Powwow. — Our Lakota (Sioux) students enjoy learning about their Native American culture and participating in our annual powwow.

We were scheduled to have an inipi— sweat lodge— with our 7-8 grade boys on Saturday afternoon, but the high wind made it too dangerous to have a fire.

Please keep the members of the American Province of the Priests of the Sacred Heart in your prayers this week. Since our former Provincial, Fr. Steve Huffstetter, SCJ, was elected to our General Council in Rome, we are gathering this week to elect a new Provincial and Council. May the Holy Spirit guide our deliberations.

Our students are getting ready for our 39^th Annual Powwow on September 19. They have several dance practices scheduled and staff members have been meeting to talk over plans to ensure another successful event. We have even started praying for good weather! We hope you will be able to attend. If you have any questions about the three day event, please feel free to call 1-800-584-9200 or visit www.stjo.org/powwow.

Have a great Thursday. May God’s blessings continue to be with you and yours.

Fr. Anthony Kluckman, SCJ

Chaplain

Two of her favorite things…

Hello! My name is Claire, and I am the new Librarian at St. Joseph’s Indian School. I am fortunate that I get to work with two of my favorite things every day—the kids at St. Joseph’s and books. We are in the process of updating the library to an automated catalog system, so I spent the summer barcoding, weeding and organizing the collection. I also got to open the boxes of book donations, which was just like Christmas.

“Whoopee! Dragons! Pirates! Polar bears! Newberry Medalists! Sherman Alexie! The kids are just going to love this!!”

I was excited and nervous for the first week of school. Although I worked in a library as a college student, this was my first gig as a school librarian, actually teaching library skills. Also, the previous librarian, a veteran of 39 years, left some really big shoes to fill. She had a great way with the kids, and a knack for helping them to find just the right book. The kids were not sure what to make of me, with my strange new rules and quirks. I gave out a pre-test to assess where their skill levels were, prompting cries of distress. “Library reeks!!”

Connecting the kids with books was definitely the fun part. While battered copies of “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” and “Goosebumps” flew off the shelves, other interests took some sleuthing. Scary stories were a popular request—everything from ghost stories to movie monsters to tales of Bigfoot.

Two Lakota students sit on the ground reading a book. — Two students enjoy reading a book together.

Many kids asked for books about basketball—basketball teams, basketball players and stories about kids who play basketball. I loved it when kids asked for books about history and we got to talk about historical fiction versus non-fiction and the different time periods and populations. Animal books were another common request. I was very happy to show one young man a brand new encyclopedia of animals we had just received as a donation. It was an impressive volume with a bright picture of a Mandrill on the cover. His eyes lit up and he paged through the color pages with obvious delight.

Another teen had been waiting all summer for the next book in the “Warrior” series. (A shout out to the generous donors who replaced several missing copies from this series—you are lifesavers!) And finally, I was able to help Mr. Library Reeks discover the “I Survived” series. He gleefully capered about, barely able to decide which two books to take now and which to save for next week.

I grew up in a home filled with books. Unfortunately, many of the kids at St. Joseph’s don’t have a lot of books in their homes and don’t have access to a library over the summer. The school library is their best chance for getting good reading material. My hope is to share some favorite books with them and to guide them in finding favorites of their own. Having an automated system will make it even faster and easier to find just the right book. In the meantime, we’ll work on our library detective skills to discover what treasures lie in store. I am looking forward to it!

I would like to thank our donors for providing good things to read for both our library and our bookmobile . You make such a big difference! Wopila tanka – many thanks!

Claire, Librarian

We are all truly part of a great organization…

Mike, St. Joseph's President — Mike, St. Joseph’s President

Time and time again, it has been shown that it is the little things we do every day at St. Joseph’s that have the greatest impact on our students.

Here’s a simple, yet wonderful example.

Today is the fourth day of school for our 1-8 grade Lakota students. After driving across campus, I parked in a spot next to the playground. As I looked over, I noticed that the first grade students were taking advantage of the playground and the sunny weather. In the center of the playground I spotted Abby, our first grade teacher, twirling around on the merry-go-round with one of her students. Both had big smiles.

I commented, “Now that is real learning!”

Abby laughed and replied, “It is good exercise.”

In that simple moment on the playground, I was bolstered in one of the most basic tenets that I have come to know over the years—the understanding that our staff are truly dedicated to the mission of our organization. Each and every day our staff ‘go that extra mile’ to make our students feel safe, welcomed and loved at St. Joseph’s Indian School.

The second tenant—we are truly blessed by the support we receive—is bolstered every time I take a few moments to remember how fortunate we are to have many people who provide St. Joseph’s with prayers, encouragement and resources. One of the reflections we try to ask ourselves regularly is “What would our supporters think about this?”

While our supporters provide us with resources, it is our staff who are the ‘hands and feet’ of the mission.

In the case of Abby and her 1^st grade student on the merry-go-round, I have to believe that a supporter would smile, knowing that Abby’s actions made this child feel special and loved.

Two young girls play on the playground — Our staff go above and beyond to make sure our students feel safe and loved.

Our staff perform many similar supportive actions every day here at St. Joseph’s Indian School. Though they are not mentioned in this blog, they are truly part of the cumulative effort to develop meaningful relationships with the children we serve.

To those who support our efforts here at St. Joseph’s Indian School, we strive to make our mission a reality to our Native American students and their families each and every day. Please know that we truly appreciate your support, thoughts and generosity.

You are an integral part of our mission.