Guest Bloggers – Page 45 – St. Joseph's Indian School

Guest Blogger: Geri

Hello! My name is Geri and I joined St. Joseph’s Indian School on August 20. I’m delighted to be a ‘guest blogger’ and hope to share with you my ‘new to St. Joseph’s’ impressions!

What a warm, welcoming atmosphere! I’ve had a variety of past work experiences, but none can compare to how welcome and comfortable I’ve been made to feel in the month since I’ve started. I live in Mitchell and carpool with other St. Joseph’s employees Monday-Thursday and telecommute on Fridays.

Friends and family have asked me how the hour-long commute is going and I’ve honestly responded,

“It goes by remarkably fast, as we’re usually deep in conversation and surprised to see our exit sign.”

I’m amazed by how many people have worked at St. Joseph’s for 20, 25 or 30 years and very outwardly admit,

“I love working here – it’s a great place to work.”

I’ve had an opportunity to meet some of our Native American children and travel to the two reservations that 40% of our students come from, Lower Brule and Crow Creek. The children are beautiful – and from the two times I’ve dined with them, amazingly polite and well-behaved.

The houseparents I met over dinner recently, Aleece and Leonard, are wonderfully kind and patient and have been at St. Joseph’s since 1988. Their 1^st-3^rd grade boys were a joy to be around –proudly showing their regalia for the powwow and honestly remarking on my height (I’m north of 5’10”).

You may be wondering what my job at St. Joseph’s entails – let me tell you about that. My title is Director of Major Gift Services and currently I’m working to gain an understanding of all that is happening in our development program while working towards the development of a major gifts program.

I have so much to learn, but it’s exciting! I am looking forward to getting to know our supporters better and finding out what specifically they are passionate about and why they support St. Joseph’s, while at the same time learning all that I can about St. Joseph’s.

Feel free to share your thoughts with me! My e-mail address is geri.beck@stjo.org.

Hau, Taŋyáŋ yahi – Greetings from everyone at the Akta Lakota Museum

Construction continues . . . (Read the previous construction update here!)

The Alumni/Historical Center has made great progress! — Medicine Wheel Garden Site

The addition of the new Tokéya uŋkí nájiŋpi (We stood here in the beginning) Alumni/Historical Center has made great progress since July. Most of the structure’s exterior work is complete and contractors are now busy working on the interior of the building.

At this point we are really in the final stages, installing lights, cabinets and wall and floor coverings. The final completion date of the project is scheduled for October 1 and everyone is getting excited to move in.

Once the building construction is complete, we will begin Phase II of the project. This includes installation of the Tokéya uŋkí nájiŋpi exhibits and renovation work to the existing museum building and exhibits.

Mni Wićoni - water is life — Mni Wićoni – water is life

Other projects going on outside of the building are the addition of a Medicine Wheel Garden and the expansion of our parking lot; the museum and the Rec Center share a parking lot and things get pretty tight during the school year when sporting activities are in full swing. In an effort to alleviate the problem the parking area will be expanded, adding additional parking spaces and a specific area designated for bus parking. The improvement to the site will make the area much safer for our students and visitors.

This Medicine Wheel Garden area is shaping up as well. The water wall element was installed last month and looks beautiful. The wall is inscribed with the Lakota words Mni Wićoni which translates to “water is life.” The glu-lam beams for the arbor are in place and the pre-cast colors of the medicine wheel have been installed. It is really progressing nicely.

If you are planning to visit our area please don’t let our construction scare you away. As construction progresses we will continue to maintain regular museum hours as much as possible and extend a heartfelt welcome to everyone! We hope you can stop by and check out our progress.

Pilamaya – thank you! Dixie

Guest Blogger: Julie H.

Powwow dancing at its best! — Everyone has such a great time at St. Joseph’s Indian School’s powwow!

Greetings from St. Joseph’s Indian School! My name is Julie H. and I have been at St. Joseph’s for almost 11 years. Every day I thank God for leading me to this wonderful place! I cannot tell you how much I enjoy working with our students and staff! I also hope you all know that we are so very thankful for the donations of money, prayers and encouragement we receive from you!

This is a busy and exciting week at St. Joseph’s. Saturday we will have our annual powwow. The students have been working hard at dance practice and they are all getting excited for Saturday. The powwow is always a great way to meet families, students and you – the donors who have the opportunity to come and visit. We always love to see new faces and familiar faces alike!

So what is the powwow like?

It is a great way to see the Native dances of the Lakota (Sioux) people. It is filled with bright colors, wonderful drum music and great dancing. Earlier in the day, visitors have the opportunity to tour the school and homes. As the day winds down, we also share a meal together. The powwow is truly a fun-filled day!

And this year, the weather looks to be perfect! God truly does bless us!

All are welcome at the powwow. It is a day of fellowship and friendship. If you are coming to join us for the powwow this year, and you find yourself with questions about St. Joseph’s, just find someone in a blue shirt, they will be happy to give explanations and answer any questions you may have! We hope to see as many of you as possible at our powwow this year!

As always, THANK YOU for your prayers and encouragement for St. Joseph’s Indian School. Without you, our generous benefactors, we could not do the wonderful work we do!

God Bless you all,

Julie H.

Guest Blogger: Facilities Team

These Native American girls can't wait to see their new home! — These four ladies can’t wait to play in their new home!

School is in session and powwow week is here! Every department is hard at work to make sure everything is ready. Here is an update of our largest projects:

Summerlee Home Renovations:

We have about 95% of the exterior work completed, which includes new siding, shingles and windows. As for the interior of the home, we have completed all the rough-in plumbing and electrical work, and just finished the first coat of taping joints. When the taping and texturing are finished, we will begin painting. It is very exciting to see the layout changes that were made in the home come to life.

William Home Renovations:

The demolition process is still underway in the William Home. We are considering a possible change in the floor plan, which would incorporate the entrance to the lower lever and to the adjacent office area. Once walls are removed, we will have a better idea of how we will proceed with this possible change. We enjoy putting our heads together and seeing what will best work for the students and their home and other staff who work in the Benedictine building.

Now, for a few tidbits of some to the day-to-day activities that are taking place around campus:

Grounds department:

The grounds department is checking out all the sprinkler lines and repairing or replacing any bad sprinklers. They are also removing trees on the west side of Akta Lakota Museum to better accommodate some of the work being done there and at the Summerlee Home.

Carpentry department:

The carpenters are completing a few minor finishing touches to the Stevens and Mathias Homes – our most recently completed renovations. New railings are being added at both entrances of the homes. They are also installing new carpet in the Human Resources and Facilities Management offices.

Electrical department:

The electricians are in the Human Resource and Facilities Management offices installing new lighting to help brighten up the work space. They recently finished wiring in the Summerlee Home.

Plumbing department:

The plumber is keeping up with everyday plumbing RQ’s and also helping with the demo work being done at the Thrift Store.

This week, everyone’s main focus will be getting ready for the powwow.

Thanks – Facilities Team

Guest Blogger: Claire

Native American boys having fun in the sun! — Having fun in the sun!

The high school kids had a long Labor Day weekend, and all of the homes planned special trips for the occasion. The Giles Home (freshmen boys) decided that they wanted to camp out at the Lifelight concert in Sioux Falls. Lifelight is a free Christian music festival that attracts over 300,000 people every year. There are five stages, merchandise booths, concessions and all sorts of activities going on throughout the weekend. Plus there is a large area set aside for people who want to tent camp.

Trips like these are one of the ways we can build Circle of Courage values (Independence, Mastery, Belonging and Generosity) while disguising it as “just having fun.” It’s kind of like drowning broccoli in cheese sauce so that they don’t realize it’s good for them. 🙂

The Giles boys are good at Belonging. They get along well together and look out for each other. Unless of course, someone farts in the tent. Then it is every man for himself. They also warned each other not to trip over the … cord for the rain fly. Usually after someone face planted on the ground, but still.

They are surprisingly Generous. We saw a man holding a, “Will work for food” sign by the side of the road. They gathered together some of their favorite snacks, and Isaiah hopped off the mini-bus to deliver them. The boys’ favorite part was when I accidentally started the bus back up while Isaiah was changing seats, and he went bouncing down the aisle. Oops.

Independence skills like checking in on time are very important, especially in a crowded, several-acre venue. Most of the boys did a great job coming back to the campsite every hour and checking in with a houseparent before going back out to catch a show, play some hoops, listen to a band or check out the cute girls. What, huh? Flirting at a Christian festival? Ohhhh yeah. All those “Free Hug” signs are just irresistible. Sadly, one boy did get “lost.” Finding a missing kid among 100,000 visitors is quite a challenge. After calling out a search party for him, we found him happily hanging out with another SJIS home. Phew! Apparently, he had taken on more responsibility than he could manage, so his freedoms were curtailed for the evening.

They guys had lots of opportunities to demonstrate Mastery, from putting up/striking tents, to working the camping lanterns, to making s’mores on the camp stove. We forgot sticks, but they came up with the brilliant idea of using a (clean) metal tent-peg. Perfect! Another challenge for them was visiting the cathedral in Sioux Falls for Mass. The impressive Romanesque architecture, incense, Latin inscriptions and chanted prayers are very different from the Mass for Children that they celebrate at Our Lady of the Sioux Chapel on St. Joseph’s campus. They followed along pretty well, just like they would at home, only with a bit more looking around.

“This is cool.”

All around, it was a good Labor Day weekend. It felt good to get back to the Giles Home and into the air conditioning. And showers. And real beds. The boys are already talking about plans for our next home trip, which we will take next semester. They are thinking skiing. (I might as well start practicing to use crutches now.)

Thank you again for your generosity, which makes trips like these possible. I hope to see some of you at our powwow, which is coming up in a few weeks!

Claire

High School Houseparent

Guest Blogger: Dave B.

Classroom

My name is David B. and I teach the sixth through eighth grade Social Sciences here at St. Joseph’s. In sixth grade, they are learning about world history. The students just finished learning about the Ancient Mesopotamians and the next chapter is Ancient Egypt.

The seventh grade is learning about the Five Themes of Geography, the Six Elements of Geography, and the 18 Standards of Geography. Next the students will begin learning about the different hemispheres of the world starting with North America.

The eighth grade is learning about American History, starting with exploration of the world and ending the year with the Civil War. During the middle of the year, the eighth grade will be learning about the US Constitution and before the end of the year they will complete a research paper on an event or person in US History, which also includes an oral presentation.

Football

In addition to the classroom, I also coach football here at St. Joseph’s.

This year our football games have been suspended because of lack of numbers in the male population of our seventh and eighth graders. With only 12 students participating, the safety factor for our players is our main concern. We are also in need of better safe equipment for our players, which our school will be addressing during this down year. Because of the nationwide concern for concussions, especially with our youth, the subject of safer equipment is a priority for St. Joseph’s.

Never fear, however! We are still having a modified season for the players. We will have two scrimmage games with the Chamberlain Cubs, which are scheduled for the last week in September and the second week in October. So the players are still practicing like normal to prepare for this modified season.

Go Braves!

Guest Blogger: LaRayne

Two Native American girls take a break from powwow practice! — Laurissa and Shawnna take a break from powwow dance practice to smile for the camera!

We are all looking forward to hosting many visitors and friends at our 36^th annual St. Joseph’s Indian School Powwow! We are busy having dance practices with St. Joseph’s students. To date, we have around sixty kids who plan on dancing at our annual powwow. This number always increases as powwow nears.

The favorite style for the girls is fancy shawl and the boys like grass the best. The dances look simple and easy, but when it comes to being judged at the powwow, there are several elements that come into play. Not only the foot and body work, but hands, head and accessories also play a part in the judging process. Having beadwork on one’s regalia is also a plus for the judge’s eye.

Because many of our Native American students only dance at our powwow, it is a challenge to convince them that they must “showcase” themselves to the judges in order to gain points. All in all, it is a fun time practicing and dancing at our annual powwow.

Our staff are also preparing for powwow. This is one organization that comes together for one of our many great events of the year. It is great to see staff, families and our students along with the community, friends and donors share in a great cultural experience.

Guest Blogger: Fr. Anthony

Dear Benefactors:

Greetings once again from the banks of the Missouri River at St. Joseph’s Indian School in Chamberlain, SD. Fr. Steve is in transit coming back from a donor luncheon in the Boston area. He stated there was good attendance and when they were finished the team had a chance to do some whale watching.

Since he is away, I was asked to ghost write his blog. My name is Fr. Anthony Kluckman, SCJ and I am the chaplain here at St. Joseph’s. I had the chance last year to help out when Fr. Steve was away and am happy to be in contact with you again.

The students and staff are starting to settle in as we begin the third week of school for grades 1-8 and second full week for our high school students who started on August 15^th.

Several of our high school students are part of the Chamberlain High School Cub’s football team. They had their first game this past Friday night out in Hot Springs, in the Black Hills, and brought home a 7-0 victory. This Labor Day weekend, they will have their first home game against Valentine, Nebraska.

Football is in the air at St. Joesph’s just as many of the pro-teams are in the midst of their training camps. Practice is underway for the Chamberlain/St. Joseph’s youth tackle football fundamental league open to students in the 5^th and 6^th grades. The young people have some fun while learning the basics and it is a good way for all involved to make new friends. In early September flag football will get underway for those in grades 1-4. There will be footballs being thrown, kicked, fumbled and caught four nights out of the week.

This past Saturday morning, we saw 60+ young people from the local area around Chamberlain come to St. Joseph’s campus to take part in a youth triathlon. Those under six took part in a bike ride and run. The 7-15 age group swam, biked and ran around the campus. Many of our younger students took part in this event. St. Joseph’s is always honored to take part in events that strive to offer fun and safe activities for local young people and their families.

Progress on renovations at St. Joseph's Indian School. — Progress on the Akta Lakota Museum!

The new addition to the Akta Lakota Museum & Cultural Center is making a lot of progress since the groundbreaking at last year’s powwow. (Reminder that this year’s powwow will be September 13-16. Hope you can come.) Most of the new structure’s exterior is done and the remainder of time needed to get it ready will take part inside as the new display area is worked on along with the section on the history of St. Joseph’s Indian School.

One benefactor came through this past weekend on her way to view the Powwow at Pine Ridge. She is coming back to visit St. Joseph’s and make a tour of our campus and facilities. She came all the way from New York state. The students welcomed her at our Sunday liturgy and then many of them and our staff thanked her for the items she brought. We are always grateful for your generosity and keep you in our prayers asking that God will continue to bless and strengthen you.

Hope all of you have a safe, relaxing and enjoyable Labor Day weekend.

High school orientation

Hello again; my name is Shana and I’m the High School Residential Director here at St. Joseph’s Indian School. We’ve had a great two days for our HS Student Orientation on Monday and Tuesday!

All of our HS students returned Sunday in order to participate in our HS Student Orientation and get ready for the upcoming school year. Students are happy to be back on campus; seeing their St. Joseph’s friends and staff that most of them didn’t get to see over the summer months (after our HS Summer Program ended in June). It’s great to see all of our high school staff and students get together for a welcome back, announcements and a full two days of reminders, learning and new program items. These days can get long, but they are stress free since no one is worrying about studying or doing homework (YET!).

The ninth and tenth graders meet with our Transition Specialist to talk about College Visits and Career Explorations, and also meet with our tutor to review study skills. The juniors and seniors meet to discuss Senior Planning and Transitional Living. These older students (along with tenth graders) meet with our garage staff to review car care and maintenance. A representative from Wells Fargo comes to campus to talk to all of our HS students about bank accounts. I review Internet Safety and new program changes for the upcoming year and, finally, all of our students go up to Chamberlain High School to get their laptops.

The students are eager (and nervous) for the first day of school on Wednesday! And after several weeks of preparation, all our staff are eager to begin another great year in the High School Program!

This weekend, high school fall sports kick off with the first football game on Friday, followed by the first volleyball game and cross-country meet on Saturday. Our student athletes are pumped up and everyone is full of school spirit! The motivation and inspiration at the beginning of the school year is amazing!

I would like to say a big thank you to all of our donors that make our High School Program such a success! We couldn’t have such amazing staff, homes, resources (not to mention happy, successful students) without the generosity and care we receive from all of you.

God Bless!
Shana
HS Residential Director

Guest Blogger: Claire

Hi again! My name is Claire, and I am a houseparent in the high school program. I’m excited to be back, starting my fifth year here at St. Joseph’s Indian School. This week is all-staff orientation. Those of us that have been gone part of the summer rejoin our hard-working year-round colleagues for a week of training, refreshers and refocusing. This can be pretty exciting, especially when we all arrive in chapel on Monday morning and someone holds up a “free hugs” sign. Woo hoo!

We usually start off with smudging—the Lakota tradition of burning sage—which is a symbolic cleansing of our minds, hearts and bodies with the smoke. This sets a prayerful space and atmosphere for our work together in the upcoming year.

Our orientation theme this year was “Nourishing Mind, Body, Heart and Spirit.”

How cool is that?

After all, we are not just about teaching reading, writing and arithmetic. Our goal is to prepare kids for life outside of St. Joseph’s, so they can be strengthened by relationships, faith, a sense of culture and history, and skills for living. In order to do that, we have to bring our whole selves into the equation—which is why we start the year with prayer, sage, free hugs and even some darn good bread which the Pastoral Care staff handed out.

A lot of this week is about remembering our mission, and focusing on what we hope to accomplish in the upcoming year. For us houseparents, one challenge is to bring the oyate values outlined in our Circle of Courage into our daily routines. Those values are: Belonging, Independence, Mastery and Generosity.

We all agree that we do a great job at building a sense of belonging. We are very good at building relationships with our kids, their families and with each other. We are turning our attention to other areas where we are not so strong. Sometimes, in our efforts to build relationships, we end up doing too much for our kids, to the detriment of their sense of mastery, independence and generosity. We had some serious and thoughtful discussions on how and where we can work on these areas.

Not all of orientation is fun, I will admit. Our newly hired staff have already completed a full week of training, and their heads are about to explode with facts, figures, rules and guidelines.

Veteran staff members groan a bit when we get to the part that we have heard every year. Over and over and over. For those of you who are uninitiated in the joys of orientation, let me sum up Day Two as briefly as possible:

Rule #1: Treat your co-workers with respect. Play Nice.

Rule #2: If you make a mess, please clean it up.

Rule #3: If the mess involves blood or other body fluids, use gloves.

Rule #4: If the mess is on fire, call 911.

Rule #5: If you can’t seem to follow Rule #1, make SURE you follow Rules #2-5.

I think I can manage that!

Thank you for continuing to hold the kids and staff at St. Joseph’s in your prayers as we kick off the 2012-2013 school year. So far, we’re off to a good start.