Guest Bloggers – Page 9 – St. Joseph's Indian School

More snow, updates from the last few weeks

Greetings from St. Joseph’s Indian School!

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

Guess what! It has been snowing again; but this time we avoided being in the bullseye. We received several inches of snow on Christmas afternoon, but our grounds crew did a fantastic job removing the snow from the roads. Today we are getting some gentle flurries.

The Chamberlain Cubs were scheduled to host an East-West basketball tournament yesterday, bringing in schools from across South Dakota, but the threat of snow caused the schedule to begin today.

You may recall that our Lakota Hand Games team had been practicing to defend the championship they won last year at the Lakota Nation Invitational gathering in Rapid City, South Dakota. Sadly they did not do as well this year. We also sent a Knowledge Bowl team to compete against other schools. The team won their first contest but then dropped into the losers’ bracket and could not work their way through to play for the title. Once a team is ousted, each member of the team can take part in a specific category and answer questions and write an essay on their topic. This year one of our juniors, Justin, took part in the Literature category and won first place. Way to go, Justin!!

The archery team boasted a couple place winners:

Camron placed 1^st in High School Boys Bare Bow
Danielle earned 4^th place in High School Girls Bare Bow
Samantha placed 4^th in Middle School Girls Bare Bow

Congratulations archers!

Since our students are away on their Christmas Break, I can share some events that have happened over the last few weeks. Our sixth, seventh and eighth graders participating in Explorers completed their first semester ‘Chores’ project. Through their hard work, the students raised $1,700 for a local resident who is fighting cancer! There was a picture in our local papers of all the members of the club surrounding the beneficiary who had a big smile on their face.

Just before the Break, those who will be serving as bowling captains held a draft of the students who wish to bowl in the upcoming league. There will be about 8 students on each team. Four of the eight will bowl each week. It will be up to the captains to select who will bowl and up to the students to remain eligible academically. There will be about six or seven weeks of bowling.

Also on the sports front, I was informed by our athletic director, Bryan, that one of our seniors, Daves, has been selected to participate in the South Dakota All State football game this coming summer due to his defense, kick returning and receiving capabilities. Congratulations Daves! I believe this is a St. Joseph’s first.

Vickie, the gift shop supervisor at the Akta Lakota Museum and Cultural Center, was the guest speaker at the Chamberlain Kiwanis luncheon meeting recently.

Vickie filled in for the Museum Director, Dixie, who was snowed in that day. Vickie has been with the museum for 18 years. She shared with those attending information on some of the artists we have on display—Arthur Amiotte, Oscar Howe, Robert Penn, Andrew Standing Soldier, Don Ruleaux and Don Montileaux. She mentioned how schools from various parts of the state come for visits. During these visits, our museum staff help them develop a better awareness and understanding of the history of the Native People. She was happy to inform the Kiwanis that approximately 25,000 visitors came through the facility this past year, a 12% increase!

Hope Santa was good to everyone. On behalf of St. Joseph’s Indian School’s students and staff, I would like to extend our best wishes to you and yours for a very Joyous, Peaceful, Healthy and Happy New Year. May God’s blessings be with you now and throughout 2016.

Fr. Anthony Kluckman, SCJ

Chaplain

It’s the best word I can find…

15003102 — Donna, Executive Director of Corporate Services

Humbling. That’s the best word I can find.

Today we had the biggest volume of incoming mail in months. Practically all of it consisted of gifts, well-wishes and Christmas greetings, all from our generous supporters.

St. Joseph’s Indian School strives to acknowledge all donations in short order. This can be a challenge when volumes are large. Because the quantity of mail was so great today, our Mail Processing staff sent out an SOS for assistance in sorting. Feeling confident that no one would miss me at my desk for an hour or two, I headed to the sorting room.

Tray upon tray of mail greeted me when I arrived. A number of other staff members were already at work sorting the mail according to size. This process enables the pieces to be fed properly into the machine which automatically opens the envelopes.

I saw return addresses from all over the country. Many envelopes had hand-written holiday greetings. Others had a colorful array of Christmas stamps. One poor wrinkled-looking envelope had an address that was barely legible. I said a silent prayer to the Post Office for their diligence in getting all of that wonderful mail to us, including those pieces with challenges.

What I felt with each piece of mail that I handled was a deep respect for our supporters. Those envelopes showed me that our benefactors care. That so many people from so many places believe in our mission in little Chamberlain, South Dakota, and the work we do with the Lakota students is very humbling.

I thank you.

Donna

Executive Director of Corporate Services

IT’S BACK!

IT’S BACK!!!! Just when we thought we might be getting over the snow, the third storm in three weeks nailed us. Interstate 90 was closed from Chamberlain to Rapid City– a stretch of about 200 miles.

The big event this past weekend was the Student Christmas Store! The store is a yearly tradition that allows our students to “shop” for their loved ones before Christmas break begins. Our students come with their lists and circle the store a few times before they make their final decisions!

Staff was on hand to help our students pick out just the right gift for their loved ones at home. Once their shopping was complete, they moved to the skating room where other staff members helped them wrap their treasures.

There was also time for goodies and pictures with Santa!

Members of the National Honor Society and students in the Raphael and David Homes got into the spirit of helping others. The NHS students recently sponsored a bake sale to raise money for the food bank here in Chamberlain and the Homes sold handmade tree decorations to support a fundraiser on behalf of Fighting Hunger in South Dakota. The goodies at the bake sale were delicious, and the decorations caught everyone’s fancy and sold out quickly!

Recent bad weather kept pushing our Healing Camp back, but we were able to hold it this past Monday and Tuesday. St. Joseph’s Healing Camp is open to any student and their family members who are dealing with a recent loss of a loved one. There are various activities they take part in to help them talk about their feelings and emotions.

The yearly camp ends with a traditional wiping of the tears ceremony by a local elder. It is one way for St. Joseph’s to show support and encouragement as our students deal with the passing of a loved one who now walks the Holy Road.

Our grade school students have recently been given chance to experience the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Their religious education teacher, Joe, and I set it up so the students could come to the Sacrament during their religious education class time. Fr. Bernard Rosinski, SCJ was available to assist as well! The students were given the chance to receive either the Sacrament (if Catholic) or a blessing (if not Catholic).

We know everyone gets so excited about getting the externals—gifts, cards, etc.—ready for Christmas but sometimes we forget to get ourselves ready. This was an opportunity for them to make sure there will be room in their hearts to welcome the Christ Child.

100_3100 — St. Joseph’s Spelling Bee Winners!

Just as I finished with the last class, the spelling bee began as a way to determine who will represent St. Joseph’s in the state spelling bee in Mitchell, South Dakota. The three students pictured will be representing St. Joseph’s! If they perform well enough, their spelling skills could eventually take them to the National Spelling Bee in Washington, DC!!

Our students left for Christmas Break last Friday and are enjoying spending time with family and friends at home. We hope your plans give you the opportunity to be with your loved ones as we celebrate the birth of the Prince of Peace.

Happy Holidays!!

Fr. Anthony Kluckman, SCJ

Chaplain

What if?

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

It was one of those moments that you are fortunate to experience… like so many others over the past 30 years. I am frequently reminded that the mission at the heart of our work at St. Joseph’s Indian School is truly a blessing for all who are open to it!

It started with our yearly Christmas Store, held on December 12 this year. Like many other caring staff, I volunteered to assist as our students select Christmas gifts for their family members. The Christmas Store comes about because of the generosity of so many. Students are able to select gifts for their siblings and family members. It is an opportunity to give someone a present that they might not otherwise have.

Throughout the day, some staff help students pick out gifts. Others, like me, volunteer to help wrap presents. There’s music playing and Santa Claus is here. St. Joseph’s high school students even assist the younger students. It is a lot of fun!

After assisting a couple of students in wrapping their presents, there was a short break between groups… And there it sat on a table full of wrapping paper.

It was a letter to Santa Claus.

I was not sure where it came from, but it had all the magic that a letter to Santa should have. It had a few misspellings and imperfect penmanship, just as a child’s letter should. But it was magic nonetheless. It asked for gifts for her siblings, and she had drawn a few pictures.

But mostly, I was struck by the spirit of the letter! Simply stated, this child was given the opportunity to ‘Believe’ in the magic of Christmas.

With this being the Christmas Season, I find there are a number of Christmas movies that give one perspective. In the movie “It’s a Wonderful Life,” George Baily sees a world without himself in it! This led me to the question, what would the world be like without St. Joseph’s Indian School? What if we did not have so many generous supporters? What kind of Christmas would our students and their families have?

How would their lives be impacted?

Thirty years ago, my wife and I were fortunate to come to St. Joseph’s Indian School. Back then, the plan was to take a year and see if we could make a difference. And what we have 30 years later is a lifetime full of memories and many instances where the Mission impacted us far more than we impacted the Mission. So what George Baily realized, I too realized. How truly lucky I am to be part of this wonderful Mission that is St. Joseph’s Indian School.

That student letter was a simple reminder of the magic that is in the hearts of our students, their families, the staff and our supporters. It is you, our supporters, and your generosity that allows the Spirit of the Mission to thrive each and every day on our campus. And it is during this important Christmas Season that your generosity is most apparent in the eyes of the children we serve!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! The Spirit is alive! God Bless!

Mike, St. Joseph’s President

What a week!

What a week here at St. Joseph’s! You may recall we were hit with over six inches of snow a week ago Monday and now we are wondering where it all went! The snow was on the ground for several days, but when area temperatures began to rise, it melted quickly. However, do not fear… the students were able to get some sledding in, snowballs thrown and snow forts built!

To help those in Dancing Dolls and Dudes have enough time to get ready for their big recital debut on Sunday, we moved our normal Sunday morning Mass to Saturday afternoon. At the end of Mass, St. Nicholas, St. Joseph’s own President, Mike, stopped by to visit with the children and pass out goodies to those who could answer some questions he had. Everyone was excited seeing Saint Nick, knowing he’ll soon be making his rounds on Christmas Eve.

The Dancing Dolls and Dudes recital went well! The Dolls were divided by age and each group performed two or three dance numbers. The young men taking part all danced together. A few days later, at the end of the Mass on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, we had our dancers stand and took a moment to congratulate them on their performance with a round of applause.

The Akta Lakota Museum and Cultural Center was recently honored by the South Dakota Department of Tourism with the South Dakota Great Service Star for 2015. This is an award given to tourist spots within the state that give exceptional customer service. We want to extend our congratulations to Dixie and her team at the museum for their efforts! They truly do a fantastic job.

Some of our sixth, seventh and eighth grade boys participate in the local Explorers group with young men their age from the local public school. Every year, the young men ‘take to the town’ and perform odd jobs as a way to raise funds for a worthy cause. This year, they began their quest to raise money to assist in purchasing an automated external defibrillator (AED) for the Chamberlain Middle School. After they began saving their money, they became aware of someone many of the boys knew who had just been diagnosed with cancer and decided to make that person the main focus of their money raising efforts! They will still be making a donation for the AED, but the boys are all excited to give back to someone who means a lot to them!

President Mike dressed as St. Nick! — St. Nick (President Mike) visited the students this past Sunday!

With Christmas getting closer, various decorations are going up around campus. The nativity scene was put up where the tipi stands just outside the Akta Lakota Museum. Several of the Homes have also gotten into the holiday spirit and the rest will get busy this weekend so they’ll all have everything in place by the time Christmas break arrives.
I hope your time of preparation for Christmas is moving along smoothly. While it is nice to get all the externals—baking, cards, gifts and decorations—going, may we take a moment to get ourselves ready so there will be room in our hearts when the Prince of Peace comes. Have a great week.

Fr. Anthony Kluckman, SCJ

Chaplain

Oh, the snow!

What a mess! The Chamberlain area was recently hit with over six inches of snow! The storm caused over thirty students and several staff members to be caught away from campus after the Thanksgiving break. Everyone had the option to be back either Sunday or Monday– those who came back on Sunday made it with no problems, but those who waited were stuck. Mitchell and Sioux Falls, South Dakota, set new records with over seven inches of snow!

St. Joseph’s students enjoyed sledding and making snowmen!

The snow caused various activities to be canceled — our healing camp for students who have lost a loved one recently; several basketball games and the initial basketball practice for the high school teams, to name a few. The storm also prevented some of our students from taking part in a skype interaction with some of our benefactors in France. They had written a poem they wanted to share.

8284745188_7d43041529_o — St. Joseph’s students enjoyed the recent snowfall!

I greeted the students on their first day back at school after the holiday. In talking with the students, it seems everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

During the break, I had the opportunity to go up to Ft. Thompson on the Crow Creek Reservation and celebrate mass with several of our SCJ priests who are stationed in the area. After mass, we joined with the parishioners and took part in a lovely Thanksgiving meal with all the trimmings prepared by Sr. Charles. When I returned to campus, I stopped in to visit with the staff who were not able to get away for the break. They, too, had a delicious meal and good fellowship.

When I was in the school library for the interaction with our French Benefactors, the librarian pointed out that the theme for this month is ‘ask a question’. Our librarian is working hard to develop investigative reading skills with our students. If they have a question—all they have to do is pick up a book on the topic and READ!

You may recall that a few weeks ago, I mentioned that the Ambrose Home went to St. Joseph’s Church in Ft. Thompson as part of their social outreach activity but forgot to bring goodies to share. You can see in the photo that they did come up with some nice treats and got them to Sr.

20151121_152802 — St. Joseph’s students enjoyed ‘paying it forward’!

Charles so that they could be shared with the parishioners! Houseparents Jennifer and Katy divided the boys up into four groups who each made something special. They had a great time doing it! Their outreach is one of the ways we show gratitude for the generosity our benefactors show to us.

Since we are facing some real challenges with all the snow, it might be a good time to remind you that our next donor luncheon is in a warmer climate, Fort Lauderdale, Florida on the weekend of January 16-17, 2016. We are sending two of our high school girls to share their insights on St. Joseph’s. If you would like to attend, please give us a call at 1-800-584-9200.

Continued thanks for your support of the programs here at St. Joseph’s. Your generosity helps to make holidays like Thanksgiving so meaningful for our students. We hope you, your family and your friends had a wonderful Thanksgiving as well.

Fr. Anthony Kluckman, SCJ

Chaplain

Greetings from Chamberlain, South Dakota!

Good day from St. Joseph’s Indian School!

It’s another lovely day in the neighborhood… although the evil word SNOW has been mentioned on the weather reports! We have yet to see any and are thankful for mild fall weather.

Since the Lakota (Sioux) youth have begun second quarter, we recently held an awards ceremony for quarter one. The rewards for A and B honor rolls and perfect attendance are a certificate and a WalMart gift card. If a student is on the honor roll with perfect attendance next quarter, the award may increase in value! We also have a contest between age groups to see which class can achieve the highest GPA (Grade Point Average). The one with the highest average gets a pizza party and hangs the award plaque in their classroom.

Lakota (Sioux) students with their teacher. — Ron’s 5th grade class won the award for the highest cumulative GPA for Quarter One!

We honored all veterans and those actively serving our country during Sunday Mass at Our Lady of the Sioux Chapel. THANK YOU just isn’t enough for their sacrifices.

Last Saturday, the Chamberlain Science Club hosted the 1^st Annual Hot Chocolate 5K Walk/Run, and it began here on St. Joseph’s campus. It was a way to celebrate Native American Month and learn about the importance of exercise all year long. Sanford Hospital set up an informational booth and there were baked goodies and warm drinks for all those taking part.

Students are in the process of learning to sing two Christmas carols in the Lakota language — Silent Night and Hark the Herald Angels Sing. Aside from what they are learning in class, singing songs is a nice way to keep developing the Lakota language skills of our students.

This week, St. Joseph’s is honored to welcome Mr. Lawrence Diggs, our current Artist in Residence. He is helping our students express themselves through poetry!

St. Joseph’s was honored to have one of our Native American Studies teachers, Allen, give a presentation on historical trauma in American Indian History to a college class at Dakota Wesleyan University. He shared how early boarding schools tried to negate Native American culture and heritage and ‘mold’ them into the white culture by cutting their hair and not letting them speak their native languages. He also spoke about high rates of unemployment, suicide and sexual assaults currently present on the reservations.

Tree in Our Lady of the Sioux Chapel — St. Joseph’s Indian School’s Tree of Remembrance

He also shared positive notes about how the reservations are working hard to combat suicides and offer resources to those who are struggling. Change will not happen overnight, but he is happy that steps are being taken to get things headed in the right direction and he is proud to be part of that process. Read more in the article that appeared in the Mitchell Daily Republic!

We hope you have a wonderful week. Say pilamaya – thank you – to a veteran and let them know you are grateful for their service to our country.

Fr. Anthony Kluckman, SCJ

Chaplain

PS: The picture shows our tree of remembrance in Our Lady of the Sioux Chapel with the names of our Beloved Dead whom we are keeping in prayer this month.

Exciting happenings at St. Joseph’s!

Good day from St. Joseph’s Indian School!

The weather has gifted us with several sunny, beautiful fall days. This past weekend was an exciting time for the Chamberlain area.

On Saturday, I went to Sioux Falls to watch the State Cross Country races because Ella, a Chamberlain High School freshman and daughter of one of our grade school teachers, was a favorite in Class A and the Lower Brule boys’ team had great success in their Region to qualify for State. Ella dominated from the start and won by 20 seconds, becoming Chamberlain’s first girls’ cross country champion. The Lower Brule boys came in 5 out of 16 teams.

On Sunday, 21 young people received the Sacrament of Confirmation at St. James Parish, the Catholic Church in Chamberlain, from Bishop Paul Swain.

Here on St. Joseph’s campus, the students have all been preparing for Halloween! Several homes went to a local pumpkin patch and picked out pumpkins—some of which will be decorated and entered into a contest! To celebrate Halloween, St. Joseph’s students participate in a Grand March of costumes on Friday after the local trick or treating around campus and a trip through the haunted hallway in school.

Wendy, the lady in charge of our distribution center, is the most popular person on campus during Halloween! She has access to the room where all the necessary ingredients for putting the perfect costume together can be found.

Lakota (Sioux) students dressed up. — The Dennis home is dressed for halloween at school today!

A few weeks ago, two of our senior girls, Mia and Katie, attended the Siena 8^thAnnual Take Charge Conference in Tucson, Arizona, which is a program for Native American youth. The featured speaker was Matene Jerome from Littleton, Colorado who stood up to elected officials and fought to keep the topics of slavery and treatment of Native Americans in school curriculum.

St. Joseph’s students are taking part in Red Ribbon Week, the oldest and largest drug prevention campaign in the country. The program serves as a vehicle for communities and individuals to take a stand for the well-being of children through drug prevention programs, education and personal commitments to live drug free. The program commemorates the ultimate sacrifice made by DEA Special Agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena, who died at the hands of Mexican drug traffickers while fighting against illegal drugs.

Each day of the week has a different theme. Students wore pajamas to class, tie red ribbons around campus and wore crazy caps and mismatched or loud socks while also taking part in trivia contests. St. Joseph’s kicked off Red Ribbon Week last Friday with a Sobriety Carnival complete with inflatables and obstacle courses.

I hope you and yours have had a great week and a wonderful and exciting weekend. Know we are praying for you and your special intentions as our way of saying pilamaya—thank you— for your support of St. Joseph’s Indian School.

Fr. Anthony Kluckman, SCJ

Chaplain

What a great time we had!

Hello from St. Joseph’s Indian School!

My name is Odis. Theresa and I currently serve as houseparents in the Cyr Home, working with boys in grades 4-6.

We want to tell you about the trip we took to the South Dakota State Fair this year! The bus trip to Huron, South Dakota took about an hour and a half. Upon our arrival, the boys ran to the carnival rides! The Zipper and the Ring of Fire were the most popular rides– we were surprised to see how brave our fourth graders were as they all went on the scary rides.

After several hours of enjoying the carnival, it was time to see the livestock barns and petting zoo.

The Lakota(Sioux) students enjoyed feeding the camel. — One of St. Joseph’s students in front of a camel!

At the petting zoo the boys fed camels, lamas and other exotic animals. Some of them had never seen a cow being milked and the dairy farmers were more than willing to show us how it worked and where our milk comes from.

We also went through the swine, horse, goat and rabbit barns. The rabbit barn is always a favorite. We then took the boys to Farm Implement Row! Even though they are always anxious to get back to the rides, we had to pull them away from trying to climb on and sit in every tractor and combine.

After walking through some of the exhibit tents, we went back to the rides and the fair food. One courageous soul even gave the mechanical bull a try! All the other boys were impressed, but did not want to brave it themselves.

South Dakota State Fair day is one of the highlights of the year for our home! The Cyr Home would like to thank you all for your support. Know that we and the Cyr boys pray for you every day.

A new ‘season’ has begun…

Greetings from St. Joseph’s Indian School.

As I was driving home from the Chamberlain High School football game last Friday, I noticed several of the local motels had ‘no vacancy’ signs lit. I couldn’t figure out why so many people were in town …and then it hit me—pheasants.

The South Dakota pheasant season opened Saturday at noon and the color of the day is now blaze orange. This is a very big source of income for the State of South Dakota and local guides. We offered a prayer at Sunday Mass asking the Great Spirit to keep all hunters safe.

Saturday evening, St. Joseph’s sponsored a concert by Mr. Shane Heilman of The Psalms Project at the Our Lady of the Sioux Chapel on St. Joseph’s campus. The Psalms Project is a group of forty musicians who are working to put all 150 Psalms to music with artistic excellence, Scriptural integrity, and cultural relevance—a marriage of King David’s vision with modern music.

Thus far, they have recorded the first 20 Psalms and are preparing to release their third album with Psalms 21-30. During the concert, Mr. Heilman talked about the project and explained the meaning of the Psalms he performed. Mr. Heilman also helped out with the music at our Sunday liturgy. To find out more about the project, you can visit their website, thepsalmsprojectband.com.

Last week saw the end of the football and volleyball seasons here on campus. There is no downtime, however, for the Lakota students at St. Joseph’s! Our girls and boys began basketball, martial arts, gymnastics and archery practices this week.

Lakota (Sioux) students with German students — Our Lakota (Sioux) students enjoyed learning from our visitors through the German Exchange program.

Our four German exchange students and their chaperone finished their visit to St. Joseph’s Indian School last week after attending a few days of school at Chamberlain High and then touring the Black Hills, the Badlands, Wall Drug and Mount Rushmore. They were also able to take part in a powwow in Rapid City on Native American Day (observed as Columbus Day elsewhere).

They ended their stay with a presentation to our high school students about their hometowns, their families, their hobbies, what sports they like and their favorite foods. Our students hosted a farewell party at the end of the presentation complete with a cake shaped like a piece of luggage. Our guests stopped in Chicago for a few days to visit the SCJ’s college program for our seminarians before heading home. The visit was enjoyed by all.

May each of you have a wonderful week as we see the beauty of nature continue to unfold with the changing of the leaves. May we be grateful for the beauty and continue to do our part in protecting Mother Earth. May God’s blessings be with you now and always.

Fr. Anthony Kluckman, SCJ

Chaplain