It’s the First Day of School!

Dear Friends of St. Joseph’s,

The school bell has rung!!!  The Lakota students began arriving yesterday, and some came in early this morning.  As the students entered school this morning, the teachers and staff greeted them with leis –the traditional sign of welcome in Hawaii.  We have a large number of students this year.  It looks like we’ll have 50 high school students and 166 students in grades 1-8, for a total of 216 Native American youngsters! We are grateful for your generosity that makes it possible to welcome in so many students to St. Joseph’s Indian School.

Check out our First Day of School photo album!

As part of our commitment to make sure we can offer a safe environment for the students we serve, our staff has learned about the Olwes Bullying Prevention Program.

It was developed in Norway by Dr. Dan Olwes and has been used here in the United States for about 5 years now.  It is a program that encourages all St. Joseph’s staff, not just teachers and houseparents, but anyone who will be in contact with the students, to be alert to any negative actions or words so that someone can step in on the spot to prevent the situation from escalating further.

We have ‘no bullying’ signs up around campus and will have an official kick-off at the start of September to remind everyone that it’s necessary to treat each other with respect and dignity.

We began the monthly novena of Masses for all our benefactors on Sunday, August 11 and it will continue to August 19.  We offer this novena each month as our way of saying thanks to you for your support and encouragement.

I hope each of you has a wonderful week and that God’s blessings and strength will continue to be with you.

Sincerely,

Fr. Anthony Kluckman, SCJ

Chaplain

St. Joseph’s Indian School

Author: St. Joseph's Indian School

At St. Joseph's Indian School, our privately-funded programs for Lakota (Sioux) children in need have evolved over 90 years of family partnership, experience and education. Because of generous friends who share tax-deductible donations, Native American youth receive a safe, stable home life; individual counseling and guidance; carefully planned curriculum based on Lakota culture and individual student needs and tools to help build confidence, boost self-esteem and improve cultural awareness. All of this helps children to live a bright, productive, possibility-filled future. View all posts by St. Joseph's Indian School