This is Mike from the William Home, (4th and 5th grade girls). We have been keeping busy since the Christmas season and have started on some new activities. Six of our girls are participating in cheerleading now and they are excited to provide some school spirit for our 4th and 5th grade boys’ teams during home games.
We have also started a new fitness program with our girls and they have really taken pride in their accomplishments. We set a goal to walk 10,000 laps (500 miles) in the rec center by March 6th. We are getting up in the mornings and off to the rec center by 6:30 am and walk for 30 minutes.
The girls enjoy keeping track on our sign at the rec center. We will be going over 5,000 laps this week! Hopefully, our next update will let you know that we have reached our goal.
We hope you all had a safe and merry holiday season!
We got back late last night from our donor luncheons in Austin, Texas. After 8th graders Dawson and Kyle shared their experiences living and going to school at St. Joseph’s, one donor asked,
“How many times have you spoken before a group like this?”
“Never!” Dawson exclaimed.
But for a 13 and 14-year-old, they did a great job and now walk a little taller and more confident.
Our donors come from a wide variety of backgrounds. This trip I met two men who became interested in St. Joseph’s Indian School while searching out their own tribal roots. In periods of our nation’s history when tribal people faced persecution, some families kept quiet about Native heritage. Some children were adopted without knowing of their original people or roots. We hope all tribal people, especially our students, can draw on the wisdom and beautiful aspects of their tradition and culture to overcome obstacles and move toward a brighter future.
While in Austin, we had to visit the University of Texas. With over 50,000 students enrolled, if it were in South Dakota, it would be the 3rd largest city all by itself, and not far from 2nd place Rapid City! The students got a glimpse of large scale residential halls, educational buildings and football stadium on a major university.
We explored the downtown area, which in a few places lived up to the city’s theme of “Keep Austin Weird!” The boys got a kick out of the Museum of the Weird, with its PT Barnum-like displays of a two headed calf and exotic lizards. Some of our donors gave the boys Texas sweatshirts and mementos, and the downtown trip gave them a chance to pick up a few souvenirs for family and friends.
For both the boys, it was their first plane ride, and they found it fascinating to see the world from a higher view. When our students travel, I have a rule about food – they have to try some new foods, and I keep a little notebook to have them rate what they tried. Kyle would have broken the old record of 11, but Dawson was very adventurous, setting the new record for the weekend trip at 23 foods he had never tried, and said he’d eagerly try most of them again!
The Lakota youth had so much fun singing along with Jami Lynn Buttke.
Back on St. Joseph’s Indian School’s campus today, we have a young guitar-playing folk singer, Jami Lynn Buttke, as our artist in residence through the Artists in the Schools program, through the South Dakota Arts Council. She has been teaching our students some of the old folk songs, which I’ve always loved hearing. She also involves the students with some simple percussion instruments that they can join in making some entertaining music.
It was another hectic weekend here on campus at St. Joseph’s Indian School. Fr. Steve Huffstetter, SCJ and a group of students and staff were in Austin, Texas for a donor luncheon, which gives me the opportunity to bring you up-to-date on what’s happening here in central South Dakota.
These Lakota youngsters stopped sledding to pose for a picture!
We are still enjoying a mild winter. What snow we got a few weeks ago is fast disappearing, which means that the students are missing out on sledding. The rec center staff sponsored a “midnight” sled fest recently – they turned on the football field lights so the students could sled on the hillside next to the field – and you could hear the shouts of laughter and joy all over campus. Sunday morning started out with fog, but as it lifted the cold evening air had given all the trees a frosted look which sparkled as the sun came out on another beautiful day.
This past week saw some activity at the construction site of the addition to the Akta Lakota Museum. Large beams were floating through the air as they were lifted into place. One benefit of the mild weather is that it is giving the workers the opportunity to get a lot of work done.
On Friday three of our high school students, Christopher, Jatonne and Erica, along with their fellow cast mates took part in the 56th annual One-Act Play Festival in Aberdeen, South Dakota. Chamberlain High joined with 42 other high schools to perform before the judges and public. Each play has 45 minutes from set-up to take down. The Chamberlain High players performed “We wear the Mask” about some of the issues teens and young adults face. Chamberlain High received superior acting awards, a standing ovation, and much praise from the judges, other coaches and students for the courage to present such a hard-hitting message. On the hardwood court, the Chamberlain boys’ basketball team journeyed to Sioux Falls, South Dakota to take part in the Dakota Schoolers Border Classic against Corsica-Stickney and won. St. Joseph’s has three students on the team—Nick, Claye and Elijah. The team currently has an 11-3 record.
Saturday gave me a chance to see the energy of our Native American students in action. Many of our 6th, 7th and 8th graders are active in bowling. I followed the bus home from the lanes on Saturday after two hours of setting them up to knock them down. As the students poured out of the bus in front of their homes, many of the boys raced into their homes and were back out again heading to the gym for some basketball. They seemingly have energy to burn, which is why the rec center with its gym, workout room and pool is such a blessing – to give our students the opportunity to burn off the energy the Great Spirit has blessed them with.
Sunday brought the Super Bowl and our students and staff got caught up in all the excitement as many did around the country. Several homes hosted Super Bowl parties on campus and it was nice to see that the older homes invited some of the younger students to take part in the festivities. There was good food to munch on and various door prizes to be won during the game itself. I had the chance to attend one at Cyr Home where the 4th and 5th grade boys hosted some of the Benedictine Homes’ boys (1st through 3rd grades) and the one at Sheehy Home where the high school boys hosted the other high school homes along with 8th graders. It helps give them some insight into what the future might hold for those continue in our academic program. Everyone had a great time, although I’m not sure if everyone was happy at the results of the Giants beating the Patriots, but the G-men did seem to be the choice of many of the students.
The Girls’ Inter-city Basketball program had a good day of play on Sunday. They also had the chance this past Friday evening to have some fun as the inter-city players from Chamberlain were invited out to have a swim party with the young ladies from St. Joseph’s. It was a way to have fun and help the girls continue to get to know each other to build up teamwork and help prepare them for when they’ll be together in high school.
The boys’ basketball team, about half way through their season, will meet one of our arch rivals, Lower Brule, as our 5th and 6th grade teams go there today, and Lower Brule’s 7th and 8th grade teams come here to play. These games should help us get a handle on what sort of team we have as the young men prepare for the St. Joseph’s boys’ basketball tournament this coming Saturday. It will be especially interesting since Fr. Steve has two of our stars with him on the luncheon visit to Austin, and they will not be back until after game time.
Again thanks for your prayers and generous support. We pray for you each Sunday at Mass. This Sunday we had the blessing of the throats for any of the students and staff who wished to receive it as the feast of St. Blasé was this past Friday.
Have a great week and may the Great Spirit continue to bless and reward you.
Kara did a great job creating her pipe from a bar of soap!
The 4th grade classes are learning about the rituals and beliefs of our Lakota Culture. Within this unit is the center of who we are as a people. The cannupa or pipe is a part of many ceremonies and everyday life. The pipe can be used for special ceremonies and for prayer when it is needed.
The class embraces the hands-on time of learning about the parts of a real pipe as well as singing the song that accompanies the filling of a pipe. We do not smoke the actual pipe because this is something that is for special use and I believe that many of our children should have this experience with their families.
The students did such a good job carving!
We cannot travel out of state for class trips, so we learn about how pipestone is harvested and shaped into a sacred, beautiful object which holds deep meaning. The students are told the story of the Pte San Win, the White Buffalo Calf Woman, who brought the pipe to our people centuries ago. The pipestone quarry in Pipestone, Minnesota holds historical meaning to the creation stories of our people as well. It is believed that the area where the quarry is today is the place where the last of our people drowned in the great flood. Their blood is the red-colored rock that we use for pipe-making today.
The Native American students are then able to do a little creating of their own. I demonstrate how to carve a piece of soft soap into what might be the bowl of a pipe. As you can see from the pictures, they are proud of their creations.
This unit of learning ties their American Indian culture to their hands, hearts and minds.
The Spelling Bee was challenging, but a lot of fun for everyone!
Our school gym was filled with our Native American students competing in the annual Spelling Bee. We have two sections of each grade, so earlier competition produced the three best spellers in each class. Fr. Anthony and I were the official word readers, and alternated between the grades. Spelling Bees tend to throw in some obscure and complicated words, some of which I had no clue what they meant or how to pronounce them. I was glad that Scripps sends along a definition and pronunciation guide. A few of the grades were quickly decided, but some went back and forth for many rounds. I felt sorry for the kids who knew how to spell the words but froze up in front of the crowd. A few of the younger students got a case of the giggles, which made it hard for them to concentrate. We cheered everyone on, win or lose. The winners now advance to the regional competition at the Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota.
I wandered around St. Joseph’s Indian School’s campus this morning checking out our building projects. Workers placed the 65 foot wooden beam on top of the Akta Lakota Museum expansion. Our own facilities crew is making steady progress on the Stevens and Matthias Home remodeling. One home is ready for the ceramic tiles to be laid in the bathroom and kitchen area. Even our heavy equipment garage is getting an upgrade – finally insulated after all these years. It will make it much easier to get the snow plow and tractor fired up on frigid mornings when they are most needed.
The Hogebach Home (high school girls) eat in shifts because everyone gets home from school, practice and work at different times. The houseparents filled me in on their comings and goings. As the students came home, I had a few moments to ask how each one was doing. Some of the students share readily and talk about many things. Others keep more to themselves. I try to engage them in topics I think they might want to share, listen attentively when they do speak and patiently accept the quiet when they don’t feel like saying much.
A couple interesting student projects of note. The William Home (4th-5th grade girls) has set a goal this quarter of 10,000 cumulative laps around the gym. Several mornings each week the home gets up early and goes out for a walk and exercise. They are keeping a thermometer on the door to the fitness room and coloring in their progress as they reach each new level. They’ve already passed the 3500 mark!
Gina’s computer class is spending a few minutes each day at the website Free Rice where fun quizzes increase their knowledge, make learning fun and educate them about hunger issue throughout the world. The students were talking about the activity even on the playground, so I knew it was a big hit.
Today was my day to run errands in town, to the bank and county building. While out, I stopped in to check on our folks downtown at our Thrift Store. With February around the corner, they’re redecorating with lots of red clothing for Valentine’s Day. The store is a great service to the community, and a good after school job opportunity for a few of our Lakota students.
These girls did a great job cheering on the basketball teams!
I ended the day in the gym, where our 6th-8th grade teams were in action. Besides the players, I cheer for our cheerleaders and encourage them to keep on improving. They had the help of our younger students, the 1st-3rd graders, who make up the pep club. This year they all have matching shirts that are St. Joseph’s basketball-style jerseys. They sure get both enthusiastic and loud when they start cheering. Half way through the games however, the time came for them to leave for supper, homework and bedtime. The gym quieted down considerably, but the action was still close and worth cheering for.
The boys had so much fun on their home trip to the Black Hills!
Now it’s time to get cracking with those books and getting through second semester. You would think the fun and exciting times would be over. That is not the case. This time of year for many homes here at St. Joseph’s begins with what we call the home trip.
Every year, each home on campus takes a home trip. Home trips are a wonderful time to relax and enjoy time together as a home without the stresses of homework, schedules and responsibilities. It’s a time to step out of the home routines and just be ourselves. It’s a time to get to know one another better and build friendships and relationships.
Derrik and Tommy stop for a picture while skiing.
We took our home trip this past weekend. The adventure took us to Terry Peak in Lead, South Dakota. This is the second year our home has made this trip. The boys enjoyed it so much last year that they voted to do it again this year. The boys have looked forward to this trip all year and now they have the memories.
We stayed in the beautiful Buffalo Trail Lodge. This is where the boys played in the snow, where they laughed at times, played games and watched movies.
The boys spent most of the two days skiing while others did snowboarding.
The boys had a lot of fun. They were very appreciative that donors help provide such an amazing experience. As one of the boys stated, “You guys are spoiling us!”
Our morning prayer service to begin Catholic Schools Week was an opportunity for us to introduce our new strategic plan campus wide. Aaron, in our marketing department, filmed different events on St. Joseph’s Indian School’s campus, and created an effective visual of staff and students demonstrating our core values in everyday life – Faith, Collaboration, Integrity, Stewardship, Respect and Excellence. I’m proud to be a part of St. Joseph’s Indian School, and viewing the video with all our staff and students made me even more proud of what we are working on together as a community.
Before introducing the new vision and plan, I thanked everyone for the work they’ve done over the past four years to bring much of our current plan to fruition. The work we do now will lay a stronger foundation for future generations of students and staff, so that they can build on what we do today, and take St. Joseph’s forward in creative and exciting new ways.
All the students smiling big during Catholic Schools Week.
After the staff went back to work, the students remained behind so we could take a school picture with everyone on the bleachers. Emily, our photographer, is good with the kids, and after everyone is well-behaved and she gets the pictures she needs, she lets everyone get a little wild for a fun snapshot, which the students love.
We had 5th and 6th grade basketball games after school against Crow Creek, which is the Indian reservation where perhaps 20% of our students are from. There were families in the stands rooting for kids on both sides of the ball. After the games, I was slated to visit Cyr Home (4th-5th grade boys) for supper. One of the students, Ben, invited his family to stay for supper, so the ranks were swelled by six more guests. Paula, the houseparent who was cooking, found out just a few minutes beforehand. She has learned to be very accommodating and flexible. She took out a container of leftovers, opened up a couple more cans of fruit, and served smaller portions, but it stretched around to satisfy everyone at the table and the family had a nice visit.
Some of our students see their families regularly. For others, it doesn’t happen all that often. But we try our best to make families welcome whenever they are able to stay.
It's Catholic School's Week: January 29 - February 5, 2012.
Today begins Catholic Schools Week, with the theme of Faith, Academics and Service. Today’s scripture readings lent themselves to a reflection on each of those. It’s not enough for students to be smart about their subject matter. What they learn needs to help them become people who understand God’s plan for them and find ways uniquely their own to serve the human family.
During the announcements at mass, I congratulated student achievements of all kinds. The high school one-act play took 2nd place at the regions and the thespians will advance to the state competition in Aberdeen next week. Cassidy, one of our 7th graders, has made the high school junior varsity gymnastics team. In only her 2nd meet, Cassidy placed in several events and brought home a 5th place overall. She was sitting up front with the choir, and when I mentioned her name, she got very embarrassed, but everyone gave her a big hand.
Cassidy may have appeared embarrassed at mass, but when I joined Pinger Home (6th-8th grade girls) for brunch, she brought down the gymnastics ribbon she won from the Hot Springs match to show me. When I first arrived at Pinger after mass, most of the girls were upstairs in the bedroom area cleaning. While the Pinger Home was just remodeled two years ago and still looks very new, that crew of girls may be the best cleaners we have, as the home looked spotless. But at least a couple of the girls chose the part of Mary rather than Martha, and shared hospitality as they sat to visit with me while Brian, the houseparent put the finishing touches on the food.
The leisure was short lived as most of the girls were off to play inter city basketball, and I headed home to make Sunday truly an appreciated day of rest.
My Saturday was a quiet one in the office with homily preparation, letters and odds and ends. I did take a few breaks to go stroll around St. Joseph’s Indian School’s campus, for it is mostly a fun and relaxing day for our Lakota students. The bowling league was again in action at the alley, and our 1st – 3rd graders who are learning to wrestle practiced at the high school. Archery has begun again, and I watched the veterans from last year try to shake some of the rust off their aim. We also had eight more new students sign up so they can learn how to use bow and arrow!
One academic program though, is run by our high school support staff. “Saturday school” is required for students who have missing assignments, need tutoring or encouragement. Because the public school has a long weekend, many of our high school students took advantage and got checked out to spend some days at home. Pam only had one student to tutor this morning. But it did give her time to prepare information for summer camps and educational opportunities that she will also encourage the students to participate in.
