St. Joseph's Indian School

This morning, about 20 of our staff took part in another strategic planning session. Besides preparing for the future, I’ve enjoyed the chance the past two days to see and catch up on the summer activities that have been going on around campus and in people’s lives.

This afternoon, I went to maintenance shop for break. After being gone for several weeks, I’ve been very impressed to see the progress the crew has made in fixing and renovating the St. Joseph’s Indian School’s campus. It’s easiest to notice the home remodeling and new paint jobs. There’s a lot of unseen preventative maintenance that goes on over the summer that is no less important.

Our hot weather continues, and I saw Mark and Gary on the roof at different times. They are unplugging vents and making sure the air conditioning systems don’t overheat. But the triple digit temperatures made for hot feet while on the roof. Everyone has been asked to drink plenty of water and take frequent breaks. The crew has gone hard at the home remodeling project during the morning hours, but once the heat starts to climb, they have to shift to different jobs elsewhere. Unfortunately, with the remodeling, one of the first things to come out of the homes is the heating and cooling system so a better, energy-efficient one can be installed.

Our Admissions Board began meeting today. Over the next week, we will review case files, applications and determine which students will be accepted into St. Joseph’s Indian School’s upcoming school year. We also prioritize the waiting list so that if one child ends up not coming, we can quickly invite someone else. We try to service many on the waiting list, but can only take as many students as we have room for in the Homes. We look to be full for the start of the year.

At 5:00, as I drove west to Lower Brule, the thermometer peaked at 104 degrees. With all the water on the river and moisture in the soil, it’s also unusually humid for South Dakota. Instead of spending the evening in a cool place, I was in the sunshine on a hill overlooking the prairie. I attending a ceremony to dedicate and bless a tombstone for a family cemetery. A Lakota prayer leader blessed the site with sweetgrass and an eagle feather. I sprinkled Holy Water and used some traditional prayers of the church, before offering words of support and comfort to the family. When it is extremely hot or cold I think God understands when my prayer style speeds up a bit, and my reflections get a little shorter and more concise. Perhaps a hundred family and friends gathered to remember their mother and grandmother on what would have been her birthday. Afterward, we gathered in a shady spot in the backyard for a meal – frybread, soup and many delicious side dishes.

I arrived back in Chamberlain, South Dakota Friday evening. The first thing I noticed is how high the Missouri River is from the flooding – higher than anyone here has ever seen it. The road leading to the campground south of St. Joseph’s Indian School is now being used as a boat ramp, since the campground itself is completely submerged. One of our pumping stations near the campus is under water, but we are high enough up to have escaped any further damage so far.

Today, I went downtown to the parish to welcome Fr. Guy, who is the new pastor at St. James. We lived in community together years ago when I was in college and he was finishing his theological studies. I tried to treat him to brunch after mass, but when I went to pay the bill we learned that one of his parishioners already picked up the tab for both of us!  Apparently they wanted to welcome him as well. While taking care of parish duties, Fr. Guy will also be part of our local religious community, so we’ll regularly see him on St. Joseph’s campus for prayers, meals and other events.

I stopped by the Akta Lakota Museum & Cultural Center, where travelers are steadily visiting our campus. I met a retired couple on a large circular tour of the national parks, a young navy family moving from Illinois to Washington State and a Wisconsin youth group headed to the Lower Brule Indian reservation to begin a week’s service project.  I enjoy hearing of people’s connection with St. Josephs’ Indian School and what brought them out our way. Besides giving information about the campus, I sometimes also serve as a travel guide, with recommendations of what to see and do further down the road.

An intimidating part of returning from an extended time away is going through all the mail and messages waiting in the office. The past couple of days I made a solid start, yet it’s easy to get discouraged at what remains to be done. And the more I do, the more connective threads I see of things that can be done.  I’m reminded of the slogan that slow and steady wins the race, but I have many laps to go.

I hope you’ve enjoyed hearing about campus activities from all our guest bloggers here at St. Joseph’s Indian School. I’ve enjoyed my time away – three weeks of vacation and a week for retreat. This week I will be in Milwaukee for SCJ community meetings and to celebrate the jubilees of priests and brothers who have been in vows for 50 and 60 years. I take a lot of inspiration from those men who have given so much of their life in service of others. I’ll return to St. Joseph’s campus next weekend. While a lot happens at St. Joseph’s Indian School over the summer months, I know the school has been in great hands even in my absence.

My time away has been a nice combination of visiting family and friends and seeing some sights I’ve long wanted to visit. One of my sisters now lives in upstate New York, and after a few days with Anne, I got to fulfill a long time dream and spend a day at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. On my way to Baltimore for retreat, I stood in Independence Hall in Philadelphia and reflected on the events of our nation’s history. I wondered how we can do more to preserve life, liberty and freedom in our communities. While in the city of brotherly love, I also made it up the steps that Rocky Balboa sprinted up in the movie. As I look back over the city, I also looked back over the past year with a great deal of gratitude for the prayers and support. I’ve come a long way since surgery and I will keep running the race with faith and hope and love.

Each year I look forward to retreat week as a time of prayer and reflection. One of the reflection talks was on self-care for priests. Since surgery, I’ve been good about the physical self-care, taking time to stretch and exercise. It showed results as I walked many miles each day with few problems. I suppose what I do have to work on is self-care that avoids procrastination and tackles the hardest but most important tasks first, instead of doing the easy things first and causing stress as deadlines approach. Time along the trip spent with those I love, and quiet times with the Lord are the best self-care there is.

Hello! I work in the Clinical Services Department as the Drug and Alcohol Prevention Coordinator at St. Joseph’s Indian School. The 2011-2012 school year will be my fourth year in this position. Prior to this position, I worked on the web site in the Marketing Department for three years. Both positions have taught me so much and even though the differences between them are like night and day, I’ve realized the employees of our organization share the same mission regardless of which department you work in.

I feel very fortunate to be in the Clinical Department; I really enjoy working with and getting to know our kids, and I get to work with a wonderful, supportive group of people.

I helped with summer camp during June. We hold a two-week camp for both the Crow Creek and Lower Brule Indian Reservations. Our bus travels to the reservation every morning to pick the kids up.  When they get to campus the kids enjoy a full day of arts and crafts, recreational activities, a nutritious lunch, Lakota Studies and swimming. Snacks are handed out before the kids are bussed back to the reservation.

I have also gone on a few interviews this summer. Once parents/guardians submit an application for a child to attend St. Joseph’s Indian School, someone from the Clinical Department will travel (usually to the child’s home) and interview the parent/guardian and the child. It’s nice to meet new kids and their families. It’s pretty common for kids that are applying to have siblings or cousins that are already at St. Joseph’s, so it’s kind of neat to put the connections together.

Other tasks that are keeping me busy this summer include preparing for my 5^th grade guidance class that will start when the kids come back for the school year and taking a college course.  I am working towards my State Prevention Certification and am taking the last of five courses before I can take the certification exam. I am required to complete a service learning project for the course, and I chose to visit the Lower Brule, South Dakota Boys and Girls Club for a couple of days in which one of my colleagues and I shared prevention and cultural activities with the youth.

Summer is going so fast; it’s hard to believe, but the kids will be back on campus in about 5 weeks! Once school starts I will be busy facilitating Red Path groups, serving on the FAST (Families and Schools Together) team, preparing for Red Ribbon Week, administering random drug tests and most importantly, making sure that any of our students who need drug and alcohol services will be getting the help they need.

Our mission at St. Joseph’s Indian School is only possible because of your generosity. Thank you and God Bless!

Have a great rest of the summer!

Mitakuapi  translation – (listen I am going to tell you something), this is what our elders would say, so anytime you are at a gathering and you hear a Native American speaker, or presenter and they say this, you will know what they mean.

Hi Everyone, my name is April  and I began working here at St. Joseph Indian School in July of 2005. I am the Family Liaison/Clinical Support. I also Coordinate the FAST program here at St. Joseph’s. I love meeting people and new families. As some of you know, I am also known as Grandma FAST or just Grandma, which is fine with me. I have the opportunity of going out and recruiting families and getting to know the families with home visits and weekly contacts. I would like to thank Fr. Steve for asking me to be a part of this. This is very interesting, and one has the opportunity to get to know others a little bit more.

A little about me: I am a Certified Chemical Dependency Counselor – I with the state,  and also International. I work with domestic violence, so therefore an advocate for the shelter, and serve on the Child Protection Team with Social Services and inter-agency in Fort Thompson, South Dakota.  I love my job, especially when it comes to the children, seeing that smile on their faces, when their parents come to campus and stay with them.

I do appreciate St. Joseph’s staff and the working relationship I am personally acquiring with everyone. I know there are still a lot that I haven’t had the chance to meet or work with, but I just want to say thank you in a good way for all your hard work.

I end with a warm hearty hand-shake.

Hello and happy summer to all!  My name is Julie, I am the Family Service Counselor here at St. Joseph’s Indian School.  I started my journey with St. Joseph’s about 10 years ago.  When I first came to St. Joseph’s I worked as a houseparent with 6^th-8^th grade girls.  The next year, I moved over to work with 6^th-8^th grade boys.  After my first two years at St. Joseph’s, I moved into the Clinical Services Department which is responsible for admissions, counseling, guidance classes and many other things.  Today, I work as a Family Service Counselor with 6^th-12^th grade girls.  If I didn’t think it would get me in trouble,  I’d tell you I work for the greatest department on campus.  I truly enjoy my job, my colleagues and the kids I work with! (Oh yes, and all the departments on campus are stellar … I’m just biased because I work in the Clinical Department.)

Summer is a different kind of busy for the Clinical Services Department.  We work on admissions, we visit families and we plan and prepare for the coming school year.  Yesterday, I was out and about in Fort Thompson, South Dakota visiting families and helping with admissions.  It is always great to check in with families and hear they are doing well.  It’s also nice to hear that the kids are getting excited to come back and see us!

Summers are a lot of fun for the Clinical Services Department because we get to travel to various parts of the state to see our current students/families and we also get to meet great new families who would like to have their children attend St. Joseph’s Indian School.  The hardest part of admissions is having to tell families all our spots are full and we will not be able to accept their child right away, but will keep them on the waiting list.

It’s hard to believe it is the middle of July already.  Our kids will be coming back before we know it, and we are all excited to see them and have them here with us again!  If you are ever in the area, make sure to stop in and see us!  We would love to have you and show you what a great place we have here!

Have a great, safe and happy summer!