St. Joseph's Indian School

Thursday, November 25, 2010

While the temperature was a bone chilling 12 degrees, the skies were sunny and the roads clear as I drove the 25 miles north to Fort Thompson to concelebrated mass. Fr. Bernie began the mass by reintroducing me to the parishioners I already know and cherish from my time as pastor there. His point was that I’m a living example that we have much to be thankful for, especially when we’ve come through a rough stretch of life, be it health or other issues. I know many in that congregation have included me in their prayers, and I was filled with a deep sense of gratitude.

After mass, Sr. Charles had a few turkeys ready, and people brought along the other fixings. About 30 people stayed in the hall to have their Thanksgiving meal together. Some would repeat the festivities later at home. But for some it was their only holiday meal, which is why I find it so meaningful to return to the parish for that tradition.

TJ is one of our commissioned lay ministers in the church. He quit drinking years ago and has sponsored countless people through the AA program. He also has been a great promoter of retreats the Sioux Spiritual Center offers to help people trying to overcome addictions. He said that giving up drinking created a totally new life for him – like being born again. In case I needed a reminder how tough life can be for some families, he said that of the six boys in his family, he is the only one who lived past the age of 32. All but one of the deaths were alcohol related. After he raised his own family, he now has custody of 5 relatives ages 3-8, and is trying to raise them in a safe and loving environment.

Meeting people who make a difference like that on the reservation is truly inspiring.

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

The mass exodus has begun. We do staff a break home for a few of the students who will stay here for the Thanksgiving holiday, but most of our students are leaving for a few days to enjoy time with their family. We have icy, wintry weather across the state, and to beat the approaching storm, many of our students went home last night.  Most of our staff will get to enjoy some time with their families as well, thought I’m grateful for the ones who will check in on campus and make sure the heat, water and physical plant is running the way it should.

 Later on today we’ll host the other SCJs who work on the Lower Brule & Crow Creek Reservations, and Fr. Mark and Fr. Gary from in town. Since they will have masses and parish celebrations tomorrow, today works out well for our Religious “family” to have a meal together and relax. May each of you reading this have a Blessed Thanksgiving!

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Our Baltimore luncheons were a great success! Saturday, we hosted 130 donors, and Sunday a group of 50. Our two students, 8^th grader Robert, and 7^th grader William weren’t bashful at all and helped me tell folks about what life is life here at St. Joseph’s. As always, we met such kind and generous people who are part of our St. Joseph’s Tiyospaye club. Some of the donors I’ve met personally when they’ve stopped by the school to visit, especially at our annual Powwow. Others, I’ve know only through phone calls or the mail. It’s so satisfying to sit at table and share a meal together and say thanks – especially appropriate as we approach Thanksgiving. God has given us so many kind and caring benefactors, and we pray that we can be good stewards of the gifts they share.

The plane ride was William’s very first. There’s a brief moment when the plane wheels first leave the ground and you feel like you are floating. As the plane rose and the cars and houses became like miniature toys in the distance, the look on William’s face was nervousness turned to glee – that was priceless for me.

Craig, our Junior High language arts teacher chaperoned. He had never been to Baltimore and was as excited as the students. We stayed downtown, right on the inner harbor, and explored lots by foot. Saturday morning we got up early and found the historic graveyard where Edgar Allen Poe is buried, and the house where Babe Ruth was born. They boys also took pictures of the Orioles’ Camden Yards ballpark, and the stadium that’s home to the Ravens. After the luncheon we checked out the historic ships in the harbor, boarding the USS Constellation, and getting a glimpse of life on a submarine. Baltimore features the most wonderful Aquarium, and on Sunday afternoon we  marveled at the delicate Jelly Fish, and laughed while sitting in the splash zone at the dolphin show. Sometimes it’s the little things that tickle our students most. Robert was happy just taking the escalator down to the subway and seeing what that looked like.  

William wanted a t-shirt from the Hard Rock Café. There we noticed a picture of the Seminole Tribal Council when they purchased the Hard Rock franchise. Tribes who have branched out into successful business ventures give a model our students can learn from.

I suggest the students try new foods, especially local ones, when they are in a new part of the country, so we split an order of Maryland Crab Cakes. William ate every bite, giving it an 8 of 10. Robert made faces trying to get even a little down, and rated his a zero! The students never seem to have trouble finding rich and gooey dessert that rate high on their scale.

We attended mass at the Basilica Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, a church which has witnessed so much history. It was restored a few years ago, and the paintings are bright and beautiful. I used the occasion to educate about the bishops chair (cathedra) and the Umbraculum which is the colorful umbrella that is the mark of a basilica.

I enjoy travel, but it does tire you out some. I spent much of today taking care of mail and messages that came in while I was away. I’m looking forward to some quieter time in the few days right after Thanksgiving.

Friday, November 19, 2010

Greetings!  Fr. Steve is away this weekend attending a donor luncheon in Baltimore, MD and he asked me to touch base with you to inform you what happened this weekend here at St. Joseph’s Indian School in Chamberlain, SD.

My name is Fr. Anthony Kluckman, SCJ and I am the chaplain here at St. Joseph’s. 

On Friday, November 19^th, I finished the monthly novena of Masses we offer for our benefactors.  Also, I wanted to tell you that we pray for you every Sunday at Mass.  We are truly grateful for your generosity.  Friday night also brought a unique visitor to the Chamberlain area as the National Christmas tree from Wyoming stopped to overnight in Chamberlain.  People were able to go a view the tree and write their names and/or a brief message on the banner hanging on the truck.  Although it was a bit late arriving, several of the homes here on campus were able to take part in the welcoming activities.

Luckily, we have avoided any real wintry weather thus far, but the local weather stations say that is about to end.  The next day or two could bring us some snow.  We are hoping that it will not interfere with  Thanksgiving travel plans.

At Mass today, we had the students bring cut outs of a pumpkin, turkey or leaf on which they were able to write what they are grateful to the Great Spirit for.  These were then placed in front of the altar and will remain there through Thanksgiving as our way of saying, “Thanks to God”.

This afternoon we had the latest two games of the inter-city basketball league.  This is a program that invites local boys in the 6^th, 7^th and 8^th grades to come out to St. Joseph’s and join with our students in those same grades to play basketball.  The aim of the program is to help the students get to know each other now, so that when the may be in high school together here in Chamberlain, they will already be acquainted with each other.  When the boys basketball season begins after Christmas, then the Sunday league will be for our girls who are in the midst of their basketball season now.  I enjoy helping out by officiating at some of the games.  Thus far my knees are holding up.

On behalf of Fr. Steve and all the students and staff here at St. Joseph’s, I would like to extend sincere greetings that you and yours will have a wonderful and Happy Thanksgiving.  May God’s blessings continue to be with you all.

Thursday, November 18, 2010

All my bags are packed, and in the morning I’ll travel with two students and three staff to Baltimore for donor appreciation luncheons.

When I prepare to travel, I inevitably spend the day before sorting through the piles of paperwork on my desk trying to make sure I’ve not overlooked something that should have been done yesterday. My day was taken up with lots of ten and fifteen minute tasks, sandwiched around three meetings. When I’m flustered and not centered, those tasks can seem bothersome. Today, I was able to do them with a good spirit, realizing that it’s the little chores in life that when offered up to God are the acts that can help me grow spiritually.

In the business office the good news is that we’ve done a great job of keeping up with the mail, so that people will get a speedy thank you. The bad news is that this time of year we like to be a little more behind because we’re getting so much mail. That isn’t the case this year – so many people are having to make do with less because of the economy, and have to cut back on some things, and we understand that.

Brother Clay and I met for a supervisory meeting. Brother Clay has just one month left working in the school as part of his internship, and I’ve enjoyed his presence in our religious community, and the difference he’s made in the lives of our students. He will return to Chicago to start his Master’s degree after Christmas. Working with the students as a tutor has been a growth experience for Brother Clay. Besides helping him learn patience, he sees how important it is to understand the other stresses going on for the students in their homes here, and their “home homes” as the students call them. Those issues certainly affect their ability to concentrate and learn.

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

At our management meeting we discussed our health care plan. By promoting wellness, we hope to keep our costs down, but a major illness or two can quickly put a strain on any insurance policy. We also have a system of Catastrophic Leave. One of our employees has used up all her sick leave and personal days, and faces yet another surgery. Human resources put a call out asking if any employees had extra sick days they wanted to donate to help her out. I was pleased to hear that we had a quick and generous response from co-workers. Now she has enough days to go into surgery without worrying about losing any days of pay.  We also set up our next supervisor training workshop about how to handle bad attitudes in the work place. That does come up occasionally, and we need to be proactive instead of letting hurts fester.

In other HR news we have a vacancy, a High School houseparent position, and are interviewing two candidates this week. They’ll spend some time in the homes to get a feel for what we do and see if it is a good fit. Several other houseparents will interview and put in their recommendations.

We have a number of remodeling projects around campus. The business office break room is finally getting a makeover and facelift. When I stopped by to check out the progress, I saw Mark installing more energy-efficient lights. Because of our efforts at adding more insulation, better windows and doors, and better lighting we are already seeing a savings on our electric bills. We still use a tremendous amount, but efforts at conservation help out in the long run.

For Enrichment night the students across campus are gathering in family groups, with their own brothers and sisters or close relatives, and putting together baskets of goodies to take home with them to help their families celebrate Thanksgiving.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Along with almost all our of 60 houseparents and several other staff who regularly drive our St. Joseph vehicles, I started off this morning by attending a winter safety driving class. While  most of the others and I have seen many winters, it was still good to review how we should approach driving when the roads get slick. We have one new houseparent from Louisiana that it may be the biggest adventure for! As with many things in life, we get in trouble when we take too much for granted and don’t periodically update our knowledge.

At the Summerlee Home (4^th – 5^th grade girls) they talked about this afternoon’s basketball game. They lost to Lower Brule, but just appreciated the chance to play. No students who try out are cut from the team, and our coaches are good about rotating all of the players in. The other topic of conversation was the “Dancing Dolls and Dudes” program. It’s run off campus by volunteers in the town, and most of the Summerlee girls are participating. They’re learning dance steps and a routine for a performance in early December. Excitement is building. Activities where our students can interact with peers in town are especially helpful in building social skills and self-confidence.

Monday, November 15, 2010

Tonight I helped out at the 6^th grade girls basketball practice. Basketball has always been my favorite sport to play. Growing up I loved the competition with other kids, but would also spent hours at a time alone, just shooting baskets. During turbulent times it was therapeutic – time to think and find my center.

During tonight’s warm up time it felt so good to be on the court again shooting. I still can’t run our jump much, but the old reliable set shot is still there. I enjoyed interacting with the students, observing, encouraging, and offering a tip or two. And the activity also helps me along in building back strength and agility.

When I went to Speyer Home (6^th-8^th grade boys) for supper the students were diligently working on a project. This year they are in living in temporary quarters while the real Speyer Home is in the remodeling process. Earlier in the year, the boys culled some tall and straight young trees from the woods and set them aside to dry out. Now they are sawing the wood and creating a rather large welcome banner for their home, using the wood and an Elk hide. Working on the common project has become a good way to build up their camaraderie and group spirit.

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Since St. Paul spoke about not loafing in today’s scriptures, my homily focused on putting our best efforts into work, school and prayer. I don’t know what impact it will have on study habits, but we keep trying to reinforce that message. You usually get out of something what you put into it.

At the announcement time, I was pleased to introduce to our students a woman who graduated in the class of 1947.  Afterward she spoke to me about what  little they had at St. Joseph during the early days, especially during the years of WWII.  When it came her turn to clean up the church and organize all the prayer books in the pews, Father rewarded her with  three jelly beans–but that was a treasure to her. She ran to her sister, cut one of the jelly beans in half, and shared the treat – one and a half jelly beans each!

Saturday, November 13, 2010

We had three basketball games this morning against our closest rivals, Chamberlain. Two of the games went into overtime, and the third was decided on a basket with 3 seconds left, so they were exciting all the way. When I walked over to the gym, the parking lot was full and cars were parked up and down the street. Many of the cars belonged to Chamberlain families, but several of our St. Joseph families came to see their daughters in action, then checked them out for a weekend at home.

Tonight the drama club held their play. The comedic spoof was called “An Evening of Bad Acting.” Three of our St. Joseph students had roles and have been working hard for several months to learn their lines and actions. It takes someone willing to risk and get up in front of a crowd to be in theater. It’s a growing experience for our students, and when the curtain dropped, all three were happy they’d gotten involved.

Lots of staff’s children were involved too. Our head groundskeeper got up with his son and did a rousing rendition of Jimmy Buffet’s “Cheeseburger in Paradise.” At the end of the evening the drama teacher called all the seniors to the stage and told us about them and how they’ve grown and worked together over the years. I hope some of our underclassmen stick it out and are the ones we’re applauding for a year or two from now.