The St. Joseph’s 5th grade completed a week long Starbase Project NOVA class from September 17-21, culminating with a field trip to the South Dakota Air and Space Museum located next to Ellsworth Air Force Base in Rapid City, SD.
During the week, the students learned about science, technology, engineering and math; all while completing hands-on activities and experiments. Some of the activities were designing a space shuttle seat for Eggbert, their passenger, to allow him to safely land on his return trip from outer space. In this activity, they also learned about the importance of wearing seat belts while traveling. They also built miniature rockets made out of straws, pieces of notes cards used for wings, and clay for the nose tip. Their objective was to use a special launcher to try to land their rocket on a specific target. If their first launch wasn’t successful, they were given opportunities to make modifications to their launch to try to reach their desired target. They also conducted a chromatography experiment using different black markers to determine which marker was used to write a special note. One more activity they completed was programming robots to maneuver through an obstacle course.
On their field trip, they were able to take a guided tour of the South Dakota Air and Space Museum, as well as observe experiments using liquid nitrogen. A highlight was sampling ice cream made with the liquid nitrogen.
The St. Joseph’s 5th graders really enjoyed the week. Some of their comments about Starbase were,
“it was awesome,” and “we got to do some really neat experiments.”
Fifth grade class picture at the South Dakota Air and Space Museum.
Hello – my name is Pam and I teach “Personal Living Skills” here at St. Joseph’s Indian School.
Have you ever heard someone say,
“My checkbook won’t balance?”
This is a frustrating and time-consuming experience for not only adults but for St. Joseph’s students as well! Eighth graders have been busy keeping a checkbook in their Personal Living Skills class. Students are learning the responsibility of managing money through a checking account. Students keep a record of every check written to make sure that they don’t spend more money than they have!
They use a debit card for purchases, do balance transfers online, ATM transfers and withdrawals, and pay by phone/internet banking, too. Once they have opened up their checking account, the bank sends them an account statement showing their bank balance and outstanding checks.
It is never fun when the bank statement doesn’t match your own check register. This is when our eighth graders go and search for outstanding checks … They have to balance their account to the penny before moving on to the next month. At the end of the unit, students will purchase a car and have to make the loan payment to the bank on the first of every month.
This Personal Living Skills unit will give students a better understanding of the more important aspects of a checking account and responsible economic practice in the real world.
Greetings from the banks of the Missouri River! Fr. Steve is away for a meeting and that gives me the chance to share what’s happening here at St. Joseph’s.
It was a relatively quiet weekend since the powwow is over. Chamberlain High School had an open weekend for sports since their Homecoming was last weekend. Though it seems we just started the school year, our high school students are already at mid-term and had Friday afternoon off. It gave our high school students the chance to work on any “incompletes” they may have. This is important, since all five of our high school homes are have a little competition – whichever home has the fewest “incompletes” will receive a trophy and, of course, bragging rights.
One of the key points our upper classmen share with the incoming freshmen is don’t fall behind in your studies. It is hard to catch up!
The Chamberlain High School soccer team had their last home game on Saturday against Belle Fourche and it was Parent Appreciation Day. Though none of our students are on the team this year, several of our staff have sons and daughters on the team. I was there as an assistant referee (AR), and some of our younger students came up to enjoy the game since they are involved in soccer here on campus.
The youngsters here at St. Joseph’s Indian School learned so much in their Star Base classes!
Our fifth grade students had the chance to visit Ellsworth Air Force Base in Rapid City, South Dakota to complete their Star Base class held here at St. Joseph’s all last week. They study physics and other sciences, planting a seed that may encourage our young people to dream about trips into space or perhaps become part of NASA one day.
The sixth, seventh and eighth-grade volleyball teams did well as they traveled to Pierre Indian Learning Center in Pierre with each team winning their matches. This week they will play against Chamberlain, our cross-town rivals. Also on the calendar is a seventh and eighth-grade football game against the Chamberlain Cubs to be held here at St. Joseph’s on Tuesday.
Orville’s son and daughter-in-law accepted the Distinguished Alumnus Award on his behalf.
There is a conference on Native American Education taking place at Cedar Shores, a hotel and convention center just across the river from us (the same location where the banquet for our powwow guests was held). One of the presenters is Mr. Bud Webb, the son of Orville Webb, a member of St. Joseph’s first graduating class back in 1928. He had represented his father last year when his dad was honored, along with another graduate in that class, with St. Joseph’s Indian School’s alumni award. He stopped by on Sunday to attend Mass in Our Lady of the Sioux Chapel.
In the “be careful what you wish for” category, we had been praying for good weather for the powwow, which we got. We also prayed for cooler temperatures and we got them. We have had cool weather in the mornings, but Saturday stayed nippy all day even though the sun was out. It was in the mid 50’s but seemed cooler since things had been so warm. We do still need rain, but the cooler temperatures were nice to experience.
We hope you have a wonderful week! Thanks again for your interest in and support of St. Joseph’s Indian School. Know that we are grateful and keep you in our prayers.
Fr. Anthony Kluckman, SCJ
Chaplain
St. Joseph’s Indian School
Danni and Tashia race each other on the bungee run during Red Ribbon Week.
My name is Chris and I am the Drug and Alcohol Prevention Coordinator at St. Joseph’s Indian School. I feel so blessed to work with such a great group of kids! The staff here is pretty amazing, too. St. Joseph’s is like a close-knit family – everyone is always willing to pitch in and lend a hand where needed. No matter what kind of work employees do here, everyone is working towards the same goals – to love and care for these children, make them feel like they belong at St. Joseph’s and to foster good relationships with their families so their stay away from home is a positive experience for both the kids and their families.
I facilitate Red Path groups for our fourth through eighth grade students. Red Path is a support group for children who come from homes where substance abuse is an issue. The majority of our kids have been exposed to drug or alcohol abuse, so there is a great need for understanding addiction and how it affects family dynamics. In addition to feeling ashamed and having trust issues, these kids often think they are to blame for a family member’s use. Red Path allows them to sort through their feelings and helps them realize they are not alone.
We have a Substance Abuse Prevention Committee (SAPC) that plans fun activities throughout the school year. The message during these events is clear:
It is cool to live a drug-free life,
It is important to take good care of your body and mind and
It’s easy to have lots of fun when you’re not under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
We are already planning some good stuff for Red Ribbon Week in October, like relays in which the homes will race against each other and an inflatable party. We’re even planning on having the kids paint their faces blue during the relays to go along with the theme,
“I’ll say NO to drugs until I’m blue in the face!”
I will spend a quarter in each of the first through eighth grade classrooms this year teaching prevention. I’m currently working with first and second graders, and we have been learning about scientists and how they find answers to their questions. We have been talking about different things scientists study like addiction and the effects drugs have on the human body.
Thanks to each and every one of you for your ongoing support; whether you support us through prayers, monetary donations or items like clothing and books, the St. Joseph’s community is humbled and grateful for your kindness!
About 25 of our staff, from all different areas of campus sat together in the Assembly room to evaluate our 36th annual powwow. Kathleen, our principal led the discussion, and passed out Kudos candy bars, two to each participant. She told us to enjoy one treat for ourselves, and suggested we pass the other on to another staff member, since everyone pulled together so well to make for a delightful weekend.
Powwow usually goes well because of both planning and evaluation. We take a long look at what went well, and discuss what we could do better. Each year, we come up with an idea or two where we ask,
“Why didn’t we think of that years ago?!”
Daily progress is being made on the William Home remodeling process. Today, our maintenance crew drilled into a section of concrete wall almost two feet thick, pulled a chain through and pulled it down. The thud reverberated like an earthquake throughout the Benedictine homes. One houseparent napping before the kids came back from school said he didn’t know what to make of it as it woke him from his sleep. But it opens a new hallway so we can expand the size of the home by the end of the year.
During our community adoration, I noticed the wicker basket with the donor prayer requests left from powwow weekend. I used the quiet time to go through them one by one, and lift up the intentions presented in prayer. Many were heavenly appeals for healing from personal illness, but even more were concerns for loved ones going through personal struggles. Fr. Anthony will pass those around to the homes and classrooms and our Lakota students will be remembering those people in prayer.
Welcome baby Lilya!
All the Sheehy Home (high school boys) were away at school, but we had a big potluck lunch there anyway. Guest of honor was newborn Lilya, and her parents Tim and Jessica, who began recently as houseparents there. Several of our younger houseparents raise their own children along with the St. Joseph’s students in their care. Most of the high school houseparents were able to visit in a relaxed way, with good food and a festive, joyful atmosphere.
5th graders get to experience a hands on special Science module called Star Base. Today the school gym housed a large black inflatable theater in the round, called a GeoDome. While the students lay on the floor, they gazed up at projections of the stars, galaxy and universe. They participated quite intently and excitedly.
The kids has a great time learning about the stars, galaxy and universe!
Everyone had a great time at St. Joseph’s Indian School’s powwow!
Hello everyone! I’m Shana, High School Residential Director, and I can’t believe how this year is already flying by. Mid-terms are next Friday and our Lakota students are doing very well – even several of the freshmen students who typically struggle with the transition from eighth grade to high school. Our tutor has been very busy and it’s great seeing the students utilize the assistance that we have for them here at St. Joseph’s.
The Drama Club won 1st place!
Last week was VERY busy as it was the Homecoming week for our high school students and our St. Joseph’s powwow. Our high school students attend the Chamberlain Public School and they were having fun with the dress up days, coronation and getting their floats prepared for the Homecoming parade. The Drama Club won first place and our St. Joseph’s students rode the float and were all smiles.
Our students are also very involved in Native American Club and their float was very creative, they received 2nd place! One of our St. Joseph’s students dressed up like a ‘falcon’ and of course each individual class float was very well done! We have two boys voted as class representatives (Sophomore and Junior classes) and they rode their class floats proudly! The football players all rode on top of a huge fire engine. It was a beautiful day for a parade and football game The Chamberlain Cubs beat the Falcons and it was a great game!
Football players riding the fire engine – hold on boys!
Several of our students attended the Homecoming dance and THEN had to get up bright and early for the powwow festivities that started Saturday morning!
Our American Indian Day powwow here at St. Joe’s is a wonderful event. If you haven’t visited during this amazing time, I would highly suggest you make future plans to do so!! It’s educational and fun; our campus is located right along the Missouri River and it’s beautiful. Many of our high school students volunteer to help with home tours, parking, cleaning up the dining area and cleaning up after the powwow is over. It’s a lot of work, but with our staff and high school students all pitching in, we create an awesome weekend powwow!
On a more personal note, my grandma who was 88 years old passed away two weeks ago. Her and my grandpa have been such a huge part of my life and I loved and respected them greatly. My grandma and grandpa have been donors to St. Joseph’s Indian School for over 30 years!
It was always wonderful to discuss the goings on at St. Joseph’s with my grandma, as she remained very concerned for the students here. She was very generous as she knew her donations were going to a wonderful organization. I am very sad for my grandpa as they were married over 65 years. While reading all of the heartfelt words people expressed in their sympathy cards, my grandpa thought of something special he could do – donate all of the money he received from the sympathy cards to St. Joseph’s because he knew that would make grandma happy … that one of her final acts was continuing the care and generosity she showed all of her life.
Then my grandpa asked me about how he would go about leaving a small life insurance policy he has through the Knights of Columbus to St. Joseph’s as he would also like to leave a legacy as he passes from this world onto the Great Spirit. I have been truly blessed to have the most loving and caring grandparents that anyone could ask for! They’ve lead by their strong example in both the Catholic faith and in their generous efforts to support reputable organizations such as St. Joseph’s Indian School.
My grandma will truly be missed and I can only hope to live up to the great example she taught me through her actions in the wonderful 88 years she lived. Generosity is one of the virtues of the Native American culture and we talk with our staff and students about role modeling and exhibiting generosity in a humble manner. I am very proud to be working here at St. Joseph’s Indian School and will continue to do my best for my staff, our students and families and for all of the caring donors who share their blessings with us!
Thanks to all of you who make St. Joseph’s possible and Thank You Grandma for everything you did and still do for me and I will always keep your memory alive in my heart.
After all the excitement over the weekend, today was back to the normal pace, which included taking care of those regular things, like a trip to the dentist. While reading in the waiting room, the door opened and Dorian and Araya, two of our St. Joseph 2nd graders came in for their appointments. The fact that I was being worked on too seemed to put them more at ease. When I got done with my appointment and passed the children’s room, they were even giggling because of the way the Novocain was making their mouths tingle. Our healthcare center tries to be thorough in making sure students’ health needs are attended to.
We have an upcoming donor appreciation luncheon in Denver next month. I met with Kaitlyn and Danielle, both 7th graders who were selected from the many student applicants to represent our school there. We discussed what they hope to see in the big city, and practiced what they wanted to tell people about life here at St. Joseph’s Indian School.
Have any of you been to a St. Joseph’s Indian School donor luncheon?
I hope there is one near you in the future, because both students and donors get a lot out of them.
Tashia and Hialle wait patiently for the soccer game to start!
Every Wednesday, St. Joseph’s has Enrichment Night.
Last week, the Afra & Ambrose Homes were involved in our own little soccer camp!
First, we noticed the kids had a lot of extra energy, so we had them run some laps around the football field. That worked for a few moments. Soccer drills were taught by Mark S. and then we had a little soccer game. Thanks to Mike L. & Dave A. for their support.
With our older students, the Mathias and Rooney Homes participate in Camping 101 class. The Mathias Home had very little trouble in getting their tent together as they all worked as a team. The Rooney Home had some problems though. One of their poles got broken which made it tough to get up quickly. Thanks Mark for getting a new pole. Jan was the tent holder for most of the class. Thanks Jan.
Next week, we have the Cyr and Summerlee Homes at 6:00pm for our last Camping 101 class. The Fisher and Speyer Homes will fill the 7:15pm time slot with flag football.
Hello! My name is Geri and I joined St. Joseph’s Indian School on August 20. I’m delighted to be a ‘guest blogger’ and hope to share with you my ‘new to St. Joseph’s’ impressions!
What a warm, welcoming atmosphere! I’ve had a variety of past work experiences, but none can compare to how welcome and comfortable I’ve been made to feel in the month since I’ve started. I live in Mitchell and carpool with other St. Joseph’s employees Monday-Thursday and telecommute on Fridays.
Friends and family have asked me how the hour-long commute is going and I’ve honestly responded,
“It goes by remarkably fast, as we’re usually deep in conversation and surprised to see our exit sign.”
I’m amazed by how many people have worked at St. Joseph’s for 20, 25 or 30 years and very outwardly admit,
“I love working here – it’s a great place to work.”
I’ve had an opportunity to meet some of our Native American children and travel to the two reservations that 40% of our students come from, Lower Brule and Crow Creek. The children are beautiful – and from the two times I’ve dined with them, amazingly polite and well-behaved.
The houseparents I met over dinner recently, Aleece and Leonard, are wonderfully kind and patient and have been at St. Joseph’s since 1988. Their 1st-3rd grade boys were a joy to be around –proudly showing their regalia for the powwow and honestly remarking on my height (I’m north of 5’10”).
You may be wondering what my job at St. Joseph’s entails – let me tell you about that. My title is Director of Major Gift Services and currently I’m working to gain an understanding of all that is happening in our development program while working towards the development of a major gifts program.
I have so much to learn, but it’s exciting! I am looking forward to getting to know our supporters better and finding out what specifically they are passionate about and why they support St. Joseph’s, while at the same time learning all that I can about St. Joseph’s.
Feel free to share your thoughts with me! My e-mail address is geri.beck@stjo.org.
A lot of visitors stayed over and joined us for our regular Sunday mass. Some of our students wore their dance regalia and led the opening procession down the aisle, and later presented the gifts of bread and wine. After communion, our drum group sang a “pilamaya – thank you” song, addressed to God, in appreciation of our donors who make our programs possible.
I stayed around after mass and answered final questions from folks before they hit the road to all parts of the country. I counted people from at least 25 different states who made the pilgrimage to Chamberlain to share these joyful days with us.
Our Parents Advisory Committee spent all day with us discussing a host of issues. We’ve been working with a group called Child Trends to survey students and parents, and reviewed their findings via a webinar. What the students want (fewer rules and fewer people watching over them) are some of the things parents are most comforted by with the St. Joseph programs. Still, we don’t want to keep doing things like we’ve always done them without reviewing to see if they are still accomplishing what we hoped they would. Our phone rules and children’s ability to call home haven’t kept in touch with cell phone and computer/Skype technology and are in need of serious revision. We reviewed some of our admissions criteria, and the interview questions that Family Service Counselors ask families on their initial visits. For safety we have lots of security cameras around campus, and we informed the parents how those are used.
We also made time to tour the new alumni/historical center that is part of the Akta Lakota Museum addition. While that is nearing completion, they seemed more enthralled by the gutted old grocery store that is in the process of becoming our expanded thrift store.
