A Circle of Courage School works to meet the belonging, mastery, independence and generosity needs of the students.
Research shows that the quality of human relationships in schools may be more influential than the specific techniques or interventions employed. Every child needs at least one adult who is irrationally crazy about him or her!
St. Joseph’s provides a summer home to approximately 13 students (in grades 1-8). Summer home acceptance is based on family need. While students attend school each weekday morning (approximately 2.5 hours), they are provided with many opportunities for social and emotional growth through the program as well.
The local swimming pool and beach have provided hours of fun and social interaction with peers from St. Joseph’s and the local community. Students have additional opportunities for one-on-one time with staff, assisting with home chores, such as cooking or just visiting. Given the varied ages of students in the home, natural opportunities for mentoring and role modeling have been captured as well.
We’ve been blessed with another wonderful summer! As the program concludes on July 11, the students look forward to returning home for a few weeks before the school year begins. Many memories have been made, leaving unforgettable smiles … but most of all, these students have been provided with a safe environment with numerous opportunities for academic, social and emotional growth because of your support – thank you!
Greetings from warm and sunny Chamberlain, South Dakota! St. Joseph’s Indian School sends warm regards and blessings to all of you!
My name is Julie H. and I have been with St. Joseph’s Indian School for almost 11 years. What a great 11 years it has been! I am currently a Family Service Counselor and work with girls in grades 6-12. I work under the umbrella of the Clinical Services Department. The Clinical Services Department is currently made up of 13 staff. We have nine Family Service Counselors, a Drug and Alcohol Prevention Specialist, a Family Liaison and Clinical Support staff, all led by our fearless Clinical Director. What does the Clinical Services Department do? Well, we do a little bit of everything!
Our nine Family Service Counselors work with all students in grades 1-12. We offer weekly individual counseling, group counseling, and enrichment activities. We also serve as a contact and liaison with our students’ families.
We are available to assist houseparents with questions and concerns they may have regarding student issues. We run a group for our high school students called Sons and Daughters of Tradition. The focus of this group is to help the students get back to their Native roots, while working on Drug and Alcohol Prevention. Family Service Counselors are also available to help in the school should a student have difficulties throughout the day. Family Service Counselors wear many hats, but our main priority is being here to help the students and their families with anything they need.
Our Drug and Alcohol Prevention Specialist works with the students on drug and alcohol prevention, helping students learn to say NO to substance abuse. Our Prevention Specialist runs a group called Red Path, coordinates activities for Red Ribbon Week and our other Sobriety Celebrations.
Our Clinical Support Specialist is truly a jack of all trades! She works on admissions, sets up travel plans for our students who participate in donor luncheons and helps out the department in any way she can. She is a great support to all of us!
The Family Liaison coordinates and recruits families for our FAST (Families and Schools Together) program. She works hard to get everything ready for our programs, helps transports families to the program and is an integral staff person in the program itself. After the program concludes, she also continues to meet with the families that have graduated from the program.
Our Clinical Director keeps us all in line! She is a great supervisor and is available to assist any of us when we have questions or concerns regarding our students and families. Our Clinical Director oversees all of the programs of the department and is a great support and resource.
That is just a quick overview of what the Clinical Services Department does. There is a great deal we do, but with limited blog space, I just wanted to offer you the highlights!
If you are ever in Chamberlain, at St. Joseph’s Indian School and you want a greater overview of all of the great work the Clinical Services Department does, please stop by! Any of the departments would be happy to sit down with you and answer questions you may have!
Hello again! Only a few short weeks ago, I was writing about the upcoming Cultural Trip with the incoming eighth-grade girls. I was very excited, because we had been planning for months, and I was eager to get on the road!
As the saying goes, if you want to hear God laugh, tell him your plans. The morning we left, we experienced a change in staff, kids, itinerary and vehicles. Yikes! We repacked our gear, reprinted our route, piled onto the mini-bus and headed out for a week of winging it. This turned out to be a blessing.
Uncertainty is a great prioritizer. Instead of focusing on where we were going to be and when, we shifted more towards how we were going to be and why. Our first evening together, we did not do anything on our itinerary. The world did not come to an end.
Instead of hurrying to get somewhere, we stopped to celebrate Cassidy’s birthday at the Golden Corral. As luck would have it, Fr. Steve was able to join us. Of course, we waited until he left the table to practice a Pinger Home birthday tradition: whipped cream in the face. What, who, us?
We got to our campsite early, and spent the evening making prayer ties/prayer flags. April guided the girls through the process, explaining the use of sage and tobacco and the connections between colors and directions. Since Fr. Steve wasn’t able to join is for this, the girls decided they would each make him a prayer flag, that way he would have prayers for climbing Bear Butte too. Praying together in this way built a sense of belonging, both to each other and to something bigger. This was a very positive way to start of our journey together, talking about hopes and dreams, prayers and intentions.
“We made it to the top!”
Letting go of expectations and just being in the moment was an ongoing theme for the week. The morning we met Fr. Steve at Bear Butte, it was so foggy that we actually drove past the mountain without seeing it. The trails were wet and visibility was low, and we weren’t sure if we should attempt the climb in these conditions.
We just decided to carry our prayer ties and hike for however long we needed to. Some of the girls got as far as the third switchback and had enough. A few more kept on for quite a ways longer and then headed back as well. Some girls just kept going. A little further. And then a little further. Finally, we just committed to making it to the top. There wasn’t much to see in the fog—no scenic overlooks, no way to trace the path ahead or behind. What seemed disappointing at first turned out to be a gift. The fog actually made it easier to stay in the moment. Having to focus on each step along the way meant not being distracted by what was “way over there.” Not “having to” make it to the summit made it easier to enjoy the process of getting there.
We had similar experiences the following day at Mato Tipila, more commonly known as Devil’s Tower. The girls said “Let’s walk the long trail!” (Is this ever a good idea?) But it was sunny and bright, and it seemed like a lovely day to take the long road. So off we went, pausing every so often to pose for pictures, pick sage or sniff the trees. (The pine trees smell like cinnamon rolls. I kid you not.)
We had a beautiful day at Devil’s Tower.
After about two hours, I admit I started to get a bit nervous. It was hot, we hadn’t seen any other hikers for quite some time, and it seemed like we were not anywhere close to being done. Ellie and I had just crested ANOTHER long hill, when a soft breeze picked up. Ellie looked at me and said, “I think Grandfather is looking out for us.” A minute later, two hikers passed us going in the opposite direction and assured us cheerfully that we were “almost there.” Bless you, Ellie.
Sometimes setbacks opened up into opportunities: our dinner plans with friends of April’s fell through. Instead, we were invited to aninipi – sweat lodge. Three girls who were nervous about trying something new decided to take a leap of faith and take part in the ceremony.
Other times, opportunities for learning and sharing arose spontaneously. While out walking, several of the girls started to ask about Lakota/Dakota names for the animals. They shared phrases that they had learned from their grandmothers, or asked April, “How do you say….”
While touring United Tribes Technical College, one girl said,
“I hadn’t even thought about college before, but I can really see myself going here.”
Although we had times of being prayerful and serious, we rarely missed an opportunity to get silly—lip-syncing at passing traffic on the bus, setting marshmallows on fire, falling down on the trails, incessantly shouting “Inkpaduta!!” Inkpaduta is the name of one of the quarries at Pipestone National Monument. It really caught on.
I asked the girls what their favorite moments on the trip were. Several responses involved someone falling on their behinds while hiking – they are eighth graders, after all. Other girls mentioned that they liked having a chance to participate in ceremony (inipi, prayer ties, sacred pipe). Others liked seeing new places, especially Devil’s Tower.
For me, I needed the reminder that it was ok to let go and trust. I could have faith that God would guide April and I, and that everything would work out the way it needed to. I also needed to be reminded that we weren’t going this alone, that we had support from staff, family, friends and donors. I’m already planning on going again next year … knock on wood!
Hi, my name is Julie L. and I am the Clinical Services Director at St. Joseph’s Indian School. I have worked at St. Joseph’s since 1987. I currently oversee the Clinical Department and the Health Center. During the summer months, the Health Center is not as busy as it is during the school year. We see less activity as there are fewer students on campus. We do, however, provide services for the staff and their immediate family and have a nurse on call when students are here. The Clinical Department (Family Service Counselors or FSCs) is busy with admissions work and home visitations.
I have just returned from Germany as part of an exchange program that we have with the SCJ school in Handrup. Another staff member and I took four high school students on this journey. It was very fun and exciting for all of us to travel overseas, as none of us had done this before. It was so great watching the students experience many new things during this trip.
The students spent much of their time with their individual host families and with one another. Patrick and I stayed at the monastery and were treated very well by the priests and sisters. We got to see many sights and learned a lot about Germany while we visited for two weeks (fun times at an amusement park in the Netherlands, a weekend in Berlin, and visiting a castle, to name just a few things that we accomplished while there). The students also shared presentations about themselves and St. Joseph’s Indian School to different classrooms at the Handrup school.
Our German host students and a chaperone will be coming to South Dakota in October to see our school and visit some sites around South Dakota. All of the students are very excited about this as they bonded quite well as a group and can’t wait to see one another again.
The last two days we spent in Amsterdam. This was really fun for the students as they enjoyed staying in a “Botel” that was right on the water. We also visited Anne Frank’s house which was interesting as the students have read her book for one of their high school classes. As we flew back to the United States, you could see that the students were tired but very happy with all that they had experienced.
We hope and pray that you all are having a wonderful summer and, as always, thank you for your continued support for the students at St. Joseph’s Indian School.
Happy 4th of July!! I hope everyone had a safe and fun-filled holiday. With the summer being in full swing, we are also at full speed with all our projects on campus. This summer seems to have an even busier schedule than we have in the past.
Here is a summary of some of the projects that have been started at St. Joseph’s Indian School:
Drainage Project:
This week the company we’re working with pulled onto campus with their big equipment and began removing the concrete in front of the Benedictine and Kateri Buildings. First, second and third grade students have their homes in the Benedictine Building, while the Kateri Building houses high school girls.
Mathias Remodel:
We are finishing up with the Mathias Remodel. Right now the guys are working on their punch list to get the final details finished up just in time for the houseparents to arrive on campus in the next couple of weeks. The junior high girls who live in the Mathias Home will return to campus on August 12 for school to begin Monday morning, August 13.
School Painting and Carpeting:
St. Joseph’s Elementary School is getting a little touch up this summer also. We are re-painting all the classrooms and laying new carpet.
Summerlee and William Remodel:
We have kicked off the next round of home remodels with the Summerlee and William Homes, where our fourth and fifth-grade girls live. The Summerlee Home has most of the demolition work complete. We have started framing up the new walls, which will reposition some of the rooms to give the houseparents a better view of kids during activities taking place in the home.
The William Home is in the demolition process. This home will be extended a few feet to give the girls who live there more room in their living and play spaces.
The projects listed above are some of the bigger projects we have going on around campus. We also have the Akta Lakota Museum & Cultural Center expansion, which will add an alumni center, historical center and storage for the museum’s collection of art and artifacts.
Some of our daily work activities going on around campus include:
Grounds:
Irrigation and mowing at Fisher Field, where our junior high students spend time playing after school and on weekends.
Plumbing:
Plumbing in the Summerlee Home is roughed in and the Mathias Home plumbing completed. The plumbing that has been inspected has passed both inspections.
Painting:
Crew member Jeff is painting the Giles Home and should be finished this week.
Electrical:
Finish wiring the Mathias Home, demo of electrical in Summerlee. Wiring new equipment at Tipi Press Printing and Development rooftop AC unit.
Mechanics:
Annual vehicle inspections and daily maintenance. St. Joseph’s fleet has 22 vehicles that insurance company totaled due to a recent hail storm.
It looks like the temperatures are high throughout the US, and it is no different here in Chamberlain, South Dakota at St. Joseph’s Indian School. Even though the thermostat has topped out over 100 degrees every day this week, our facilities staff are working hard to have the campus ready for students’ arrival on August 12th.
Hi, my name is Mike T. and I am the Executive Director of Child Services. I have been here at St. Joseph’s Indian School for 27 years. Each summer I am amazed what our facilities crew is able to accomplish. From home renovations to street repair; from keeping the grounds looking great to dealing with a variety of summer maintenance requisitions (small jobs that need to be done in offices, homes and classrooms), there is no shortage of work to be finished. And although it is hot, our staff continue to work hard to get the campus ready.
In terms of programs we have one home still open including two high school students living here as they maintain summer employment. Our counseling staff have been on the road visiting our students, making sure they are doing well and getting paperwork for the upcoming school year. Also, our administrators are busy preparing for staff, then students to arrive in August. So, as you can see, even the summer is a busy time here at St. Joseph’s Indian School.
We appreciate all your support that allows us to upgrade our campus and prepare for our students to arrive. All of the above helps us to provide a quality environment and first-rate programming to work with our students who are never far from our thoughts …
Hi, my name is Melissa and I work in Human Resources (HR) at St. Joseph’s Indian School. I recently returned from the national SHRM (Society for Human Resources Management) convention in Atlanta, Georgia. We had amazing keynote speakers such as Condoleezza Rice, Malcolm Gladwell, Jim Collins and South Dakota’s very own Tom Brokaw, who were all inspiring. It was a wonderful opportunity to learn about the direction that HR is going. But most important was the idea that no matter where you work, it is employees who are the heart of the organization.
Of course, St. Joseph’s is all about people. We serve children. Our impact not only directly affects the children that attend our school, but also their families. This in turn affects their communities. The influence people have on others is an incredible idea. At St. Joseph’s, we are fortunate to have some extraordinary people who are committed to changing lives of others for the better.
The work done at St. Joseph’s truly takes cooperation from everyone to progress in our mission. One of my responsibilities in HR is to conduct exit interviews when employees leave St. Joseph’s. One question that is asked of everyone during the exit is, “What did you like best about working at St. Joseph’s?”
The overwhelming response I get, even from employees who don’t work directly with the children is, “The kids.”
We couldn’t do it without the employees and donors who are paying it forward and helping make this world a little better for someone else.
I am Delores, a Family Service Counselor (FSC) and have been at St. Joseph’s Indian School for 15 years. I used to work with the middle school girls but, for the last 12 years, have worked with the youngest boys at our school.
Our FSC roles change during the summer. During the school year, we serve as counselors and are the main contact person for the families. Summer gives us a chance to be out of our offices with kids and families. We make home visits to our current students and their families. They are excited to see us as we become their second family while they are here during the school year. We usually find the kids freshly showered with their cleanest clothes on, often waiting for us to drive up.
In July, their attention starts to turn to returning to St. Joseph’s. They are interested in what is going on here, who their houseparents and teachers will be, and if I have visited their friends yet. We get to reconnect, talking about last year and looking forward to the new school year.
We also go to interview children who want to come to school here. It is a time where we get to hear about the child’s life – the good things and the challenges. They are usually very excited about becoming a student at St. Joseph’s. Some are full of questions about what school is like and have a twinkle in their eyes as they imagine experiencing all the things they’ve heard about. It’s always enjoyable for me to meet new kids and their families. At times I am interviewing boys whose mothers used to be my students in middle school! A reminder that we do become their family!
And off I go to plan my visits … I wish you all the best of summer during this July!
Our younger students who remain on St. Joseph’s Indian School’s campus take part in a mix of summer school and field trips. Yesterday I was running errands in the business office and saw a group of them taking a tour. When asked what was the best part, Louie replied, “the mail machines.”
The kids were fascinated to watch our staff load cards and bookmarks and dreamcatchers into envelopes bound for all parts of the country and beyond. Two were very tickled when they saw their very own picture on the outside of one of the envelopes. While it is a good education for our Lakota students to learn how things are done and made, it is also a boost to our development staff when they get to interact more directly with the students. They’re reminded of the reason they do the demanding work of raising funds for our mission.
This week has brought more organizational meetings. I reviewed goals with the Director of Child Services at his annual performance evaluation. It’s helpful to step back and see what gifts an employee brings, and talk about possible growth areas. I met with the architects, Akta Lakota Museum designers and facilities crew getting caught up on the many work projects going full speed on campus. If you visit St. Joseph’s Indian School you’ll find lots of disarray in the midst of construction, but in the end we are making some great improvements.
Today I’m off to the ordination of three priests for the Diocese in Sioux Falls. When I attend such celebrations I catch a bit of the enthusiasm and idealism I remember from when I was first ordained. When mixed with the experience and wisdom of 23 years of priestly ministry, hopefully I can inspire others to search for God’s will in their life, and act with charity and justice toward their neighbors.
I’ll be on the road for a few weeks, and yesterday I lined up some guest bloggers who will keep you posted on what’s going on around campus during that time. Next week is pure vacation, with no work; relaxing time with family and friends is the only item on the agenda.
I’ll check in periodically, but it is healthy to take some time off and turn the responsibility for ongoing work to others who care and are passionate about St. Joseph’s Indian School’s mission.
Angela, one of the high school students ran into me as I was returning from chapel after mass.
“How many times a day do you pray?” she asked.
“Three or four”
“That’s a lot”
I need all of those times and more for strength and guidance so I stay on the right track. Most people don’t have the luxury of building long periods of prayer time into their day. I suggest they just find a short prayer phrase they can say to help them before they begin important work like Lord make my heart like your heart, or something simple like, “Lord give me patience and strength” when faced with a difficult challenge.
We wrapped up several programs this past week. Campus is much quieter this week now that our Rising Eagle Day Camp has successfully concluded. Besides our high school students who worked with the younger students, we were blessed with a group of students from Scranton Prep in Pennsylvania. They have been coming to our area for the past eight summers or so to help with various service projects.
I stopped in a few times during the week to see how they were faring and answer questions on topics ranging from St . Joseph’s admission policies to inquiries about Lakota culture. At the end of the week, 17 of us gathered around the two dining room tables in the Ambrose Home, and each person got a chance to share something they’d learned during this time. One young man said that seeing the striking poverty on the Indian reservation he visited opened his eyes to think about those who struggle in his own community. A young woman had a blast working with younger children. She said that she often won’t give her younger siblings much time at all, but realizes now how much impact the care of an older sister can and does make. She recommitted herself to being more present to them when she gets home.
In a mosaic of cultures, the SCJ Schools in Collaboration group was on campus for several days. Students and teachers from Texas, Mississippi and Wisconsin exchanged information about themselves, their school and unique cultures. Our kids got to meet some of their pen pals or folks they’ve gone head to head against in the Battle of the Books. Our students donned their dance regalia and explained the significance of powwows and detailed the differences in the kinds of Native American dances they are trained in. Fr. Anthony accompanied them to the Black Hills and Badlands where everyone came back with great memories and pictures.
We said goodbye to two young woman we grew to appreciate in such a short time. Lauren, who grew up in the Denver area was here exploring both her Lakota roots, and engaged in more discernment about a possible religious vocation. Lauren helped in summer camp and with other projects around campus. She interacted tremendously well with our students, and asked many questions of our Native American staff. Our talks took me back to the days when I was formation director for college seminarians, and was inspired by her talk of faith and love of God. Jessica, an college intern attending Notre Dame, also wrapped up her four weeks here. The anthropology major in her was nourished by our Aktas Lakota Museum and the visits to cultural sites. The people side of her did a great job interacting with our students in a variety of ways.
We have a Bookmobile that travels to many of the Indian reservation communities each summer, putting free books in the hands of kids who are hungry to read. Friday our staff stopped in Fort Thompson, and also had a picnic style meal for families at the Boys and Girls Club.
Ed, a donor from Illinois, stopped by campus to check it out for the first time.
“I wanted to make sure this was a real place and not just a post office box,” he said.
I gave him a tour and he was impressed by all that goes on here. He also got something of a cultural education when he went to Lower Brule, where they were holding a memorial for the parish housekeeper who died one year ago in a tragic car accident when the roadway collapsed due to flooding.
After a memorial mass, the family gathered in the community center, where a Wiping of Tears ceremony was held. A woman symbolically wiped their tears away with a cloth, gently guided an Eagle Feather around their head in a cleansing ritual. They were then given some tobacco to smoke, and water and chokecherry juice to drink. At the conclusion everyone present shook their hands or gave hugs in a show of support. We then sat down to a big meal and giveaway.
