Please pass the “Farmer John” cheese

Each year, there are always a few staff who have babies, and this afternoon Chris, our Substance Abuse Prevention Coordinator brought her newborn son, Mavrick to the office for everyone to ooh and aah over. His dad Jason is an avid hunter and he was wrapped in a camouflage colored afghan. We teased Chris about being out during one her normally busiest times, Red Ribbon week. But we know how important that initial bonding time between mother and child is. We look forward to her return in a couple of months.

We had a phone conference with Split Rock Studios who is helping us develop the historical portion of the alumni center and tell the history of St. Joseph Indian School. We’ve been setting money aside for the project for the past couple of years. A few of their ideas would have taken us over budget, and since we’re very conscious of that, we talked about alternatives that would get us back on track.

At the end of the school day, we held our Honors Assembly. Our principal, Kathleen, announced the students who had perfect attendance or were on the A and B honor roll. Fr. Anthony and I helped with the distribution of certificates and congratulations for a job well done. We pass out some small tokens or prizes. I think it’s the recognition that our students appreciate most, and always hope it helps more students to believe in themselves and work for excellence in the classroom.

For supper at the Cyr home (4^th-5^th grade boys), Odis made his homemade pizza.

The parmesan cheese was next to me, and one of the students asked me to, “Please pass the Farmer John cheese.”

I got a chuckle out of that, and enjoyed the lively conversation. For enrichment class, right before the students watched a Veggie Tales cartoon about the Golden Rule, they saw the wisdom about treating others they way they would like to be treated, but it’s not always easy to live up to that.

Author: St. Joseph's Indian School

At St. Joseph's Indian School, our privately-funded programs for Lakota (Sioux) children in need have evolved over 90 years of family partnership, experience and education. Because of generous friends who share tax-deductible donations, Native American youth receive a safe, stable home life; individual counseling and guidance; carefully planned curriculum based on Lakota culture and individual student needs and tools to help build confidence, boost self-esteem and improve cultural awareness. All of this helps children to live a bright, productive, possibility-filled future. View all posts by St. Joseph's Indian School