Good morning from St. Joseph’s Indian School!
SOFTBALL
The softball season kicked off last Monday evening with a lot of fans in the bleachers to watch and cheer on their favorite team. Since I was watching from the SCJ Community House, I felt like I had a box seat at the Toronto Blue Jays’ stadium! (They have a hotel in deep center so you can watch the game from your room).
Our field- which doubles as part of the football field in the fall- gets a good work out from t-ball where the batter hits the ball off a stand and then runs; to 4-6 grades where there are no walks so the batter is given the ball to throw up to see if he/she can get a hit; to grades 7-8 where they play under normal rules.
LUNCHEONS
As I was getting last week’s blog ready, I went by Our Lady of the Sioux Chapel and could hear two of our freshman students, Jason and Richard, practicing their talks for the upcoming Donor Luncheon in New Orleans over the April 21st -24th weekend. They are looking forward to visiting with Benefactors in that area. They are excited to tell their story and let you all know their favorite parts of being here at St. Joseph’s!
If you would like to attend or are interested in additional information, please contact our staff at 1-800-584-9200 or plangiv1@stjo.org.
Our last Donor Luncheon of this academic year will be in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on June 3 and 4.
SPECIAL LUNCH
At the start of February, the SCJ priests working here at St. Joseph’s and on the Lower Brule and Crow Creek Reservations were treated to a Native American meal served by students and staff from the Native American Studies class. We had a wonderful meal of potato and cheeseburger soup, fry bread and wojapi—crushed berries you can dip the bread into.
For the lunch, the students came up to our community house and we split up so that we could get to know the students better and they could ask questions of the religious. It was a great afternoon and we hope this can become a more regular occurrence.
GEMS PROGRAM
Our 8th grade girls had the chance to visit SDSU (South Dakota State University) on March 25th to take part in a GEMS (Girls in engineering, math and science) program. The girls had the opportunity to interact with other 8th graders and college students who helped expose them to the idea of majoring in one of these fields when they head off to college.
They enjoyed the interaction and the various challenges and activities they partook in.
BASKETBALL
This past Thursday, the basketball season came to an ‘official’ end. Every year, our 8th grade teams take on the staff for a night of laughter and entertainment!
Typically the girls hang a bit closer to their opponents, but the boys have a bit of a tougher task due to height disadvantages (which they make up for by being better in their 3-point attempts). As the game goes on, if the score is getting a bit out of hand, the value of a 3 pointer begins to rise, so as to keep score close.
The other grades enjoy being able to cheer on their favorite teacher, houseparent or guidance counselor as well as cheering for their fellow students!
This year, the 8th grade girls beat the staff by one and the 8th grade boys lost by four. Everyone had a great time!
FLAT FRANCIS
Flat Francis was at the Carola Home last week, which is one of our high school homes. The weather did not cooperate for them to do anything outside with him, but the students placed him in the windows of the Home overlooking the entrance to the dining room and the road most of the teachers and staff use to get to school when they come on campus.
The young man in the red shirt in this photo is one of the students who will be making the trip to New Orleans for the Donor Luncheon.
I hope you have good weather as we move into the month of April and begin to focus on the approach of Easter. Know we keep you and all our benefactors in our prayers out of gratitude for your generosity and support.
Fr. Anthony Kluckman, SCJ
Chaplain
