I went downtown to St. James parish to join the community in praying the Stations of the Cross at noontime. Reading and hearing the biblical account of the events on Good Friday gives me renewed appreciation each year.
Harry, 80-years-old, has been a St. Joseph’s Indian School donor for many years, but had never visited the school until today. With Easter break the campus was empty of both staff and students, but this was the one day that his daughter and son-in-law were able to bring him out for a visit. A tour isn’t as exciting when the students are away, but I showed them all that they wanted to look at, and get a better idea how the children live, study and play. He left a donation so he and his wife are remembered with a memorial brick in our walkway.
I like the quieter, sometimes more somber tone of Good Friday for recollection. Trying to get priorities right in my own life, and deepening my conscience contact with God. Prayer and fasting are good for the soul every now and again.
I made rounds of the development office, wishing staff a Happy Easter since everyone will have tomorrow off. This time of year, the incoming mail starts to slow down and they focus on cleaning up our lists, organizing materials and projects for the future. It’s our goal to answer every letter within 5 business days, and we’re able to do that pretty consistently.
I checked in on the maintenance staff on their break. On a very wet and dreary day, I found them to be tired of ‘rainy day’ projects and hoping to get back outside soon. They are just about finished with the Rooney Home remodel, and plan to have the students move in within the next week or so.
I spent time wandering the halls at school. 2:00 was the official dismissal time for Easter break, but only a handful of students after lunch. Some of our students have up to a four or five hour trip to get home, so their families came throughout the day to pick them up. As they came to the school office to check out I was able to meet and greet.
My praying for their health took on added meaning this year.
Tonight, I drove 30 miles west to Kennebec to preside at mass. To some who work in large urban churches, a crowd of two dozen might seem kind of sparse, but that represented about a third of the people who usually come on Sunday in the small, rural community. Parishioners came forward to help me reenact Jesus’ washing of his disciples’ feet, and remind us of the importance of serving others. Several people are ill and facing surgery, so we also celebrated the sacrament of the anointing of the sick. Many of the same people washed my feet in a figurative sense this past year as they have prayed and helped me through surgery and illness.
The American Indian youth learned a lot at St. Joseph’s Indian School from the police officers on Career Day.
Today was “Career Day” for our students. From the earliest grades we want our students to start dreaming of careers and exploring possibilities.
For the younger grades, we had workers visit the school and give presentations. A doctor from Indian Health Services was in the assembly room telling about her work in the clinic. When asked for questions, many of the students wanted to share their own bumps and bruises that might have earned them a trip to the doctor. In the school gym, a couple of police officers from the Bureau of Indian Affairs spoke about their work. They brought along a police dog with them, who was the biggest hit of the day with our students.
The older Lakota (Sioux) kids were fascinated while learning about movie theaters.
The older students traveled downtown to learn about some of the businesses. Our students get to go to the movies occasionally, but some today were particularly fascinated to see the projection room and the behind the scenes tour. They were treated to a bag of popcorn each after that visit.
Today, we had an afternoon break in the clouds and the sunshine came pouring down from the heavens. Campus came to life in a different way with lots of bikes and skateboards roaming the sidewalks.
I stopped in at Summerlee (4th-5th grade girls). They were “supercharging” the home before leaving for Easter break tomorrow. The houseparents asked me if I would be the judge of which of the 3 bathrooms looked the cleanest. I had to admit that all of the kids do a better job than I do, and it was a hard choice. But I hammed it up, running my finger across countertops and checking the corners before declaring a winner.
Before supper, I joined a group of girls shooting baskets. I started demonstrating my arsenal of odd shots – behind the backboard, bouncing the ball in, backwards free throws – a sign of too many hours of my youth shooting baskets and playing HORSE. But the girls enjoyed the variety, and tried a few trick shots of their own. Then I got a demonstration of the group floor routine they had learned during their last gymnastics workshop.
Tonight’s enrichment activities included softball field events – longest throw, most accurate, furthest hit … the kids enjoyed the chance to be outdoors for a taste of spring.
I’ve stopped by the high school tutoring center each of the past two days, and found it filled with our kids hitting the books. It’s getting to be midterm time and lots of school work is due before Easter. Our American Indian students are realizing what it takes to succeed, and I’m glad to see them putting in the effort and getting help where they need it.
Miles who is on our high school staff was celebrating his birthday. We have security cameras in the hallways of the homes and one of Miles’ duties is to review the tapes and make sure no one is wondering where they’re not supposed to be. He had to laugh that on the tapes a few of the students poked their head into the hallway just a little past curfew and held up sings reading, “Happy Birthday Miles”. They know we’re watching for their safety.
Three of our SCJs from Indonesia are visiting the area for Easter and staying on the Lower Brule Indian Reservation. Vincent, Donatus and Anthony called to see if they could tour St. Joseph’s Indian School and I enjoyed their company. We visited a few classrooms, and they taught our students greetings in Indonesian in exchange for learning the Lakota phrase hihani waste – good day. I left them at the Akta Lakota Museum & Culture Center where they could learn about history, culture and look at the contemporary art at their own pace.
Mike, our Food Service Director and his staff make sure our school lunches are not only tasty, but nutritious.
St. Joseph’s Indian School has received the Silver Award for the Healthier US Challenge. This recognizes schools that are creating healthier school environments through their promotion of good nutrition in the National School Lunch Program and physical activity including nutrition education in the school. St Joseph’s Indian School is the first school in South Dakota to apply and receive this award under the new standards. St. Joseph’s Indian School will receive an award plaque and Banner from the USDA and a monetary award of $1,000.
Congratulations!
Heading into Easter break, we’ve had our usual share of student discipline issues. It’s easy to look at the list of students on restriction or supervision and get discouraged. But one of our family service counselors was telling me about a student whose father died by suicide several years ago. The student is only now able to start opening up about the pain the dad’s loss caused the family. Working through the loss has helped the student turn things around in a positive way. Instead of constantly being in trouble, they are now building on successes and good behavior. The student remarked to the counselor, “ I didn’t realize how good being good could feel”!
It’s Palm Sunday. It was my turn to preach, which of course I did, but Palm Sunday has enough ritual and story to carry its own weight. The passion story inspires me to not give up when the going gets tough, and I hope our students hear that same message. The gospel is long and split up into parts, and I appreciated the high school students who were willing to take some of the parts and help dramatize it.
When the younger students even quit waving the palm branches during that time I could tell they were paying attention better because other students were proclaiming the readings.
This afternoon I got in some exercise in the Rec Center. I shot baskets with 4th graders. We didn’t do a whole lot of talking, but they appreciated a few pointers, and the shared activity was relaxing and quality time for me.
When I arrived at Stevens Home (6th-8th grade girls) the house was uncharacteristically quiet – reading time! Each student can read anything they’re interested in, but has to spend ½ hour of reading each day. Because they wanted to have evening Rec time, they voted on the afternoon to turn the pages. Girls were scattered into all three common areas, some curled up in chairs, some on the couch, still others lying on the floor – all intently reading. Wanda banished me into the kitchen to chat with Frank who was cooking supper. I reemerged for their house meeting which consisted mostly of coordinating the week’s upcoming activities. Then we sat to a good meal for a cold day – homemade chicken noodle soup. Shared with that crew it was indeed good for the soul.
Despite snow and slushy weather yesterday here in Chamberlain, South Dakota, ten FAST (Families and Schools Together) families made it here for the last day of our spring session and for the graduation ceremony. Our Chalk Hills Singers led the procession with a drum song, and the families were proud to pose together for a family photo as each received their certificates. While I’ve observed the ceremony many times, I’m reminded of how much it means anew to our families who participate. Through this program they can take part is quality activities, celebrate times of togetherness and receive positive recognition as a family.
Donors from the East Coast who have supported St. Joseph’s Indian School for over ten years were passing through and dropped by unexpectedly. They wanted to see the our campus for the first time before giving me 4 boxes of chocolates to share with the kids and a check almost large enough to cover half a houseparent’s annual salary. I am amazed at the generosity that comes seemingly out of the blue – which always causes me to rededicate myself to building strong programs for our students. We visited a couple of homes and had the students give us a lively tour. Then our guests hit the road for their next leg of their journey.
A few years back, a Long Beach California teacher named Erin Gruwell worked with inner city students to help them tell their stories through a project know as “Freedom Writers”. Their writings were published as a popular book and the story was made into a successful movie. Richard, our Religious Education teacher, organized a Skype video conference for our 8th grade students with one of those original Freedom Writers, Darrius Garret. Darrius had experienced homelessness and gang life, and many of our kids could identify with the poverty he grew up with.
Our students prepared many questions to ask, but were a bit shy at first. One question was, “How do you handle the hate when you feel like people are treating you like a 2nd class citizen?” Darrius warned how hate consumes you. He told them especially when others treat you wrong, you can’t stoop to their level and still have to do the right thing. That will eventually bring to light the wrongs that exist. He told our kids the best response is to study hard and get a good education so they can be in leadership positions one day, and be able to set examples of how people should be treated.
Once the ice was broken our timid crew started to have more back and forth interaction. Darrius asked our kids how they could make things better for their reservation.
“ If you had a million dollars, what would you fix?”
“Drinking” was the number one answer that continues to cause hurt and heartache for our Native American students’ families. That’s not an easy fix, but helping our students deal with that reality is key for their success. My hope is that our students can find their voice and tell their story, and in the end make it a story of triumph over tragedy.
This afternoon, Steve’s 4th grade class dressed in biblical looking clothes and acted out Stations of the Cross.
How do you handle all your leftovers? At Raphael Home (1st – 3rd grade boys) Leonard and Aleece have, “Itty Bitty Night”. When I sat down with the boys, everyone got a plate that evenly divided up the leftovers: a bit of spaghetti, a few florets of cauliflower, half a hamburger, one chicken drummie, several french fries, lettuce salad and fresh pineapple. The portions were like eating hors d’oeuvres but added up to a satisfying meal. It leaves the refrigerator cleared up for the 3 day houseparents who will come on duty tomorrow. The boys had hearty appetites because half had been in the gym for their t-ball game, and the other half in the skate room playing dodgeball and working off some after school energy. After supper I listed to Devon and Keshaume read (20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and a nature book about sharks), and then they were off for their community swimming time.
Today was our Board of Director’s meeting. We spent the most time approving next year’s budgets which were well laid out and thoughtfully prepared by all our staff and by our co-workers in the outreach programs. We had two new members to welcome. Doug is a local business owner who has worked with youth in the community for many years. Sandy graduated from a mission school herself and has a passion for education. Before jumping into business, I invited the board members to each share about themselves, the gifts they bring to the board and also what is fulfilling for them about helping make the work we do here possible. We have some good folks whose opinions and insights are so valuable in moving the programs forward.
When I stopped at the Sheehy Home (HS boys) to drop off Sunday readings for the students who will be helping at church, I saw a batch of numbers ranging from 0-6 on the bulletin board by each student’s name. After nice spring days, snow is predicted tonight. They are making their guesses about how many inches of snow will have accumulated by 7:00 tomorrow morning when they will know if school is on time, late start or canceled altogether. The winner gets a free Gatorade. The houseparents are rooting for no snow, because Chamberlain has used up all their snow days, and ones missed from here out have to be made up in late May.
Today, I was either meeting or eating. At our management meeting, we keyed in on strategic planning and preparations for the Board of Directors meeting. Mike, our Executive Director of Child Services, celebrates a birthday this week, so afterward we enjoyed a lunch together. We’re always tempted to talk business, but it was fun to let our talk drift towards sports and personal anecdotes.
This afternoon Fr. Jack, another of our SCJ Board of Directors arrived. While there is always work to be attended to, when SCJs come to visit it’s always a joy to sit around and talk, and find up what confreres are up to across the province. After Fr. Charlie’s death in Milwaukee over the weekend, we did some reminiscing about him. During Lent, we have all been spending extra prayer time praying for vocations so a new generation of SCJs can take up the great work that’s been started, and take up new challenges that our world will pose.
