Today, most of my day was tied up in the office, going over budgets and strategic planning. We have our Board of Director’s meetings in two weeks and mailed out those meeting packets today. We finalized the agenda and prepared a couple of items for Board discussion and votes. Then I sat in on the two regular weekly meetings to discuss student and program issues.
What's on your "Yuck List"?
The Fisher Home (6th– 8th grade boys) gave me a break from the administration and graciously hosted me for supper. I came over early and saw a chess board near the TV. The Fisher boys are just learning to play. I asked 6th grader John if he wanted to try, and he enthusiastically said yes. It’s been a long time since I played. We were about evenly matched and considered it a draw by the time supper was ready. Dick and Carol, the houseparents, tried to apologize that they were serving leftovers, but those dishes were the first time around for me. I don’t visit the homes for cuisine, but for the company, and to get a taste of how things are going in the homes and how the students and houseparents are doing.
As with any groups of children, there are always finicky eaters to contend with. The Fisher Home lets each boy pick two and only two, specific foods that they really don’t like and can place on their “Yuck List”. Whenever that food is served, that boy can pass and doesn’t have to eat it. But they get no passes when other foods are served. It has cut way down on boys trying to avoid ALL vegetables or only filling up on peanut butter and jelly. They have to eat a more balanced diet and try new foods.
Dick got a call from the family of a former student who is now in trouble with the law. When we get news like that it does get discouraging. We want to form people who walk a good path through life. Setbacks like that reinforce the need to teach students to make good choices here and now, and find non-violent ways to resolve even the smallest of conflicts.
Overnight cold froze a thin layer of ice across campus, then we added a light dusting of snow to cover it up and make it even more slippery. I always caution staff to be careful, but I myself fell down twice today. The first time I only bruised my pride, but the second time left the muscles in my arm sore and bruised. Winter is not ready to let go of us just yet!
We loved the panda's at the National Zoo!
Linea, who teaches language arts in grades 5-8 here at St. Joseph’s Indian School, shared photos of a trip she just chaperoned. Two of our 8th grade girls got the thrill of traveling to Washington, DC. For several years a donor has helped sponsor a spring trip so two of our kids get the chance to experience the Museum of the American Indian, as well as some of the other national treasures. Senator John Thune’s office graciously set up a thorough tour of the Capital and Supreme Court. Our students were tickled to see the giant pandas at the National Zoo, and deeply moved by their time going through the Holocaust Museum. It was the first time in DC for both teachers and students, who said that it will make government and history come alive in a unique way.
This week the school is hosting an artist in residence. Sandra is working with our students to help them paint with water colors. They will start with abstract paintings, then try moving on to nature scenes. The state of South Dakota has a good group of visiting artist to draw upon, and I find them all to be very kid friendly. I’m excited to see what kind of creations they come up with by week’s end.
This coming weekend we have donor appreciation luncheons in the Kansas City area. I practiced with our two high school boys who will represent the school and tell of their experience of St. Joseph’s Indian School. I think they’re more excited about the possibility of taking in a real major league baseball game than having to speak in front of a crowd. But just like making it to the big leagues, almost all success in life takes practice, practice, practice.
Before I was ordained, I sang in several different kinds of choirs. Because of this, I know how much music – if done well – can help deepen people’s spirit of prayer. Our singing at church has been getting quieter and quieter lately, so we decided to try to animate the kids. Nate, a houseparent and guitar player, picked out the upbeat song “Lord I Lift Your Name on High” for the closing. I told the students, “Singing is like praying twice, and we’re getting a little weak, so I want to really hear you on this closing one”. I grabbed a guitar, joined the choir and strummed along. It worked wonderfully well, with a noticeable increase not only in volume, but people actually participating. KP, one of our high school students said, “Church should be like that all the time”! It can be when many people give full, conscious and active participation. It can happen with slower, more meditative songs as well, as long as people try singing along.
The spirit also moved when we celebrated the Scrutinies and prayed for protection against evil for our RCIC Native American students as they get closer to baptism. Some giggled a little bit when I made the blessing near each child’s heart with the oil of catechumens. We also presented them with holy cards of the Creed and Our Father, which they clearly prayed when reciting them in front of the congregation.
St. Joseph's kids bowling with their mentors!
Mentor’s bowling was this afternoon. Some days I forget altogether I’ve I had surgery and go about life as normal. I haven’t bowled for about a year, but didn’t think anything about it until I rocked the ball back, bent down and put all my weight on my bad right foot. I almost lost my balance completely and the ball quickly angled right into the gutter. I was a little more cautious the next time to the lane, but was able to make some adjustments and still have fun. I have to keep exercising my foot and leg in different ways. But the fact I forget that my nerves are weak and try to go about normal activities, tells me that I’m making good and gradual process.
Fr. Dominic invited Fr. Anthony and I to supper for the Kiwanis Club annual roast beef dinner fundraiser. I enjoyed seeing both townsfolk and St. Joseph’s folks. Waiting in line with one of the people I knew only a little, I found out that besides running his business, he had also been trained as a spiritual director. We had a great conversation about the different spiritual and developmental tasks between the first and second halves of our lives – more than expected when waiting for a tasty meal. I enjoy talking sports or weather but it’s fulfilling when you can engage in conversations of more substance with people.
Cold, snowy temperatures make a great cozy Saturday at St. Joseph's Indian School.
Snow on the ground, overcast skies and a cold and grey day made for lots of yawns for everyone I came across today.
But it was no lazy Saturday because eight of our student families were on campus for our FAST (Families And Schools Together) weekend. I met a few of the parents and guardians I hadn’t yet met, and said hello to some very familiar faces of those who have sent several of their family through our program.
Our high school girls took care of babysitting for the younger children and served the lunch as well. It was a chance for them to earn some spending money, but also help free the staff to have more quality interaction with the families.
Fr. Anthony and I saw a matinée at the Chamberlain Movie Theater this afternoon. It’s nice that our small town is still able to support a movie theater. While we may have to wait a couple of weeks for a movie to come out, my friends in the cities are always envious of the prices. For two tickets and two bags of popcorn I paid $9.50!
Our newest board member, Doug grew up here in Chamberlain, South Dakota and has been on campus countless times for events at the Rec Center, museum and chapel and even had his wedding reception in our Dining Hall. But there were many areas of campus he never toured before. We started in the Development Office. He asked great questions about our business practices, but also insightful ones about our educational approaches and student population. He assumed a lot of the mailing, design and computing was all jobbed out. But Doug quickly learned that most of it is done right on site with our own locally grown “experts” who have been on staff for many years. Doug knew most of the people we met along the way, but hadn’t known exactly what kind of work they do here at St. Joseph’s Indian School. It takes so many people working together, to make St. Joseph’s Indian School successful. Though the staff in the Development Office doesn’t have as much direct contact with our students, they are just as committed to the program and kids as the teachers and counselors.
The American Indian kids at St. Joseph's Indian School love the pool!
I had a scare tonight as I drove back on campus from downtown Chamberlain. When I went by the pool in our Rec Center I saw an ambulance outside, and a group of people huddled around someone poolside. I raced inside with my heart beating with worries that something had happened to one of our students. What I didn’t’ know was that it was a scheduled ambulance training, and all the area EMT’s were doing their continuing education on how to work with people on backboards. After the wonderful sense of relief wore off, I was thankful that we can make our facilities available to the community to help train people for the times there really are accidents.
After a morning filled with meetings, I looked back over the week and realized that with everything else going on, I hadn’t once visited the youngsters classrooms. When I did, the first sight I saw Scott, our PE teacher walking the hall with a baseball bat over his shoulder. My first thought was of the movie Lean On Me where the principal patrolled the halls to cut down violence. But Scott’s bat was plastic, and a sign the whiffle ball season is upon us. He was meeting the 4th graders to walk them to the gym so they could play ball. I watched for a bit, then batted myself once (a single) before resuming my school tour.
I stopped by the Dean’s office to see if many kids were in trouble, but there were no serious discipline issues for the day. Mike, one of our houseparents, was subbing for the Dean today, and working on some of our Affiliated Programs like our Soup Label Project that he also oversees. We have turned in 465,000 labels this year, which has meant earning things like printer, lap top computer, digital camera for a home and many more. Because so many people help with small, regular donations, it all adds up together to make great things possible.
Mia takes a computer quiz on the book she just finished.
The 7th graders were in the computer lab, working on a program called, “Grammar Gorillas”. They were being quizzed on distinguishing nouns from other parts of speech in the sentence. The other section of 7th graders were enjoying their block of library time. Many were reading, and a few were taking computer quizzes on books they had just finished. A few with free time were working on a 1,000 piece puzzle of the United States. We talked about places we’ve been. Dawson pointed to the 5 states he has been in so far. Many of our students have limited travel opportunities and experiences. The younger kids hear tales of travels brought back by 7th-12th graders about their travels to donor appreciation luncheons, and hope someday themselves to get the opportunity.
After school was a frenzy of student activity. Several students ran by me, their first track workout of the season. Others played football in Fisher Field and a few were shooting baskets and dreaming of a final four appearance. At the Rec Center the 1st – 3rd graders were taking part in the first t-ball game of the season, moved indoors because our brief taste of spring has turned to wintry weather again. 4th and 5th grade boys were doing a cardiovascular video workout. And our mini buses shuttled 4th-6th grade girls to the two-week gymnastics practice that Chamberlain High School is putting on to get younger students interested in that sport.
I ate supper with the Pinger Home (6th-8th grade girls). The gymnasts were excited about their flips around uneven parallel bars and learning some floor exercises. The runners complained of sore calves as they try to get into shape. Other girls talked of school and classes, or life back at their “home home”. The 7th graders are preparing for a week-long cultural trip as soon as school gets out and the 8th graders excitedly recalled their adventures at Bear Butte, Devils Tower and the Little Bighorn Battlefield.
The Priests of the Sacred Heart were founded by Leo John Dehon 133 years ago. We have ongoing efforts to give our staff and students a real sense of who he was and the values he stood for. This week is our Mission Awareness program. Fr. Byron Haaland SCJ joined us to help students and staff appreciate the spirit of love and reparation Fr. Dehon instilled in the congregation. We had two prayer services, one geared more toward the elementary students and one for the staff who work outside the school building, elsewhere on campus.
Fr. Byron had a full day because in the afternoon he gave a mini retreat to our business office staff encouraging them to understand, affirm and accept the members of their team. I think we go a long way in avoiding conflicts and resolving misunderstandings when we take the time first to really listen to and understand those around us.
In the evening he worked with our high school students. He was pleasantly surprised that they knew not only what prophets in the Old Testament did, but could name several of them. Maybe they’ve been listening to my homilies more than I give them credit for!
Another full day of meetings. We met with the architect and creative designers for our museum expansion project. We hope to break ground at next September’s St. Joseph’s Indian School Annual Powwow. A part I am most excited about is a space for our alumni to come back and visit campus and tell their stories – a place where we can create a living and ongoing display of history.
I let others work out details as I excused myself to go next door to a budget meeting with my SCJ brothers, some who work on the reservation and came into Chamberlain. After the business was taken care of, we enjoyed a nice meal together. It’s hard to follow the buzz of 4 conversations going on at once, but we settled down to a time of storytelling, with lots of laughter and memories.
Our Child Service Team met with updates and sharing. Now that spring break is over it feels like the end of the year is rushing towards us and we have so many end of the year activities to start planning. After that, I met with my management team. We are spending significant time working on our new strategic plan. We are surveying students, their families, people in the community and several of our donors to look at what we need to work on to keep St. Joseph’s Indian School strong and relevant for years to come.
Tonight was our annual Service Awards Banquet. Before I passed out other people’s awards, I was given some gifts for completing 5 full years at St. Joseph’s Indian School. When I took those back to my table I spontaneously placed the long-stemmed rose in my teeth and did a couple of tango steps, which drew chuckles. I overheard the remark, “He must be feeling better now!”
Thanks be to God!
Marina picked up her appreciation award for 40 years working at St. Joseph’s Indian School! When she started in the development office she got paid 1 ½ cents for every beaded Indian figure she could place on a card and stuff in an envelope. She told the crowd she’s seen so many changes over the years and so appreciates what St. Joseph’s offers both students and staff. The dedication and commitment of our staff really does make St. Joseph’s Indian School a great place to be a part of.
Our students returned from Spring Break yesterday and we began the day with a prayer service to start the 4th quarter. We honored those students nominated by teachers, counselors and houseparents who have done well not only at school, but by their attitude and spirit of cooperation. We gave them certificates for being “Soaring Eagles”.
I spent most of the day with our Parents Advisory Committee. We welcomed three new members to the group, and the first timers spoke up freely and added a lot to our discussions. We had one session on our alumni efforts. Parents were pleased with our outreach and suggested ways to deepen the ties. Even a simple word change in advertising our “gatherings” to “honoring” would make them and others more likely to attend. They spoke of the ongoing need for healing for those who had negative experiences while attending St. Joseph’s Indian School. We discussed our outreach to alumni who are now in college and ways to encourage them to stay in school and finish.
The Chamberlain Public High School principal joined us to discuss efforts at respecting cultural diversity in Chamberlain. He impressed me as someone who not only said the right things, but who really cares, and understands that we need to bridge racial and ethnic gaps if we are ever to build a strong and life-giving community. Later, we addressed how we monitor and work with students who are taking medications.
We have a series of tunnels running underneath the campus, which are mainly used for our heating pipes, electrical and phone lines and the like. Years ago the students used to travel between buildings in the winter using the tunnels, and when alumni visit, one of the first places they long to experience is that tunnel experience. After lunch, I led the group on a tour through them, amid much laughter, recall, and storytelling. At one point we couldn’t find a light switch and things got dark until 4 or 5 people took out their cell phones and lighted the way. Things have changed a lot over the years!
I had two more masses in Kennebec and Lower Brule this morning. I again enjoyed the chance to reconnect with people I previously served as pastor. After Kennebec, one of the parishioners talked about a friend of his who is dying of cancer, and wanted to know if I had any words of wisdom. He is at a loss as to what to say to his friend. The times I was too sick or to tired for company, I did let people know. But, I appreciated it when people sent a card, called or visited. A serious illness is made much worse when people avoid visiting because they are uncomfortable. I advised him not to worry about what words to say. Perhaps the most important words are, “How are you doing” and being open to really listening. You can let the sick person themselves decide what they want to share; be it the weather, sports, what it is really like to face illness or even death.
The drive from Kennebec to Lower Brule was 30 miles along a state road to the north and then a tribal road along the Missouri river the rest of the way. I didn’t see another car the entire time, but the scenery was wonderful and made for some prayerful reflection.
We had three baptisms at Lower Brule. I don’t know if anyone heard much of my homily, because the infants made themselves heard and took turns drawing everyone’s attention. During the baptism after the two-year old saw what happened to his cousin, he didn’t like the idea of getting wet, and started to object. But once he felt the warm water over his forehead the first time he relaxed, calmed down and had a big smile on his face when all was done. The families served a nice meal afterwards in the hall and invited everyone who came to church to eat and help celebrate with them.
Hanging out on spring break!
Our students are all coming back to campus. The question I asked most of them as I walked the campus was, “What did you like best about spring break”. The most common answer was: the chance to play outside. We have been blessed across the state with some wonderful and warm weather this week.
