Tag: community

Today was a picture perfect sunny spring day on the St. Joseph’s Indian School campus. I enjoyed it by walking around quite a bit to check in on folks around campus. Mark, who oversees our printing press operation, is back at work after recovering from a surgery. With most of our spring mailings printed, they are doing maintenance on the presses, but Mark has to be careful to supervise and not do any lifting for now. Dave is back in central storage after vacation where he did lots of fishing. He was getting supplies ready to deliver around campus. Another Dave, in the maintenance shop had a birthday, so I stopped in at morning break to wish him well. Then I met with Kory-our Executive Director of Development-to review finances,  mail campaigns and look at our strategic business planning.

Usually Monday brings a slew of campus emails, but today was oddly quiet on that front. A large group of our Child Services staff spent most of the day in training, trying to build team work. In the midst of the day-to-day activities with the students, we still need to set aside time to give staff the tools they need to do their job well, and have them reflect on ways we can improve.

Tony and Odis are heading up our 7^th grade cultural trip this summer, and they stopped by to firm up some plans. This week the students will have a lesson about one of the sites they’re most interested in visiting: Battlefield at the Little Bighorn or the Greasy Grass as it was known to the Sioux. Some of our students can name great-great grandparents who fought for their people’s freedom there!

 We SCJ’s received sad news today that one of our confreres, Fr. Charles Bisgrove, had a stroke and died at the young age of 58. When I was in Novitiate, he taught a class on the Documents of Vatican II, and also a course on Liturgy. He brought such enthusiasm to his teaching; it was contagious. I learned a lot from him. It reminds me how much impact a good teacher can have on their students, even many years down the road. May he rest in peace.

It reminds me how much impact a good teacher can have on their students, even many years down the road

I helped Fr. Anthony with the regular Sunday morning mass. I led a second one at 4:00 p.m. so our prom students could have a chance for a little shut-eye after post prom and actually be awake instead of struggling to stay awake in church. I enjoyed praying with a smaller, more focused congregation. I preach to high school students differently than when I’m trying to reach a first or second grader, and can talk from the heart about more serious subject matters. Like their relationship struggles and questions of self-identity that weigh heavy on their hearts and minds.

We also invited students from town who wanted to join us, and it’s nice when classmates from Chamberlain High School can feel welcome and take part in our campus activities. I also noticed that the students who volunteered to read the scriptures were more relaxed when there were fewer people around, and all did a good job.

I don’t handle hardly any of the day-to-day business, but I started the day with a bank run. I never mind getting asked to go downtown to take paperwork for a signature, because that usually means someone has gifted us with stocks or bonds in a sizeable amount that requires my certification. Especially in a difficult economy, I am so grateful for people’s generosity.

In the school assembly room, our houseparents set up booths with photos and hands on activities so other staff could stop by and learn about their home activities. One table showed the Lakota (Sioux) cultural projects jr. high students were working on. Another showed lovely wooden picture boxes  the houseparents built as keepsakes for their graduating 8^th graders each year. The Girl Scout troop leader showed examples of the many crafts her girls created over these last months. One home uses pictures of their 4^th and 5^th grade girls to make calendars for the families and guardians each year. Yet another makes a DVD to send home with the kids at the end of the year. Our houseparents are not only a very dedicated group, but they have lots of creativity and go the extra mile to make our homes feel more like a home.

Emily is our new photographer, and we set out for some new pictures with the students. It’s fun to take part in a classroom activity or have fun on the playground, and I do those things regularly anyway. Most of our kids have practically grown up around me,  so they’re not at all bashful if there’s a camera present. It was a gorgeous-though windy-spring day, and the break from the office felt invigorating.

Dixie from our Akta Lakota Museum & Culture Center gave me a folder of art submissions for next week’s Museum Acquisition meeting. I’m not well schooled in art, and I don’t make the selections. However I did have some fun at the William Home (4^th-5^th grade girls) showing them the pictures and asking them to choose some of their favorite pieces. I want to show them that there’s more to art than just trying to make something look as realistic as possible, but the use of shape, color and texture can all be used creatively. After supper, I cheered for the girls on the softball diamond. I volunteered to pitch one inning. Though I tried to lay the ball right down the middle for students to hit away, I had surprisingly stellar defense behind me. They caught every ball that was hit and I finished with a perfect 1 2 3 inning.

I finished the evening at the gym, taking part in a game of 21 with three high school boys all several inches taller than me. With my limited “3 inch” vertical leaping ability, I didn’t earn many rebounds among the trees. When I did get a board through a lucky carom or bounce, I had to make the most of it. I hit a few outside shots, and left knowing that even 10 months after surgery, I still have much work to rehab my leg.

The St. Joseph’s Indian School was eerily quiet today when I walked over to see what was going on. All the students are taking part in the semi-annual Dakota STEP testing in order to measure their yearly progress. Our teachers use the results to see what areas they need to  work more closely with the individual students. Kids were very quiet as they were reading, figuring and filling in the circles with good old #2 pencils.

The only noise I heard was coming from the 1^st grade classroom.  Their attention span is too short for a 2 hour block of testing, so they have more breaks. They had their crayons and markers out and were coloring pictures of Easter eggs and a Good Friday picture of a hill with three crosses on it. It gave me the chance to explain part of the Good Friday and Easter story.

We got word that one of our alumni was elected president of the Native American Club at South Dakota State University. Congratulations Stefen! We keep working so our graduates can fulfill more and more of their potential, and it’s a boost to hear when they are doing well.

This morning our maintenance crew finally got to a project they’ve been thinking about for years. Since the 40’s or 50’s we’ve had the cement remains of an old foundation in the center of Wisdom Circle, at the heart of campus. They finally dug it up, to improve the safety of the play area. The project will take a couple of days and after school-kids will be kids-and were having more fun climbing the mounds of dirt and running back and forth through the hole left behind. I’m sure the houseparents will have some extra clean up to do once the kids get home!

The students who’ve been learning archery put on a demonstration this evening in the Rec Center. The girls won round one, and the boys saved face and won the second round. The equipment came from a grant from the South Dakota division of Game Fish and Parks. I enjoyed seeing a few students who are not athletic in football or basketball, shoot extremely well in this sport. It requires a good eye, steady hand, lots of concentration and self-control. I always hope learning such discipline can also translate to the classroom and life.

I’m back from a four-day trip to Kansas City where we held two donor appreciation luncheons. I sat next to Will on his very first flight and he had his nose pressed to the window the whole way. He was excited to see both city and countryside from the air, and pointed out our plane’s shadow passing over the clouds below. He and Kuwa stared with fascination at workers loading baggage into the belly of the plane and both young men giggled like little kids when they discovered the airport’s moving walkways.

When we travel one of my rules that the students often hear me repeat is: try at least one new food each day. The first night we ate at a buffet which made that much easier. I had to laugh when I opened my fortune cookie which read, “Now is the time to try something new”! I have to admit that this duo was pretty adventurous.

Neither student had ever been to a major league baseball game and were excited for the chance to see the Royals and Angels play. We were treated to a walk off home run to win the game for KC in the bottom of the 9^th, and after the game Kaufmann Stadium delighted fans with a colorful fireworks display.

Our luncheons drew 50 people each day. Both High School students were understandably nervous the first day, but with a little prompting, they had plenty to say. On the second day, they were more relaxed, drew a few more laughs and many more questions. Folks had a sense of living history when one of the guys told folks that Red Cloud was his great-great grandfather.

Many of our donors have known about St. Joseph’s Indian School for a long time, but only a small portion have ever gotten to visit the school. One of our donors has known about St. Joseph’s for a very long time because his mother graduated from there in the 1950’s. As always, we met so many kind and generous people, and enjoyed the chance to get to know each other better.

Before we left on the trip, I gave the students each a AAA tour book to look up sights they wanted to be sure to see. Surprisingly, an object art museum struck their fancy. Outside the Nelson Atkins Art Museum are two giant badminton birdies they wanted to get their picture taken by to show their friends. After checking that item off our list, we were close to an old historic area known as the Plaza. As we toured through that area, their heads were turning in every direction trying to take in the sights and sounds of everything from  jazz street musicians to limousines and Cinderella like horse-drawn carriages. As we drove through downtown, they rolled down the windows to gawk at all the tall buildings.

Mike, our houseparent chaperone, scouted out what he heard was arguably the best BBQ in a city that takes cuisine quite seriously. He was nervous and in disbelief when we pulled up because the line extended out the door into the parking lot, and this restaurant was in a gas station!

I was intrigued by houseparent Anita’s campus wide email titled, “Let’s Make A Deal”. At the beginning of the school year all the homes are stocked with standard non-perishable food supplies. But the high school boys and 2nd grade girls definitely have different likes and dislikes. Homes often end up with surplus in some areas and shortages in others. Anita advertised food items she had and was willing to trade as she thinks about using up inventory. It’s nice when staff consciously makes good use of resources to reduce waste and get items where they are needed and appreciated.

I drove up to the Lower Brule Indian Reservation, and picked up Fr. Joe, who serves as pastor there. We drove up to Eagle Butte, for tomorrow’s board meeting at the Sacred Heart Center. It will be his first meeting, so I filled him in on a few of the people he’ll meet and a little background on programs the center is trying to focus on. 150 miles in the car together allowed us to talk a little theology and share stories of ministry. It also gave a good chance to catch up on how things are going on the “Rez”.

We talked a little theology and shared stories of ministry.

When we arrived in Eagle Butte, the rectory was empty, but I figured with Wednesday night being religious education night, we’d find folks at the church. We walked in just as the grade school religion classes were getting out. Since I served these parishes 16 years ago, I didn’t recognize any of the children that walked by. But I did recognize all their catechists. Several of the teachers I knew when they were in those same classrooms as primary students, and it was fun to see them as adults. I said to Wendy, who I’ve known since she was a very shy kindergartener, that it’s great to see the adult she’s become, with good self-confidence and trying to pass faith on to her children and children of the area.

The Fisher Home (6^th– 8^th 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 6^th 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.