Today was a quiet day of answering letters and working on strategic planning.
This evening the local parish, St. James, celebrated the sacrament of Confirmation. Several of the young people who were confirmed I know well because they are children of our staff. Others I know from helping out downtown occasionally, or going to events at the high school. The church hosted a wonderful and spirit filled celebration. For me, the most enjoyable part is wandering around the church hall afterwards, visiting with people and getting to meet extended family who made the trip to be of support.
22 years ago today, Fr. Steve was ordained a priest.
I give thanks to God for all the blessings that have come to me because of this vocation. I pray I can be a good priest set an example that helps students, staff and the many people who help make St. Joseph’s Indian School possible to feel God’s love.
Today, we held our annual Spring Sobriety Walk on a windy, yet warm and sunny spring afternoon. The assembly began at the Rec Center and our whole student body, along with members of the student leadership group from Chamberlain High School, walked into town. Wearing matching t-shirts designed by Kianna, one of our Freshmen. The students carried banners and flags during the walk. At a designated point the Homes split off into the four directions around town and later met up at a rally point on the south end of main street. My foot and nerves held up quite well during the two-mile walk, and it felt great to be strolling and talking with the students.
When we returned to campus, everyone enjoyed a picnic supper in the pavilion. Then guest speakers addressed the students in two different age groups. They shared their own stories of recovery and hope, and encouraging our youngsters to make the right choice regarding drugs and alcohol, so they can building a brighter future for themselves and their families.
The middle school ranks were mighty thin when I visited the school today. Today was the first track meet of the season, and the team bus left in the morning. The runners have been practicing a lot in cold damp weather, and had one meet canceled, so they were glad for a sunny day and a chance to compete.
Fr. Anthony lead a Mini Retreat for the students who will make their first communion on Sunday. They are excited that their families plan to be on campus and be witness to their special day. They’ve learned their prayers fine, but getting them into the right places at the right time showed that we need more practice. Key houseparents and teachers will help point them in the right direction.
After school, the staff in the Mentor Program gathered with their students at American Creek campground just down the road. There were plenty of games to get involved with, including volleyball, frisbee and kite flying. I ended up playing the washer toss (same principles as horseshoes, only with washers and a board with a hole in the center) with several of the kids. The two hours evaporated and in the blink of an eye it was time to get everyone home to start homework.
Engaging 7-9 year olds in an activity that takes focus is not always easy. As I walked toward a game of kickball, I spotted some of the kids locked into the action, while others were turning cartwheels in left field or pretend sword fighting with the extra bats. I heard one houseparent call out, “Anyone who is laying down on the field will have an early bedtime tonight!” I sat and watched for a while, grinning the whole time at the kids’ antics. The score didn’t really matter all that much – they were having fun being active and being outside, which is all that really matters, right?
They invited me to tell them more about myself and my life experiences.
About once a month our High School Sons of Tradition group has been having in elders come talk with them about life. While they’ve been hearing from tribal members, tonight they invited me to tell them more about myself and my life experiences. We covered a wide range of topics including what I learned from sports, how and when I heard the call to religious life, facing illness and disappointment, prayer, attitudes toward drinking, and what I believe are some of the things that do (or don’t) make a man a man.
They too are at the stage in their life where they’re wrestling with significant issues in life. They stayed engaged and asked many follow-up questions, so it wasn’t just a monologue. Getting away from policies, plans and procedures and just having some straight talk from the heart made it one of my more personally satisfying interactions on campus in quite a while.
This morning I saw some of the 8th graders getting on the bus to go to the high school. After graduation at St. Joseph’s Indian School, many of them will stay with our program and make the transition to our community’s public high school in the fall. Today part of that group was matched up with our current high school students. The rest will do the same tomorrow. They spend time shadowing, attending classes for a day and start familiarizing themselves with the facilities and the teachers.
Another part of their transition is that they’ve now earned high school privileges. That includes later bedtime and more freedom around campus. But they also have responsibilities, such as getting themselves up on their own with an alarm clock to get ready for school. Since they were excited about the change of pace, getting up on time wasn’t an issue.
The students at St. Joseph’s Indian School undoubtedly enjoyed the circus!
The circus is in town, and many of our Homes, especially the younger ones, were excited about the exotic animals and fun adventure. The most common favorites were the tigers, clowns and acrobats on bicycles.
Our Native American youngsters had such a blast at our annual Easter Egg Hunt!
The school was very quiet this morning, but once the homes opened at noon, the campus sprang to life as our American Indian students returned from Easter break. I took advantage of the morning quiet to work through a thick folder of strategic planning materials for next week. It has been four years since we developed our last plan. Reading through staff input on strengths we can build on and weaknesses we need to address, gives a good overview of where to focus our efforts.
The residential coordinators spent the afternoon hiding colorful plastic eggs around our St. Joseph’s Indian School campus. At 4:00 all the children who were back, got to take part in our annual Easter Egg Hunt. Grades 6-8 gathered at the field outside the Fisher Home, and grades 1-5 lined up outside the office.
Once they accomplished that mission, they brought their findings back to the Rec Center where they opened them to see which ones contained prize slips in addition to the small treats. Many lucky winners got to choose from a variety of lovely toys, games and stuffed animals. $10 Walmart gift cards that someone had donated were the coveted grand prizes. The kids all seemed to enjoy the adventure and everyone walked away a winner.
Yesterday, I spent several hours on the road for a couple of pastoral visits. One of our alumni is working through some difficult life issues and wanted to have someone to talk things over with. I mostly listened and encouraged. We can’t take the hurts away, but we sure can be supportive in people’s tough walk through life’s crosses.
I also visited an elderly couple from one of my former parishes I’ve kept in touch with over the years. The wife has been ill and homebound, and appreciated the company. We caught up over a few games of cards with plenty of conversation during the hands.
Today, I saw a few of our students at Easter Mass in Fort Thompson. When I don’t have duties at the school, I enjoy getting back to the Indian reservation communities. At church we had a nice mix of ages, which I often miss when I’m only in the school setting. Many young adults who’ve moved away were back to gather at the homestead with extended family for the holidays.
Fr. Anthony, Fr. Dominic and I all had a hand in preparing Easter dinner; shared in a relaxing way. I don’t cook very often, but when I have the time it’s actually enjoyable. Breaking bread and telling stories … sounds like somebody I know who makes Easter all that it is.
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.
