Hello blog world! My name is Scott and I am a family service counselor. I work with 6th-12th grade boys and will begin my 19th year at St. Joseph’s Indian School (SJIS) this fall. During the school year, I help provide individual and group counseling services to the boys and also act as a go-between for the school and the children’s families.
Right now, though, it’s summer and I’m adjusting to a little more life on the road. I’ll be traveling this month to visit families and students I work with here at SJIS. It’s a nice way to connect with all of them. I enjoy seeing the beautiful landscapes of South Dakota and getting to see the home turf of the kids. They always enjoy showing off their towns and telling stories connected to their home environment. It’s a great way to continue to build the relationships we work on during the year. Plus, it’s laid back because they aren’t stressed out by the rigors of homework and other scheduled activities, like we have during the school year.
I also travel to conduct interviews with potential students when we have vacancies in our homes. I always enjoy meeting new children and new families and I look forward to establishing new connections with them when the school year begins.
In the last few years, I have had quite a few more kids remain on campus in June as summer programming increases for the age group that I work with – especially in the high school age group. I have many older boys who are still here for awhile, working summer jobs, attending the high school transition program and officially learning how to drive.
I enjoy the pace of the SJIS summer routine and also look forward to time off in the summer to re-charge and prepare for the next school year.