Tag: Lakota (Sioux)

Serving & Teaching, Receiving & Learning from the Lakota students

We serve and teach, we receive and learn.

This is a saying we have here at St.

Chelsey and her mentor match, Hope.
Chelsey’s mentor match, Hope, is in St. Joseph’s high school program.

Joseph’s and the truth of it is becoming more evident as I spend each day working with the Lakota (Sioux) students at St. Joseph’s Indian School. In my short year and half, I’ve had the privilege of working with the students in first grade all the way through seniors in high school. Staff members receive and learn various things from each age group.

I’ve learned from the younger students to live life spontaneously and carefree. Their little spirits, full of life and laughter, never cease to leave a smile on my face. They are full of curiosity and always asking questions. After spending an evening in one of our younger homes (students in grades 1-3), I can’t help but walk out feeling energized a­­­­­­nd reminded to live simply.

Recently we celebrated Catholic Schools Week and the seventh and eighth graders did a video on what faith, knowledge, and service mean to them. I was reminded of the role technology is playing in the world today, when one of the kids said service is something you have on your phone when you can call or talk to other people. The teacher needed to clarify a bit more on what type of service they were talking about. J

I was so inspired and encouraged by what these young students shared about their core beliefs in faith and what it means to them!

Occasionally I’ve had the opportunity to hang out with the high school students too. I am part of the mentor program and my mentor match is in high school. We enjoy getting together to do fun activities. She is always up for anything and the high school students are very active! Several of the high school students have siblings or cousins who also attend St. Joseph’s – they are great role models to the younger students. They set high goals for themselves and are continually working toward becoming the adults they desire to be.

Each student is unique and special, bringing different qualities, characteristics, and personalities to St. Joseph’s. Every day is an opportunity for staff and students to serve and teach, and receive and learn from each other.

Thanks for making this work possible!

Chelsey, Family Service Counselor

An amazing, busy week at St. Joseph’s Indian School

Good day from St. Joseph’s Indian School!

Fr. Anthony, St. Joseph's Chaplain
Fr. Anthony, St. Joseph’s Chaplain

Last week was amazing.  The weather was great — no snow and lots of sunshine. It was a busy week for the Lakota (Sioux) students!

We have recently been talking about grades for our elementary students and their induction into the National Honors Society. Now I can report on the high school program! The home with the lowest number of missing assignments for last quarter was the Giles Home (junior boys, plus one sophomore). The home GPA trophy went to Hogebach Home (sophomore, junior and senior girls) with an average of 3.32.  Our five high school homes combined to earn 93 A’s and 18 students earned a GPA of 3.0 or better. Way to go!!

This past Saturday saw the local community take part in the annual Polar Plunge with 28 participants.  Seven of our staff signed up to be St. Joseph’s TURTLE POWER team. The event raised a little over $15,000.00 which will benefit the Special Olympics in South Dakota. St. Joseph’s Turtle Power team contributed $2,100 along with the $200.00 from the Penny War held at St. Joseph’s to give our students a way to participate. Three other staff members and myself ‘volunteered’ to have our pictures put on jars that students and staff could drop pennies in. Next week, the ‘loser’ will be announced and receive a Whip Cream pie in the face in front of the whole student body.  Those who donated were also able to enter a contest to see who gets to ‘throw’ the pie.

St. Joseph’s staff members teamed up to raise money for South Dakota Special Olympics.
St. Joseph’s TURTLE POWER team raised $2,100 for the Special Olympics of South Dakota.

Recently the Knights of Columbus held their annual free throw contest and the Chamberlain-Oacoma Area Chamber of Commerce piggy-backed on that to hold their Hot Shot competition for 9-14 year olds.  St. Joseph’s students racked up several wins, along with the children of staff members. Congratulations everyone!

Campus was bust last Saturday as we hosted our annual 8th grade boys’ basketball

St. Joseph’s hosted a basketball tournament for 8th grade boys’ teams last weekend.
Miller, Pierre Indian Learning Center (PILC) and Chamberlain were invited to take part in St. Joseph’s 8th grade boys’ basketball tournament last weekend.

tournament.  Miller, Pierre Indian Learning Center (PILC) and Chamberlain were invited to take part. St. Joseph’s beat Chamberlain 54-29 in the first game and Miller beat PILC 48-28 in the second.  Chamberlain and PILC then played for 3rd and PILC won 34-31.  In the championship game, St. Joseph’s fell behind early and could never quite catch up, losing to Miller 57-51. We congratulate all those who took part and thank them for some exciting games!

I hope each of you has a relaxing and enjoyable week ahead.  Know that we keep you in our prayers in gratitude for your support and encouragement of the programs we offer our Native American students and their families here at St. Joseph’s Indian School.

Fr. Anthony Kluckman, SCJ

Chaplain

P.S.  The local paper had a recent article that named Adrian, one of St. Joseph’s high school students, as the Chamberlain High School Athlete of the Week.  This is the same young man who earned the attention of an opposing coach, who then called up the local high school to commend Adrian for his sportsmanship. Congratulations and good job to Adrian!

Bringing you up to date…

Happy New Year from all the students and staff at St. Joseph’s Indian School!

The SCJ house on St. Joseph’s campus enjoyed many visitors during the Parade of Homes.
Fr. Anthony, Terri and Fr. Bernie had a wonderful time during Chamberlain’s Parade of Homes!

I hope everyone’s New Year is off to a great start.  Our students and staff are in the process of working their way back to campus as the Christmas Break comes to an end.  The weather is making it a bit interesting today – we have snow and 11 degrees outside, along with blistering winds lowering the wind chill to well below zero. Word has already come from the Rosebud Indian Reservation that their bus will not be able to make it to St. Joseph’s today due to the weather. South Dakota could get up to 6 inches of snow or more before tomorrow. Please keep all those traveling in your prayers for a safe journey.

Since things were quiet around campus this past week, I would like to bring you up-to-date on some things that happened just before Christmas.

Pope Francis has dedicated 2015 to be a Year of Consecrated Life —honoring Sisters, Priests and Brothers who have made the commitment to religious life.  Our Provincial, Fr. Steve Huffstetter, SCJ, sent out a memo encouraging our Priests of the Sacred Heart (SCJ) communities to discern ways we could make ourselves visible to the people in our areas so as to give witness and invite them to know us better.

On December 14, 2014, Fr. Bernard Rosinski, SCJ and I, along with our housekeeper, Terri, took part in the annual Parade of Homes in the Chamberlain area.  It is a fundraiser for our local Cozard Memorial Library.  There were five homes and one local business that people could visit.

We hosted between 60-75 people and had a great time answering questions and showing off our home —beautiful, thanks to Terri’s wonderful sense of decorating.

Later that week, we invited St. Joseph’s staff to come up and see the decorations and enjoy some cookies and hot cider.  About 40-50 staff accepted our invite during this busy season.  It was a wonderful experience!

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On the calendar for the week ahead is the start of the third quarter at school and our celebration of Christmas with the Lakota (Sioux) boys and girls. The students are looking forward to opening their gifts your generosity provided! I always enjoy visiting the homes and seeing the expressions of joy on the children’s faces as they open their gifts. We’ll be sure to take some pictures so you can see them in next week’s blog!

With 2015 upon us, I also wanted to remind you of the donor luncheons that will be coming up, giving you an opportunity to meet some of St. Joseph’s students and staff:

  • January 18-19, 2015: San Francisco, California
  • April 25-26, 2015 : Panama City, Florida
  • June 7-8, 2015: New York, New York

If you are able to attend and would like additional information, please call 1-800-584-9200. We look forward to spending some time with you!

Enjoy the week ahead.  May God’s blessings continue to be with you as in the New Year.  Thanks again for your support and encouragement of our Lakota students and all of us.  Be assured of our prayers for you and your special intentions.

Fr. Anthony Kluckman, SCJ

Chaplain

Tidbits we may have missed earlier this month

Good afternoon from St. Joseph’s Indian School!

Fr. Anthony, St. Joseph's Chaplain
Fr. Anthony, St. Joseph’s Chaplain

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and that Santa was good to you all.  Things are still very quiet here on campus as the Lakota (Sioux) students and much of the staff are away for Christmas break. We have only a handful of students staying in the break home.

We got some additional snow overnight and some VERY cold weather has settled in. Local news stations are predicting wind chills of -30. Brrrr!!

Since there is not a lot of ‘current’ news to share, it gives me a chance to pass along some tidbits that we may have missed in Busy December.

St. Joseph’s Knowledge Bowl Team took 3rd place at LNI.
RJ (right) took first place in the individual government test! The team took 3rd place in the LNI Knowledge Bowl.

Right before the Christmas break began, several of our students traveled out to Rapid City, South Dakota to take part in some of the events at the annual Lakota Nation Invitational (LNI). What began as a basketball tournament in the 1970s is now a celebration of Native American arts, culture, language and family. The days-long event includes traditional hand games, a language bowl, knowledge bowl, archery competition and more.

  • Joseph’s sent a Knowledge Bowl team and they captured 3rd place.  After the team contest, there are individual tests in a variety of subjects. One of St. Joseph’s team members, senior RJ, took first place in Government.  One of those congratulating RJ was Senator John Thune, who was also the speaker at RJ’s eighth grade graduation. Given his interest in government and politics, this was very exciting for RJ!
  • One of our freshmen, Kaitlyn, took part in the archery contest and came in 2nd out of 30 shooters.
  • Joseph’s hand games team took 1st place! Their weekly practices really paid off.

Congratulations to all those who represented St. Joseph’s at LNI. You are a credit to our school and we’re so proud of you all!

Frank, our Residential Coordinator for the seventh and eighth grades, came up with an idea at the start of December to have some Christmas fun. Employing the popular “Elf on the Shelf” story, he added a twist – our elves broke the rules!

St. Joseph’s students enjoyed Elf on the Shelf with a twist in December.
Each day, students found the elves somewhere in school breaking a rule! These elves had iPods in class.

Each day, students found the elves somewhere in school breaking a rule! Their job then was to submit their name and the rule being broken for a chance to win a prize. In addition to being a lot of fun, the elves helped students remember to follow the rules in the exciting weeks leading up to Christmas break.

Another noteworthy success for a St. Joseph’s student was achieved by Kyran, a high school senior, who is a member of the Chamberlain FFA Marketing Team. His team recently placed second at the State Fall Leadership CDE’s! Also on the team with Kyran is Connor, who is the grandson of our school secretary, Dianne. Congratulations to everyone!

I hope all of you will have an enjoyable New Year’s celebration and that God’s blessings, love and guidance will be with you throughout 2015.

Fr. Anthony Kluckman, SCJ

Chaplain

Preparing for Thanksgiving at St. Joseph’s Indian School

Greetings from St. Joseph’s Indian School!

Hope everyone’s week is off to a great start and your taste buds are ready for turkey and pumpkin pie.

Cousins and siblings enjoyed making Thanksgiving decorations together for their families.
Students gathered in family groups to make table decorations to take home for Thanksgiving.

Last Wednesday, St. Joseph’s students took part in the National Family Week Project. They gathered in family groups (siblings, cousins) so they could make up table decorations to take home for Thanksgiving.

One was a turkey and the other was a big pumpkin which had a slot in it that contained space for small pieces of paper. Students used paper ‘seeds’ to write things they are grateful for. Everyone enjoyed dinner together, followed by some fun playing bingo.

Also last week, we had 19 students from Dakota Wesleyan University in Mitchell, South Dakota on campus for two days. The group was made up of young men and women planning a teaching career. They got some firsthand experience in the classroom and it was a great learning experience for everyone.

Each year, students take home a table decoration and food boxes to help their family celebrate the holiday.
Last Wednesday, St. Joseph’s students took part in the National Family Week Project.

After basketball games at home tonight for the fourth, fifth and sixth grade Lady Braves, we will have fall sports awards at the rec center tomorrow. Cross country, volleyball and football players will receive their honors for Most Improved, Best Team Player and Coach’s Choice. Congratulations to everyone involved!

On Sunday, we held a Lakota Mass on campus. Deacon Bud is a member of the Turtle Mountain Band in North Dakota, serves on St. Joseph’s Board of Directors and helps out at St. James Catholic Church in Chamberlain; for Mass, he led us in the Lord Have Mercy in Lakota.  LaRayne, one of our Native American Studies teachers and a member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, led us in reciting the Our Father in Lakota and Happy Birthday to those celebrating their birthdays this week.

Pilamaya – thank you – for your generosity for the care and education of the Lakota (Sioux) students. May your holiday be filled with many blessings and safe travels!

Sincerely,

 

Fr. Anthony Kluckman, SCJ

Chaplain

Seeing the work of St. Joseph’s Indian School with Fresh Eyes

St. Joseph’s Indian School recently hosted students Marie and Luci, and their chaperone Blandine from

Claire works with St. Joseph's students in the homes and at school.
Claire

Chateauxroux, France. Cultural exchanges like this are exciting, since it gives our Lakota (Sioux) students a chance to see a world that is different from their own.   Since I speak a little French, I accompanied our visitors on several occasions. Though they needed very little help with translation, some of our customs seemed unusual to them.

In Native American Studies class, Blandine shared a book about the Berry region of France, and the students listened with interest. They had questions about holidays like Halloween and Thanksgiving –which the French don’t celebrate.   (No trick or treats? No pumpkin pie? Say what?) Our students wanted to know how long French school days were, and what French people liked to eat, and whether there were buffalo in France. In Art class they got to try the French craft of scoubidou (braiding plastic thread into lanyards).

Visitors from France spent time in our Native American Studies class.
St. Joseph’s visitors from France enjoyed time with the sixth graders.

In turn, it was fun to show off some of the finer examples of Lakota culture that are incorporated into our curriculum—the reading of the Our Father in Lakota every morning, and the singing of the Lakota Flag Song. Our French visitors got to see some regalia and watch some dancing. I was proud of our students when they demonstrated traditional greetings and phrases in Lakota.

Then our visitors wanted to see the Indian Reservations where many of our students live. This was a bit uncomfortable at times. On one hand, it was important for them to see where the kids come from and why they need to be at St. Joseph’s Indian School. On the other hand, I felt protective and a little bit defensive.

Driving past some of the burned-out houses was awkward. When I looked through the eyes of our visitors, I saw homes in disrepair, gang graffiti, trash and scary Halloween decorations (which didn’t really help matters any).

Many students resent a blighted picture being painted of their homes, and I can understand this. I wanted to explain that this may be where people live but is certainly not all of who they are. I wanted to bridge the gap between the beautiful cultural lessons of the classroom and the ugly landscape of the Rez, but I couldn’t. There was too much history here, and too much despair. My pitiful French wasn’t up to the task of expressing it. I was grateful for the compassion on the eyes of our guests.

Some parts of the reservations are quite beautiful, with sweeping views of the hills and river valley. We visited Big Bend, a place where the river makes a tight loop, leaving a spit of land only a few miles across. There we toured an earth lodge – a reproduction of a typical Mandan home – like those that would have been found on this site a few centuries ago. Then we hiked up the hills to a high point where we could see for miles around.

Maybe the best part of having visitors was the gift of being able to stop and see the work of St. Joseph’s with fresh eyes.

I saw the contrast between the plight on the reservations and the calming structure of our homes and school. I saw the strong, positive connections between staff and students. Since our visitors were also benefactors, I was also keenly aware of what sacrifices they made in order to be able to provide these good things to our students.

At their school in France, students gave up one meal during Lent and ate only rice. The money they saved they sent to St. Joseph’s Indian School as a gift.

I want to thank them, and all our benefactors, for making our school possible.

Claire

The first snow at St. Joseph’s Indian School

Welcome to Winter!!

The South Dakota winter is here!
It’s a cold, snowy day in South Dakota.

The big winter storm coming moving across the upper Midwest is hitting South Dakota today.  Chamberlain is just on the fringe of the storm but we have snow, cold winds and some slush. We are expecting cold temperatures all week.

Boys in the Explorers Club learn valuable life lessons.
The Explorers learned the proper way to fold a flag at one of their recent meetings.

The Explorers, a local service group, have been out raking leaves but they may have to switch over to shoveling snow!  In addition to community service projects, the boys learn useful life lessons. At one of their recent meetings they learned how to properly fold the flag in preparation for Veterans Day tomorrow.

Our kitchen crew will honor all the veterans on St. Joseph’s staff by inviting them to a free lunch on November 11. This is a small way of saying pilamaya – thank you – to those who protect our country and the freedom we enjoy every day.

Since November starts off with the Feast of All Saints and All Souls, we have put up a Remembrance Tree in Our Lady of the Sioux Chapel. Students and staff were asked to submit names of their loved ones who have passed on that could be put on the tree.  It will stay up during November as a reminder to us of those walking their journey back to the Heavenly Father.

Tomorrow, we’ll be starting the Novena of Masses for all our benefactors’ special intentions.

Recently, a new program was introduced to the Lakota boys and girls entitled “I See You.”  The purpose is to encourage positive actions all over campus.  Staff have been given dog tags inscribed with a positive act such as Hope, Belonging, Independence, Sacrifice, Accepting and Loved, which are written in English and Lakota (Sioux).

In November, we are remembering deceased loved ones in prayer.
Our Remembrance Tree will be in the chapel for the month of November.

When staff members see a student showing one of these positive things, they give the tag to the student to let them know their positive act was witnessed. The students then have the opportunity to pass on the tag when they see a fellow student or staff member doing the act mentioned on their tag.  The program’s purpose is to encourage everyone to have a positive attitude and good interaction with one another.

Wishing you a great week, and may you experience God’s blessings in a variety of ways. Pilamaya – thank you – for your support and encouragement of everything we do at St. Joseph’s!

Fr. Anthony Kluckman, SCJ

Chaplain

All in a day’s work at St. Joseph’s Indian School

I’m not bragging, but I have a GREAT job. I work with talented, interesting people who are ‘hook, line, and sinker’ committed to our mission at St. Joseph’s Indian School

Geri, St. Joseph's Major Gifts Director
Geri, St. Joseph’s Major Gifts Director

and I get to routinely visit with our donors: over the phone, in their homes, at donor events, over e-mail and through the mail. It’s wonderful being in communication with our donors and, by far, the best part of my job.

As a supervisor, I have administrative responsibilities including preparing reports, responding to e-mail messages and reviewing results. So, on any given day, I have a variety of tasks on my ‘to do list’ with the ability to tackle them in the order I prefer (generally speaking).

Without consciously choosing to reach out to our donors first, I always do!   I find that nothing is as uplifting and satisfying as checking in with our supporters, answering questions or sharing updates on how their giving is making a difference for Native American children!

St. Joseph’s has a fully staffed Donor Care Center to take calls.
Staff at St. Joseph’s Donor Care Center are waiting to visit with you!

Maybe you’ve recently been contacted by us? Perhaps it was for the first time? I hope you enjoyed the conversation and feel like your support is important to us. We aren’t just ‘going through the motions’ when we reach out to you….we enjoy it as much, or more, than you do!

As we move into the holidays, a favorite time of the year for many of us, donor interaction doubles and maybe even triples….it truly IS the best time of the year!

Each of us has a story about our connection to St. Joseph’s Indian School. For those of us who work here, our story

We are thrilled to meet donors and hear their stories about how they came to know St. Joseph’s Indian School.
St. Joseph’s staff members love visiting with donors at powwow, donor luncheons and on home visits.

might start with the day we were first hired. For our supporters, the stories are as varied as our supporters themselves. They may have learned about St. Joseph’s from their parents or grandparents. Or, they may have no recollection of how they were introduced to St. Joseph’s – they just know that it was years and years ago. Regardless, there’s a connection and commitment to our mission of serving Lakota (Sioux) students.

We’d love to hear from you and learn about your connection to St. Joseph’s Indian School! Don’t ever feel like you need to wait to hear from us. The only thing better than reaching out to donors is hearing from them! Feel free to give us a call at 1-800-341-2235 or send us an e-mail at saintjosephs@stjo.org. We’d love to hear from you!

Happy Holidays!

Geri

Director of Major Gift Services

Lakota children celebrate Red Ribbon Week

Good morning friends of St. Joseph’s!

Fr. Anthony, St. Joseph's Chaplain
Fr. Anthony, St. Joseph’s Chaplain

This week, the Lakota (Sioux) students join thousands of others in celebrating drug free lifestyles with Red Ribbon Week. Monday, students wore their pajamas to class to remind one another ‘Follow your dreams — don’t do drugs.’ Tuesday, they showed their drug free school spirit by wearing blue and gold. Later in the week, they will be wearing special sobriety celebration T-shirts that say ‘Our School has SWAG (Students Who Achieve Goals).

Friday, of course, is Halloween. The children have had a wonderful time preparing ghoulish costumes and decorating their homes. Wendy manages our in-kind gifts and has collected a good supply of costumes and accessories for the day. After trick or treating on St. Joseph’s campus, students will gather in the rec center for the Costume Grand March. Prizes will be awarded for best costume, scariest pumpkin and the home with the cleverest decorations.

St. Joseph’s holds sobriety celebrations with the Lakota students three times per year.
Monday, students wore their pajamas to class to remind one another ‘Follow your dreams — don’t do drugs.’

Pilamaya – thank you – for your donations of gently used decorations and other items for every holiday of the year!

In addition to these festivities, preparations have begun for those students participating in the Rite of Christian Initiation for Children (RCIC) program to receive Baptism, First Communion or Confirmation. With the support of their families, students have the chance to learn about and deepen their faith commitment in a special class offered each week. Families join their students on campus for a one-day retreat to offer support and encouragement to their child.  Please keep these young people and families in your prayers as they prepare to receive these Sacraments in April.

I spent Monday at a board meeting in Eagle Butte, South Dakota.  As part of St. Joseph’s outreach to Native Americans, we support a domestic violence shelter, a thrift store and an adolescent care facility on the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation You can read more about their work and other outreach programs of St. Joseph’s Indian School.

I hope each of you has a great week and a fun Halloween! Remember, this weekend we move our clocks BACK an hour.  Enjoy that extra hour of sleep!

Sincerely,

Fr. Anthony Kluckman, SCJ

Chaplain

St. Joseph’s Indian School in one word? Relationships.

My name is Chelsey and this is my first “official” year at St. Joseph’s Indian School. While finishing up my Master’s Degree in Counseling and Human Resource Development

St. Joseph’s Family Service Counselors spend time with the Lakota children and their families.
Chelsey loves the time she spends getting to know the Lakota children.

last year, I was an intern here. I grew up right here in Chamberlain, South Dakota, however, and have been familiar with the school my entire life.

I have always enjoyed participating in activities on campus and a trip to the Akta Lakota Museum & Cultural Center is still one of my favorite ways to spend a day. I’ve always had an interest in the Native American culture, and now I have the privilege of working with the Lakota (Sioux) students and their families on a daily basis.

When I first considered going into the counseling field, I asked to shadow a few of the counselors at St. Joseph’s. As I was asking many questions about the field and how things are done at St. Joseph’s, I remember one counselor telling me he could sum it up in one word…relationships.

After being at St. Joseph’s for a little over a year, I could not agree more. There are so many relationships that impact my job and daily responsibilities.

The most important relationship in my life is that with God. I feel so blessed to work at a place where I can openly share my faith while participating in mass, prayer services, and home prayers.

Relationships with the students are next, especially in my position as a Family Service Counselor. My favorite times during the week are spent in sessions with the students and after school in their homes.

Closely following the relationships with the students, is the relationships I have with their parents/guardians. One of my main responsibilities as a Family Service Counselor is to be the main contact person with the families. This allows me work through the struggles of each student with their parent or guardian, and also join in celebrating their successes.

Working at St. Joseph’s also gives me relationships with my co-workers and other staff who are all working toward the same mission: to educate the Native American youth for life – mind, body, heart and spirit.

St. Joseph’s Indian School is truly a family of its own and I am so honored to work for this organization.

Each day, I see examples of the staff coming together with different ideas, activities and projects to further the mission of St. Joseph’s Indian School and serve those around us.

With the years to come, I look forward to strengthening my relationship with God, building long-lasting relationships with the students and their families, and continue to fulfill the mission of St. Joseph’s Indian School with the wonderful staff that surround me.

Chelsey, Family Service Counselor