Tag: St. Joseph’s Indian School

Serving those who have been hurt

Friday I was in Eagle Butte for a Cheyenne River Indian Outreach (Sacred Heart Center) Board meeting. The adolescent program seems stable, and is gaining the confidence of tribal and state placement agencies so it has been running close to capacity. Some youth in need of services have had to be put on a waiting list until a bed opens up, or referred on to other programs. The question we started discussing was keeping the program running as it is, or working at licensing for a greater number of children to meet the need. The tough issue is training and retaining enough reliable staff to keep up a good quality of service. The needs are great, and I applaud the Center’s mission of working to eradicate violence and serve those who have been hurt.

I traveled up and back with Fr. Joe, who is pastor of six parishes on the two reservations the SCJs serve. Personnel is an issue for him as well. The two religious sisters who have worked for many years among the people are both being called back to their community. It may be hard to find replacements, in which case the Pastoral team will have to work closely with the parishes to encourage local leadership to come forward to a greater degree.

Saturday morning I met with a young couple I’ve enjoyed working with for marriage preparation, and spent a couple of hours answering letters. With the previous days’ travel and meetings, I took the afternoon off for some rest and relaxation.

President’s Day weekend is an extra long one for our high school students, who were free of classes on Friday, and again on Monday. Many of them are checked out for the weekend with family. The Sheehy boys are on their annual ski trip to the Black Hills, and the Hogebach girls went to Sioux Falls on a shopping expedition. With so many away, we had a noticeably smaller crowd in church.

Today after mass, I visited the Rooney Home (6th-8th grade boys). I try to have a meal in each of the homes at least once a quarter, to be in touch with what students and houseparents are up to. Today’s visit meant I completed a round of all 18 homes, and will start the rotation all over again. What I noticed about the Rooney boys was that they have hearty appetites. Brunch consisted of waffles, sausage, eggs and hash browns. In some of the homes the kids eat and run. This group ate and talked and ate some more and told a few stories and ate some more . . . luckily they have a little more for food in their budget than the 1st– 3rd graders do!

Our local SCJ group gathers at least once a month, and this afternoon we met to go over budgets for the year. At the evening meal, it was our turn to eat and talk and tell stories. With everyone finished with church for the weekend, there was no hurry to rush off, but rather a leisurely time together for catching up and fellowship. Living as part of a religious order, that mutual support is not just appreciated, but necessary to keep a vocation healthy and alive.

Responsibilities and opportunities

Four of our Carola Home boys and two boys from the Sheehy Home played for the very successful  JV Chamberlain basketball team this year (their ending record was 14-1). Our guys have truly enjoyed earning their success through hard work and practice. They have learned valuable skills not only on the court but also off. They have discovered the importance of teamwork, dedication, time management and keeping up with their class work. The coaches have a strict policy of school work before playing time in the games. For most, it only took one game of sitting on the bench and not getting to play before they realized the importance of keeping their assignments caught up. They have learned how to manage practices, games, school work, friends, home life, as well as, finding time to rest. With the basketball season nearing an end, our boys are already looking forward to track and baseball.

This year we have three boys who have earned their driving privileges. This is a new thing for our home. They boys have taken drivers education, drove, with very nervous houseparents:), passed their driving test at the local DMV and then passed the “dreaded” driving test and safety speech from our safety and security man Mr. Clark.  The boys were given a 1993 Ford Taurus wagon to drive and take care of. It has been around the block more than once, but our guys drive it with a smile on their face.  I smile as I watch them drive away remembering my first car and how I still remember the color and smell. They know that if they take care of it they will be able to drive a nicer car next year.  The boys are allowed a set number of miles each week. This will get them to and from school and to and from practices. They can pay for additional miles if they work. This past Sunday I couldn’t help but laugh when one of the boys asked me to drive him to the store because he was tired of driving. I would like thank all of our donors who make these experiences possible through their generous support. Each new privilege brings new responsibilities and opportunities to teach life lessons.

Pray for us as we continue to encourage our American Indian students to become the men God wants them to be.

Mike

Preparing for the Sacraments

Greetings from Richard!

The Lakota students continue their journey toward making their Sacraments in April. We have 26 students scheduled to make their sacraments, ranging from second grade to high school.

On Saturday, February 25, St. Joseph’s Indian School will be hosting a day retreat for the students who are in the RCIC program and their families. In the past, many families have attended this event and it has always been meaningful to all who have participated. During the day, we discuss the various sacraments the students will be receiving and students and families work on different projects together.

Students and their families decorate the Baptismal stoles they will wear when they are baptized. We also do a guided meditation on the Last Supper and a game to help the students learn about the gifts of the Holy Spirit in celebration of their Confirmation. The families will also do individual banners in commemoration of the students’ First Holy Communion.

The day culminates with Mass, during which we hold the Rite of Election where the students sign their names in the book acknowledging their willingness to become Catholics. I ask you to remember the students and their families in your prayers on February 25.

Huge grins and a warm handshake

This afternoon was our annual rivalry basketball game with Chamberlain’s 7th and 8th grade teams to earn bragging rights for the year. Both teams play hard to win, but since many play together in our fall intercity basketball league, there is also a good sense of familiarity and friendship. I noticed at the tip-off of the 8th grade game, Michael was jumping against a boy he played on the same team with in the fall. They had huge grins and gave a warm handshake before the competition began.

Chamberlain has a strong group of 7th graders, and easily defeated our crew. In the 8th grade, we have a strong group of boys and definitely had a height advantage. But, the Cubs played good team ball and forced overtime. Our Braves finally won by three. Since it’s really a local game for both schools, we had a great crowd in the stands to cheer the players on. Many of our staff had kids or grandchildren playing for the Cubs, and most of us had to root for all the kids on both sides of the ball.

A reporter from the local newspaper came to interview me about the progress of our Akta Lakota Museum expansion and alumni/ historical center. The workers have lifted the ceiling beams into place and are working on roofing now, so it’s really taking shape. Still, it will take another year plus for the whole project to be completed.

Tuesday was Valentine’s Day! At the end of the day our students passed out cards, many store-bought, but a few homemade, to friends and classmates. The boys at Cyr Home baked treats to share with their 4th and 5th grade classmates – yummy and very appreciated!

Speaking of Valentine’s Day, in my spiritual reading, I came across this quote about love from Pedro Arupe, former superior general of the Jesuits:

“Nothing is more practical than finding God, that is, than falling in love in a quite absolute, final way. What you are in love with seizes your imagination, will affect everything. It will decide what will get you out of bed in the morning, what you will do with your evenings, how you will spend your weekends, what you read, who you know, what breaks your heart, and what amazes you with joy and gratitude. Fall in love, stay in love and it will decide everything.”

In my weekly meeting with Mike, director of Child Services, we discussed our Lakota cultural programming. In our strategic plan we identified the need to add another staff position to complement what we are already doing in this regard. We’re looking at moving forward and hiring someone for next school year. We have begun some good things in terms of dance, drum group and language and see the need for continued staff education and development as well.

At the William Home (4th and 5th grade girls) for supper, I got to meet Chuck, our newest houseparent, who is shadowing Mike and Jessica to learn how we do childcare here at St. Joseph’s Indian School. Chuck had his two year old son Izzy with him, and the girls were quite enamored with the little guy. Izzy had a dozen big sisters willing to play and watch after him, and seemed to enjoy the attention.

A look into St. Joseph’s science lab

We are halfway through the 3rd quarter here at St. Joseph’s and it is tough to believe!  The 2011-2012 school year has flown by, and we will soon be starting preparations for the end of the year and 8th grade graduation.  But, until then, Science class continues on its journey to discover and explore new concepts.

The 6th grade class has just started a unit on atoms and The Periodic Table.  These two items can be difficult topics for students to grasp as they are somewhat intangible.  Because of this, donations for the Science lab, such as supplies like different colored, rubber bouncy balls and various sizes of styrofoam balls would be greatly appreciated.  These inexpensive tools can help make the concept of atoms much more concrete for my 6th graders.

In 7th grade, we are about to wrap up the topics of heredity and DNA.  The students have really enjoyed predicting the possible outcomes of different traits by using Punnett Squares and Pedigrees.  Throughout this unit we use dried beans and peas are used to demonstrate possible outcomes of traits. Dried peas and beans seem like an odd donation to a school, but they are greatly appreciated! Different colored clay or play dough is also used, allowing students to fashion their own DNA sequences.

Since the return of students from Christmas Break, the 8th grade has been discussing The Rock Cycle and the three different types of rock:  sedimentary, metamorphic, and igneous.  Early in this unit we created crystals using only water, salt, Styrofoam cups, string, and pencils.  Donations of salt would be greatly appreciated!  These crystals depleted my supply.  Styrofoam cups, string and pencils are also welcome tools in the Science lab.  The students thoroughly enjoyed this activity and really took ownership of their crystals.  I had students reminding me it was time for them to observe their crystals.

Thank you so much to all you who donate to St. Joseph’s Indian School and also to those of you who keep our organization in your prayers.  You are very special to us.  You bring inspiration and hope to many.

God Bless You,

Sarah

Needed supplies for the Science room:

  • Rubber bouncy balls in different colors
  • Styrofoam balls
  • Dried peas and beans
  • Clay or play dough in different colors
  • Salt
  • Styrofoam cups
  • String
  • Pencils

Learning from our Native American youth

This morning started with a staff appreciation breakfast at the dining hall. The food services crew put together a waffle bar with four different kinds of fruit toppings, along with syrup and whipped cream, that one could make into a creation to suit their own tastes. At these events, we also have a fun trivia contest to give staff a chance at winning door prizes. Donna, our Human Services Director told me we will have to figure out a new approach because, with the advent of smart phones, most of the people can just look up the answers at their fingertips!

I’m experiencing that time of year when there are fewer big projects to attend to, but lots of little, ongoing, daily events. While those aren’t the kind most likely to make headlines, sometimes it is most satisfying just to roll with the day as it unfolds and be able to pay attention to the people who pass my way.

Today I wrote copy for upcoming newsletters and visited the classrooms at school. Our photographer, Emily, was around and snapped a few shots that you’ll probably see somewhere down the road. This evening, I met with two of our high school girls, Daylon and Erica, who will travel to Miami, Florida next month. Both are freshmen and both have been here for seven years.

I learned a lot from their perspective as they talked about what they will share with our donors about their lives at St. Joseph’s Indian School.

Hello from Fr. Anthony

Dear Friends,

It was another hectic weekend here on campus at St. Joseph’s Indian School.  Fr. Steve Huffstetter, SCJ and a group of students and staff were in Austin, Texas for a donor luncheon, which gives me the opportunity to bring you up-to-date on what’s happening here in central South Dakota.

Group shot of Native American kids in the snow.
These Lakota youngsters stopped sledding to pose for a picture!

We are still enjoying a mild winter.  What snow we got a few weeks ago is fast disappearing, which means that the students are missing out on sledding.  The rec center staff sponsored a “midnight” sled fest recently – they turned on the football field lights so the students could sled on the hillside next to the field – and you could hear the shouts of laughter and joy all over campus.  Sunday morning started out with fog, but as it lifted the cold evening air had given all the trees a frosted look which sparkled as the sun came out on another beautiful day.

This past week saw some activity at the construction site of the addition to the Akta Lakota Museum. Large beams were floating through the air as they were lifted into place.  One benefit of the mild weather is that it is giving the workers the opportunity to get a lot of work done.

On Friday three of our high school students, Christopher, Jatonne and Erica,  along with their fellow cast mates took part in the 56th annual One-Act Play Festival in Aberdeen, South Dakota. Chamberlain High joined with 42 other high schools to perform before the judges and public. Each play has 45 minutes from set-up to take down.  The Chamberlain High players performed “We wear the Mask” about some of the issues teens and young adults face.  Chamberlain High received superior acting awards, a standing ovation, and much praise from the judges, other coaches and students for the courage to present such a hard-hitting message.  On the hardwood court, the Chamberlain boys’ basketball team journeyed to Sioux Falls, South Dakota to take part in the Dakota Schoolers Border Classic against Corsica-Stickney and won.  St. Joseph’s has three students on the team—Nick, Claye and Elijah.  The team currently has an 11-3 record.

Saturday gave me a chance to see the energy of our Native American students in action.  Many of our 6th, 7th and 8th graders are active in bowling.  I followed the bus home from the lanes on Saturday after two hours of setting them up to knock them down.  As the students poured out of the bus in front of their homes, many of the boys raced into their homes and were back out again heading to the gym for some basketball.  They seemingly have energy to burn, which is why the rec center with its gym, workout room and pool is such a blessing – to give our students the opportunity to burn off the energy the Great Spirit has blessed them with.

Sunday brought the Super Bowl and our students and staff got caught up in all the excitement as many did around the country.  Several homes hosted Super Bowl parties on campus and it was nice to see that the older homes invited some of the younger students to take part in the festivities.  There was good food to munch on and various door prizes to be won during the game itself.  I had the chance to attend one at Cyr Home where the 4th and 5th grade boys hosted some of the Benedictine Homes’ boys (1st through 3rd grades) and the one at Sheehy Home where the high school boys hosted the other high school homes along with 8th graders.  It helps give them some insight into what the future might hold for those continue in our academic program.  Everyone had a great time, although I’m not sure if everyone was happy at the results of the Giants beating the Patriots, but the G-men did seem to be the choice of many of the students.

The Girls’ Inter-city Basketball program had a good day of play on Sunday.  They also had the chance this past Friday evening to have some fun as the inter-city players from Chamberlain were invited out to have a swim party with the young ladies from St. Joseph’s.  It was a way to have fun and help the girls continue to get to know each other to build up teamwork and help prepare them for when they’ll be together in high school.

The boys’ basketball team, about half way through their season, will meet one of our arch rivals, Lower Brule, as our 5th and 6th grade teams go there today, and Lower Brule’s 7th and 8th grade teams come here to play.  These games should help us get a handle on what sort of team we have as the young men prepare for the St. Joseph’s boys’ basketball tournament this coming Saturday.  It will be especially interesting since Fr. Steve has two of our stars with him on the luncheon visit to Austin, and they will not be back until after game time.

Again thanks for your prayers and generous support.  We pray for you each Sunday at Mass.  This Sunday we had the blessing of the throats for any of the students and staff who wished to receive it as the feast of St. Blasé was this past Friday.

Have a great week and may the Great Spirit continue to bless and reward you.

Until next time,

Fr. Anthony Kluckman, SCJ

Chaplain

St. Joseph’s Indian School

The Sacred Cannupa

Kara is carving her soap into a Native American pipe.
Kara did a great job creating her pipe from a bar of soap!

The 4th grade classes are learning about the rituals and beliefs of our Lakota Culture.  Within this unit is the center of who we are as a people.  The cannupa or pipe is a part of many ceremonies and everyday life.  The pipe can be used for special ceremonies and for prayer when it is needed.

The class embraces the hands-on time of learning about the parts of a real pipe as well as singing the song that accompanies the filling of a pipe.  We do not smoke the actual pipe because this is something that is for special use and I believe that many of our children should have this experience with their families.

Three Native American students carving pipes
The students did such a good job carving!

We cannot travel out of state for class trips, so we learn about how pipestone is harvested and shaped into a sacred, beautiful object which holds deep meaning.  The students are told the story of the Pte San Win, the White Buffalo Calf Woman, who brought the pipe to our people centuries ago.  The pipestone quarry in Pipestone, Minnesota holds historical meaning to the creation stories of our people as well.   It is believed that the area where the quarry is today is the place where the last of our people drowned in the great flood.  Their blood is the red-colored rock that we use for pipe-making today.

The Native American students are then able to do a little creating of their own.  I demonstrate how to carve a piece of soft soap into what might be the bowl of a pipe.  As you can see from the pictures, they are proud of their creations.

This unit of learning ties their American Indian culture to their hands, hearts and minds.

Student projects doing great

A couple interesting student projects of note. The William Home (4th-5th grade girls) has set a goal this quarter of 10,000 cumulative laps around the gym. Several mornings each week the home gets up early and goes out for a walk and exercise. They are keeping a thermometer on the door to the fitness room and coloring in their progress as they reach each new level. They’ve already passed the 3500 mark!

Gina’s computer class is spending a few minutes each day at the website Free Rice where fun quizzes increase their knowledge, make learning fun and educate them about hunger issue throughout the world. The students were talking about the activity even on the playground, so I knew it was a big hit.

Today was my day to run errands in town, to the bank and county building. While out, I stopped in to check on our folks downtown at our Thrift Store. With February around the corner, they’re redecorating with lots of red clothing for Valentine’s Day. The store is a great service to the community, and a good after school job opportunity for a few of our Lakota students.

St. Joseph's Indian School's cheeleaders.
These girls did a great job cheering on the basketball teams!

I ended the day in the gym, where our 6th-8th grade teams were in action. Besides the players, I cheer for our cheerleaders and encourage them to keep on improving. They had the help of our younger students, the 1st-3rd graders, who make up the pep club. This year they all have matching shirts that are St. Joseph’s basketball-style jerseys. They sure get both enthusiastic and loud when they start cheering. Half way through the games however, the time came for them to leave for supper, homework and bedtime. The gym quieted down considerably, but the action was still close and worth cheering for.

Students demonstrating our core values

Our morning prayer service to begin Catholic Schools Week was an opportunity for us to introduce our new strategic plan campus wide. Aaron, in our marketing department, filmed different events on St. Joseph’s Indian School’s campus, and created an effective visual of staff and students demonstrating our core values in everyday life – Faith, Collaboration, Integrity, Stewardship, Respect and Excellence. I’m proud to be a part of St. Joseph’s Indian School, and viewing the video with all our staff and students made me even more proud of what we are working on together as a community.

Before introducing the new vision and plan, I thanked everyone for the work they’ve done over the past four years to bring much of our current plan to fruition. The work we do now will lay a stronger foundation for future generations of students and staff, so that they can build on what we do today, and take St. Joseph’s forward in creative and exciting new ways.

All of St. Joseph's Indian School's youth durning Catholic Schools Week.
All the students smiling big during Catholic Schools Week.

After the staff went back to work, the students remained behind so we could take a school picture with everyone on the bleachers. Emily, our photographer, is good with the kids, and after everyone is well-behaved and she gets the pictures she needs, she lets everyone get a little wild for a fun snapshot, which the students love.

We had 5th and 6th grade basketball games after school against Crow Creek, which is the Indian reservation where perhaps 20% of our students are from.  There were families in the stands rooting for kids on both sides of the ball. After the games, I was slated to visit Cyr Home (4th-5th grade boys) for supper. One of the students, Ben, invited his family to stay for supper, so the ranks were swelled by six more guests. Paula, the houseparent who was cooking, found out just a few minutes beforehand. She has learned to be very accommodating and flexible. She took out a container of leftovers, opened up a couple more cans of fruit, and served smaller portions, but it stretched around to satisfy everyone at the table and the family had a nice visit.

Some of our students see their families regularly. For others, it doesn’t happen all that often. But we try our best to make families welcome whenever they are able to stay.