St. Joseph’s Indian School’s campus – Page 3

Guest Blogger: Frank

My name is Frank and I am the Residential Coordinator for the sixth, seventh and eighth grade community, which means I supervise the houseparents who work in those homes. I have worked with the Native American students here at St Joseph’s for the last four years.

It is summer and, in between new carpet and paint in the school and the rest of construction going on around campus, my coworkers and I made good progress getting prepared for the next school year, which is fast approaching! The other coordinators and I have worked this summer updating the rules, mapping out enrichment lessons for the year and doing some general long-term planning for the residential department here at St. Joseph’s.

Today, I have been working on a slide show for the All Staff Meeting in August, which shows all we have done in the last year. “All Staff” refers to the date all the staff come back from summer and get ready for the school year with meetings and prep time in the homes or classrooms. As I browse our photos, I am amazed by how much we accomplished in the last year. From powwow to graduation, there is much that fills the year!

Summer isn’t dull by any means, but is not as fast paced as the regular school year. This summer I have been supervising the summer home for the last three weeks. Boy have they been busy!

The home has been fishing in the river, taking hikes, bike riding and going to school half days. They have also taken a few trips around the state to see the sites of South Dakota. One of the bigger trips has been to the Black Hills. Houseparents took students all over the Hills! They were able to visit Custer State Park and go swimming at Evan’s Plunge in Hot Springs, South Dakota. Over the 4th of July, students spent the day along the Missouri river fishing, cooking out and enjoying the water.

The students’ smiles are big and broad when we talk about the trips and other things they have done over the summer. Those smiles make planning a trip worth it for the houseparents. It can be a challenge to travel with so many kids, and expenses are always a concern.

But, the most important outcome for the students after these trips is they learn about the world around them by experiencing it firsthand. Trips away from St. Joseph’s campus also give them a chance to practice their social skills. This is the best learning opportunity we can provide to them, and we’re so grateful to be able to do it.

The summer home closes this week, and students will return to their families for the remainder of the summer. School starts again on August 13!

I am often asked why I work at St. Joseph’s. The easy answer is that I believe in the mission of the school. The long answer is I am from the Indian reservation and I have seen firsthand how tough life can be for the youth and families there.

St. Joseph’s provides hope to the families that their children will have a better outcome in adulthood than they did. Helping families work toward achieving this is an honor; I am privileged to have the opportunity to help in some small way. I am always thankful to our tiyospaye – extended family – who supports our mission in so many ways and want to take this opportunity to say thanks. Without your support we couldn’t affect change in the ways we do for the students and their families!

Thanks for all you do!
Have a great summer.
Frank

Inspire others

Our younger students who remain on St. Joseph’s Indian School’s campus take part in a mix of summer school and field trips. Yesterday I was running errands in the business office and saw a group of them taking a tour. When asked what was the best part, Louie replied, “the mail machines.”

The kids were fascinated to watch our staff load cards and bookmarks and dreamcatchers into envelopes bound for all parts of the country and beyond. Two were very tickled when they saw their very own picture on the outside of one of the envelopes. While it is a good education for our Lakota students to learn how things are done and made, it is also a boost to our development staff when they get to interact more directly with the students. They’re reminded of the reason they do the demanding work of raising funds for our mission.

This week has brought more organizational meetings. I reviewed goals with the Director of Child Services at his annual performance evaluation. It’s helpful to step back and see what gifts an employee brings, and talk about possible growth areas. I met with the architects, Akta Lakota Museum designers and facilities crew getting caught up on the many work projects going full speed on campus. If you visit St. Joseph’s Indian School you’ll find lots of disarray in the midst of construction, but in the end we are making some great improvements.

Today I’m off to the ordination of three priests for the Diocese in Sioux Falls. When I attend such celebrations I catch a bit of the enthusiasm and idealism I remember from when I was first ordained. When mixed with the experience and wisdom of 23 years of priestly ministry, hopefully I can inspire others to search for God’s will in their life, and act with charity and justice toward their neighbors.

I’ll be on the road for a few weeks, and yesterday I lined up some guest bloggers who will keep you posted on what’s going on around campus during that time. Next week is pure vacation, with no work; relaxing time with family and friends is the only item on the agenda.

I’ll check in periodically, but it is healthy to take some time off and turn the responsibility for ongoing work to others who care and are passionate about St. Joseph’s Indian School’s mission.

Life teaches me

Life teaches me new things each day.

Sometimes, I’m totally surprised to see things I thought I knew from a completely different perspective.

We have our own printing press on St. Joseph’s Indian School’s campus, Tipi Press, and I was giving a visitor a tour and stopped by to see how things were going. Mark showed us the large 4-color press going at full throttle. He had a powerful magnifying glass to show us how different colors are made not by mixing ink, as I supposed, but by printing a blend of small dots (1200 per inch) in four colors that, as you look from a distance, trick the eye into seeing one color. Many things in life, you have to look at carefully to discover how they really are.

I had lots of meetings today, working on revamping our pastoral care programs, going over finances, working on a narrative for the history of Indian boarding schools for our Akta Lakota Museum, reflection time with a summer intern and visiting with donors who stopped by to see our campus and programs their donations make possible.

Scranton Preparatory School from Pennsylvania has been coming to St. Joseph’s each summer for a few years. They are involved in service projects and helping with our Rising Eagle Day Camp.

After a full day of activity with the children who came to camp from Lower Brule Indian reservation, I caught the group in the Ambrose Home around the supper table. None of the students had ever been to South Dakota before, and it was fun to hear their initial impressions of the wide open prairie, the Badlands and Black Hills. I answered lots of questions about the school, students and families we serve, and began to find out a little about each of them.

I noticed a nice spirit and sense of fun and camaraderie among the group. As they raised money to pay for their mission trip, they ran into several friends and family members from their community who have been long time donors to our school. They were generous in helping these young people in their travels, and delighted to facilitate an even more personal impact and concrete difference.

Fr. Steve is back

I’m back on campus after two weeks on the road!

I started with a visit to my oncologist at the Mayo Clinic. All the test results looked good, and they told me to keep doing whatever I’ve been doing for the next six months. I was in Rochester on my birthday, and that news was the best birthday present I could have hoped for.

Next I traveled to Oklahoma City for our donor appreciation luncheons. Laura wrote a great summary of that trip in an earlier blog post. I would add that the “celebrity” I was most excited to meet was Savanna, who is a St. Joseph’s alumnae. Savanna just finished up her degree in nursing at Murray State in Oklahoma and joined us at the luncheon. When our students can meet someone who was once in their shoes, and see them succeeding in school, that provides far more inspiration and hope than my words of encouragement can.

I spent a week at home where I had the joy of presiding at my niece’s wedding. Congratulations Allison and Steve and many happy years together! My family is spread far and wide throughout the U.S., and we enjoyed the chance to catch up. I was especially delighted in meeting the three new great nieces that were born since I was home last.

Back on St. Joseph’s Indian School’s campus I spent the first day walking around and checking out all that is happening. People often assume the campus is much quieter over the summer, but in June it is actually busier, if that is possible. The dining hall serves more lunches now than in the school year, since we have the Rising Eagle Summer Day Camp going on, the PAWS program from town joining us at meal times, and all our students who are working or taking part in summer school.

Maintenance is crazy busy! The projects I saw in full swing include:

Repaving the Akta Lakota Museum parking lot
Brickwork on Akta Lakota Museum addition
Roofing the boiler-room
Recarpeting the school (after 20 years of heavy wear and tear)
Demolition of William and Summerlee Home interiors in preparation for remodeling
Building shelving to house museum artifacts
Painting Central offices

Several of our high school students are helping on some of the projects. I also saw students working in the kitchen, serving lunch, at the Akta Lakota Museum, running the gift shop cash register, beautifying the grounds and in the print shop boxing up notepads we’ll send our donors. The biggest number are camp counselors, helping younger children in recreational and arts and crafts activities.

Wade graduated here in the class of 1979 and hadn’t been back in over 30 years. I took him on a tour of campus, and he helped me get a better picture of what life was like at St. Joseph’s back in the dorm days, before we added our family home living units. Andy in the Rec Center, and Mary Jane our Alumni Director were staff he remembered well, and visiting them was the definite highlight of his time on campus.

Interaction and pride of community

The weekend began with the Feast of the Sacred Heart – a day of celebration for my religious order, the Priests of the Sacred Heart. St. Joseph’s Indian School’s campus was somewhat quieter because it is a holiday for most of our employees. But since the work of child care goes on, we still saw plenty of activity on campus.

Our recent eighth-grade graduates wrapped up their three-week transition program preparing them for their fall entrance into Chamberlain High School. I joined the group in the school assembly room where their parents or guardians gathered for a meal, and to learn more about the High School Program. With the help of students as readers Shana (HS Director) reviewed the expectations and privileges which are different for our older students. Freshman year is a crucial year in working toward student retention and success. Students who struggle and get behind in 9^th grade dramatically increase their odds of dropping out of school. Shana and her staff have developed a Three Way Covenant with our parent partners. We lay out the promises and support of our staff, and ask for students and their families to each do their part to keep these young people on track.

In the evening, the other SCJs working on the Indian reservations in Lower Brule and Fort Thompson stopped by the house for a time of socializing, then we went out for dinner together to continue the fellowship. Fr. Guntoro, an Indonesian SCJ preparing for missionary work in China, is visiting for a couple of weeks. He has also worked in the Philippines and India.

Town was literally buzzing Saturday with the sound of hydroplane boats racing on the Missouri River. From the banks in front of St. Joseph’s we could see the racing boats traveling at speeds in excess of 100 mph. They kicked a spray of water high into the air, and the roar of the engines could be heard miles away. The river, also known as Lake Francis Case at Chamberlain, was filled with boaters enjoying the weather and the unique action, which has visited our city annually for the past three years.

I took Lauren, one of our summer interns for a tour of Crow Creek and Lower Brule Indian reservations, and was joined by two girls from our High School Program. Erica is a local from Fort Thompson, and was an excellent tour guide, pointing out many local things that even I didn’t know. She stood on the powwow grounds and described the pageantry, interaction and pride of community that takes place at powwows. Being a teenager, she was also honest in saying that it was a good place to check out the cute boys!

We drove out to the Crow Creek community, which is several miles off the already lonely highway. Lauren noticed that although there were houses, no stores and not even a gas station existed in the community. Some of the rural communities don’t have good access to the basics, and some families even lack reliable transportation.

She got an immediate idea of how problematic that can be.

In Lower Brule, we stood in the footsteps of Lewis and Clark near a place called The Narrows, and looked out onto the majestic Missouri River. The tribe has reconstructed a Mandan earth lodge which gives visitors a sense of how some of the plains tribes who settled more permanently along the river lived.

Sunday was a sad day as we bid the final farewell to Al and Sue, two former St. Joseph’s houseparents who died together of carbon monoxide poisoning. They were on vacation on their houseboat and asleep when the boat engine apparently malfunctioned. The turnout for the memorial service was quite large and a good support to their children and grandchildren. Their kids took some consolation in that Al and Sue died peacefully, in their sleep, together and doing something that they love. At the same time it is intensely difficult to face the death of one parent, let alone both at the same time.

Several former students came back to town to say their farewells. Many alumni who live close by were there. Kami, Kayla and Gina made about a four-hour trip from the northern part of the state to be in attendance, which said a lot about the difference Al an Sue made for them. Houseparents at St. Joseph’s are very involved in the lives of the young people here, and alumni often call and keep in contact, asking for guidance and advice. The whole community grieves their loss.

Guest Blogger: Shana

Cante wasteya nape ciyuzapelo – I take your hand in friendship.

This is a common Lakota greeting; the literal meaning is “With a good heart I take your hand.” My name is Shana and I’m the High School Residential Director.

This summer is going by fast as we’ve had four of our five high school homes open and fully operational with 41 high school students on campus! High school students choose to remain on our St. Joseph’s campus so they can either work a summer job, take driver’s education class or participate in our Freshman Transition Summer Program.

Thankfully it’s not all work – students get to relax, take shopping trips, go to the movies or swim at Chamberlain’s city pool or public beach area. Students remain connected with family and sometimes get checked out by their parent or guardian so they can attend family functions or visit a family member in the hospital.

There’s never a dull moment on our campus!

We have 19 upcoming freshmen in our Freshman Transition Summer Program. These students were able to meet their future high school teachers, take a trip to visit Mitchell Vo-Tech, Oglala Lakota Community College and tour the Badlands on their way to visit the Red Cloud Indian School Art Show. This three-week camp is full of both education and transition activities in order to get them prepared for the challenges of their first year in high school – and beyond.

The transition program ends Friday with a Parent Luncheon. Here, we will review the changes the students will face in high school and the differences in our high school residential program from our elementary residential program. Everyone enjoys pizza, and then the students are able to give their parent or guardian a tour of their new St. Joseph’s high school home.

All the students will then return in August, either a week before school starts so they can begin sports practices with their Chamberlain athletic team, or return two days prior to the first day of school for our Student Orientation.

Our high school summer programs don’t end in July; we have three students participating on our Summer Transitional Living Program starting on June 22 through the end of July.

Two of these students are currently in Germany with two St. Joseph’s chaperones and two other St. Joseph’s students as part of our Germany Exchange Program with our sister school in Handrup, Germany. They will spend two and a half weeks learning about the German culture, giving presentations to Handrup students about their Lakota and American culture and, of course, doing some sightseeing. The Handrup students will then take a trip to the USA and come visit us here at St. Joseph’s Indian School in October so they can learn more about American and Lakota culture. It’s been a great learning experience for both staff and students.

These are not the only St. Joseph’s students who are able to travel during their summer vacation. One of our graduating seniors was awarded the Davis-Bahcall scholarship. Erin will spend one week digging deep into the science and engineering that exists at the Sanford Underground Laboratory in Lead, South Dakota. She will spend three weeks studying modern physics at Princeton University in New Jersey under world-renowned scholars and researchers. She will also travel to research laboratories in Europe to experience the world of modern scientific research.

We are very proud of Erin’s accomplishments and know she’ll succeed next year as she begins her college career.

One of our upcoming seniors was accepted into College Horizons, this is a six-day “crash course” in preparing for college. Aaron will learn about a broad variety of colleges and universities, and establish personal relationships with admission representatives and college counselors. At each site, 100 students from across the nation work with over 70 expert college counselors and college admission officers to help students learn how to fill out college applications, including essays and prepare for college. We hope Aaron has a great experience – congratulations!

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer as much as we are!

Pilamaya – thank you,

Shana

Guest Blogger: Scott

Hello blog world! My name is Scott and I am a family service counselor. I work with 6^th-12^th grade boys and will begin my 19^th 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.

Guest Blogger: Karla

Fr. Steve stopped in my office and asked if I would perform #13 on my job description – be a guest blogger and write today’s blog. And of course, without thinking, I said “sure.”

To explain, #13 on my job description reads ‘Performs other responsibilities as required by the Executive Director.’ 🙂

Then all I thought was “yikes!”

A little anxiety set in as I thought “I am not a blogger … and besides, my job might seem boring for people to read about …”

All that aside – Hi! I am Karla, the Executive Assistant.

First, I must say that I love my job and have been doing it for almost 19 years. My work includes more ‘behind the scenes’ kind of detail. Working with the Executive Director of Child Services (Mike, my boss), I have the opportunity to assist Child Services with all the different programming taking place on campus for our students. My job consists of the usual duties like taking notes, setting up meetings, filing student information, etc. In a nutshell, it’s kind of like a jack-of-all-trades. I do enjoy multi-tasking, however, and the busier our office is the better I like it. Currently I am getting the calendar together for the 2012-2013 school year, as well as filing end-of-year student information.

St. Joseph’s Indian School’s campus is a different kind of busy now that school is out. Summer day camp is taking place; the high school summer program is up and running, as well as activities for the students in grades 1-8 staying in the summer home. Construction, cleaning, moving and general maintenance are in full gear in preparation for the new school year. Keeping the office organized some days can be quite eventful, as you never know what might come up, or who may show up, so we never expect a humdrum kind of day.

I just heard some little people laughing and walking outside my office going to the playground. That means the summer day camp bunch has arrived … seeing the smiles and hearing the laughter … that is what brings satisfaction to my job and warmth to my heart.

Thanks to all of you that support our mission and give us the opportunity to provide for the students and families we serve. If you get to Chamberlain, visit our campus, visit our Akta Lakota Museum & Cultural Center and see for yourself why St. Joseph’s Indian School is an awesome place!

Gotta go … my boss is calling!

Guest blogger: Facilities Team

Summer is approaching fast and St. Joseph’s Indian School’s campus is looking nice and green! The kids are in their last week of school and we are all busy working to get campus in tip top shape for our Eighth Grade Graduation on May 25.

Our Lady of the Sioux Chapel at St. Joseph's Indian School. — St. Joseph’s Indian School’s Our Lady of the Sioux Chapel

We are in the process of updating our landscaping and planting some colorful flowers to brighten up our campus. Our grounds crew has fixed up the yard around Our Lady of the Sioux Chapel where the graduation ceremony will take place. We are also adding a special touch to the front entrance of our campus: a flag pole with some rock landscaping around it. This will help add that special touch to the entrance and also help in giving family members and visitors directions to our campus.

Our renovation of the Stevens and Mathias Homes is still progress. All of the major work is complete in the Stevens Home and the students have already started moving some of their home items back to help in getting ready for next year when they return from summer break. The Mathias Home is, for the most part, completely painted except for some minor touching up. They have started installing the ceramic tile flooring and have also started hanging the cabinets in the kitchen.

Welcome to St. Joseph's Indian School. — The new flag pole at the entrance of St. Joseph’s Indian School.

The entire facilities crew is busy laying out the schedule over the summer months and setting up future projects that will be taking place on campus here at St. Joseph’s Indian School. We will be working on doing some updating in the school, start our next home renovations with the Summerlee and William Homes, and many more!

As always, we continue to keep busy doing our best in making the campus feel like home to all the kids that are here over the school year.

Until next time,

Facilities Crew

Congratulations class of 2012

With just a week to go in the school year, all the homes are cleaning out their refrigerators. At this point in the year, homes even start trading groceries with one another in an effort to use up as much as they can. Wisdom Circle, in front of the Benedictine Homes (1^st-5^th grades) is a lovely grassy spot in center of St. Joseph’s Indian School’s campus, shaded by majestic cottonwood trees.

With picnic tables out for the nicer weather, the setting was perfect for a couple of picnic meals. Friday evening houseparents Leonard and Aleece organized a meal for all the t-ball participants. That included all of the 1^st-3^rd graders on campus and the fare was your basic hot dogs and hamburgers, with fruits and vegetables. Today after church, the houseparents all pitched in different specialties for a brunch.

I kicked a soccer ball around for a while with a few students, then got involved in a football game. Kids love to play, but they also need to learn how to play fairly. I noticed that they were spending more time arguing about the rules or if they were actually touched with two hands than the time they spent actually playing. I became the quarterback (and referee) for both teams, and enhanced the speed of play considerably. I remember what it was like to be one of the last ones picked, so I made sure to throw the ball to everyone, and give each child a chance to participate. When one boy started yelling at a teammate for dropping a ball, I stopped the action and told him it was important to encourage teammates to try hard, but not belittle them. When another boy gave a shove after the play was finished, I got his attention by calling an “Unsportsmanlike Conduct” penalty.

“This isn’t real football” he objected.

“But you need to play by real rules, especially the rule of being a good sport,” I told him. Competition is okay, but cooperation is better.

Four students from St. Joseph's Indian School pause for a graduation picture. — Congratulations 2012 graduates!

Today was High School Graduation. Fifty young adults from Chamberlain and the surrounding area received their diplomas in the packed ceremony held at the Armory. Four of the 50 were St. Joseph’s students. Attached to their hats were eagle feathers their families had provided to honor their accomplishment. Watching each of the students walk forward brought back so many memories of the years that I’ve known them and saw them grow up before my eyes.

Blessings and best wishes in the future, and congratulations graduates!