Tag: St. Joseph’s Indian School’s powwow

Guest Blogger: Peggy

Hello everyone, my name is Peggy, St. Joseph’s Indian School’s 4th grade teacher!

Second quarter is well underway!  Thanksgiving Break is now beginning and it won’t be long until we are into the Christmas season.  Maybe it is all the good weather, but the year has really seemed to fly!

hoop-dancing-SJISI have included pictures of our Native American students at St. Joseph’s Indian School’s powwow.  That was held in September, but it is a time always on their minds.  They enjoy knowing about and participating in events related to the Lakota (Sioux) culture.  On Native American Day, we did many activities to promote the culture.  In my class, we listened to storytellers on YouTube.

In Science, we have Lakota words that go with the unit we are studying.  It’s always nice to tie the two things together.  It’s fun when students come in using the Lakota words.  One time we were studying frogs, and the students came running in saying they had found a gnaska’ on the playground!

In they came with a dead frog in a sandwich bag …  I tried to display it, but the smell was too much! I was thrilled that they had used the Lakota word instead of the English word.  Right now we are studying weather.  In South Dakota, Thanksgiving brings us osni’ – cold!

SJIS-powwowToday before the students left, we celebrated a Charlie Brown Thanksgiving.  We read the story, watched the video and then students were brought into a room that was set up like the actual dinner.  We had pretzels, popcorn, toast and jelly beans!  Some of the students quoted the story asking,

“What blockhead made this?”

It was a good laugh!  It was nice to see the students sitting around, relaxing and visiting with each other.

Academics continue.  We are well into multiplication.  For some it is an easy transition from addition, but for others there is a real struggle.  We continue to work and find ways for all students to feel success.  In science, we are working on weather and soon will study the planets.  Reading continues to work with fluency and comprehension.

I hope you had a blessed Thanksgiving and are anticipating celebrating Christ’s birth in the season ahead!

Peggy
4th Grade Teacher

Guest Blogger: Cindy K.

Hello, my name is Cindy K. and I work in the school office at St. Joseph’s Indian School.  My day is full of many interesting details, which are never the same two days in a row!  It is always exciting to see what the day will hold. It includes answering the phone, sending students to the health center, doing state reporting, helping staff and I even have to do a little trouble shooting with the copiers when they are jammed or not working.

I have worked at St. Joseph’s Indian School for over 15 years and it has been a thrill for me to get to know the students from year to year.  Especially those that return to visit and tell us (the staff) how much they learned in their time at St. Joseph’s.

I also work with the Residential and Clinical Departments.  This includes helping with admissions during the summer, setting up Service Plan meetings for students, keeping track of incentive cards and other organizational duties.

This year, we have switched to the District Edition of Infinite Campus.  It is a complex but very fact-filled system.  The system is able to show parents and staff when student assignments are due, as well as their grades and attendance.  I’m able to import students from other schools when they start attending school here at St. Joseph’s.  They need to be entered, given a school schedule, and a household name with any brothers or sisters who also attend St. Joseph’s. This year, the report cards will be run from this system.  It will be an exciting time to see how this will all come together at the end of the quarter.

Our powwow was a huge success with many benefactors attending and participating this year.   The weather cooperated and we enjoyed a fun-filled day outside watching the dancers. I would like to thank all of our donors for visiting and supporting St. Joseph’s. It means a lot to our Lakota students and the school.

“He is my refuge and my fortress, My God; in him will I trust”