Tag: St. Joseph’s

Christmas blessings for the Lakota children

The Lakota boys and girls were blessed to receive wonderful Christmas gifts.
No matter how old they are, the Lakota boys and girls are so excited to receive Christmas presents!

Christmas continues into January at St. Joseph’s!  The excitement gets to linger for at least a week after break, extending the students’ excitement about presents to come.  It’s always fun to experience the Christmas holiday through the eyes of a child. No matter how old they are, or how much they may try to hide it, they are excited!  The first week after break brings excitement and anticipation for Sunday’s big event!

If there is one thing I would wish for in life, it would be that all kids would wake up to at least one present on Christmas Day. 

I no longer ask my students what they got for Christmas when they come back… I haven’t for years.  It breaks my heart that some experience no family time, or no gifts for this holiday.

It’s so exciting for our students that they have a Christmas to return to and presents to put the sparkle in their eyes!

Over the years, Christmas has changed at St. Joseph’s, not just the date.  I remember when I first started working at St. Joseph’s, we looked through used toys to try and find enough to give each of the kids a present.

Sometimes, it was a real stretch.

Many times, the toys had someone else’s name on it.  Often, the students were given games with missing pieces. Everyone got socks and gloves and were very happy to receive those items.

I remember one year my dad arranged for a company to send Nerf footballs for all the boys.  For the girls he made each their own tablets with their names printed on them (he owned a print shop)!  It was something new and exciting.

The Lakota children are so excited to open their gifts!
Ethan peeks into his gift a little early.

Thanks to very generous donors, Christmas gifts are awesome and definitely appreciated.

After the celebration, kids come to school sporting a new sweatshirt or talking about different toys they received.  We are blessed to have great donors!  One home got rollerblades and went skating Sunday afternoon.  They had great stories and, more importantly, great smiles!

This is a time I often spend reflecting on the true blessings I have.  Sometimes we forget how good we really have it.  I hope part of Christmas at St. Joseph’s and everywhere helps you reflect on what’s important too.  I have too many to name here, but my granddaughter, children, husband, job, relationship with God, and living in America would top my list!

May the New Year bring you peace and God’s blessings!  May the excitement of a new toy from your childhood spread into the joy of giving and sharing this New Year.

Boys basketball season has started!

St. Joseph’s Lakota (Sioux) boys have started their basketball season.
Dylan let fly from the side to score the winning basket!

Yesterday St. Joseph’s fifth and sixth grade boys opened up their basketball season with a pair of wins in front of the home crowd!

Our fifth graders jumped out to a big lead and never looked back. The sixth grade game went back and forth with many ties, and was a great team effort. Our opponent’s taller players had an advantage close to the basket, while our smaller unit passed it around well to get good shots.

With the game tied and only 30 seconds left on the clock, our tiniest player, Dylan, let fly from the side and hit the go ahead and eventual game winning shot.

I happened to be sitting near his grandparents, who were so delighted and excited to be able to share in that special moment with him.

Though small, he sure walked tall after that memorable moment!

Connecting with the Speyer Home

Donors send Box Tops for Education to help St. Joseph’s purchase needed equipment for the Lakota children.
The Speyer home boys sort the box tops together in an effort to earn to earn items for their home.

After a long day of meetings, I wanted to spend time connecting to the Lakota students, so I joined Speyer Home (6th- 8th grade boys) for supper. They talked about their break activities, from playing tackle football in the snow to helping cook some of the holiday meals to babysitting younger siblings.

As a group, these boys hang around the table longer than most of the other homes, which I enjoy and appreciate. There’s a nice banter going back and forth. Jim, the houseparent, tried out a desert with the texture of ice cream but none of the sugar. These growing boys are hungry and can indeed put away the food, but they are trying to become more conscious of better nutrition. While it wasn’t as luscious as a rich bowl of ice cream, it was tasty and satisfying, and all the bowls were empty. They politely thanked the cook for his efforts.

After supper, the boys gathered around the dining room tables to help sort Box Tops for Education for a half hour. Many of St. Joseph’s donors send in Box Tops for Education, and we get 10 cents for each one we turn in to General Mills.

It is a bit of work cutting and sorting the small squares of paper. The high school kids refer to the labels that are already trimmed as “gravy,” because they can go fast with those.

The Speyer boys and I sorted the box tops into piles by expiration dates. Some run into 2016, so we don’t have to rush to turn those in, but some have already expired. I found the oldest one in the pile, which expired in 2005.

It seems like a small thing, but all those dimes add up and help us to purchase good equipment for the school and homes. The boys decided to save the Campbell’s soup labels for another time, and headed out for recreation before reading time.

The Speyer home boys sort the box tops together in an effort to earn to earn items for their home.

Christmas is still coming!

I heard tell of a Lakota tribal official visiting the Apache Tribe in Arizona. They teased him “in the mountains we’re much closer to the Great Spirit.”

He replied, “Yes, I understand, but on the vast South Dakota prairie we can see God coming for three days, and have time to get ready!”

Renovation of the William home is moving along.
Sheetrock is up in the William Home! The facilities crew is now working on outlets and ventilation.

While other folks are taking down their Christmas decorations, we’re still getting ready to celebrate when all our students return. Last weekend two school groups, one from Barrington, Illinois and one from Watertown, South Dakota brought out some wonderful clothes and toys they’ve been collecting. As the houseparents return, we’ll check sizes and wish lists to find good matches for our students’ needs.

While many of our child services staff have had vacation time, staff in the development office have been faithfully answering mail and phone requests. The facilities crew has used this quieter time for projects like touch-up paint jobs and preventative spraying for bed bugs, which are jobs best done when the homes are empty.

They’ve been moving full speed ahead on several projects. The Summerlee Home renovation is almost complete, and those fourth and fifth grade girls should be moving back in a couple of weeks. The William Home will take a few more months, but the dry wall is up and the crew is working on the behind the scenes (and walls) items like electrical outlets and ventilation.

Fewer students means fewer vehicle trips over break. The school bus was in the garage getting a check up to make sure it’s fit for ball games and school trips once the semester gets going next week.

St. Joseph’s bus is in the shop for a tune up.
St. Joseph’s bus gets a tune up before second semester begins.

We have had a half dozen high school students on campus this past week taking part in basketball practices. Today, the rest of the crew of 42 filtered in. Cars pulled up to one of our five high school homes and kids carried suitcases or slung plastic bags full of clothes over their shoulder and started getting ready for second semester.

I spent a little time at each of the homes, welcoming students back. I always hope for happy news. Many of the students had good memories of their time with family, but a few had family struggles and drama over the break. Our houseparents and counselors will help them talk it out and process the disappointments and hurts, and hopefully get them off to a good start here.

Guest Blogger: Fr. Anthony

Greetings from the banks of the Missouri River!  The weather is still mild, which is great for the hunters, but not so nice for the farmers and ranchers.

Fr. Steve and a group of students and staff headed for the Big Apple this weekend for a donor luncheon.  Last year when they tried, Hurricane Irene brought everything to a standstill.  This year they are coming in right behind Superstorm Sandy.  The group took letters of support and encouragement from all the students at St. Joseph’s to those impacted by Hurricane Sandy.  They were passed out at the lunches so that our guests and others would know that they have not been forgotten as they face the challenge of putting their lives back together.

A variety of things happened here at St. Joseph’s that highlight the activities and events our Lakota students can get involved in.  Our student council leaders went to the state capitol in Pierre, South Dakota to be part of more than 90 schools, churches, veterans groups, social clubs and others designated to decorate the Christmas trees that are being set up around the capitol building.

Our inter-city basketball league is going great guns and we have been able to see some good results.  There was a young lady last year from Chamberlain who got involved but did not seem to get a lot of playing time.  This year when the Chamberlain Cubs came to play the St. Joseph’s Braves, she was part of the team!  She seemed to be the first or second one off the bench.  It shows the impact the program can have because it gave her the opportunity to improve herself and make new friends.  The boys from the area are taking part in the program now and the games have been interesting.

This past Sunday, the Diocese of Sioux Falls, South Dakota held a Mass of Thanksgiving in honor of our first Native American Saint, St. Kateri Tekakwitha, the Lily of the Mohawks.  Several of our students went to the Cathedral of St. Joseph in Sioux Falls to take part.  Besides the Mass, a statue was erected in her memory and honor.  As Kateri is a patron saint for ecology, the group then visited butterfly complex to see beauty in flight.  They ended the day by driving by the water falls that give Sioux Falls its name.  The falls are lit, making for a very picturesque scene.

Recently one of our high school students, Erika, had the privilege of casting her first vote in a national election. What really made it special, however,was that she was interviewed as she came out of the polling area and was asked which issue meant the most to her.  Her response was the bond issue the local high school was trying to get approved that would help fund a new cultural and activity center at Chamberlain High.  Erika saw it as a valuable addition to the school, but sadly it went down to defeat since it needed 60% plus one of all those voting.  It only got in the mid-50% range.

Things are getting interesting for our high school students as the winter sports of wrestling and boys’ and girls’ basketball get under way.  Wrestling started last week and some of our young men are going out.  Girls’ basketball got underway today, which means several girls will be staying over the Thanksgiving Break so they can attend practice.  The boys hit the court next Monday and a good number are planning on going out for that.

As we approach Thanksgiving, it is a reminder of our gratitude for your generosity.  The students and staff  keep you in their prayers.  May the Great Spirit bless you with good health, much happiness and safe travel if you are heading ‘over the river and through the woods to Grandmother’s house we go!’

Fr. Anthony Kluckman, SCJ

Chaplain

St. Joseph’s Indian School

Guest Bloggers: Rec Center Staff

Our Native American kids love playing outside in the South Dakota fall weather!
The kids love playing outside in the South Dakota fall weather!

We had lots of fun at our Enrichment Activity on Wednesday!

On a nice early evening here at St. Joseph’s after the elections, Mark and I decided to take the kids outside for some fresh, cool air.

In the first session, we had the Perky and Cyr (fourth and fifth grade) boys involved in some flag games. Mark really had the boys moving and trying to avoid getting their flags (or as we called them, tails) pulled off. We played a game with lions and gazelles. The lions really did a number on the gazelles! Much thanks to Teresa, Odis, Lloyd and Joe for their help.

In the second session, the wind picked up and there was a little nip in the air, but it was perfect football weather! The boys from Fisher and Rooney (sixth, seventh and eighth grades) were out to show their football skills.

We had blue vs. yellow teams. It was close all the way to the end, and the clock ran in with a tie. That was only because Daryl kind of got into Trenton’s way toward a touchdown and they both hit the ground. Many thanks to Dick and Jan for braving the cool South Dakota breeze.

Next week, we have the Dennis and Afra Homes (first, second and third grade girls) at 6:00 pm and the Pinger and Stevens Homes (sixth, seventh and eighth grade girls) for the 7:15 pm time slot.

Mark and Andy

Hope and support

Four of our houseparents and I traveled two hours to Parmelee on the Rosebud Indian Reservation for the funeral of the mom of four of our students. All night wakes are still a tradition, and the boys spent most of Saturday and Sunday in the church hall keeping vigil with their mom, who was only 37 years old.

The pastor who led the services knew the family well, and was able to personalize his remarks. He was honest about the tough life and issues the family faced, yet offered hope and support. An elder in the community offered prayers in Lakota, and sang a traditional song. I offered my condolences and spoke about the Lakota concept Mitakuye Oyasin – We are all related and how in facing the loss of a mother how important the other relationships in life become.

We drove 10 miles out into the country, mostly on gravel roads, to reach the cemetery. Pall bearers used leather straps to lower the coffin into a rough wooden box at the bottom of the hand-dug opening.

The hammering of the nails echoed across the prairie as the box was closed and then the pallbearers began filling in the grave with shovelfuls of dirt. When I noticed the men tiring  I tapped one of them on the shoulder and helped for a while until I was relieved. When the grave was filled in, the family lovingly placed all the flowers on top of the dirt, and we headed back to the hall for a meal.

The soup pots were about 3 feet high and about as round as a circle with my arms. They were filled with delicious homemade soup on a chilly November day. The star quilts that decorated the walls around the room were taken down and gifted to people who had helped the family through these sad days. One of the boys lives in Speyer Home (6th– 8th grade) and since the whole home came in a show of support on Sunday the family wanted to make sure we took home a quilt for them. I was also honored with the gift of a quilt.

Talking over supper, the pastor told of a retired teacher in the community. He and his wife always have a big pot of soup on the stove, and if youngsters in the community don’t have anything to eat, or just need a safe or quiet place to be for a while, that was a place of refuge. Those are the kind of folks that so inspire me. Hopefully our work at St. Joseph’s can provide a respite and shelter for Lakota students when their lives at home get tough.

The aunts who are the boys’ guardians had been working nonstop three days to get everything ready for the wakes and funeral. They asked if we had room to take the boys back with us and we were glad to be able to help. On the trip back there were more tears, and alternating times of quiet. After we stopped half way for gas and a break, the boys seemed to put the grief on hold for a while and talk about sports and other things. Our staff will try to be especially attentive and supportive of their needs in the difficult days and times to come.

Guest Blogger: Tom

St. Joseph’s recently purchased a building in downtown Chamberlain!

The new building will allow us to convert the existing Receiving building into a “one stop” disbursement center for non-food items used by St. Joseph’s students and staff, which is the biggest benefit the building will provide.  This one-stop shop will include clothing for the students, household goods, personal care items, gifts, linen and all the supplies currently found in Central Storage.

At this time, these items are stored in several locations on St. Joseph’s Indian School’s campus.  With the added space and efficiency, the building used by Central Storage, the current thrift store and storage areas below Our Lady of the Sioux Chapel can be available for other uses.

At this time we are out of storage room, and have little space for storage items that are seasonal or need to be saved for specific outreach programs, like the Bookmobile van, which distributes books to Indian reservation communities each summer.

Items that are taken to missions on the Indian reservation are currently stored in the van or trailer until a full load is ready to go. This means the van and trailer are not available for other use between mission trips.  With the new building, the boxes can be kept inside until a load is ready to go, then the van and trailer can be taken to the store, loaded and taken to the designated reservation or mission.  We are also hoping that this will allow for more mission runs and for more efficient processing of donations.

To keep costs down, maintenance staff from St. Joseph’s spent time doing demolition inside and outside of the new building in preparation for a contractor doing the majority of the remodel work. A general contractor will do the largest part of the project but, again to keep costs down, St. Joseph’s staff will do all of the electrical work and will co-ordinate with several local contractors on HVAC and plumbing.

Tom T

Guest Blogger: Fr. Anthony

Greetings from the banks of the Missouri River! Fr. Steve is away for a meeting and that gives me the chance to share what’s happening here at St. Joseph’s.

It was a relatively quiet weekend since the powwow is over. Chamberlain High School had an open weekend for sports since their Homecoming was last weekend. Though it seems we just started the school year, our high school students are already at mid-term and had Friday afternoon off. It gave our high school students the chance to work on any “incompletes” they may have. This is important, since all five of our high school homes are have a little competition – whichever home has the fewest “incompletes” will receive a trophy and, of course, bragging rights.

One of the key points our upper classmen share with the incoming freshmen is don’t fall behind in your studies. It is hard to catch up!

The Chamberlain High School soccer team had their last home game on Saturday against Belle Fourche and it was Parent Appreciation Day. Though none of our students are on the team this year, several of our staff have sons and daughters on the team. I was there as an assistant referee (AR), and some of our younger students came up to enjoy the game since they are involved in soccer here on campus.

Native American kids learning about space!
The youngsters here at St. Joseph’s Indian School learned so much in their Star Base classes!

Our fifth grade students had the chance to visit Ellsworth Air Force Base in Rapid City, South Dakota to complete their Star Base class held here at St. Joseph’s all last week. They study physics and other sciences, planting a seed that may encourage our young people to dream about trips into space or perhaps become part of NASA one day.

The sixth, seventh and eighth-grade volleyball teams did well as they traveled to Pierre Indian Learning Center in Pierre with each team winning their matches. This week they will play against Chamberlain, our cross-town rivals. Also on the calendar is a seventh and eighth-grade football game against the Chamberlain Cubs to be held here at St. Joseph’s on Tuesday.

St. Joseph's Indian School presents its Distinguished Alumnus Award.
Orville’s son and daughter-in-law accepted the Distinguished Alumnus Award on his behalf.

There is a conference on Native American Education taking place at Cedar Shores, a hotel and convention center just across the river from us (the same location where the banquet for our powwow guests was held). One of the presenters is Mr. Bud Webb, the son of Orville Webb, a member of St. Joseph’s first graduating class back in 1928. He had represented his father last year when his dad was honored, along with another graduate in that class, with St. Joseph’s Indian School’s alumni award. He stopped by on Sunday to attend Mass in Our Lady of the Sioux Chapel.

In the “be careful what you wish for” category, we had been praying for good weather for the powwow, which we got. We also prayed for cooler temperatures and we got them. We have had cool weather in the mornings, but Saturday stayed nippy all day even though the sun was out. It was in the mid 50’s but seemed cooler since things had been so warm. We do still need rain, but the cooler temperatures were nice to experience.

We hope you have a wonderful week! Thanks again for your interest in and support of St. Joseph’s Indian School. Know that we are grateful and keep you in our prayers.

Fr. Anthony Kluckman, SCJ
Chaplain
St. Joseph’s Indian School

Overcoming obstacles

This weekend the Crow Creek Indian Reservation held their annual fair and wacipi – powwow. I view powwows much like a family reunion. Since I worked in that community before coming to St. Joseph’s, I know quite a few folks when I go.

Last night, besides taking in the dancing and ceremony, I enjoyed walking around the arena and visiting with familiar faces and catching up with old friends. I noticed several St. Joseph’s students with their families. A few of our St. Joseph’s homes also loaded up a mini bus and came for a few hours.

Today I had to drop some items off at the Akta Lakota Museum & Cultural Center. Glancing at the visitors log book, I was tickled by the number of overseas tourists who visited us. The notes told of folks hailing from Japan, Germany, Brazil, the Netherlands and France, besides a great number of different states in the good old USA.

The "Trust Fall" was very successful!
The “Trust Fall” was very successful!

As I walked back to the office on a lovely Saturday afternoon to finish up the weekend homily and prepare for Sunday, I heard laughter coming from atop the hill behind the Dining Hall. I followed the path to the area where we’ve developed our Project SOAR obstacle course. Mark and Nate were working with a group of boys from Fisher Home (6th-8th grade) at the nylon stringed spider web. The group was trying to help everyone cross from one side to the other, which involved lifting, carrying and passing teammates. The object was to help them learn to work together, and develop needed social and life skills such as cooperation, communication and planning. I even joined them in the next activity – a trust fall – where each of us had to fall backwards from a short ledge into a tangle of arms waiting to catch us.

On the playground, I noticed the Dennis Home girls (1st – 3rd grades) arguing about someone calling another student a cry baby, and hurt feelings escalated until they were mad at each other. One of the third grade girls was upset to start with. She  asked me to pray for her two-year-old cousin, who sadly died in a drug related accident. When our students act out or misbehave, all of our staff are trained not to overlook the possibility that there is a deeper issue or problem that may be upsetting the child. In their young lives, many of these children have know a lot of sadness and difficulty.