Welcome Mr. TJ Casey

Friday, November 5, 2010

We had our first long hard frost overnight, which left the ground a pale and foggy grey as I gazed out the window this morning. But by noon it warmed up into the 60’s and made for a lovely fall day. Winter may be inevitably creeping nearer, but each day when the students can get out and roam free during break time has a positive impact on attitudes and behaviors.

St. Joseph’s participates in several of the Artist-in-Residence programs the State of South Dakota sponsors each year. This week we hosted TJ Casey, a cowboy poet and musician. With his help and prompting, it was our students who were the artists. They got up in front of the assembly hall and read the works they had created over the course of the past week. It’s huge to get our students to overcome shyness and stand up in front of a crowd. TJ’s humor and encouragement made the poetry fun, and allowed them to express themselves. Not everyone read publicly, but all of them wrote poetry.  Mr. Casey then called up each of the sections of 7^th and 8^th graders to perform their group compositions, that he will set to music and record. Some of the works were whimsical, others touching. Then he treated us to a few of his songs. His guitar work and rich voice captivated our kids attention.

Author: St. Joseph's Indian School

At St. Joseph's Indian School, our privately-funded programs for Lakota (Sioux) children in need have evolved over 90 years of family partnership, experience and education. Because of generous friends who share tax-deductible donations, Native American youth receive a safe, stable home life; individual counseling and guidance; carefully planned curriculum based on Lakota culture and individual student needs and tools to help build confidence, boost self-esteem and improve cultural awareness. All of this helps children to live a bright, productive, possibility-filled future. View all posts by St. Joseph's Indian School