It’s always busy at the REC Center

St. Joseph’s REC Center is always a busy place during the school year and especially during the winter months. Andy, Mark, Bev, Shelly and I have our hands full during that time.  It is, however, a different look during spring break.

St. Joseph’s boys’ basketball teams play in January and February.

Spring break for the Lakota boys and girls gives us time to catch up on many things that we don’t have time for in January and February.  A lot of “little things” take place such as deep cleaning and organizing equipment.  This spring break was no exception.  With the addition of a handicap bathroom stall, we had extensive cleaning in both the REC Center office area and bathroom area.  The additional bathroom is a great addition to the building and will be greatly utilized by St. Joseph’s staff, students, families visitors.

We did have one spring break home on campus, so there was still some normal activity.  Each day, they scheduled time in the gym, pool, weight room or game room.  They also borrowed DVD’s and games to enjoy during break.

Another nice part of break is planning upcoming activities for the Lakota students.  The REC Center provides lots of programs and activities for the children from now through the end of the school year. The time it all gets put together is during spring break!

Now that the Native American students have returned to St. Joseph’s, we will start track for the sixth, seventh and eighth grade students, T-Ball for the first through third graders, and softball for all the homes in grades 4-8! All these activities will wrap up in the middle of May.

In addition to activities for everyone, we have several staff and students we will be working with individually for wellness/health workouts.

All in all, spring break is nice and welcomed by everyone.  It is bitter sweet, however – we get a little break from the daily grind, but we also know it means the end of the school year is near.

Thanks for your support and have a happy Spring!

The REC Center offers activities like wrestling and tumbling for the younger Lakota students.

Each spring, the REC Center plans field day for all the Lakota children.

Bryan

 

Guest Bloggers: Rec Center Staff

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

 

Guest Bloggers: Rec Center Staff

Tashia and Hialle wait patiently for the soccer game to start!

Every Wednesday, St. Joseph’s has Enrichment Night.

Last week, the Afra & Ambrose Homes were involved in our own little soccer camp!

First, we noticed the kids had a lot of extra energy, so we had them run some laps around the football field. That worked for a few moments. Soccer drills were taught by Mark S. and then we had a little soccer game. Thanks to Mike L. & Dave A. for their support.

With our older students, the Mathias and Rooney Homes participate in Camping 101 class. The Mathias Home had very little trouble in getting their tent together as they all worked as a team. The Rooney Home had some problems though. One of their poles got broken which made it tough to get up quickly. Thanks Mark for getting a new pole. Jan was the tent holder for most of the class. Thanks Jan.

Next week, we have the Cyr and Summerlee Homes at 6:00pm for our last Camping 101 class. The Fisher and Speyer Homes will fill the 7:15pm time slot with flag football.

Mark and Andy

 

Rec Center activities

Our last Enrichment night before spring break with the Afra and Dennis Homes (first through third-grade girls) was filled with the sound of the bat hitting the ball. We were inside playing whiffleball!

First, we had the girls throw and catch to warm up and improve those skills. Then, we played a game of whiffleball. The girls really were hustling and the score was close all the way to the end! Thanks to Sherry, Christine, Peter and Mike for all their help and cheering.

The boys from the Rooney and Speyer Homes (sixth through eighth-grade boys) tried their hand at a Hot Shot contest, which is a basketball shooting game. The first two rounds were one minute long and the top six shooters from each home played a third round of 30 seconds.

The Championship Round came down to Kyle and Jeremy, who each won a prize as the top shooters from their homes. After 1 minute and 30 seconds of shooting, Jeremy finished on top 30 – 18. Many thanks to Nate and Tony for keeping score, Mark for keeping the clock and Brian and Sue for cheering the boys to do their best!

Next week, when everyone is back from spring break, we will get back in the swing of Enrichment night. Hopefully, we will be outside playing t-ball and softball!

Mark and Andy

 

Enrichment activity at St. Joseph’s Indian School

Hello everyone from the Rec Center staff,

Our American Indian youth love playing these games!

Hey, did you know that on Wednesday nights St. Joseph’s Indian School has a night of activities for the homes called “Enrichment Night?” That’s where we get two homes from each community, for two hours that night and either teach them a new game or revive an old game for fun. We work on teamwork and certain skills. We also have “Enrichment Swims” going on at the same time for different homes.

Most recently, at our 6:00 pm time slot, we had our 1^st – 3^rd grade homes (Raphael & Afra) for our Enrichment Night Activities. They played a game that some of you might know from TV, “Minute To Win It.”  One game we played was call “Loner” which is when one person has to roll one marble at a time to knock down a pencil standing 15 feet  away in one minute!

Savannah did a good job in the “Bite Me” game and Trinity and Jarrett were excellent in their games as well. Even the houseparents were involved in some of the games as well. Thanks to Aleece, Leonard and Christine and Mike for all their help. We also played, “Stack Attack” and “Movin’ On Up,” which are plastic cup games.

The 7:15 pm time slot was with the 6^th – 8^th grade homes (Rooney & Fisher) who were involved as well last night. They were involved in a different night of activities. We called them “Tag Games.” “Swatter Tag” was a big hit with Josh and Adrian and the game called “Dead Ant” was a smash with the boys as well. Jeremiah and William were really into the game “Frogger.” These are games that build teamwork and are fun at the same time. Thanks to houseparents Tony and Roman for their help.

Next week for Enrichment activities at 6:00pm, we will have the 4^th and 5^th grade homes (Cyr and Perky) and at 7:15pm we will have the 6^th – 8^th grade girl homes (Mathias & Stevens).

Thank you,

Your friends in the Rec Center