Day 1 the Beginning

As I write this post we are in the infancy stages of our work at DLSBS (De La Salle Blackfeet School). Each of our boys have been assigned/chosen a grade level to work with.

(An honest disclosure, my grammar leaves a lot to be desired and I will likely misspell some words)

A quick rundown of who is with what grade:

4th Grade: Mason, Mitch, Jon
5th Grade: Aaron, Jack U, Jack P (that will be a confusing week)
6th Grade: Logan, Colten, Caleb
7th Grade: Wes, Hoppy, Jack T

The 6th Grade boys get to go on a field trip right out of the box down to the Boone and Crockett ranch for some ecology and conservation work. This is usually a great time, but we have some rain so they may be stuck inside in the lab instead of out on the grounds. Either way it will be fun.

We have already seen our boys out in the hallways go over reading work with the 4th graders and 7th graders. Our charge for the week is to model appropriate classroom behavior and quality of work. This along with tutoring/assisting on assignments and be a teachers gopher will keep the boys busy. It can be mundane, but at the end of the week there are usually some pretty strong connections made with students.

Highlights from yesterday include, Wes arriving safely, Mass at Little Flower parish, orientation of the school and a road blocked trip to Glacier National Park. This is the 7th immersion group I have led to Montana and I have never seen the entrance at the Two Medicine entrance closed. We could have gotten out and walked the road to the Ranger station, but we were short two people and we will attempt this later on the week along with a trip to the St. Mary's entrance.

The Mission where we stay has been really nice and the boys have already taken to walking down to the river, up to the cemetery and playing wiffle ball. The one activity that has always been a favorite is a trip to the top of the Butte called the Buffalo Jumps, but unfortunately that is closed to the public right now due to some inappropriate activities. It is tough to swallow this one but we will respect the situation and hopefully it will be resolved in the future.

I have added pictures to the Photo Album and will add as many as I take and as many as the boys send me.

The excitement and enthusiasm are high and hopefully will continue through the week.