Welcome to my website! I’m Mrs. Michelle Lewis, the Student Support Teacher for grades K-8th. I hope that this school year, 2011-2012, is going to be full of new educational adventures for your child/children. Here is a brief summary of what I do at school.

I work with students who need additional help to be successful with their academic subjects in the quiet and well-supplied student support room. We meet and work one-on-one, in small groups, or even in the classroom. Remediation is usually requested by the teacher or the parents.

The student needing ongoing help can be recommended by the classroom teacher, the student’s parent or by me for a Student Support Team (SST) meeting. The team is brought together on Tuesday afternoon after school at 3:00-4:00 p.m. and is comprised of our Principal; the parents; the classroom teacher or subject area teachers; Mrs. Farley, CAIU Guidance Counselor; Mrs. Cawley, our fourth grade teacher and advisor and me. I lead the SST meeting for the group. Both Mrs. Farley and I take notes for the meeting which are made available to everyone who attends. The SST process is scheduled ahead of time to accommodate all participants’ schedules.

At the SST meeting we discuss the student’s progress, any testing or evaluations, and the student’s behavior in school and in the home. We emphasize the positive attributes of the child and then formulate a Learning Plan, if needed, which is tailored to meet his/her needs to be successful in the classroom.

While SST members don’t write Individual Educational Plans, also known as an I.E.P., if one is written by the student’s public school, we will try to incorporate as much as we can into our Learning Plan. Some student services are provided to us through the C.A.I.U., and Aid to Non-Public Schools/ Equitable Participation.

While this is a brief summary of the Student Support teacher’s role, I’m always willing to talk to you concerning the needs of your child at Good Shepherd and how we can help with our staff. I’m available at Good Shepherd on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Please call the school office to contact me if you have any questions at 737-7261 or e-mail me at mlewis@gsschpa.org.

On a personal note, I’m a proud parent of two wonderful daughters. My youngest attended Good Shepherd from K-8th and is currently at Trinity High School. My older daughter is a successful writer who also graduated from Trinity. She is newly married and I also have a wonderful son-in-law. I’m a proud graduate of Bishop McDevitt H.S.; Penn State University, B.A. Journalism; and San Francisco State University, School of Elementary Education. I have been working with and teaching children since the eighties. I’ve been married for 33 years and we have two cats, Chloe and Lucy. I lived in the Bay Area for 16 years before returning to my home in Harrisburg via the West Shore. Our family loves it here. There’s no place like home! My favorite activities include reading, (I was in a book club for 8 years), writing, and art which I plan to do when I eventually have the time to pursue it.

I look forward to seeing and meeting your children and you this year. Please stop and say hello. Enjoy your children “now” because I can tell you from experience that they will grow up too fast and time is precious. Enjoy every day.

From the book by Mother Teresa, Her Essential Wisdom, she writes:
“Every act of love is a work of peace, no matter how small.”

May you be guided by peace this year at home, school, and in your daily lives. God bless you! Mrs. Michelle Lewis