It is with sincere pleasure that I welcome all the students, staff, and community back to school for what is sure to be another successful year at South Lewis. What I love about South Lewis are the people. You all are what makes South Lewis great, and it is because of you that I strive each day to make South Lewis a safe and productive place for your students to grow academically, physically, socially, and emotionally. It is an honor to serve this community, which has been such an integral part of my life. I am thankful each day to foster the relationships that I have here at South Lewis and I challenge you all this year to connect with someone that you otherwise would not have. We should not underestimate the impact of positive relationships on the success of the building

We strive each day at South Lewis to provide your students with the best educational opportunities for their future success. Our goal is to equip your students with the tools they need to be successful in this ever-evolving world we live. There have been many exciting things happening at South Lewis as we prepare for the 2016-17 school year. We are continuing to implement our new technology plan in order to provide the students with access to cutting edge technologies to better prepare them for the innovative workforce. Students will be exposed to various forms of automation technologies, energy sources, and computer programming techniques in order to develop basic skills for future employment. We have also worked arduously with BOCES and several local business partners to develop a program that best prepares students for the constantly changing field of advanced manufacturing and production. This is the first year we will offer the “Production and Design Technology” career and technical education program. In this program students will work in a project based curriculum in order to prepare students for careers and post secondary education opportunities. The program integrates 21^st century skills, employability skills, and rigorous academic standards. Whether their post-high school goals are college, career, or military, the purpose of this program is to assist in filling the void in highly skilled, well paying jobs, both locally and beyond.

Another asset to the students at South Lewis are all of the non-instructional opportunities that we provide. Once again, we will be hosting the student-run branch of the Rome Teachers Federal Credit Union. It is never too early to start saving, so be sure to come in and see all that they have to offer. We will continue to have our grab and go and hot breakfasts available at various carts throughout the building to try and encourage student participation. Other exciting news for the building is the approval of the Extended School Day Grant. We are currently working on several different resources to bring to the building, including the addition of a School Resource Officer. We will be communicating more, as information is made available.

As you can see, we have been very busy preparing for the many new endeavors to the building, along with all the things that already makes South Lewis great. We are very fortunate to have a supportive Board of Education and administrative team. Without their support, all of these wonderful things would not be possible. I look forward to working with you all to make this a special year. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me here in the high school office.