September 30 Update

Dear Parents and Guardians,

I hope everyone has the chance to enjoy this beautiful fall weekend.  We have a busy week coming up, so I would like to use this opportunity to remind you about two events that are scheduled for the next few days.  The first is the Principal’s Coffee to be held on Wednesday morning from 9:00-10:00 am in the McCall Library.  The purpose of this event is to give us an opportunity to dialog about things that are going well and areas of McCall that need improvement.  There are countless topics we can be discussing, so I would like to focus this month’s conversation on the Morning Arrival Process and Supervision.  The very generous McCall Parents Association (MPA) will be sponsoring this event and providing us with the coffee.  I invite everyone who is available on Wednesday morning to come and join us.

The second event is the McCall Open House which is scheduled for this Thursday evening from 7:00-8:30 pm.  As you all know, finding parking around McCall can be challenging.  Since we plan to begin the evening promptly at 7:00 pm, I recommend everyone to plan your commute accordingly.  Attached here is the information you will need to prepare for the evening.

Lastly, I would like to share with you a message from our Central Office regarding bussing:

Based upon ridership needs, an additional bus route will be added to WHS/McCall on Monday, October 1st.  This new route is comprised of bus stops from buses 6, 7 & 8.  Updated bus routes, including the new bus 9, is posted to the district's website.  You can locate the website by clicking here.

Please note that there is no additional bus for the elementary routes.  

Should you have any questions or concerns, please contact Ellen Whittemore at ewhittemore@winchesterps.org

Thank you and I wish everyone a wonderful week!

James Lin

Principal

McCall Middle School

September 23 Update

Dear Parents and Guardians,

I hope this message finds you well.  I would like to begin by letting you know that I will be holding monthly parent coffees starting Wednesday, October 3 from 9:00 – 10:00 am in the McCall Library.  All parents and caregivers are welcome to attend.  This is an opportunity for us to meet and chat about issues that are on your mind.  I have posted all the Parent Coffee dates on the McCall Events Calendar and all are welcome.  You can locate the Events Calendar by visiting our website or by clicking here.   I would like to offer my appreciation to the McCall Parent Association who is sponsoring these events.

I also want to use this opportunity to ask for your help with the issue of helping students retrieve items they have left at home.  Since the school year started, each day our main office encounters between fifteen to twenty incidences of parents and guardians dropping off items (e.g., lunches, homework, and school materials) for their students.  In most of those cases, parents have asked the administrative assistants to notify their students that their items have arrived.  During a day recently, I saw first hand a 6^th grade teacher being interrupted three times during a fifty minute lesson by phone calls from the main office asking her to remind students that their forgotten items have arrived.  We would like you to help us in limiting PA announcements and phone calls into the classrooms so instruction can proceed with few interruptions.  You can assist in this effort by reminding your students that if they forget an item, they are welcome to stop by the main office during passing times or during class time with teacher permission to check to see if their items have arrived.  I also encourage you to remind your students that if they forget their lunches, they can inform the Food Services staff and they will provide them with a lunch.

Here are some additional reminders for the upcoming week:

Picture Day is Wednesday - Wednesday, September 26, 2018 (Day 4), is the McCall Middle School Picture Day.  All students will report by homeroom to the gymnasium at the specified time listed on the attached schedule (please click here).  In order to keep disruptions to a minimum, we will not be making announcements to call students to have their photo taken.  So please be sure to check the attached schedule for what time your student's homeroom will be photographed.   We encourage you to remind your students to write their scheduled time in their agenda planners.

Picture Order Forms will be sent home with students on Monday. 

Friday Early Dismissal – Please remember that Friday is a student half day.  Dismissal time will be 12:00 pm.

Clubs and Extracurricular Activities  - Clubs and extracurricular activities start this week.  No prior registrations are required for most clubs and activities.  Students can just show up at the time that the clubs are scheduled.  You can locate all club information through the McCall website. 

Lastly, please do not forget that this year’s Open House is scheduled on Thursday, October 4 from 7:00-9:00 pm.

Thank you and enjoy the upcoming week!

James Lin

Principal

McCall Middle School

September 16 Update

Dear Parents and Guardians,

I hope this message finds you well.  Here are some reminders for the upcoming week:

Drop off and Arrival Process – I would like to begin by discussing a few issues pertaining to the drop off process.  The district is aware that buses – particularly two routes - have not been running as smoothly as we had hoped.  We will continue to work with the bus company to resolve the issues that we had faced during the first two weeks of school.  We thank you for your patience with this matter.

I would like to remind everyone who drives their students to school that the drop off areas are in front of the building and along the Mystic Valley Parkway.  We ask parents and guardians not to enter the parking lot and especially the circle in the back of the building to drop off their students in the morning.  Between 8:00 and 8:30 am, buses, staff vehicles, as well as walkers and students who ride their bikes to school are coming into that area.  Therefore, we ask all parents not to drive into that space in order to ensure safety and to prevent unnecessary congestion.

I am happy to see that majority of the students are wearing their helmets when biking to and from school.  However, not all students are taking this important safety precaution.  I would like to ask all parents and guardians to remind their students to please wear their helmets if they decide to ride their bicycles.

Clubs and Extracurricular Activities – I am happy to announce that once again McCall Middle School with the support of the MPA will once again offer a myriad of after school activities to enrich the learning experiences for our students.  All club activities – with exception of the Jazz Band and the Greenhouse Club - will begin during the week of September 24.  Attached here is a catalogue of the activities we will be offering this fall.  The document includes each club’s meeting day and time, the name of the club advisor, as well as a link to his or her email address in case you have any questions.  This 18-19 Club Catalogue is also posted on our school website. 

Please note that the Greenhouse Club will begin meeting this Thursday, Sept. 20 from 3:30-4:15 pm in Room DG04.  As for the Jazz Band, Ms. Snodgrass will be sending out a separate notice on the audition process.

EF Trip – Ms. Grace Tripp, one of our World Language teachers, will once again lead an EF Education First trip to Europe at the end of this school year.  Included below is brief description of this year’s trip.  An information meeting will be held September 25 from 7:00 - 8:00 pm in the McCall Library for any students and families who are interested in this opportunity.

“Austria, Germany & Switzerland” June 2019

Does your child ever dream about traveling abroad? Are you looking for an opportunity to accompany your son and/or daughter? Then come to the informational meeting Tuesday, September  25th at 7pm in the McCall Library.

“Austria, Germany & Switzerland” is a 10 day trip that will take place at the end of the 2018-2019 academic school year. This trip is open to all 6th, 7th and 8th grade McCall Middle School students and their families. McCall students may travel with or without their parent but if a non-McCall sibling would like to travel, the parent MUST also be on the trip for the non-McCall student. Please note that this is a NOT a school sponsored trip.

This trip will be led by Spanish teacher Grace Tripp. This will be Ms Tripp’s fifth international trip with EF. If you have any further questions, please contact her at gtripp@winchesterps.org or you can get more information here: www.eftours.com/2153030FC

Thank you and enjoy the upcoming week.

James Lin

Principal

McCall Middle School

September 9 Update

Dear Parents and Guardians,

After going through a string of hot and humid days, I hope everyone is enjoying the cooler weather we are having this weekend.  My own children also started school last week.  This Friday, my 6^th grade son came home and happily announced to my wife and me, “I don’t have any homework but you do.”  He then proceeded to pull out a bunch of forms and surveys from his backpack for us to review and complete.

Unfortunately, McCall staff and I are asking you to do the same thing.  I understand the tedious nature of reading and filling out a stack of documents, but we need you familiarize yourselves with our policies and procedures and to provide or update us with important information such as your current emergency contacts in order for us to do what we do effectively.  I will be looking into ways to facilitate these processes such as allowing parents to fill out these forms online and to make these paperwork available to parents before the school year starts when things are less hectic.

One of the most important documents I would like to ask you to review is the McCall Middle School Student Handbook.  This document can be found at the beginning of your student’s agenda book.  The Handbook is also posted on our school website, and you can also accessed it by clicking here.  I would like to draw your attention to the following sections of the Handbook since I have received quite a few questions regarding these matters recently:

Bringing Student Items to School (Page 15)

Cell Phone Usage (Page 16)

Attendance Policy  (Pages 18-21)

With regards to cell phone usage, please know that we do not allow students to use their cell phones during the school day unless it is part of a learning activity as directed by a teacher.  This policy applies to the student’s BYOD laptops and tablets as well.  Therefore, please remember that if you text or email your students during the school day, they will not be able to access your message until after the day ends at 3:07 pm.  If urgent matters arise and it becomes necessary for you to contact your students immediately, we ask you to call our main office instead of contacting your students directly.

Since your students’ cell phone and device usage is limited to academic endeavors, they will not be able to contact you by using their cell phones during the school day.  If you receive a call or text from your students during the school day because they are in distress, I encourage you to contact our main office instead of calling or texting them back so we can help you determine what is going on and identify the appropriate support for your students.  Thank you for your cooperation with these matters.

Lastly, I would like to mark the following dates on your calendar:

Wednesday, Sept 26 is Picture Day.

Thursday, Oct. 4 from 7:00-9:00 pm is the McCall Open House.

Thank you and enjoy the upcoming week.

James Lin

Principal

McCall Middle School