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 6th
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
