Dear Parents and Guardians,
I hope this message finds you well. I would like to let you know that the McCall
School Council will be holding its first meeting this Monday afternoon. Aside from me, this year’s council members
include parent representatives Ms. Karen Bolognese, Ms. Karen Caputo, Ms. Amy
Kraft, and Ms Dana Diamond. I would also
like to welcome Ms. Shirin Haddadin, 6th grade Science Teacher, and Ms. Karen
Fagan, French Teacher, who will serve as the council’s faculty
representatives. Last but not least,
Sarah Adelson, 8th grade student, will be our student representative. I appreciate everyone for giving up their
time to serve and provide me with valuable feedback on important school and community
matters. During our first meeting, we
will be discussion the impact of the new school start time as well as morning and lunch supervision.
As the school year progresses, you may find the need to
contact the school to ask questions or to express your concerns. McCall is a big middle school with a variety
of staff members who perform different tasks and possess a variety of
titles. Therefore, it is not unusual for
you as a parent or guardian to be confused about whom to contact when you have
questions or concerns.
If or when you are in that situation, the general rule of thumb
is to contact the staff member who is closest to the situation – typically that
person is your student’s teacher. For
example, it would be helpful if you would contact the teacher first if you have
questions regarding the curriculum, student progress, homework, or concerns
pertaining to classroom behavior since he or she will likely has the most
direct and in-depth understanding of the matter.
If you have questions or concerns pertaining to your student’s
schedule, social emotional well-being, or his or her 504 accommodation plan (if your student has one), it
would be best to contact your child’s counselor first. If your questions or concerns pertain to your
child’s special education plan, it would be helpful if you would contact your
child’s special education liaison first.
If the issues remain unresolved after communicating with the
teachers and counselors, please do not hesitate to direct your questions or
concerns to the assistant principals or me.
Ms. Lavoie works with the 7th grade teams as well as the 8th grade
Silver and Gold teams. Mr. Sheehan works
with the 6th grade teams as well as the 8th grade Platinum and Diamond
teams. Lastly, if you need additional
support with special education matters after you have communicated with your
student’s special education liaisons, please direct your concerns to Ms. Mary
Ellen Madden, the Middle School Special Education Supervisor.
As always, you are welcome to contact me if you have any
questions or concerns. I would be happy
to direct you to the right person if I am not the one who is in the best
position to help you.
As a parent myself, I understand how difficult it can be to
watch your child struggle to learn or to cope with an aspect of school. We might
be reluctant to bring up the issue with teachers and staff because it can feel emotional,
or we fear it might lead to a disagreement. Attached here
is some information provided by Understood.org to help parents navigate through
these potentially difficult conversations.
Understood.org is a website created by fifteen nonprofit organizations
formed to support parents and families with children who struggle with
learning and attention issues. I have
found that strategies that work for students with special needs and their families are often
strategies that work for all students and their families.
In my opinion, one of the most helpful tip offered by the
website is the idea of focusing on “I” and using “I” statements during meetings with teachers and school staff. Even if you
know that other families and students are having difficulty with the same issue, it is best
to focus your communications with teachers and staff on your family and your
student’s own experiences. If you know that other parents share similar
concerns, it would be helpful for you to encourage those parents to contact the
school.
Lastly, please do not forget that the 6th grade Halloween Dance sponsored by the MPA is scheduled for this Friday from 7:30-9:30 pm. If your child is planning to invite guests who do not currently attend McCall to the event, we ask those guests to also be 6th graders and are Winchester residents. We also ask those guests to please provide us with emergency contacts information so we know with whom to communicate if emergencies arise. Please understand that we cannot accommodate guests who are not McCall 6th grade students and are not Winchester residents.
Thank you and I wish you a wonderful week.
James Lin
Principal
McCall Middle School
