Happy Thanksgiving!

Dear McCall Parents and Guardians,

I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving!  I hope all of you will unplug and unwind from your daily work and home routines and enjoy quality time with your loved ones.

I am very thankful for the opportunity to be at McCall, and I am grateful for all of your support to help me adjust to this wonderful community.  I looking forward to accomplish great things with all of you in the coming days

Sincerely,


James Lin
Principal
McCall Middle School

Nov. 18 Update

Dear McCall Parents and Guardians,

I hope this message finds you well.  I am writing to let everyone know that starting on Monday, Nov. 26, we will be opening up a Quiet Lunch Space in the Library to give students the chance to spend their lunch time in a quieter and calmer setting.  The Quiet Lunch Space will be available during all three lunches.  However, we may not be able to accommodate every student who wants to spend their lunch times in the library due to the physical space limitations and the purpose this space will be serving.  If your child is interested in the Quiet Lunch Space, please remind him or her to retrieve a pass from the library every morning before homeroom.  Students will not be able to get a pass any time after that.  There will be 15-20 passes available for each lunch, and they will be given out in a first-come-first-serve basis.

I would like to ask all students to remember to clean up after themselves if they decide to use the Quiet Lunch Space.  I also ask all students to be respectful of the purpose of this space and only engage in activities that keep you calm, relaxed, and centered.  We also ask students to refrain from using electronic devices in the Quiet Lunch Space.

I ask everyone to take a moment to read the attached FAQ document (please click here).  It provides you with important information related to the Quiet Lunch Space.

On a separate note, I would like everyone to know that our lost and found spaces are very full.  I encourage parents and guardians to stop by the cafeteria after school to retrieve lost clothing, water bottles, lunch boxes, etc...  Thank you for your help with this effort.

Enjoy the upcoming week!

James Lin

Principal

McCall Middle School

Nov. 11 Update

Dear Parents and Guardians,

I hope everyone is enjoying the long weekend.  I would also like to take this moment to thank our own Mr. Phil Doucette (Sargent, US Marine Corps and custodian), Mr. Larry Farelli (Corporal, US Marine Corps and 8th grade math teacher), and Mr. John Gill (Captain, US Army and 7th grade math teacher) for for their services to our country.

Last night on Saturday Night Live, Mr. Dan Crenshaw, Congressman-elect from Texas and former Navy SEAL who wears an eye patch due to an injury he sustained during one the tours he served in Afghanistan, came on the show to be part of - in my opinion - a very funny skit about a controversy one of the cast member created during his performance on last week’s show.  Mr. Crenshaw also took on a more serious tone during this week’s show and said the following:

This is Veterans Day weekend.  Which means it’s a good time for every American to connect with a veteran.  Maybe say, “Thanks for your service.”  But I would actually encourage you to say something else.  Tell a veteran, “Never forget.”  When you say, “never forget” to a veteran, you are implying that, as an American, you are in it with them – not separated by some imaginary barrier between civilians and veterans, but connected together as grateful fellow Americans who will never forget the sacrifices made by veterans past and present.  And never forget those we lost on 9/11, heroes like Pete’s [a SNL cast member] father.  So I’ll just say, Pete, never forget.

I will join Mr. Crenshaw and say to Mr. Doucette, Mr. Farelli, and Mr. Gill, as well as all the veterans out there, “never forget.”

I would also like to take this opportunity to remind everyone about some safety practices regarding the arrival and dismissal processes.  As someone who enjoys biking, I am glad to see there are still quite a lot of students who continue to ride their bicycles to school despite the colder weather.  Although most of the students I see are in the habit of wearing bike helmets, I still notice too many students who do not do so on a consistent basis.  Therefore, I urge all parents and guardians to remind their students that they must wear helmets when they are biking.  It is the law!

As all of you know very well that picking up and dropping off students are not easy tasks due to the many traffic challenges that are present in front of McCall and Lincoln.  As we wait for the results of the Traffic Study conducted by the Office of the Town Engineers to come back, I ask everyone to please be courteous to each other while you are dropping off or picking up students.  Please obey all traffic signs and refrain from parking in handicap spaces, spaces reserved for McCall and Lincoln staff, as well as all areas that are designated as no parking zones.

I would like to commend all the crossing guards we have working in the Lincoln and McCall areas for being the dedicated professionals that they are and doing wonderful work for our students and community members each and every day.  I ask everyone to please cooperate with them so they can ensure everyone arrive at and leave the school safely.  When crossing the streets, I urge everyone to cross at the areas that are staffed by crossing guards.

Thank you and enjoy the upcoming week.

James Lin

Principal

McCall Middle School

Nov. 4 Update

Dear Parents and Guardians,

I hope this message finds you well.  As all of you are aware, the midterm election is this Tuesday, and I am certain the partisan rhetoric all of us will be exposed to in the coming days will ratchet up.  I think it is important for middle schoolers to participate in the democratic process and develop their own thoughts and opinions about issues that are important to the school and their local and global communities.  I also think it is equally important for students to learn how to discuss their opinions and disagree with each other in a respectful manner.  I have included here an article from Psychology Today, which provides some helpful tips on how adults can teach students civility.  Although the article was written prior to the 2016 election, I find many of the author’s tips to be even more useful today than in 2012 when it was written.  I encourage everyone to join the McCall faculty and staff to teach and model for our students behaviors such as:

·      Disagree with humor, intelligence, and civil discourse.

·      Don’t let anger and emotion get in the way of listening to others.

·      Challenge people’s view but do not attack the person.

Thank you and here are two reminders for the upcoming week.

Please do not forget that although McCall faculty and staff will be engaging in professional development activities this coming Tuesday, there is no school for students that day.

Lastly, I will be holding this month’s Principal Coffee this Wednesday morning at 9:00 am.  The topic for this month will be School and Home Communication.  I invite everyone to come to chat about this topic or any other matters you may have on your mind.

Thank you and enjoy the upcoming week!

James Lin

Principal

McCall Middle School