Dear McCall Parents and Guardians,
I hope you are well. The unprecedented 20-21 school year is a wrap. Hooray! A public school is by nature an organization that is not easy to change. The main reason is because we are working with the well-being of children, so any sudden modifications to the system that are not well-thought out or well implemented can cause profound negative impact on kids and their families. Running a school is akin to driving a semi truck as opposed to a sports car. Navigating through this school year is like driving that semi truck through a narrow mountain pass. I am extremely proud of how all of us – teachers, staff, parents, and caregivers – all came together to help us all make it through this journey. I am particularly proud of how well our students – especially our 8th graders – responded to the changes and challenges that were thrown in their way throughout the year. It was by no means a perfect school year, but I believe it was a successful one by all standards of measurement.
As proud as I am of what the McCall community was able to accomplish this year, I am also mindful of the fact that we still have a lot of work to do. As the pandemic exposed many of the vulnerabilities and flaws of our society, it did the same for McCall as well. Even though I like to think McCall is a school for ALL, this school year showed us that we still have mountains to climb in terms of promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion. These topics will be on my mind as my team and I prepare for the 21-22 school year.
I would like to end this message by bidding farewell to our colleagues and friends who retired during this school year. Their contributions to McCall have been immense, and they will be sorely missed. Our retirees are:
Ms. Pam DiMatteo, Speech and Language Pathologist – 15 years of service.
Ms. Phyllis Greenspan – Clinical Social Worker – 19 years of service.
Ms. Bonnie Hourican – Administrative Assistant – 14 years of service.
Sgt. Dan Perenick – School Resource Officer – 14 years of service.
Ms. Jane Sheehan – Math Teacher – 12 years of service
Mr. Ken Tully – Social Studies Teacher – 46 years of service.
I would be remiss if I do not recognize the work Ms. Beth Lepore who will be leaving McCall as her youngest child moves on to WHS. Beth was the MPA co-president last year, and she helmed the organization on her own this year. Being a PFA president is not an easy job during a typical year, so the work Beth has done navigating the organization through two unprecedented school years is especially impressive. She had no playbooks to follow and had to essentially reinvent how we do fund raisers, 8th grade end of the year events, and staff appreciation events among all the other things the MPA does for the McCall community. I will miss Beth as a partner, an advisor, and a friend.
I thank all of you for the support you have given us this year, and I wish all of you a great summer vacation. Here’s to a brighter 21-22 school year!
James Lin
Principal
McCall Middle School
