LIFE AT THE LOCKE … Issue #36 2017-2018
May 28, 2018
Dear Parents/Guardians, Staff, and Students,
I hope you are enjoying Memorial Day weekend. Please take a moment to reflect on those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for us and our country in the defense of freedom. We are back to work with 4+ days of learning this week! It’s our busiest and most exciting time of the year. Let’s see what’s happening …
Tuesday, May 29th is a “C” day. Please plan accordingly for the week.
FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @LockeMiddle
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"Those who have long enjoyed such privileges as we enjoy forget in time that men have died to win them." – Franklin D. Roosevelt
FIELD TRIPS – DC/NC
Our 8th graders and 7B students are traveling this week to Washington and Nature’s Classroom. We wish them safe travels and a great learning experience.
EXTENDED TUESDAY SCHEDULE (Bonus Learning!)
On Tuesday, May 29nd we will continue our extended day schedule. Dismissal will be at 2:40. We will follow our regular schedule and with the additional time students will report to their homeroom for team time. Students will go to lockers from 1:40 – 1:45 and class from 1:45 – 2:40. They will not go to lockers at the end of the day.
STUDENT FUNDRAISER
The Locke Middle School has three students who have been working on a project for over a year now to help a country in need. They are Emma Skelton, Mary Harutyunyan, and Lily Harutyunyan. Now their event is about to happen. Please come and join them to support it!
When: June 1, 2018, 6pm-9pm
Where: Locke Middle School Gymnasium and Auditorium
What: Art Auction and Musical Performances
Why: To support Temwa (see below)
Artwork and musical performances by both professionals and Billerica students....maybe a few teachers! Buy a piece of artwork, buy a raffle ticket for some cool prizes/baskets, see a robotics demo, and please come watch the musical performances that start at 7 pm - tickets are only $2.50 for adults and $1.00 for students. Support each other and support a great cause: Temwa, is a volunteer group out of the UK who are working to bring sustainable community development in remote, rural areas of northern Malawi – one of the poorest countries in the world.
ALL PROCEEDS GO DIRECT TO TEMWA AND MALAWI.
Temwa goals:
- train villagers to grow a variety of vegetables and fruit to improve their nutritional intake
- plant trees to combat the devastating effects of deforestation and climate change
- fund students through their secondary school education
What they have accomplished so far:
- 5,000 farmers have been trained in sustainable agriculture
- 1,100 loans have been given to local entrepreneurs to help them set up a business
- 50 students have been supported through secondary school
- 500,000 trees have been planted to reduce deforestation
For more info about Temwa: https://temwa.org
STEP-UP DAY FOR 5th GRADERS
The 5th graders will be at the Locke this week for step-up day on Wednesday and Thursday. Please welcome students from the Ditson, Kennedy, Parker, and Vining. They will soon be Locke students!
AFTER SCHOOL THIS WEEK
We have concluded our after-school programs and late bus runs. Students that are staying after school will have to arrange for parent transportation.
CPR PROGRAM- GRADE 6
In partnership with the Billerica Fire/Police Departments and Town Paramedics, we will be conducting the CPR program at the Locke from June 4th through June 7th. Billerica firefighters and town paramedics will join Mrs. Carpenter's Grade 6 trimester 3B health classes to conduct CPR certification training. It’s important that your child attend all four days of the training so please make every effort not to schedule appointments during that week.
MCAS TESTING – A SUCCESS!
We have completed MCAS testing for another year. Thank you to our staff and students for working hard to be prepared and for giving your best efforts. Also, thank you to our parents for having students rested and ready for testing. Finally, a big thank you to our guidance staff for doing all of the preparation and behind the scenes work.
MCAS scores are one measure of our school’s success and a way to tell the community how we are doing. This is why we ask students to be prepared and to take the assessments seriously. We believe that our instructional core prepares students to do well on these assessments. However, there are many other aspects of our educational program that help students to grow both academically and socially. Thank you again for your help, patience, and dedication throughout the testing season.
WALK-A-THON
This year's walkathon was a huge success. The PTO raised $4200 and we had a great time out on the trails. Thank you to Ms. Cap, Ms. Higgins, and Mr. Flynn for leading the walk.
BAND/ORCHESTRA TRIP
Congratulations to our band and orchestra students!! Both groups achieved Superior ratings in Hershey, PA at the Music in the Parks competition. Awesome!!
HONOR ROLL
Congratulations to students for achieving high honor and honor roll status for Trimester 2. Please see the complete list on our website’s home page and it is posted in the lobby.
REGIONAL SCIENCE FAIR
Congratulation to the following students for representing the Locke at the regional science fair held at UMASS Lowell on May 4th: Alyssa Lay, Anisha Goel, Matthew Dagenais, Paityn Rose, Moneil Tailor, Siobhan Tolleson, Ethan Truong, Gabriella Santa Cruz, Mary Harutyunyan, Renee Knochenhauer, and Kimberly Manyanga.
Special shout out to Kimberly Manyanga for receiving an honorable mention and being chosen to further represent the Locke at the State Science fair on June 2nd at Worcester Technical High School.
YEARBOOK NEWS
Yearbook orders being collected by homeroom teachers now through June 4th. The cost is $20 cash or check (made out to Locke Middle School) enclosed in an envelope orZiploc labeled with student’s name.
8th GRADE BMHS SPORTS ORIENTATION
Wednesday, June 6th at 6:30 pm in the BMHS Auditorium will be sports orientation for 8th-grade students and parents. The families will be introduced to BMHS athletic programs, coaches, and expectations as their student/athletes transition to high school. Please see attached for more information.
MATH PROBLEM OF THE WEEK
Last Week’s Answer: 49 amounts
Buried Treasure
Captain Greenbeard’s treasure chest holds 100 grams of a mix of gold, silver and bronze coins. The gold, silver and bronze coins each weigh 6 grams, 2 grams, and 5 grams, respectively, and are worth 30 droubles, 8 droubles and 15 droubles, respectively. Greenbeard has at least one of each kind of coin. What is the greatest possible total value, in droubles, of the coins in the chest?
SUMMER ENRICHMENT PROGRAM
The 2018 summer enrichment program will be held at the Locke. Please see the attached flyer and the link below:
PTO CORNER
Only one more PTO Meeting this school year! Please join us Monday, June 4th
Please contact us with any questions, concerns, or suggestions you may have atbillericalockepto@gmail.com or by calling Faith Stevens at 978-667-6676 or 978-314-3389.
Scholastic Book Fair...Our spring book fair will be held between June 11th and 14th, with a make-up day on June 15th. We are need of volunteers for this event. Students may purchase books at lower rates than bookstores. This is a great opportunity to pick up required summer reading books and books for leisure reading, as well.
Field Day… Every June, we celebrate the end of another fantastic school year with, you guessed it, field day! This event is great fun for the kids, with both indoor and outdoor activities available over the course of the day, but does depend on a tremendous number of volunteers. This year's field day is scheduled for Friday, June 15th. Whether you can stay the day, or spare even a 1/2 hour, any and all help is welcome and truly appreciated. Please mark your calendar and sign up using our signup genius link. Thank you in advance!
Spring Cleaning...While separating items you no longer need, please consider setting them aside for our upcoming fundraiser. We are working on setting a date to have a Fill a Truck fundraiser through Savers, for which the Locke PTO would receive 20 cents per pound for soft goods such as clothing, coats, shoes, linens, towels, etc. Hard goods such as furniture, appliances, electronics, etc. are also welcome. Further details including the dates for these events will be made available ASAP.
Auto Repairs...Don't forget that Marshall's Auto Body will donate $40 to the PTO for every vehicle they repair. Simply mention that you would like to support the Locke PTO and please feel free to spread the word to friends and family. Thank you!
Positions/ Volunteer Opportunities: The end of this school year is coming soon! We really need volunteers to help out with passing out bottled water to students as they finish the Walk a Thon on May 24th, the Spring Book Fair Tuesday, June 12 through Thursday, June 14th, and of course our biggest celebration of the year, Field Day on Friday, June 15th. Please keep an eye out for volunteer forms and consider a time that you may be able to help us out! Thank you in advance!
Box Tops for Education: Please save and send us your Box Tops from Education. Each box top you are willing to clip from a Box or other container from your grocery store purchase and send into the school earns the Locke PT0 10 cents toward supplies, events, and programs for the children. Please make sure that the expiration dates remain intact so that we can receive credit. Box tops should be turned in in either an envelope or Ziploc bag clearly labeled with your child's name and homeroom number. We can get one last submission sent before the end of the school year. Many Box tops have a mid-June expiration date, so please consider sending yours in during the month of May. Thank you!
Thank you!
Don't forget to like and follow Locke PTO on Facebook!
IMPORTANT UPCOMING DATES:
- May 28th – Memorial Day, No school
- May 29th – Extended Day, 2:40 PM Dismissal
- May 29th – June 1st --- DC Trip
- May 29th – June 1st --- Nature’s Classroom 7B
- June 4th – PTO Meeting, 6:30 PM
- June 4th – June 8th --- Nature’s Classroom 7A
- June 5th – Extended day, 2:40 PM Dismissal
- June 6th – 8th grade sports orientation – 6:30 PM, BMHS auditorium
- June 7th – 5th Grade Parent Orientation, 6:00 PM
- June 8th – 6th grade presentation, Animal Adventures
- June 8th – 8th grade Grad Dance 6:00 PM
- June 11th – 14th --- Book Fair
- June 12th – Extended Day, 2:40 PM Dismissal
- June 12th – 6th grade field trip
- June 12th – 8th Grade Awards Night, 7:00 PM
- June 13th – Improbable Players, 7th and 8th grade presentation
- June 15th – Field Day!
- June 20th – 8th grade Yearbook Signing Party
- June 21st – 8th Grade Canobie Lake Field Trip
- June 22nd – Last Day, Report Cards Published
ATTACHMENTS:
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me at tgaras@billericak12.com or 978-528-8655. Have a great week!!
Warmest regards,
Tony Garas, Principal