LIFE AT THE LOCKE … Issue #25 2020-2021

March 14, 2021

Dear Parents/Guardians, Staff, and Students,

I hope you are all enjoying the weekend. It is a busy time of year at the Locke as the warmer weather approaches. We have a short week for students with 4 DAYS OF LEARNING! Let’s see what’s happening …

STATEMENT ON FULL RETURN

We are busy preparing for a full-return of students in April. The superintendent sent out a detailed explanation earlier today. The date for the full return will be determined by the school committee on Monday, March 15^th. We are excited to welcome students back to a full five-day schedule. Of course, this brings with it many challenges regarding logistics, the social-emotional needs of students, and meeting all health and safety guidelines. Over the next few weeks as we prepare for the return, we will be communicating with families regarding your choice of model, transportation choices, and with general guidelines for students. We anticipate a safe and rewarding learning experience for all students as we enter this new phase of the school year. I appreciate the efforts of our staff and families as we navigated through many challenges to student learning this past year. As we move forward, please contact me with any questions or concerns.

FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @LockeMiddle and INSTAGRAM: locke_middle_school

SCHEDULE THIS WEEK

There will be no school for students on Friday, March 19^th and Monday, March 22^nd. These are professional development days for staff.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it.” — Maya Angelou

SPIRIT WEEK!

We had a great spirit week! Check out some photos on the spirit week padlet:

https://padlet.com/mwells78/50lwozsysnqhnjja

ST. PATRICK’S DAY SPIRIT

Wear your green on Tuesday (Cohort 1) and Thursday (Cohort 2). Remote students, send us your photos. We will have some prizes for the most spirited!

POOLED COVID TESTING

We will continue with Covid testing this week on Tuesday and Friday. Please complete the attached form if you would like your child to participate. For more details, please see the district’s website.

https://forms.gle/iyjDVcLKJQd4i2Np9

NEW CHROMEBOOKS – ALL STUDENTS

All students will be issued a new Chromebook and will use it during their time at the Locke Middle School. For many reasons, we want all students to use the school-issued Chromebook. We consider it the same as a class textbook that all students need to have. We hope to issue new Chromebooks to all students by the end of the month.

Cohort 1/Cohort 2:

If you have not picked up your Chromebook yet, please bring your paperwork to the main office when you are in school. Please return any district Chromebook and charger if one was issued.

Remote Students:

Remote parents can pick up new Chromebooks on the following Wednesdays in March: March 17^th, and March 24th.

Hours: 7:30 – 3:00.  Please return any district Chromebook and charger if one was issued.

If these days/times do not work for you, please contact the main office at 978-528-8650.

MCAS TESTING

The state has changed the dates for the MCAS testing window. 5^th graders will be tested between May 10^th and June 11^th. The dates for 6^th and 7^th grade are to be determined. We will have more specifics soon regarding the schedule and logistics. All students, including remote students, are expected to participate in MCAS testing.

TRIMESTER 2 GRADES

As a reminder, the last day of Trimester 2 is Tuesday, March 23^rd. We recommend logging-in to your Parent Aspen account so that you're aware of your student's current overall grades (Here are directions of how to view grades and individual assignments in each class).  

ASPEN DIRECTIONS ON HOW TO ACCESS GRADES

To login to your Parent Aspen account, go to the Aspen website (https://ma-billerica.myfollett.com/) or search 'Aspen Billerica.'

Please email portalhelp@billericak12.com if you need your Parent Aspen password re-set or don't remember your Login ID.  

The middle school grading policy for each class is broken down into three categories, which combines for an overall grade: 

1. Homework/Classwork = 15%
2. Quizzes (Formative Assessments) = 35%
3. Tests/Projects (Summative Assessments) = 50%

If you have any questions about your child's current grade, please contact your child's teacher or counselor.

HYBRID SUPPORT STAFF

Our hybrid support staff has changed slightly. Stacia Bujnowski will no longer be the hybrid support person for 6th and 7th grade ELA/SS. Teresa Rogers (trogers@billericak12.com) will be taking over that role and will only be working with Locke students. Ms. Rogers is supporting 6th and 7th Locke students in all subjects.

Note: Jared Smith (jsmith@billericak12.com) will continue in his 5th-grade support role for both Locke and Marshall students.

 

MATH PROBLEM OF THE WEEK

Last week’s answer: 1. 0 hours (read carefully) 2. 3 3. $105

HAPPY p DAY !!!

Today is Pi Day, March 14^th – 3.14 …!!

1. Pi is the ratio of ___________to ___________.
2. What kind of number is Pi? What does this mean?
3. What is the formula for the area of a circle?
4. Bonus: Charlize has a fence around her 15‐foot by 20‐foot garden. If she decides to reconfigure her garden into a circle and she only wants to use the fence she already has to enclose it, what is the area of the largest possible circular garden Charlize could create? Express your answer as a decimal to the nearest hundredth.

Send your answers to Mr. Garas – tgaras@billericak12.com – Show your work! Your answers will be put into a drawing for a dunkins card! (and the famous math certificate!)

WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH

March is Women’s history month. For some ideas on how to celebrate and discuss women’s history with your children, please see the following link:

https://womenshistorymonth.gov/

PTO UPDATE

Hello from the Locke PTO!

Our March PTO meeting will be Wednesday, March 24^th at 6:30 PM. Please join us. We will send out a meeting link soon

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You can keep your family safe while supporting the Locke by ordering one of these handmade masks. They are comfortable, very breathable, and can even be customized! 

PTO mask orders

TRANSITIONS

We are establishing a more structured timeframe for making student transitions between models of instruction. (hybrid to remote or remote to hybrid) Transitions will now take place on the Monday of the 1st week of each month. Any requests that are submitted prior to the 15th of the month will take place on the 1st of the following month. Please send requests to Mr. Garas, tgaras@billericak12.com

 

Requests Submitted	Transition Date
February 16 – March 15	March 29
March 16 – April 15	May 3
No requests accepted after April 15

 

LIBRARY INFORMATION –Books are still available!

Check out library books from the Locke library! The process for requesting library books online has become even simpler! Using Destiny Discover in your BPS Quick Links, you no longer need to log into the library catalog. Please see Ms. Cabral's updated instruction video on the Locke library website: https://lockemiddlelibrary.weebly.com/video-tutorials.html

Returning library books: Students who still have library books that were checked out last year should please return them to the main office. There will be a library book bin for you to return the books. Late slips will be going out for overdue books this week. Any books that are from elementary school can still be returned in the bin. If you have any questions, please email Ms. Cabral at pcabral@billericak12.com

UPCOMING DATES

• Professional Development Days – No School, March 19^th and March 22^nd
• End of Trimester 2 – March 23^rd
• First Day of Trimester 2 – March 24^th
• PTO Meeting – 6:30 PM
• Report Cards Published – April 1^st
• Good Friday – No School, April 2^nd
• Quarter 3 Ends for Unified Arts Classes – April 12^th
• Quarter 4 Begins for Unified Arts Classes – April 13^th
• Spring Break – April 19^th – April 23^rd

If you have any questions, please contact me at tgaras@billericak12.com or call at 978-528-8655.

Have a great week!  

Warmest regards,

Tony Garas, Principal