LIFE AT THE LOCKE … Issue #26 2021-2022
March 13, 2022
Dear Parents/Guardians, Staff, and Students,
I hope you are having a great weekend and remembered to put your clocks ahead. It's a sure sign that spring is almost here. I sure hope it is sooner than later. We are back with 5 DAYS OF LEARNING! Let’s see what’s happening …
FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @LockeMiddle and INSTAGRAM: locke_middle_school
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.” - Henry David Thoreau
SCHEDULE THIS WEEK
Monday – B Day, Activities, HW Club, late buses, Happy Pi Day!!
Tuesday – C Day, Pool Testing, 7th grade
Wednesday – D Day – Activities, HW Club, late buses
Thursday – A Day – St. Patrick’s Day! Activities, HW Club, late buses
Friday – B Day
ST. PATRICK’S DAY SPIRIT
Wear your green on Thursday! We will have some prizes for the most spirited!
TRIMESTER 2 GRADES
As a reminder, the last day of Trimester 2 is Friday, March 18th. 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
MCAS TESTING DATES
Students will be taking the complete MCAS assessment once again this year. The dates are as follows:
ELA -- All Grades--April 5, 6
Math -- All Grades--May 3, 4
Science -- Grade 5 Only -- May 10, 11
There will be one session per day.
MATH PROBLEM OF THE WEEK #21
HAPPY p DAY!!!
Zoe is throwing a pie party for pi day for the entire school to celebrate the occasion. She figures out that to feed all his guests and have a good variety of pie flavors, she should make 15 pies. The recipe she is using calls for 2¼ cups of flour per pie crust. She only has 1 cup of flour in his kitchen, so she will need to buy more. Flour is sold in 5-pound bags. To figure out how many bags of flour she needs to buy, she weighs the 1 cup of flour he has. The 1 cup weighs 4.8 ounces. To make all 15 pies, how many bags of flour does Zoe need to buy? (Remember 16 oz. per pound)
Last week’s answer – 15 boxes
Send your answers to Mr. Garas – tgaras@billericak12.com – You can win a Dunkins gift card and the highly coveted math certificate!!
COVID 19 PROTOCOLS
- IMPORTANT – NEW MASK GUIDELINES
- DESE and the Billerica Public Schools have lifted the mask mandate in school and on the bus effective Monday, February 28th. We will continue to have discussions with students to ensure that all students and staff feel safe with respect to their mask choices. Our conversations will emphasize our core values of Respect, Responsibility, and Safety. Students can revisit our expectations on pages 2, 3, and 4 of the agenda book.
- Students that return to school after having COVID-19 will be required to wear a mask in school for 5 days (or until day 10 from symptom onset) and isolate during lunch.
- Every 2 weeks we will pass out COVID tests to students to take home. The box contains 2 tests. We recommend that students test each Sunday moving forward. If you did not sign up already and want to receive a test kit on the next distribution, please complete the form by clicking on the link below.
- Our weekly routine COVID testing continues in school on Tuesdays. If you gave consent for your child to be tested, this will occur every Tuesday moving forward. If you have not completed the consent form and wish your child to be tested, please see the link:
- We will no longer be tracing close contacts in school.
- Please report all positive cases to our school nurse Ms. Roberts (jroberts@billericak12.com ) and Mr. Garas. (tgaras@billericak12.com ). Test results can be sent in by paper copy, e-mailed after scanning, sending screenshots, or taking pictures of at-home tests. Students can return to school following a positive test result after isolating for a minimum of 5 days following either symptom onset or a positive test result via a PCR or antigen test (this is day 0 of quarantine). This includes over the counter home tests; please e-mail an image of at-home tests. Students can return on day 6 if they are fever-free (and diarrhea, vomiting, headache-free, etc.) for 24 hours without the use of medication, have improving symptoms, or have been asymptomatic.
- If on Day 6, your child is still not feeling well, please do not send them to school. Please keep them home until they have improved symptoms. Also, please do not send your student to school in the morning to receive a Covid test if they are not feeling well. School nurses cannot function as testing sites during this time.
LATE BUSES
Late buses continue this week and will run on every Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday. The buses usually arrive at the Locke at 3:10 PM. We have 3 late buses. Please see the attached routes. Please let students know their bus number. Students will wait in the cafeteria until buses arrive.
STUDENT REMINDERS
- Charge Chromebooks at night and bring them to school every day – We only have a few extras left in the office for students to borrow.
- Bring in a pair of inexpensive headphones to leave in school or your backpack.
BUS POLICY
Students that ride the bus can only ride on their assigned bus in the morning and afternoon. Students are not allowed to ride different buses to be with friends after school.
If you have any questions regarding bus assignments, please contact our assistant principal: Phillip Peters: ppeters@billericak12.com -- 978-528-8654
PTO CORNER
Our next PTO meeting will take place on Tuesday, April 5 at 6:30 PM in the library.
The PTO will sponsor the Book Fair from March 21-March 25. If you would like to volunteer, please contact Tricia LaFauci at tlafauci@msn.com
We are also looking for help with the following programs:
Special Programs Coordinator
Labels Program (Box Tops, etc.)
School Time Fundraisers
Scrip Gift Card Program
Scholastic Book Fair
If you are interested in any of these positions, please contact the Locke PTO
Email: billericalockepto@
Facebook: https://www.
ABSENCES
If your child is going to be absent, please call 978-528-8650 to report the absence. You can leave a voicemail at this number which goes directly to our secretary. You may also email our secretary, Ms. Brewster at nbrewster@billericak12.com
DISTRICT SUMMER ENRICHMENT PROGRAM
Summer Camp is back!!! Students in grades K-7 are invited to enjoy a wide variety of activities and some socialization with friends. Camp runs from 6/27-7/29 and is from 8-12 at the Marshall. Community Pass will be the only method to register. Spots WILL fill up quickly so please sign up ASAP. If interested please register at the following link:
https://www.billericak12.com/
All Billerica families have a Community Pass account, but if you have never registered your account please send an email to Communitypass@billericak12.
If you have any questions about camp please contact PJ McCarthy at PJMcCarthy@billericak12.com or Michael Waters at MWaters@billericak12.com
UPCOMING DATES
- Friday, March 18th – Trimester 2 Ends
- After School Activities End – March 21-25
- Book Fair – March 21-25
- Friday, March 25th – Report Cards Published
Have a great week! If you have any questions, please contact me at tgaras@billericak12.com or call at 978-528-8655
Warmest regards,
Tony Garas, Principal