LIFE AT THE LOCKE … Issue #5 2023-2024
LIFE AT THE LOCKE … Issue #5 2023-2024
October 1, 2023
Dear Parents/Guardians, Staff, and Students,
Happy October! Fall in New England – cool mornings, scary movies, pumpkins, corn mazes, football, apple cider, leaf peeping, and Halloween! We made it through the first month of school! I hope you are all enjoying the weekend. We have another busy week ahead with …
5 DAYS OF LEARNING!
Let’s see what’s happening ...
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QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“October is the month of painted leaves. Their rich glow now flashes round the world.” — Henry David Thoreau
SCHEDULE THIS WEEK
Monday – D Day – HW Club, Activities, late buses start
Tuesday – A Day
Wednesday – B Day – Advisory Schedule, HW Club, Activities
Thursday – C Day – HW Club, Activities
Friday – D Day – Stomp-Out Bullying Day
AFTER SCHOOL ACTIVITIES
Activities begin on Monday, October 2nd. All families were sent information last week confirming enrollment. If you have any questions regarding enrollment, please contact the main office.
If you are picking up, please arrive at 2:45 in the circle in front of the school. Late Buses leave at approximately 3:10. Students will be supervised in the cafeteria until the buses arrive.
If your child is taking the late bus, please make sure they know the bus number (1,2, or 3) and the stop. Students should write it down in their agenda. The routes are attached.
HOMEWORK CLUB
HW club will start on Monday, October 2nd. It will meet in the library every Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 1:45 – 2:45. Students do not need to sign up ahead of time for HW club. Students will report to the library immediately after school and sign in. Students can attend as many days as the parent/student believes are necessary. Students are expected to stay for the full hour.
LATE BUSES
Late bus runs begin on Monday, October 2nd 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.
HALLOWEEN DANCE!!
We are having a Halloween Dance on Friday, October 27th from 6:00 – 8:00 PM. We will have more details soon.
ATTENDANCE POLICY
One of our core initiatives this year is to improve student attendance and tardiness. The impact on student learning due to attendance concerns can be seen in this graphic. Please see the attached attendance policy for the 23-24 school year.
MATH PROBLEM OF THE WEEK #3
Apple Picking!
Nancy and Tim went to pick their apples from a local orchard.
1. Nancy picked apples at a rate of 30 apples per hour and Tim picked apples at a rate of 25 apples per hour. Tim and Nancy picked the same number of apples. Nancy picked apples for 5 hours, so how many hours must Tim have spent picking apples?
2. Nancy and Tim turn their apples into cider to sell. Each gallon of cider produced requires one bushel of apples (30 apples), which cost Nancy and Tim $20 at the orchard. Nancy decides to calculate their profits, based on serving 8 oz cups of cider and charging $2.00 per cup. Assuming they sell all of the cider they can make, how much profit will they make from the apples they picked? Note: There are 128 oz in 1 gallon.
Last Week’s Answer: 16 leaves, 524,288 leaves, Bonus: 6.33 x 10 to the 29th Congratulations to Lucy Robertson and Shanmukha Parameswaran.
Send your answers to Mr. Garas – tgaras@billericak12.com – Show your work! You can win a Dunkins gift card and the highly coveted math certificate!!
RIDDLE/JOKE OF THE WEEK
Last week’s answer: I go around the world, but never leave the corner. What am I? A stamp
This Week: Who helped the little pumpkin cross the road?
REMINDERS
CHROMEBOOKS AND GOOGLE CLASSROOMS
Students are required to bring their school-issued Chromebooks to school every day. Students should charge their Chromebooks overnight. All teachers will be setting up a Google classroom for their students where assignments will be posted and where assignments can be turned in electronically. If your child does not have a Chromebook, please contact the main office at 978-528-8650.
SCHOOL TIMES
School starts promptly at 7:30. Students should be in their homeroom at 7:30. The drop-off time for students is 7:10 -- 7:25. (Please note this change from last year) Students will be allowed to enter the building at 7:10. From 7:10 – 7:20, students that enter the building will be supervised in the cafeteria. Students will not be allowed in before 7:10 AM.
CAR DROP-OFF
Student car drop-off will be in the lower lot beginning at 7:10. STUDENTS WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO EXIT CARS UNTIL 7:10. Parents are to enter VIA URBAN ST (off Baldwin Road), drop students off at the sidewalk, make a U-turn, and exit via Urban Street.
Parents, please do not enter from Allen Road in the morning. The Allen Road entrance is only for school buses.
DISMISSAL
Walkers and pick-ups are dismissed at 1:50 after the buses depart.
TRAFFIC PATTERN FOR DISMISSAL
Parents enter via Urban Street and line up in the lower circle. After the buses leave, parents are to pull around circle in a SINGLE file line to pick up children. The pick-up zone is between the two crosswalks. This is the only place we would like children picked up. We do not want children stepping in front of cars to be picked up. Please keep the line single file.
PLEASE DO NOT PICK UP STUDENTS IN THE LOWER LOT.
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 secretaries, Ms. Brewster at nbrewster@billericak12.com and Lucy O’Brien at lobrien@billericak12.com
BUS ASSIGNMENTS
Students who 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.
The bus routes for the year are listed at this link.
If you have any questions regarding bus assignments, please contact our assistant principal: Phillip Peters: ppeters@billericak12.com -- 978-528-8654
MEDICAL INFORMATION
For 7th grade students, please provide the nurse with current physical and immunization records.
LUNCH/BREAKFAST
All breakfast and lunches are free to all students again this year. Students will be receiving a 4-digit pin code that they will need to use when they get breakfast or lunch. Breakfast will be “grab and go”. Students can grab breakfast in the cafeteria when they come in and then report to homeroom. They can eat breakfast in homeroom.
UPCOMING DATES
- Monday, October 2nd – After School Programs and Late Buses Begin
- Friday, October 6th – Stomp-out Bullying Day
- Monday, October 9th – No School
- Friday, October 27th – Halloween Dance – 6:00-8:00 PM
- Wednesday, October 25th – Parent Conferences, 6:00 – 8:00 PM
- Wednesday, November 1st -- Parent Conferences, 6:00 – 8:00 PM
If you have any questions, please contact me at tgaras@billericak12.com or call 978-528-8655 Have a great week!
Warmest regards,
Tony Garas, Principal