LIFE AT THE LOCKE … Issue #27 2023-2024
March 17, 2024
Dear Parents/Guardians, Staff, and Students,
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! I hope you are enjoying the weekend. It is a busy time of year in the month of March. We are back with 5 DAYS OF LEARNING this week! Let’s see what’s happening …
FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @LockeMiddle and INSTAGRAM: locke_middle_school
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"Never iron a four-leaf clover, because you don't want to press your luck." – Old Irish Proverb
SCHEDULE THIS WEEK
Monday – C Day – Activities, HW Club, Late Buses
Tuesday – D Day -- 7th grade BMHS Assemblies, 7th Grade Parent Night at BMHS 6:00 PM
Wednesday – A Day – Advisory Schedule, Fun Run, Activities, HW Club, Late Buses
Thursday – B Day – Activities, HW Club, Late Buses
Friday – C Day – Dance 6:00-8:00 PM, Trimester 2 Report Cards Published
MAKE-UP DAY – March 29th
On Friday, March 29th, the Locke will be making up the day we missed on January 8th due to a power outage. There will be no school in the district for all other schools. It will be a “C” day and we will follow an early release schedule with an 11:40 dismissal time.
SPRING DANCE
We are having a spring dance this Friday, March 22nd from 6:00-8:00 PM. Please see the attached flyer for more details. Tickets go on sale this week.
SCHOOL BREAKFAST/LUNCH
Please see the attached lunch menu for the week.
BOOSTER-THON FUN RUN FUNDRAISER!
To all Locke Families,
FUNDRAISING UPDATE
We are up to $12,100 of our $15,000 goal for student enrichment, field trips, 7th grade end-of-the-year ceremony, and more!
Congratulations to the two students who won the Kimball Farms raffle….Skye Zwicker and Mya Green!!
We have a special weekend challenge for this weekend only! Any student who receives 2 or more donations on mybooster.com over the weekend will be entered into a raffle to earn a $50 Amazon Gift Card! We will announce the winner on Monday morning!
Also, remember we have some big giveaways coming at our event day! The top 10 individuals who earn the most throughout the fundraiser will each earn an individual prize, such as the JBL Boombox speaker, a hoverboard, a $100 gift card, a pass to Level Up, and more!!
We only have a few days left until our first-ever Locke Monster FunRun! We need your help to be successful! If you haven’t done so already, PLEASE register your student! Registering takes just a few minutes, and costs you nothing!! Log on to: Mybooster.com to get started!
We are excited for a fun day, no student will be made to run. Everyone is welcome to move at their own pace! Keep up the good work!
Thank you,
Locke PTO
FUN-RUN – VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
The fun run will be taking place on Wednesday, March 20th. We are looking for parent volunteers to help out. Please see the link to sign up. A CORI must be on file for you to volunteer. Thank you!
https://www.signupgenius.com/
LOCKE GEAR FOR SALE
The PTO is now selling Locke gear. Please see the attached flyer with the link to the store.
PTO CORNER
The PTO welcomes all families to the Locke. We will be meeting monthly to plan several events throughout the year. We are always looking for volunteers to help plan great programs that will benefit our students. You must have a valid CORI on file to volunteer at school. Please see the minutes from our last meeting. Our next meeting is Wednesday, April 10th at 6:30 PM in the Locke Library. Please see the attached dates for the remaining PTO meetings during the year.
We also have a new Facebook page – “Billerica Locke PTO”. Click on the link below to take you there:
https://www.facebook.com/
7th GRADE PARENT/GUARDIAN INFORMATION NIGHT
BMHS will be hosting an information night for 7th grade parents and guardians on Tuesday, March 19th at 6:00 in the high school auditorium. Please see the attached flyer for more information.
LOCKE SCHOOL SITE COUNCIL UPDATE
The Site Council met on Monday, March 10th. Please see the attached minutes from the meeting. The minutes and documents from our meetings can be found on the Locke website.
LOCKE MONSTERS ROBOTICS UPDATE
The Locke Monsters Robotics team finished their 2023-2024 season with all four robots qualifying for the Southern New England Regional Championships. The championships were a two-day event held on February 17 & 18 at the Walsh Middle School in Framingham, MA.
It was a long two days consisting of 120 qualification matches, 10 for each robot. There were also skills matches and interviews over the course of the two days. The students represented the Locke Middle School and the town of Billerica very well. They overcame challenges, collaborated with each other and their alliance partners, made last minute adjustments to their robots, and continued to do their best right until the end of the competition.
The 8025B and 8025C robots were both in alliances that made it to the elimination rounds, but were eliminated in the quarterfinal round. The competition was extremely challenging at this event. There were many teams that we had never seen before and the overall level of competition was significantly elevated from prior events.
We would like to extend our thanks again to our returning students who came to the Locke from BMHS and college to help the team. We are also very thankful to our parent mentors who provided guidance as needed. Thank you to Mr. Garas for attending the second day of the championships and staying through the elimination rounds.
We would also like to recognize ZOLL Medical for their generous donation early in the season. The money that they donated allowed us to purchases necessary parts for the robots and also helped with registration fees for this season's events.
Mr. DeBenedetto and Mrs. Tolleson are very proud of everything that these students accomplished this year. We would also like to thank the parents/guardians of the students who supported us and their students throughout the season.
MCAS DATES 2024
ELA (All Grades) -- April 10, 11
Math (All Grades) -- May 7, 8
Science (Grade 5) -- May 14,15
LATE BUS PICK-UP
Students will report to the cafeteria for late bus pick-up. Late bus runs will run on every Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday ending on Wednesday, March 27th . The buses usually arrive at the Locke at 3:10 PM. We have 3 late buses. The late buses have different stops than the usual routes. Please see the late bus routes.
MATH PROBLEM OF THE WEEK
St. Patrick’s Day Parade
Today, we celebrate St. Patrick's Day by having a parade. One of the floats held the Mayor and all the council members. At the end of the parade, everyone shook hands with everyone else.
A leprechaun suddenly arrived and shook hands with only those people he knew. Altogether, there were one hundred forty-one handshakes. How many people did the leprechaun know? How many people were on the float?
Last week’s MPOW answer – The circle has the greater area and the rectangle has the greater perimeter.
Show all work. Submit your answers to Mr. Garas for a chance at a Dunkin gift card and the highly coveted math certificate!
RIDDLE/JOKE OF THE WEEK
Last week’s answer: Why should you never start talking to Pi at a party? – Because it goes on and on and on and on and on …
This week – St. Pat’s Day Jokes --What is a leprechaun’s favorite type of music? -- What do you call an Irish spider? -- What did the leprechaun say when the video game ended? -- What do you call a leprechaun with a sore throat?
FROM THE BILLERICA PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Wanted! Substitute Teachers!
If you are looking to earn additional income and need a flexible schedule, then Substitute Teaching may be the perfect part-time job for you! Please visit our website at www.billericak12.com and go under 'Human Resources' and 'Employment Opportunities" to apply.
Wanted! Substitute Cafeteria Workers!
Great opportunity for on-call part-time work. These positions are approximately 3 hours a day and perfect hours for those who need a flexible schedule. Please visit our website at www.billericak12.com and go under 'Human Resources' and 'Employment Opportunities" to apply.
FROM THE COMMUNITY
The annual Clean Up – Green Up Day will be held on April 20th from 10 am to 12 noon. Please see the attached for more information.
SUMMER PROGRAM – Middlesex Sheriff’s Office
Middlesex Sheriff’s Office Youth Public Safety Academy Summer Program
REMINDERS
UPDATED -- 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. PLEASE WAIT FOR MY SIGNAL TO LET STUDENTS OUT OF CARS. ALSO, ONLY MAKE A U-TURN AT THE END OF THE LINE. 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.
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.
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 or 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
UPCOMING DATES – ALL DATES ARE ALSO ON THE MASTER CALENDAR ON THE LOCKE WEBSITE
- Tuesday, March 19th – 7th Grade Parent Night BMHS auditorium 6:00 pm
- Wednesday, March 20th – Booster Thon Event-Locke Monster Fun Run
- Friday, March 22nd – Trimester 2 Report Cards Published
- Friday, March 22nd – Spring Dance 6:00-8:00 PM
- Tuesday, March 26th – 6th Grade Field Trip – Museum of Science
- Wednesday, March 27th – Last Day of Activities, HW Club, and late buses
- Friday, March 29th – Make-up Day, C Day, 11:40 Dismissal
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