LIFE AT THE LOCKE … Issue #6 2024-2025
October 6, 2024
Dear Parents/Guardians, Staff, and Students,
I hope you are enjoying the beautiful fall weekend! It is a great time of year with football, leaf peeping, county fairs, apple picking, and corn mazes! At the Locke, the school year is in full swing with so much going on.
We have another busy week ahead with …
5 DAYS OF LEARNING!
FOLLOW US ON X @LockeMiddle and INSTAGRAM: locke_middle_school
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“We are on Earth to take care of life. We are on Earth to take care of each other.” — Xiye Bastida
SCHEDULE THIS WEEK
Monday – D Day – Activities Start, HW Club
Tuesday – A Day
Wednesday – B Day – Advisory Schedule, HW Club, Activities, PTO Meeting-6:30 PM, Library
Thursday – C Day – HW Club, Activities
Friday – D Day
AFTER SCHOOL ACTIVITIES
Activities begin this week. If you have any questions regarding enrollment, please contact the main office.
If you are picking up, there are two options for pick-up at 2:45. Please note that entrance and exit will be via Urban Street.
1. Please enter via Urban Street and pick up between the crosswalks in the circle in front of the school. For student safety, students should not cross the street to be picked up.
2. Park in the teacher's lot and walk up to the front of the school to pick up your child.
HOMEWORK CLUB
HW Club will continue throughout the year. 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. Parent pick-up at 2:45 is required.
HALLOWEEN DANCE!!
We are having a Halloween Dance on Friday, October 18th from 6:00 – 8:00 PM. We will have more details soon.
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. Our first meeting was held and we had a great turnout. Please see the minutes from that meeting. Our future meeting dates have been set. Please see the attached list. Our next meeting is Wednesday, October 9th at 6:30 PM in the Locke Library.
Our new board members are:
Andrea Toomey -- President
Amit Gandhi -- Vice-President
Jacqui Chaffins -- Treasurer
Katie Malone – Secretary
We also have a new Facebook page – “Billerica Locke PTO”. Click on the link below to take you there:
https://www.facebook.com/
LOCKE GEAR FOR SALE
The PTO is now selling Locke gear. Please see the attached flyer with the link to the store.
MATH PROBLEM OF THE WEEK #5
High School Math
At Tri-City High School, half of the 534 enrolled students are taking algebra. One-fifth of the students not taking algebra are taking geometry, and each of the remaining students is taking pre-algebra. How many students enrolled at Tri-City High School are taking pre-algebra? Express your answer to the nearest whole number.
Last week’s Answer: 45,704,000 gallons. Congratulations to Summer Hussein, Lilah Kent, William Swift, Marcus Green, Shanmukha Parameswaran, and Priya Nanda. Send your answers to Mr. Garas – tgaras@billericak12.com – Show your work! We will choose two winners each week for a Dunkin gift card and the highly coveted math certificate!!
RIDDLE/JOKE OF THE WEEK
Why did the scarecrow win the Nobel Prize?
Last week’s Answer -- 1. What word is spelled the same forwards, backwards, and upside down? NOON
2. What happens once in a minute, twice in a moment, but never in a thousand years? – the letter m
FROM THE TOWN OF BILLERICA
MBTA Communities Survey:
The Town's Planning Board has put out a public survey at www.surveymonkey.com/r/
This survey seeks public opinion on what areas of town are more suitable to allow multifamily housing to be created. Housing is a basic need, yet it also has potential impacts. Please share your opinion. The survey will be open through Monday night, October 7th.
REMINDERS
SCHOOL TIMES
School starts promptly at 7:30. Students should be in their homeroom at 7:30. The car drop-off time for students is 7:10 -- 7:25. 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 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
CELL PHONE POLICY
Our cell phone policy is that all student phones/smart watches are to be kept in student lockers and turned off for the duration of the school day. If parents need to contact students, please contact the main office.
CHROMEBOOKS AND GOOGLE CLASSROOMS
Students are required to bring their school-issued Chromebooks to school every day beginning on the 1st day of school. 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. Fifth-grade students who did not pick up a Chromebook will be sent home with the paperwork for parents to sign. Please return it with your child and we will issue them a Chromebook.
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
Our school nurse is Janice Roberts – jroberts@billericak12.com
- Students may drop off EpiPens, inhalers, and any over the counter medications.
- A parent or guardian must drop off any prescription medications.
- All medications need to be accompanied by a medication order from the student's physician and with either an Anaphylaxis Action Plan or Asthma Action Plan as applicable
- If families need copies of these forms they can be found on the Billerica Public Schools website: https://www.
billericak12.com/departments/ health-services-wellness/ school-nursing
Also, as a reminder:
ALL 7th GRADE STUDENTS must submit proof of TDaP (tetanus/diphtheria/pertussis) and MCV4 (meningitis) vaccines, as well as an UPDATED physical exam, by 9/30/24
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 served every day and it will be “grab and go”. Students can grab a breakfast in the cafeteria when they come in and then report to homeroom. They can eat breakfast in homeroom.
UPCOMING DATES
- Monday, October 7th – After School Activities Start
- Wednesday, October 9th -- PTO Meeting, 6:30 PM Locke Library
- Monday, October 14th – No School
- Friday, October 18th – Halloween Dance 6:00-8:00 PM
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