LIFE AT THE LOCKE … Issue #7 2024-2025
October 14, 2024
Dear Parents/Guardians, Staff, and Students,
I hope you are having a great 3-day weekend! We only have 4 DAYS OF LEARNING this week, but we have a busy schedule ahead as usual. Let’s see what’s happening …
FOLLOW US ON X @LockeMiddle and INSTAGRAM: locke_middle_school
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect."
- Chief Seattle, 1854
SCHEDULE THIS WEEK
Monday – No School
Tuesday – A Day
Wednesday – B Day – Advisory Schedule, HW Club, Activities,
Thursday – C Day – HW Club, Activities
Friday – D Day – Halloween Dance 6:00-8:00
HALLOWEEN DANCE!!
We are having a Halloween Dance on Friday, October 18th from 6:00 – 8:00 PM. Please see the attached flyer for more details.
HALF-WAY POINT OF TRIMESTER 1—ASPEN CHECK
Wednesday, October 16th is day 30 of the school year and the halfway point of trimester 1. You can check your child’s academic progress on Aspen. If you need an Aspen account or need your password reset, please email portalhelp@billericak12.com. Include your full name and your child’s name in your request. If you have any questions regarding your child’s academic progress, please contact your child’s teachers.
AFTER SCHOOL ACTIVITIES
Activities began this past 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. DO NOT ENTER ON ALLEN RD.
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.
PTO RESTAURANT NIGHT
The PTO is hosting a restaurant fundraising night at Casa Blanca in Wilmington on Wednesday, October 23rd. Please see the attached flyer for more details.
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. Please see the minutes from our last meeting. Our future meeting dates have been set. Please see the attached list. Our next meeting is Thursday, November 14th 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 #6
October is here!
1. Nine of the twelve calendar months of the year have passed. This is 9/12 = 3/4 = 75% of 2024, when considering just the months. If we instead want to know what percent of the days in 2024 have passed at the end of the last day of September, what would that percentage be? Express your answer to the nearest tenth.
2. At the end of September, school teachers around the country took down the individual paper letters that spell out SEPTEMBER across the top of their bulletin boards and put up a new set of letters for OCTOBER. What is the probability that if Jacob randomly picks up a letter from the pile of paper letters used to spell out SEPTEMBER, his letter can be used when putting up the word OCTOBER? Express your answer as a common fraction.
Last week’s Answer: 214 tale pre-algebra, more winners coming this week! 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
This week – Zombie Jokes! 1. Why did the zombie do so well on the test? 2. Where do most zombies live?
Last week’s Answer -- Why did the scarecrow win the Nobel Prize? – He was outstanding in his field.
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 14th – No School
- Friday, October 18th – Halloween Dance 6:00-8:00 PM
- Wednesday, October 23rd – PTO Restaurant Night, Casa Blanca, Wilmington
- Tuesday/Wednesday, October 29th, 30th – Halloween Trinket Sales at Lunch
- Tuesday, November 5th – No School, Election Day
- Wednesday, November 6th – Parent Conferences 6:00-8:00 PM
- Wednesday, November 6th – Picture Make-ups
- Thursday, November 7th – Day 45, End of Quarter 1
- Monday, November 11th – No School, Veterans Day
- Wednesday, November 13th – Parent Conferences 6:00-8:00 PM
- Thursday, November 14th – PTO Meeting, 6:30 PM Library
- Thursday, November 21st – Ice Cream Social, 6:00 Cafeteria
- Wednesday, November 27th – Half Day, 10:40 Dismissal
- Thursday, Friday November 28th and 29th – Thanksgiving Recess, No School
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