LIFE AT THE LOCKE … Issue #14 2024-2025
December 1, 2024
Dear Parents/Guardians, Staff, and Students,
Happy December! I hope that you and your families enjoyed the Thanksgiving break. It is a great opportunity to get together with family and friends, enjoy some great food, watch football, and of course go shopping on Black Friday! We return with a full 5 DAYS OF LEARNING this week! Let’s see what’s happening …
FOLLOW US ON X @LockeMiddle and INSTAGRAM: locke_middle_school
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"Of all the months of the year there is not a month one half so welcome to the young, or so full of happy associations, as the last month of the year." — Charles Dickens
SCHEDULE THIS WEEK
Monday – C Day – Activities, HW Club, School Site Council Meeting 5:00 PM
Tuesday – D Day – Day 60, Last Day of Trimester 1
Wednesday – A Day – Activities, HW Club
Thursday – B Day – Activities, HW Club
Friday – C Day
THE TURKEY TOSS – A BIG SUCCESS!
We had a fun, crazy time at the Turkey Toss! Thank you for your generous donations to the Billerica Food Pantry and Florida Hurricane Relief. We raised slightly over $4080!! Also, a big thank you to our Student Council students for organizing the event! See some fun photos from the festivities on our Instagram page.
END OF TRIMESTER 1
The last day of trimester 1 is Tuesday, December 2nd. Report cards will be published to the ASPEN portal on Thursday, December 12th at 2:00 PM.
LOCKE MUSICAL – BYE-BYE BIRDIE
The Locke Spring Musical will be Bye-Bye Birdie. Auditions are coming soon during the first week of December. Please see the attached flyer for how to sign-up and for more information.
HOLIDAY CONCERT SEASON
Holiday Concerts are coming soon! Please see the dates below and come out to support our talented band, chorus, and orchestra students.
TOYS FOR TOTS DRIVE
We are sponsoring a Toys for Tots toy drive for this upcoming holiday season. Collection boxes are now available in the lobby of The Locke Middle School and will be available for parents and students to drop off toys. The collection will go through Friday, December 6, 2024. We are collecting new, unwrapped toys for ages infant to 18 years old. According to our contact at Toys for Tots, there are typically fewer toys donated for older children.
BOOK FAIR – VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
The book will be held December 16th – 20th. We are in need of parent volunteers. If you can volunteer, please sign up at the link below. You will need to have a CORI on file to volunteer.
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.
LOCKE SCHOOL SITE COUNCIL
Our school council met on November 4th last week. Please see the minutes for the meeting. All related documents for the council can be found on our website.
PTO GIFT CARD FUNDRAISING PROGRAM
The Locke Gift Card Program through RaiseRight (formerly Scrip) is up and running! Order gift cards from hundreds of vendors and earn cash for the Locke! To get started, go to RaiseRight.com, select to join a program, and when prompted enter the Locke registration code: 2CL88E7B61823.
Some retailers offer physical cards and e-gift cards, so you can choose your amount and delivery method. Additionally, you can choose whether your physical cards will be sent to the Locke and home with your student, or if they are eligible for direct shipping, you can choose to have the cards shipped to your home. Customers can opt for a variety of payment methods, including to pay by check. However, anyone who chooses this method needs to bring their check to the school and it must be deposited and clear the bank before your order will be pushed through for processing. For anyone opting for shipment to the school, orders placed and paid for by 10:00 on Mondays will be processed with the week’s order. Once received at the school, it will be sorted and sent home with your student.
Please be sure to email the Locke PTO at BillericaLockeMiddlePTO@
BOX TOPS FOR EDUCATION
Our school is participating in Box Tops for Education, which means that you can earn cash with the products you already buy that can be used for our students! Here’s how you can help:
1. Download the Box Tops app on your phone and follow instructions on how to set up an account and sign up to support our school. Use referral code TD580QUF to earn bonus box tops which means extra money for our school!
2. Shop as you normally would. There are hundreds of participating products that help our school earn money! Look for the Box Tops logo on product packages and download a full list of participating products at BTFE.com/products.
3. Use the app to snap a photo of your receipt or submit digitally within 14 days of purchase. The app will identify any Box Tops participating products and credit them to our school. You can also connect your Box Tops and Walmart accounts. Once your accounts are connected, your school will get credit for any Box Tops products you buy at Walmart when you pay with the saved payment method in your Walmart wallet.
4. Twice a year, our school will get a check! Help us give students what they need to succeed. Let’s see how much we can earn!
SEE THE ATTACHED FLYER FOR MORE INFORMATION
LOCKE HOLIDAY TREE
Thank you to all who donated to the Locke tree at the library. Also, thank you to the PTO for setting it up, See the attached photo of the tree. It looks great! – I hope I win!
PTO CORNER
Thank you to all who helped with the Ice-Cream Social! Despite the rain, we had an awesome turnout. The toppings bar was a big hit!
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 Wednesday, December 11th at 6:30 PM in the Locke Library.
Our 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.
BMHS MUSICAL – SEUSSICAL TICKETS ON SALE NOW
"Oh, the thinks you can think" when Dr. Seuss' best-loved characters collide and cavort in an unforgettable musical caper! Everyone's favorite Dr. Seuss characters are brought to life, including Horton the Elephant, The Cat in the Hat, Gertrude McFuzz, lazy Mayzie, and Jojo. The colorful characters transport us from the Jungle of Nool to the Circus McGurkus to the invisible world of the Whos. Seussical is fun for the whole family!
Performance Dates: 12/5 - 12/7 @ 7:30pm
**Matinee performance on 12/7 @ 1:30pm
Tickets available at - https://billericafinearts.
MATH PROBLEM OF THE WEEK #10
Thanksgiving Travel
On their way to Thanksgiving dinner, three friends took a vacation trip to see covered bridges in New England. By driving 2,268 miles, they saw 42 of them! The scenery was so pretty that they drove slowly to enjoy it, averaging 36 miles per hour.
They took turns doing the driving, and were surprised to find at the end of the trip that the total number of hours they had spent behind the wheel turned out to be the same number as the sum of their ages.
The friends were born in consecutive years and had already had their birthdays this year. How old was the youngest friend?
Last Week’s Answer: Nicholas, Clark, Stephen, and Funmi will be washing the dishes. Send your answers to Mr. Garas – tgaras@billericak12.com – Show your work!
RIDDLE/JOKE OF THE WEEK
This week – Getting ready for snow! 1. What do you get when you cross a snowman with a vampire? 2. Why did the snowman get detention?
Last week’s Answer -- 1. Why did the stuffing cross the road? – To get to the other sides! 2. What does the turkey do on the computer? Google, Google, Google 3. What do sweet potatoes wear to bed? Yammies!
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, December 2nd – School Council Meeting, 5:00 PM Library
- Tuesday, December 3rd – Day 60 End of Trimester 1
- Monday, December 9th – Orchestra Concert at Marshall 7:00 PM
- Tuesday, December 10th – Student School Committee Presentation 6:00 PM
- Wednesday, December 11th – PTO Meeting 6:30 PM Library
- Wednesday, December 11th – Band Concert at Marshall 7:00 PM
- Thursday, December 12th – Chorus Concert at BMHS 7:00 PM
- Thursday, December 12th – Trimester 1 Report Cards Published
- December 16th through 20th – Book Fair
- Thursday, December 19th – 7th Grade Field Trip
- Friday, December 20th – Half Day 10:40 Dismissal
- December 23rd through January 1st – Holiday Recess
- Thursday, January 2nd – Return to 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