LIFE AT THE LOCKE … Issue #15 2024-2025
December 8, 2024
Dear Parents/Guardians, Staff, and Students,
I hope you are enjoying the weekend and getting your shopping done! We return with another 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
“December is the time for remembering the past and reaching toward the future.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson
SCHEDULE THIS WEEK
Monday – D Day – Activities, HW Club, Orchestra Concert 7:00 PM Marshall
Tuesday – A Day – Student Presentation at School Committee
Wednesday – B Day – Activities, HW Club, Band Concert 7:00 PM Marshall
Thursday – C Day – Activities, HW Club, Chorus Concert 7:00 PM BMHS, Grades Published
Friday – D Day
PTO DINNER NIGHTS THIS WEEK
Wicked Wings is hosting PTO dinner nights this week on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, December 9,10, and 11. See the attached flyer for more information. I will be having a lot of wings this week!
NEXT PTO MEETING – DATE CHANGED
Due to the band concert this week, the date of our next PTO meeting has been changed to Wednesday, December 18th at 6:30 PM in the Locke library.
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 was Tuesday, December 3rd. Report cards will be published to the ASPEN portal on Thursday, December 12th at 2:00 PM.
HOLIDAY CONCERT SEASON
Holiday Concerts are coming this week! Please see the dates below and come out to support our talented band, chorus, and orchestra students.
TOYS FOR TOTS DRIVE COMPLETE
We have concluded our Toys for Tots drive. Thank you so much for your generous donations. We had two boxes filled to the top with toys!
BOOK FAIR INFORMATION
The book will be held December 16th – 20th. You can set up an e-wallet for your child at the following link:
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 December 2nd. 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 ship, 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
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 18th 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.
MATH PROBLEM OF THE WEEK #11
Holiday Shopping
Game Stop is having a sale on a video game that, because of its popularity, is notoriously hard to get a hold of. While waiting in line for Game Stop to open (and the sale to begin), James notices that his friend Carlos is ahead of him and that there are only 5 people ahead of Carlos. If there is a total of 38 people in line, and 15 of those people are behind James, how many people are between James and Carlos?
Last Week’s Answer: The youngest friend was 20 years old. Send your answers to Mr. Garas – tgaras@billericak12.com – Show your work! You can win a Dunkin gift card and the highly coveted math certificate!!
RIDDLE/JOKE OF THE WEEK
This week – 1. When the gingerbread man broke his leg, what did the doctor tell him to do? 2. Why didn’t the computer programmer have any gingerbread?
Last week’s Answer -- 1. What do you get when you cross a snowman with a vampire? Frost Bite 2. Why did the snowman get detention? He was up to snow good.
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 9th – Orchestra Concert at Marshall 7:00 PM
- Tuesday, December 10th – Student School Committee Presentation 6:00 PM
- 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
- Wednesday, December 18th – PTO Meeting 6:30 PM Library
- 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