LIFE AT THE LOCKE … Issue #23 2024-2025
February 9, 2025
Dear Parents/Guardians, Staff, and Students,
Happy Super Bowl Sunday! I hope you are enjoying the snow. We have one more week until winter break and we have a busy 5 DAYS OF LEARNING ahead this week! Let’s see what’s happening …
We will not publish the newsletter next week. Have a great vacation!!
FOLLOW US ON X @LockeMiddle and INSTAGRAM: locke_middle_school
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“I have learned over the years that when one’s mind is made up, this diminishes the fear; knowing what must be done does away with fear.”– Rosa Parks, civil rights activist
SCHEDULE THIS WEEK – SPIRIT WEEK!
Monday – D Day – HW Club, Activities
Tuesday – A Day -- Trinket Sales
Wednesday – B Day – Trinket Sales, HW Club, Activities, PTO meeting 6:30
Thursday – C Day – HW Club, Activities
Friday – D Day -- Faculty/Student Basketball Game
SPIRIT WEEK IS HERE!
Spirit Week will be the week of February 10th – 14th. Please see the attached themes for the week.
TRINKET SALES
Valentine’s Day trinkets will be sold on Tuesday and Wednesday during lunch. The cost is generally $1 or $2 each.
HOOPS FOR HEART TOURNAMENT FUNDRAISER
Our Physical Education staff is having a fundraiser for the American Heart Association. Our annual basketball tournament will be held this week. Collection forms were sent home this week and are attached here. You can also donate on-line at this link. Any donations are greatly appreciated.
QUARTER 2 UNIFIED ARTS GRADES
Quarter 2 unified arts classes ended on Monday, January 27th. The following courses are on a 45-day schedule this year: art, drama, health, music, shop, and technology. Grades have been posted to the Aspen portal and will appear on the Trimester 2 report card.
PENNY WAR
Thank you for all of your donations. The students had a great time with the event. The homeroom winners are in! 5th grade – Ms. Gagne, 6th grade – Ms. Tolleson, 7th grade – Mr. McCarthy
ROBOTICS FUNDRAISER
Don't forget that the Locke Monsters Robotics Team is having a Chipotle Fundraiser tomorrow night, Monday, February 10th. The fundraiser is from 4-8 p.m. at the Chipotle in North Billerica (199 Boston Road). Monies raised will help us buy necessary items to build the robots and also to register for competitions.
Make sure to use the code HLNYDNL if you are ordering online. If you go in person you can either show the attached flyer or mention that you are purchasing as part of the fundraiser. All 3 Locke Monsters Robotics teams/robots have qualified for the State Championship which will be on Saturday and Sunday, February 15th & 16th, at the Walsh Middle School in Framingham, MA. You can watch a live stream of the event on our host school's Youtube channel.
MIDDLE SCHOOL SPRING ATHLETICS REGISTRATION
We will be offering two sports this Spring for students – track and field and girls' volleyball. Please see the information below:
- Registration is open Monday, February 3rd at noon.
- Start date of programs: Approx. April 1, 2025
- Families will register and Pay using Community Pass. (24-25 Athletic Programs)
- Fee is $140
- Link to Community Pass
- Need Help with Community Pass account email: communitypass@
billericak12.com - There will be more detailed information regarding practices and schedules at the beginning of March.
7th GRADE PARENT INFORMATION NIGHT
BMHS will be hosting an information night for 7th-grade parents on Thursday, March 6th. See the attached flyer for more details.
HOMEWORK CLUB
HW Club continues 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 Monday, January 6th. Please see the minutes for the meeting. All related documents for the council can be found on our website.
MATH PROBLEM OF THE WEEK #17
VALENTINE’S DAY
Kelly decided to celebrate Valentine’s Day for an entire month. She started giving her Valentine 1 candy heart on Jan. 14th, 2 candy hearts on Jan. 15th, 4 candy hearts on Jan. 16th, and continued doubling the number of hearts each day until Feb. 14th. If 200 candy hearts come in a bag, how many bags of candy hearts would Kelly need just for Feb. 14th?
Last Week’s Answer: 1. 72 total weeks 2. 54 weeks 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 – Valentine’s jokes – 1. What did the car say to the tire? 2. What did Han Solo say to Princess Leia on Valentine's Day?
Last week’s Answers – 1. What's green and comes out of a hole on February 2? A ground-frog! 2. How does the groundhog know when to look for his shadow? They tell him to gopher it.
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
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 in January. Our future meeting dates have been set. Please see the attached list. Our next meeting is Wednesday, February 12th 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.
REMINDERS
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.
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
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 -- ALL DATES ARE ALSO ON THE MASTER CALENDAR ON THE LOCKE WEBSITE
- Monday, February 10th – Robotics Chipotle Fundraiser 4:00-8:00 PM
- February 10th through 14th – Spirit Week
- Tuesday, Wednesday February 11th, 12th – Trinket Sales at lunch
- Wednesday, February 12th – PTO Meeting 6:30 PM Library
- Friday, February 14th – Hoops for Heart Game
- February 17th through 21st – Winter Break
- Monday, February 24th – 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