LIFE AT THE LOCKE … Issue #24 2024-2025
February 23, 2025
Dear Parents/Guardians, Staff, and Students,
I hope you had a great vacation week. We are back to work with a busy 5 DAYS OF LEARNING this week as we close out February. Let’s see what’s happening …
FOLLOW US ON X @LockeMiddle and INSTAGRAM: locke_middle_school
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life is a broken winged bird that cannot fly.”
—Langston Hughes, American Poet
SCHEDULE THIS WEEK
Monday – A Day – HW Club, Activities
Tuesday – B Day
Wednesday – C Day – Advisory Schedule, HW Club, Activities, Newtowne Grill restaurant fundraiser
Thursday – D Day – HW Club, Activities
Friday – A Day
HOOPS FOR HEART TOURNAMENT FUNDRAISER – A BIG SUCCESS!
We had a fantastic basketball tournament and fundraiser before vacation. Thank you to our students and families for their donations to the American Heart Association. Also, a big thank you to Ms. Higgins, Ms. Cliff, and Mr. Flynn for organizing the events. Check out some photos on Instagram and the video of the epic halftime show!
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.
ROBOTICS UPDATE
We are excited to report that Locke Monsters Robotics Team 8025B is one of the six Massachusetts teams to advance from the State Championships to Worlds in Dallas, TX in early May. All three Locke Monsters Robotics teams qualified for the State Championships that were held on Saturday, February 15th. The ten students that make up our team have worked very hard all season to design, build, code, drive, and troubleshoot their robots. In addition to that, they maintain engineering notebooks, participate in Skills Competitions, and are interviewed by judges at the competitions. VEX Robotics is a student-centered program, where the students are responsible for all aspects of the robot. In addition to the many hours they put in after school, our students typically take their robots home over the weekend to put in additional work and practice with the robots.
The Locke Monsters Robotics team has consistently performed at the highest level, qualifying for the State/Regional Championships every year since its inception during the 2014-2015 school year. Over time, the number of teams competing each year has increased, as well as the level of competition. This season started off with more than 50 teams competing at the Middle School level. This year marks the seventh time that at least one of our robot teams has qualified for the World Championships, and the first time this has happened since the COVID shutdown.
We are very thankful to Zoll Medical for donating funds to support our team for the last several years. We are also thankful to our mentors John Berube and Jim O'Connor who have helped practice interviews, troubleshoot problems, and provide support and encouragement. We are also very thankful for Alumnus Eli Baldwin for his tech support with testing motors, wires, and a variety of other tasks. We will be doing some fundraising in the next few months to help cover the costs of the trip to Worlds, more information on that will be forthcoming.
LOCKE FAMILY RESTAURANT NIGHT
Our next PTO family restaurant night will be at Newtowne Grill on Wednesday, February 26th from 3:00 – 11:00 PM. Please see the attached flyer for more information. Students will be sent home with the flyer, also.
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.
ESSAY CONTEST
The Billerica Adventure Series Corporation is sponsoring its annual essay contest related to the environment. Please see the attached flyer for more details.
MATH PROBLEM OF THE WEEK #18
Shape Numbers
If each symbol represents a number, and the same shapes represent the same numbers, then what is the circle worth?
Square + Circle = 13
Triangle + Square + Triangle = 22
Circle + Triangle + Square = 20
What is the circle worth?
Last Week’s Answer: 10,737,419 bags are needed. 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. What falls in the winter but never gets hurt? 2. Why did the boy only wear one winter boot?
Last week’s Answers – 1. What did the car say to the tire? – Wheel you be my Valentine? 2. What did Han Solo say to Princess Leia on Valentine's Day? – Yoda one for me.
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. Our future meeting dates have been set. Please see the attached list. Our next meeting is Wednesday, March 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 24th – Return to School
- Wednesday, February 26th – Newtowne Grill Fundraiser
- Monday, March 3rd – Locke School Council, 5:00 PM Library
- Tuesday, March 4th – Early Release, 11:40 Dismissal
- Monday, March 10th – Fun Run Booster Thon Fundraiser Begins
- Wednesday, March 12th – PTO Meeting, 6:30 PM Library
- Thursday, March 13th – 7th Grade Presentation, 2nd Step
- Tuesday, March 18th – Day 120, End of Trimester 2
- Wednesday, March 19th – Fun Run Booster Thon Event
- Friday, March 21st – Orchestra/String Classes field trip
- Friday, March 21st – Spring Dance, 6:00 - 8:00
- Thursday, March 27th – Grade Published 2:00 PM
- Thursday, March 27th – Locke Musical, 7:00 PM
- Friday, March 28th – Locke Musical, 7:00 PM
- Saturday, March 29th – Locke Musical, 2:00 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