LIFE AT THE LOCKE … Issue #29 2024-2025
March 30, 2025
Dear Parents/Guardians, Staff, and Students,
I hope you are enjoying the cold/rainy/snowy weekend. We thought Spring had arrived. It is a busy time of year as we end the long month of March. We are back with 5 DAYS OF LEARNING (No foolin’) this week! Let’s see what’s happening …
FOLLOW US ON X @LockeMiddle and INSTAGRAM: locke_middle_school
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
It is human nature to think wisely and act foolishly. -Anatole France
SCHEDULE THIS WEEK
Monday – B Day – HW Club, Activities
Tuesday – C Day
Wednesday – D Day – Advisory Schedule, HW Club, Activities
Thursday – A Day – HW Club, Actiivities
TRIMESTER 2 REPORT CARDS
Report Cards have been published to the Aspen Portal. We ask parents to sign and return the report card envelope to indicate that they have seen the report. The report can be seen on your home screen under “published reports”. If you do not have an Aspen log in, please email portalhelp@billericak12.com and we will be able to provide this information to you as soon as possible. All student reports are published on the portal.
MCAS TESTING DATES 2025
ELA (All Grades) -- April 9, 10
Math (All Grades) -- May 6, 7
Science (Grade 5) -- May 13,14
LOCKE MUSICAL – REVIEWS ARE IN!
Congratulations to the cast and crew who participated in Bye-Bye Birdie this past week. Three incredible performances by our students on the Locke stage. Many legs were broken! Special thanks to Ms. Crowley, Ms. Rodland, Ms. McDermott, Mr. Dearbeck, Ms. Harrold, and the many parent volunteers. Remember to PUT ON A HAPPY FACE!
STUDENT ART SHOW
Please see the attached flyer for information on the student art show coming up at BATV.
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, March 3rd. Please see the minutes for the meeting. All related documents for the council can be found on our website.
MATH PROBLEM OF THE WEEK
Number Fun!!
Can you find a 10-digit number so that the first digit tells you how many 0’s are in the number, the second digit tells you how many 1’s are in the number, the third digit tells you how many 2’s are in the number, etc.
___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
0’s 1’s 2’s 3’s 4’s 5’s 6’s 7’s 8’s 9’s
Last Week’s Answer: 126 games 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. Why was the donkey playing jokes on his friend? 2. Why do hard-boiled eggs love April Fools?
Last week’s Answers – 1. What did the dirt say to the rain? If you keep this up, my name will be mud! 2. Why did the man sit on the clock? Because he wanted to be on time!
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. Our last meeting was on March 12th. Please see the attached minutes. 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, April 9th 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.
UPCOMING DATES -- ALL DATES ARE ALSO ON THE MASTER CALENDAR ON THE LOCKE WEBSITE
- April 3rd and 4th – MCAS Practice ELA
- Monday, April 7th – Locke School Council, 5:00 PM
- Tuesday, April 8th – Day 135, Last Day of Quarter 3
- Wednesday, Thursday 9th and 10th – ELA MCAS
- Tuesday, April 15th – Ice Cream Social, 6:00 PM
- Thursday, April 17th – Last Day for MCAS make-ups
- Friday, April 18th – No school
- April 21st through April 25th – No School Spring Break
- April 28th – Return to School
- Wednesday, April 30th – Group Photos
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