LIFE AT THE LOCKE … Issue #30 2024-2025
April 6, 2025
Dear Parents/Guardians, Staff, and Students,
I hope you are enjoying the cold/rainy weekend. We made it through March! We are back with 5 DAYS OF LEARNING in another busy week! Let’s see what’s happening …
FOLLOW US ON X @LockeMiddle and INSTAGRAM: locke_middle_school
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
Before anything else, preparation is the key to success. -- Alexander Graham Bell
SCHEDULE THIS WEEK
Monday – C Day – HW Club, Activities, School Council 5:00 PM
Tuesday – D Day – MCAS tutorial
Wednesday – A Day – MCAS ELA SESSION 1, PTO Meeting 6:30 PM Library, HW Club, Activities
Thursday – B Day – MCAS ELA SESSION 2, Last Day of Quarter 3, HW Club, Activities
Friday – C Day – First day of Quarter 4
MCAS BEGINS THIS WEEK
It is that time of year again and students will be taking the MCAS assessment starting this week. All grade levels will be participating in the ELA assessment according to the following schedule:
Wednesday, April 9 – All Grades, ELA Session 1
Thursday, April 10, All Grades, ELA Session 2
The MCAS exam gives all students an opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned and how much they have grown as learners. It is important for our school and community to ensure that all students do their best work. The testing can be stressful for students and as a staff we work diligently to provide a positive environment. You can help your children in many ways:
- Be Positive
- Make sure your child attends school on every testing day
- Make sure your child arrives on time at 7:30 AM
- Emphasize that the tests are important and give students a chance to demonstrate learning.
- Make sure your child gets a good night’s sleep prior to testing
- Be sure to have your child charge their Chromebook at night and bring it to school fully charged
- All students should have a book to read for when they complete testing
The MCAS assessment will be given on computers again this year. We have provided all students with training that will assist them in taking the assessment. We have also been providing students with sample items that will better prepare students for the type of questions that will be asked. MCAS is based on the common core and all of our curricula have been aligned to ensure that the work being done in our classrooms every day meets the standards. If you have any questions regarding the MCAS, please don’t hesitate to contact me. I thank you in advance for helping our students navigate through the testing season and demonstrating that the Locke is a great place to learn and grow.
LAST DAY OF QUARTER 3
Due to MCAS, the last day of quarter 3 will be Thursday, April 10th. Quarter 4 starts on Friday, April 11th and students will begin their new Unified Arts class.
STUDENT RECOGNITION
Congratulations to all students who received honors and high honors for Trimester 2. Also, congratulations to students receiving the Student of the Trimester award. The certificates were sent home last week. Keep up the great work!
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.
NURSE UPDATE
- A reminder that as we enter (hopefully) warmer days, please have students bring refillable water bottles to school.
- For those students who suffer from seasonal allergies: The Health Office does not provide allergy medication, so please plan accordingly and medicate students before school.
- Please continue to send in or email updated physicals and immunizations to Ms. Roberts, jroberts@billericak12.com
MCAS TESTING DATES 2025
ELA (All Grades) -- April 9, 10
Math (All Grades) -- May 6, 7
Science (Grade 5 only) -- May 13, 14
ROBOTICS FUNDRAISING UPDATE
The Locke Monsters Robotics team wanted to take a moment to thank everyone who has supported our fundraising efforts in the last six weeks, since we found out that one of our teams qualified for the World Championships in Dallas, TX next month. We had a great dining-out fundraiser with What The Fork Catering on March 26th. They were great to work with and helped to advertise our fundraiser on their social media pages. We are also very grateful to our Locke PTO for their generous donation in support of our team. We have an ongoing GoFundMe campaign to continue raising funds to help pay some of the costs for the upcoming trip to the World Championships in Dallas, TX in May. We are also hoping to raise enough money to help us buy the new game pieces for next year's challenge so that we can start preparing for next season as soon as the new challenge is announced in May. We are so thankful for the continued support and enthusiasm that you have shared for our team!
STUDENT ART SHOW
The student art show is incredible and it is great to see our students’ work on display. Thank you to Dr. Pearson, Ms. Milner, and Ms. Rogers for their efforts in putting the show together. The work will be shown through April 15th 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
Get your library books for MCAS!
Sofia, Valeria, Lucas, and Diego borrowed books from the library. The library allowed each student to borrow a maximum of 5 books. Lucas borrowed the most he could. Diego is the only person who borrowed 1 book. Sofia borrowed more books than Valeria. In total, they borrowed 13 books. How many library books could Valeria borrow?
Last Week’s Answer: 621000100 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 wild animal does well on tests despite not studying? 2. What grades did the pirate get on the English tests?
Last week’s Answers – 1. Why was the donkey playing jokes on his friend? – It was April Mule’s Day! 2. Why do hard-boiled eggs love April Fools'? –They enjoy Practical Yolks!
PTO 7th GRADE FUNDRAISER
7th Grade Parents - Are you looking for a fun way to recognize your 7th grader and celebrate the closing of their middle school chapter? We have just what you are looking for! The PTO has been collaborating with a local vendor on beautiful yard signs that you can purchase this year. Signs will be ready in early May. Parents can elect a pick-up option for $15 or we’ll deliver to your home for $20. Please complete the sign-up form and submit your payment by April 13
https://forms.gle/
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.
INTERNATIONAL NIGHT AT BMHS
The Students of Color Association at BMHS would like to invite the Billerica Middle Schools' students, staff, and parents to our 2025 International Night on Thursday, April 17 at 5:30 PM. Please see the attached invitation.
PARENT PRESENTATION
Please see the attached flyer for an online parent presentation.
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
- Monday, April 7th – Locke School Council, 5:00 PM
- Wednesday, Thursday 9th and 10th – ELA MCAS
- Thursday, April 10th – Last Day of Quarter 3
- Friday, April 11th – Quarter 4 Unified Arts Classes Begin
- Tuesday, April 15th – Ice Cream Social, 6:00 PM
- Tuesday, April 15th – Last Day of Student Art Show at BATV
- 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