LIFE AT THE LOCKE … Issue #35 2024-2025
May 18, 2025
Dear Parents/Guardians, Staff, and Students,
I hope you are all having a great weekend. We have another busy week ahead with 5 DAYS OF LEARNING! Let’s see what’s happening …
FOLLOW US ON X @LockeMiddle and INSTAGRAM: locke_middle_school
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body." -- Joseph Addison
SCHEDULE THIS WEEK
Monday – C Day – HW Club
Tuesday – D Day – Early Release 11:40 Dismissal, Book Fair Starts
Wednesday – A Day – Advisory Schedule, HW Club, Grade 5 Band Concert Marshall 7:00 PM, Chipotle Funraiser 4:00-8:00
Thursday – B Day – HW Club, Chorus Concert 7:00 PM BMHS
Friday – C Day
EARLY RELEASE – Tuesday, May 20th
Tuesday, May 20th is an early release day. Students will be dismissed at 11:40 AM.
IMPORTANT PARENT SURVEY
Our Locke school council recently presented our school improvement plan to the school committee. As we developed this plan, we utilized feedback from parents and guardians. Every Spring we ask parents to reflect on their year at the Locke. The information from this survey will help us improve student learning, parent/school relationships, and the Locke's overall learning environment. Please take a few minutes to complete this survey. It is greatly appreciated. Your answers are confidential. The link will remain open until Monday, June 9th.
BOOK FAIR IS COMING THIS WEEK
The book fair will be held this week. Please see the attached link for more information and to put money into your child’s e-wallet.
PTO RESTAURANT FUNDRAISER
The PTO is having a Chipotle fundraiser on Wednesday, May 21st. Please see the attached flyer for the on-line code and more information.
HOMEWORK CLUB THIS WEEK
HW Club will be in session Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday this week. Parent pick-up is at 2:45. The last day of HW club will be Thursday, May 29th.
CONCERT SEASON
It’s that time of year again. Our students will be showcasing their musical talents in their end of the year concerts. All concerts are at 7:00 PM.
May 21st – Grades 4 and 5 Band – Marshall, 7:00 PM
May 22nd – Choral Concert – BMHS, 7:00 PM
ROBOTICS INFORMATION
We would like to invite interested 5th and 6th graders to a Robotics Spring Training Camp. The purpose of the training camp is to:
- Introduce new students to VEX robotics so that they have an understanding of the expectations and what it means to be a member of the team.
- Watch a video of next year's game so that students can see what the challenge is.
- Start planning out strategies to address different parts of next year's challenge.
- Give existing team members an opportunity to transfer knowledge to new members.
- Learn how to use tools to take apart the existing robots.
The training camp is scheduled from 1:45 to 3:30 on each of the following days (you don't have to come to all of the days if you have a conflict, but the more days you attend, the better idea you will have of whether or not the robotics program is for you). Students will need to have a way to get home after the training camp. We will meet in room 116 (the 5th-grade computer room in the 6A wing of the school):
Monday 5/19 & Wednesday 5/21
Wednesday 5/28
Monday 6/2 & Wednesday 6/4
FYI, competitions are held on the weekends and typically start in the November/December time frame. Competitions can be on either Saturday or Sunday, if we make it to state championships that is typically a 2-day event (both weekend days). The schedule is at the host school's discretion. The competition day typically runs from about 8 a.m. to about 5 p.m. We look forward to seeing students next week. Students can attend even if they didn't fill out the Google Form that was sent out in a previous newsletter.
You can reach out to coaches: Mr. Henry DeBenedetto (hdebenedetto@billericak12.com
PTO ANNOUNCEMENTS
The PTO welcomes all families to the Locke. Our last meeting of the year is Wednesday, June 11th 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
Our Facebook page is: “Billerica Locke PTO”. Click on the link below to take you there:
https://www.facebook.com/
LOCKE SCHOOL SITE COUNCIL
Our school council met for the final time this year on Monday, May 5th. Please see the minutes for the meeting. All related documents for the council can be found on our website.
SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PLAN
The Locke School Site Council presented our School Improvement Plan to the school committee on Monday, May 12th. Please see the attached plan.
MATH PROBLEM OF THE WEEK
Crack the Code
A lock has a four-digit number as its combination.
The hundreds digit is less than each of the other three digits.
The sum of the four digits is 7.
The four-digit number is a multiple of 5.
What is the four-digit number that opens this lock?
Last week’s answer: 300 handshakes - 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 did the teacher say to her aardvark student when he walked into class on Monday morning? 2. What does Sonic need a lot of on Mondays?
Last week’s Answers – 1. What did the baby corn say to the mama corn? -- "Where's Pop Corn?" 2. Why is a computer so smart? -- Because it listens to its motherboard!
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
- May 19th through May 23rd – Book Fair
- Tuesday, May 20th – Early Release, 11:40
- Wednesday, May 21st – 5th Grade Band Concert Marshall 7:00 PM
- Thursday, May 22nd – Chorus Concert BMHS 7:00 PM
- Friday, May 23rd – Last Day for MCAS makeups
- Monday, May 26th – No School, Memorial Day
- Wednesday, May 28th – Last Day of Advisory
- Thursday, May 29th – Last Day of HW Club
- Monday, June 2nd – 5B1 Field Trip
- June 3rd and 4th – Grade 4 Step-Up Days
- Wednesday, June 4th – 5B2 Field Trip
- Wednesday, June 4th – 4th Grade Parent Information Night – 6:00 PM, Auditorium
- Monday, June 9th – 5A2 Field Trip
- Monday, June 9th – 7th Grade to BMHS
- Tuesday, June 10th – Field Day
- Wednesday, June 11th – 5A1 Field Trip
- Wednesday, June 11th – PTO Meeting 6:30 PM Library
- June 11th and 12th – Bionic Project for 6th Grade
- Thursday, June 12th – 7th Grade Canobie Lake Field Trip
- Wednesday, June 18th – 7th Grade Class Day
- Wednesday, June 18th – 7A Ceremony, 8:00-9:00 AM
- Wednesday, June 18th – 7B Ceremony, 9:30-10:30 AM
- Wednesday, June 18th – 6th grade field trip
- Thursday, June 19th – No School, Juneteenth
- Friday, June 20th – Last Day of School, Half Day – 10:40 AM Dismissal
- Friday, June 20th – Final Report Cards Published
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