LIFE AT THE LOCKE … Issue #37 2024-2025
June 1, 2025
Dear Parents/Guardians, Staff, and Students,
Happy June! I hope you are enjoying the weekend. We are back with 5 DAYS OF LEARNING this week! It is a busy time of year as we enter the home stretch. Let’s see what’s happening …
FOLLOW US ON X @LockeMiddle and INSTAGRAM: locke_middle_school
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced. – James Baldwin
SCHEDULE THIS WEEK
Monday – D Day – 5B1 Field Trip
Tuesday – A Day – 4th Grade Step-up day
Wednesday – B Day – 5B2 Field Trip, 4th Grade Step-Up Day, 4th Grade parent Orientation 6:00 PM
Thursday – C Day
Friday – D Day -- BMHS Graduation
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.
FIELD DAY 2025!
Locke Families! Field Day is Tuesday, June 10, and we need your help to make it a great one for the students! We need parent volunteers while the kids are out enjoying the day and also need to borrow some items to make our Field Day complete. Please sign up to volunteer or contribute some items (or both) using this link.
Additionally, the PTO is requesting a $10 per student contribution towards Field Day again this year, which includes the cost of the Field Day shirt. Please complete the attached form and submit your payment by June 4.
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
7th GRADE END OF YEAR EVENTS
June 9th – BMHS tour
June 12th – Canobie Lake Field Trip
June 18th – 7th Grade Class Day
- 7A awards and completion ceremony 8:00 – 9:00
- 7B awards and completion ceremony 9:30 – 10:30
- Parents are invited to the ceremonies – more details to follow
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. Thank you to the parents and staff who served on the council this year. Your input was invaluable as we discussed many topics for enhancing the learning experience for all students.
MATH PROBLEM OF THE WEEK
How old am I? (same as last week)
Here are some clues about my age.
● Both my father’s age and mine are 2-digit numbers.
● If you switch the order of the digits of my father’s age, you get my age.
● My father is 27 years older than I am.
How old am I? – List all possible correct answers.
Last week’s answer: 1015 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 do you call a snowman in June? 2. What do you call an alligator in a vest?
Last week’s Answers – 1. Why did the duck fall down on the sidewalk? He tripped on a quack! 2. What do you call a dog that sneezes? Achoo -- huahua
LOCKE GEAR FOR SALE
The PTO is now selling Locke gear. Please see the attached flyer with the link to the store.
7th GRADE FAMILIES – FROM BMHS ATHLETICS
The fall season registration is NOW OPEN for the 2025-26 school year. Please review the information below:
1. Registration - Open “Community Pass”
2. Important Dates and Link to the Athletic Calendar
3. Physicals, Concussion Course, and General Athletic Trainer Information
4. Fall Coaches Emails
All members of the Class of 2030 are welcome to join our teams/tryouts as an 8th grader.
IMPORTANT DATES:
· CHEERLEADING TRYOUTS-JUNE 2, 4 & 5, 2025
o Must be Registered in “Community Pass”
o Must have a valid Physical on file with the Athletic Trainer
· Team/Parent Meetings-Gymnasium—Thursday, June 12th
o 5:00 pm- Girls Soccer, Volleyball, Girls & Boys Cross Country
o 6:15-Football, Boys Soccer, Cheer, Swim & Dive, and Golf
· 1st day of the Fall season
o August 15th-Football & Cheer
o August 18th-All other teams
Registration Open: “Community Pass” NOW OPEN for the 2025-26
· There is no cost to complete the online registration for the fall Season.
· Please register your child ASAP.
· Families will be billed 2 weeks into the fall season
· Unsure about having a Community Pass account?
· Email: communitypass@
Link to Community Pass: https://tinyurl.com/
Click here to view our Calendar:
https://www.
Health Information Athletic Trainer: Aimee Montminy
1. PHYSICALS: This is the most important piece of documentation that the Athletic Trainer needs. If we do not have a current physical on file your student athlete will not be allowed to participate.
Physicals must include
· Date of exam
· something along the lines of "okay for activity/sports"
· A doctor's signature/electronic signature
Please upload a photo/scan to Healthy Roster or email to: amontminy@billericak12.com
If you are a returning student athlete, please check your Healthy Roster account to see when your physical is expiring.
If the Athletic Trainer has it from a previous sports season and it is still current, I do not need another copy.
*Healthy Roster will only let you upload one file per document upload. If your child's physical is more than one page you can upload it as another physical or under the "other" option and I will edit accordingly. Please send all the pages!
2. If your student athlete is seen by a doctor for an injury or illness that causes them to miss practice or a game, I need a clearance note from the doctor. Just a simple letter that says okay to return to sports or not cleared. They will not be allowed to participate until cleared by that doctor.
3. Concussion Courses- Both parent and student athletes MUST complete the NFHS concussion course EVERY year. Here are the direct links. Remember you need to choose your state (MA) and then create an account. If you use the same account for both courses, there will only be one name on both certificates, this is fine.
STUDENT: https://nfhslearn.com
PARENT: https://nfhslearn.com/
FALL COACHES |
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|
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FOOTBALL | Shawn | Theriault | |
GIRLS SOCCER | Tom | Foley | |
BOYS SOCCER | John | Vassallo | |
GIRLS VOLLEY | Brittany | Apostolakes | |
GIRLS XC | Cullen | Hagan | |
BOYS XC | Sydney | Fitzpatrick | |
CHEERLEADING | Nicole | Viselli | |
SWIM AND DIVE | Brooke | O’Connor | |
GOLF | Joel | Jenkins |
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, 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