LIFE AT THE LOCKE … Issue #38 2024-2025
June 8, 2025
Dear Parents/Guardians, Staff, and Students,
I hope you are enjoying the weekend. We are back to work with our last full 5 DAYS OF LEARNING this week! It is a busy time of year as we head to the end of the school year. Let’s see what’s happening …
FOLLOW US ON X @LockeMiddle and INSTAGRAM: locke_middle_school
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“What feels like the end is often the beginning.” – Unknown
SCHEDULE THIS WEEK
Monday – A Day – 5A2 Field Trip, 7th Grade to BMHS
Tuesday – B Day – Field Day!
Wednesday – C Day – 5A1 Field Trip, Bionic Project for 6th grade, PTO Meeting 6:30 PM
Thursday – D Day – Bionic Project for 6th Grade, 7th Grade to Canobie
Friday – A Day
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. If you have not done so already, 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 16th.
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 to borrow some items to make our Field Day complete. Please sign up contribute some items or volunteer (only if your CORI is valid) or both using this link. Volunteers for Field Day are still needed, but please sign up by Monday June 9 at 10:00 so that we can verify your CORI.
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 Tuesday morning, June 10.
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 -- See Attached 7A Parent Invitation
- 7B awards and completion ceremony 9:30 – 10:30 – See Attached 7B Parent Invitation
PTO LAST MEETING -- ELECTIONS
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. New Board members will be elected.
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
Eat your Grapes!
On Monday, Angela ate some grapes. On Tuesday, she ate 6 more grapes than she had eaten on Monday. On Wednesday, she ate 6 more grapes than she had eaten on Tuesday. On Thursday, she ate 6 more grapes than she had eaten on Wednesday. On Friday, she ate 6 more grapes than she had eaten on Thursday. And by the end of Friday, she had eaten 100 grapes in total. How many grapes did Angela eat on Monday?
Last week’s answer: The child could be 14, 25, 36, 47, 58, or 69 (and the father would be 41, 52, 63, 74, 85, or 96). 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 – Riddles: 1. What jumps higher than a building? 2. Two fathers and two sons walk into an ice cream shop. They each order an ice cream cone, and the ice cream man brings them 3 cones. Why did he only bring 3?
Last week’s Answers – 1. What do you call a snowman in June? – A puddle 2. What do you call an alligator in a vest? – An investigator
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/ tryout 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.
PARENT: https://nfhslearn.com/
FALL COACHES |
|
|
|
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 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
- Tuesday, June 17th – 6th grade 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
- 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