LIFE AT THE LOCKE … Issue #39 2024-2025
June 15, 2025
FINAL EDITION!!
Dear Parents/Guardians, Staff, and Students,
Final Thoughts ... We are completing another fantastic year at the Locke Middle School. To our families, thank you for the support and commitment that you have given to our staff and your children this year. The educational partnership between home and school is what helps students to grow academically and emotionally. Reflecting on this past school year, I am proud of the accomplishments and growth that our students have made. This year has been filled with learning, discovery, and countless moments of achievement. Whether it was through academic challenges, extracurricular activities, community service, or building meaningful friendships, our students have shown remarkable resilience, curiosity, and character.
I wish all of our 7th graders (class of 2030!) the best of luck as they move on to BMHS and new learning experiences. It has been an honor and a pleasure working with you for the last three years. From academic milestones to personal achievements, each student has demonstrated perseverance and a commitment to excellence. We have seen you grow from apprehensive 5th graders to confident young adults. We look forward to seeing the great things you will do in high school and beyond. Remember to always work hard, make positive decisions, and make sure you learn something new every day. Most importantly, follow your dreams! We will miss you!
Lastly, I want to thank our dedicated staff, whose commitment and care have made all the difference in creating a safe, positive, and engaging environment for our students.
Please stay tuned for updates over the summer regarding the upcoming school year. We are committed to always improving our school and are excited about the opportunities and experiences that are ahead for our students. I wish you all a happy, healthy, fun summer with many days of learning.
FOLLOW US ON X @LockeMiddle and INSTAGRAM: locke_middle_school
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“Sunsets are proof that endings can be beautiful.” – Beau Taplin
SCHEDULE THIS WEEK
Monday – B Day
Tuesday – C Day – 6th Grade Field Trip
Wednesday – D Day – 7th Grade Class Day
Thursday – No School, Juneteenth
Friday – A Day – Last Day, Half-Day Schedule 10:40 Dismissal
LAST DAY -- HALF DAY – Friday, June 20th
Friday, June 20th is the last day of school. It is a half-day schedule with 10:40 dismissal. This is dependent on the arrival of buses. When the majority of buses arrive, we will begin to dismiss students.
FINAL REPORT CARDS
Final Report Cards will be published to the Aspen portal on Friday, June 20th .
MESSAGE FROM THE NURSE
Ms. Roberts will be sending EpiPens and inhalers home with students, but any controlled substances will need to be picked up by a parent or guardian.
SUMMER READING AND MATH
Please see the link below for all of your summer reading and math information.
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. We have 216 responses so far, but would appreciate some more input. Please take a few minutes to complete this survey. Your answers are confidential. The link will remain open until Friday, June 20th.
7th GRADE CLASS DAY
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 UPDATE
Thank you to the PTO for their hard work and efforts this year. We had many great events, including an awesome field day last week. At the last PTO meeting on June 11th, a new board was elected. Please see the minutes from the meeting.
Vice President – Amit Gandhi, Treasurer – Katie Malone, Secretary – Kelly Swieck
Our Facebook page is: “Billerica Locke PTO”. Click on the link below to take you there:
https://www.facebook.com/
MATH PROBLEM OF THE WEEK
There is no problem this week. Thank you for solving! Awesome work this year. We will be back in the fall with more math challenges. Be ready!
Last week’s answer: 8 Grapes
RIDDLE/JOKE OF THE WEEK
Have a funny summer!
Last week’s Answers – 1. What jumps higher than a building? Anything that can jump, buildings can’t jump. 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? The group consists of only three people: a grandfather, his son, and his grandson.
ROBOTICS UPDATE
Last month, members of the Locke Monsters Robotics Team traveled to Dallas, TX to compete in the VEX World Championships. Team 8025B, consistently performed at high levels throughout the season and were offered the opportunity to attend the World Championship event. The team consisted of Srihaas Mynampati, Ethan Beach, and Arius Wirsch. Michael Beach, of Team 8025C participated as a support person and was involved in scouting out other teams at Worlds. This was an amazing opportunity for our students. There were over 480 middle school robotics teams from around the world competing at this event. While we were there, there were also separate competitions being held for JROTC teams as well as VEXU (college students). The level of competition was very high, right from the start, and our team put forth their best effort in each of their qualification matches. Even though our team didn't move onto the elimination rounds, this was a tremendous learning experience for everyone, and something to be very proud of! The event started on Friday, May 9th with setting up the pits, inspection of robots, practice & qualification matches, and the opening ceremonies (video link from VEX TV). This picture is only a fraction of the huge crowd waiting to enter the competition halls on Saturday May 10th, which was a 10-hour day of skills matches, qualification matches, and practice time. On Sunday, May 11th, the last few qualification rounds finished, then there was alliance selection, elimination rounds, then ultimately the finals, closing ceremonies, and unveiling of the game for next season (video link from VEX TV).
Mr. DeBenedetto and Mrs. Tolleson would like to thank all of the students and their families for their hard work and dedication this season. We would also like to thank the Locke community and the larger Billerica Community for all of their support throughout the season, especially with our fundraising efforts. Thank you to ZOLL Medical Corporation for sponsoring our team and assisting us with a significant portion of the funding needed to operate our team. Thank you to our mentors Mr. Berube and Mr. O'Connor for their guidance and support throughout the season. Thank you to alumnus Eli Baldwin for his technical support throughout the season.
We were excited to offer a Spring Training Camp after the VEX World Championships in order to introduce the program to current 5th and 6th-graders who might be interested in joining the team next year.
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.
LOCKE GEAR FOR SALE
The PTO is now selling Locke gear. Please see the attached flyer with the link to the store.
BILLERICA PUBLIC LIBRARY SUMMER READING PROGRAM
Please see the attached link for the library’s summer reading program. They have a great program every summer.
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
- 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