November 30, 2025
Dear Parents/Guardians, Staff, and Students,
I hope that you and your families enjoyed the Thanksgiving break. It is a great opportunity to get together with family and friends, enjoy some great food, watch football, and of course, go shopping on Black Friday! We return with a full 5 DAYS OF LEARNING this week as we head into December! Let’s see what’s happening …
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QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness.” — John Steinbeck
SCHEDULE THIS WEEK
Monday – D Day – HW Club, Activities, Day 60 End of Trimester 1
Tuesday – A Day
Wednesday – B Day – HW Club, Activities
Thursday – C Day — HW Club, Activities
Friday – D Day
THE TURKEY TOSS – A BIG SUCCESS!
We had a fun, crazy time at the Turkey Toss! Thank you for your generous donations to the Billerica Food Pantry and local charities. We raised slightly over $3800!! Also, a big thank you to our Student Council students for organizing the event! See some fun photos from the festivities on our Instagram page.
END OF TRIMESTER 1
The last day of trimester 1 is Monday, December 1st. Report cards will be published to the ASPEN portal on Thursday, December 11th at 2:00 PM.
TOYS FOR TOTS DRIVE
The Locke Middle School is hosting a Toys for Tots toy drive. Collection boxes are available in the lobby of The Locke Middle School through Friday, December 12, 2025. We are collecting new, unwrapped toys for ages infant to 18 years old. According to our contact at Toys for Tots, there are typically fewer toys donated for older children.
CHROMEBOOK INSURANCE
Parents and Guardians, please see the attached flyer outlining the benefits of Chromebook insurance and how to order. We are encouraging families to consider insurance based on the frequency with which we see students with Chromebook damage.
HOLIDAY CONCERT SEASON
Holiday Concerts are coming soon! Please see the dates below and come out to support our talented band, chorus, and orchestra students.
LOCKE SCHOOL SITE COUNCIL
Our school council met on November 10th. Please see the minutes for the meeting. All related documents for the council can be found on our website.
HOMEWORK CLUB
HW club will continue throughout the year. It will meet in the library every Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 1:45 – 2:45. (not on early release Wednesdays) 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. They can attend as many days as the parents/teachers believe are necessary. Students will receive help with assignments, organization, preparing for assessments, and are expected to stay for the full hour. Parent pick-up at 2:45 is required.
RIDDLE/JOKE OF THE WEEK
1. What are little snowmen called? 2. Who are the snowman’s parents?
Last week’s answers: 1. How did the turkey get home for Thanksgiving? – It took the gravy train! 2. If pears grow on pear trees and apples, on apple trees, where do turkeys grow? On a Poultry!
MATH PROBLEM OF THE WEEK
Raking Leaves!
Joe decided that he would try to make some extra money by raking the leaves in his neighbors’ yards. Joe figured he would need approximately seven bags per yard in which to collect the leaves. The bags are sold 10 to a box, and Joe is planning on raking 14 yards. How many boxes of bags must he buy?
Last Week’s Answer: There are 15 different combinations of seven fruits, if you need some of each.
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!! We will have prizes on Friday this week.
BOOK FAIR – VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
The book fair will be held from December 15th – 19th. If you are interested in volunteering at the book fair, please see the attached sign-up genius.
MESSAGE FROM OUR NURSE
One of the issues currently being addressed by the Health and Wellness Department, along with Billerica School Nurses, is chronic absence. Chronic absence — missing 10 percent or more of school days due to absence for any reason—excused, unexcused absences and suspensions—can translate into students having difficulty learning to read by the third-grade, achieving in middle school, and graduating from high school. This isn’t simply a matter of truancy or skipping school. In fact, many of these absences, especially among our youngest students, are excused. Often absences are tied to health problems, such as asthma, diabetes, and oral and mental health issues. Other barriers including lack of a nearby school bus, a safe route to school or food insecurity make it difficult to go to school every day. There will be a series of posts/links to help students and families surrounding the issue of chronic absence and the importance of regular school attendance over the next few weeks:
● 10 Facts About School Attendance
LOCKE HOLIDAY TREE
Thank you to all who donated to the Locke tree at the public library. Also, thank you to the PTO for setting it up. See the attached photo of the tree. It looks great! – I hope I win!
PTO SURVEY
The Locke Middle School PTO plays an important role in building a strong school community, supporting our teachers and staff, and creating meaningful experiences for our students. We would love the input of parents/caregivers to help us understand how you would like to be involved and how we can make participation easier and more enjoyable. If you would please take a moment and complete this survey, we would truly appreciate it!
PTO CORNER
The PTO welcomes all families to the Locke. We will be meeting monthly to plan several events throughout the year. We had our November meeting last week. Please see the attached minutes.
LOCKE GEAR is for sale! Go to this link to purchase. A portion of the price goes to the PTO.
UPCOMING PTO EVENTS:
Wednesday, December 17th – PTO Meeting 6:30 PM Library
Our PTO Facebook page is: “Billerica Locke PTO”. Click on the link below to take you there:
REMINDERS
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.
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/or Ms. O’Brien at lobrien@billericak12.com
BUS ASSIGNMENTS
Students who ride the bus can only ride on their assigned bus in the morning and afternoon. Students are not allowed to ride different buses to be with friends after school.
The bus routes for the year are listed at this link.
If you have any questions regarding bus assignments, please contact our assistant principal: Phillip Peters: ppeters@billericak12.com — 978-528-8654
LUNCH/BREAKFAST
All breakfast and lunches are free to all students again this year. Students will be receiving a 4-digit pin code that they will need to use when they get breakfast or lunch. Breakfast will be served beginning on the first day. It will be “grab and go”. Students can grab a breakfast in the cafeteria when they come in and then report to homeroom. They can eat breakfast in homeroom. Students are not allowed to bring in breakfast/drinks from Dunkin, Starbucks, etc.
FROM THE COMMUNITY
Scholarship Foundation Trivia Night – See attached Flyer
UPCOMING DATES
All Dates are also on our master calendar on the Locke website.
· Monday, December 1st – Day 60, Last Day of Trimester 1
· Monday, December 8th – School Council Meeting, 5:00 PM
· Tuesday, December 9th – Chorus and Orchestra Concert BMHS 7:00 PM
· Wednesday, December 10th – Band Concert Marshall Middle 7:00 PM
· Thursday, December 11th – Report Cards Published
· December 15th – 19th – Book Fair
· Wednesday, December 17th – PTO Meeting 6:30PM Library
· Thursday, December 18th – 7th Grade Field Trip
· Tuesday, December 23rd – Half-Day 10:40 Dismissal
· December 24th through January 4th – Winter Break
· Monday, January 5th – Return to School
If you have any questions, please contact me at tgaras@billericak12.com or call at 978-528-8655. I look forward to a great school year!!
Warmest regards,
Tony Garas, Principal