January 25, 2026
Dear Parents/Guardians, Staff, and Students,
I hope you are enjoying the cold and soon to be snowy weekend. We will be having a snow day on Monday and are hopefully back on Tuesday with 4 DAYS OF LEARNING! Let’s see what’s happening this week and Go PATS!
FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM: locke_middle_school
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“When life gives you snow, make snowmen!” — Unknown
SCHEDULE THIS WEEK
Note: When we have a snow day, the letter days do not change. The letter days are set for the year.
Monday – No School, Snow Day!
Tuesday – D Day – Day 91, Start of Quarter 2, Penny Wars Start
Wednesday – A Day – Advisory Schedule, HW Club
Thursday – B Day – HW Club
Friday – C Day
END OF QUARTER 2
Quarter 2 unified arts classes ended on Friday, January 23rd. Quarter 3 unified arts classes start on Tuesday, January 27th. Students, please check your schedules for your new class.
AFTER SCHOOL ACTIVITIES – WINTER SESSION
After-school activities begin the week of February 2nd. We have some openings remaining. Please complete this Winter After School Activity Form to sign up for after-school activities. The Google Form must be completed to enroll. All sessions have limited enrollment and will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis according to the timestamp on this form. In addition, complete the attached form and send it in with your payment. This form was sent home with students today.
PENNY WARS ARE HERE!
The penny wars are January 27th – 30th. See the attached flyer for the details.
8th GRADE MATH PLACEMENT
7th grade parents, guardians, and students,
Please see the attached letter regarding math placement for 8th grade at BMHS.
CHROMEBOOK INSURANCE
Parents and Guardians, please see the attached flyer outlining the benefit of Chromebook insurance. We are encouraging families to consider insurance based on the frequency that we see students with Chromebook damage.
LOCKE SCHOOL SITE COUNCIL
Our school council met on January 12th . 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 believes 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
This Week – 1. How does a snowman get to school? 2. What do snowmen like to eat for lunch?
Last week’s answers: 1. What concert costs 45 cents? – 50 Cent featuring Nickelback! 2. What did the dog musher say when he got lost? – I’ve sled us astray!
MATH PROBLEM OF THE WEEK
Follow the Rules! Consider the following step-by-step instructions:
- Pick a 2-digit number.
- If the number is even, divide it by 2. If the number is odd, add 10 to the number.
- If the result of the calculation in step 2 is a 2-digit number, add its tens digit to its ones digit. Otherwise, add 20 to the number calculated in step 2.
- If the result of the calculation in step 3 is a multiple of 5, divide it by 5. Otherwise, add 12 to the number calculated in step 3.
- If the result of the calculation in step 4 is greater than 30, add 1 to it. Otherwise, subtract 1 from the number calculated in step 4.
- What is the result of following these instructions if you start with 25?
- What is the result of following these instructions if you start with 95?
- What is the result of following these instructions if you start with 16?
Last Week’s Answer: A. 9 intervals B. 12 Intervals
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.
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
This week’s post: Another component of chronic absenteeism can be related to anxiety and other mental health disorders. Missing school due to anxiety, known as school avoidance, is common and involves intense distress about attending, often with physical symptoms like headaches or stomach aches, stemming from fears of failure, social issues, or separation. Addressing it requires understanding triggers (bullying, performance), collaborating with the school (counselors, plans), creating a supportive home, and seeking professional help (therapist, doctor) for underlying anxiety disorders, as avoiding school provides temporary relief but worsens anxiety long-term.
Is your child missing school due to anxiety?
CLICK ON THIS LINK FOR MORE INFORMATION
PTO CORNER
The PTO welcomes all families to the Locke. We will be meeting monthly to plan several events throughout the year.
LOCKE GEAR is for sale! Go to this link to purchase. A portion of the price goes to the PTO.
UPCOMING PTO EVENTS:
Penny Wars – January 27th – 30th
Wednesday, February 11th – PTO Meeting 6:30 PM Library
Our PTO Facebook page is: “Billerica Locke PTO”. Click on the link below to take you there:
FROM THE DISTRICT
Billerica Schools Nutrition Services is hiring. Please see the attached flyer for more information.
FROM THE COMMUNITY
Please see the attached flyer from the BMHS Athletic Association.
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.
UPCOMING DATES
All Dates are also on our master calendar on the Locke website.
· Friday, January 23rd – Day 90, Quarter 2 Ends
· Tuesday, January 27th – Day 91, Quarter 3 Unified Arts Classes start
· Monday, February 2nd – After School Activities Start
· Wednesday, February 4th – Early Release 11:40 Dismissal
· Monday, February 9th – School Site Council, 5:00 PM Library
· February 9th through 13th – Spirit Week
· Wednesday, February 11th – PTO Meeting, 6:30 PM Library
· Friday, February 13th – Hoops for Heart Game
· February 16th through 20th – Winter Break, No School
· Monday, February 23rd – Return to School
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