February 1, 2026
Dear Parents/Guardians, Staff, and Students,
Happy February! I hope you are enjoying the cold weekend. We will be back this week with a full 5 DAYS OF LEARNING! Let’s see what’s happening this week …
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QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.” — Jackie Robinson, first black player in the major leagues
SCHEDULE THIS WEEK
Monday – D Day – HW Club, Activities Start
Tuesday – A Day – Last Day of Penny Wars
Wednesday – B Day – Early Release Schedule – 11:40 Dismissal, No After School Programs
Thursday – C Day – HW Club, Activities
Friday – D Day
EARLY RELEASE – Wednesday, February 4th
Wednesday, February 4th is an early release day. Students will be dismissed at 11:40 AM. There will be no after-school programs.
MORNING DROP-OFF
With the large snow banks and extreme cold weather, the morning drop off is taking longer than usual. Please factor this in when you leave in the morning. Also, 4 cars can drop off at the same time. Students should be ready to exit cars before they reach the front of the line. As a reminder, drop off begins at 7:10 and it will take students about 5 minutes to walk to homeroom. Please do not block the driveways on Urban Street. Thank you for your help with this.
QUARTER 2 UNIFIED ARTS GRADES
Quarter 2 unified arts classes ended on Friday, January 23rd. Grades have been posted to the Aspen portal and will appear on the Trimester 2 report card.
AFTER SCHOOL ACTIVITIES – WINTER SESSION
After school activities begin this week. Information was sent to parents last week regarding enrollment. If you have any questions, please contact the main office.
PENNY WARS ARE EXTENDED!
The penny will end on Tuesday, February 3rd. See the attached flyer for the details.
HOOPS FOR HEART FUNDRAISER
We are collecting donations to the American Heart Association as part of our Hoops for Heart Tournament in PE classes. Students received a flyer this week and can register online at this link.
SPIRIT WEEK IS COMING SOON …
Spirit week will be the week of February 9th – 13th. Please see the attached themes for the week.
RIDDLE/JOKE OF THE WEEK
This Week – 1. Why did the man get fired from the calendar factory? 2. When is the best day to wear a tutu?
Last week’s answers: 1. How does a snowman get to school? By-Icicle 2. What do snowmen like to eat for lunch? Brrrrrr-ito
MATH PROBLEM OF THE WEEK
Pencil Pyramid
Last Week’s Answer a. 19 b. 24 c. 41
Previous Week’s Answer (Correction): A. 9 intervals B. 8 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.
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.
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. Our last meeting was on January 21st. 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:
Penny Wars – January 27th – February 3rd
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.
· Monday, February 2nd – After School Activities Start
· Tuesday, February 3rd — Last Day of Penny Wars
· 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