March 22, 2026
Dear Parents/Guardians, Staff, and Students,
I hope you are enjoying the weekend. Spring is officially here! We are back with 5 DAYS OF LEARNING this week! Let’s see what’s happening …
FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM: locke_middle_school
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“A kind word is like a spring day.” – Proverb
SCHEDULE THIS WEEK
Monday – B Day – HW Club, Activities
Tuesday – C Day
Wednesday – D Day – Advisory Schedule, HW Club, Activities
Thursday – A Day – HW Club, Activities, Musical 7:00 PM
Friday – B Day – Musical 7:00 PM
Saturday – Musical 2:00 PM, Restaurant Night Casa Blanca (Billerica)
Sunday – Restaurant Night Casa Blanca (Billerica)
BOOSTER-THON FUN RUN FUNDRAISER – A BIG SUCCESS
We’re SO excited to share that, thanks to your incredible support, we’ve exceeded our fundraising goal! We have not only exceeded our original goal of $15,000, we also beat our $18,000 stretch goal (by a LOT!) and raised a total of over $22,000! Your donations are supporting student enrichment, including field trips, end-of-year events and more, enhancing the educational experience for students at the Locke Middle School.
MyBooster.com is available for one more week for any last-minute donations, so if you haven’t yet been able to get your donations logged, there is still time to donate.
We would like to extend a special thank you to our parent volunteers who came out and braved the freezing temperatures on Wednesday to cheer on our students! It was great to see some familiar faces and to meet some first-time volunteers. We appreciate you being there and look forward to seeing you at future events. Our school community proved just how powerful teamwork can be. Together we rallied, supported one another, and exceeded our fundraising goal. Thank you for showing what’s possible when a community comes together!
With sincere gratitude, The board members of the Locke PTO
LOCKE MUSICAL – THIS WEEK!
Peter Pan, Jr. will be on the Locke stage this week for 3 shows. Thursday, Friday at 7:00 PM, and Saturday at 2:00 PM. Please see the attached flyer for more information.
FLOWER SALES FOR MUSICAL
The Locke PTO will again be offering a presale of flowers for the production of “Peter Pan”, which is being performed March 26-28. Each bouquet is $20 and can be ordered at the following link: https://forms.gle/RVfQNcsG22GmMqBj8.
PTO RESTAURANT NIGHTS
Our next PTO dining out fundraiser is Saturday, March 28th and Sunday, March 29th from 3:00-9:00 PM at Casa Blanca in Billerica. Please see attached flyer for more details.
MIDDLE SCHOOL SPORTS
Volleyball is currently full. If you are interested in being put on the wait list, please email our coach, Brittney Apostolakes – bapostolakes@billericak12.com
Track and Field
· Families will register and Pay using Community Pass. (25-26 Athletic Programs)
· Fee is $140
· Need Help with Community Pass account email: communitypass@billericak12.com
ROBOTICS FUNDRAISER
The Locke Monsters Robotics Team is holding a Lottery Ticket fundraiser to raise funds for our team. We are selling raffle tickets for a chance to win a book of 100 MA State Lottery tickets ($10 version). We will be selling a total of 300 raffle tickets at $10 each. Once all of the tickets are sold, the winner will be selected and notified. You can Venmo Mrs. Tolleson (one of the coaches) @jmtolleson1 if you would like to buy a raffle ticket. The cost is $10 per raffle entry. Please include your name and phone number in the memo/note line so that you can be entered into the raffle and notified if you win.
ART SHOW
Our annual district art show will be from March 24th – April 6th at BATV. The opening reception is Thursday, March 26th from 5:00-7:00 PM. Please see the attached flyer for more details.
MCAS CALENDAR
Please see the attached calendar for MCAS testing dates this year.
DISTRICT REPORT CARD
Please see the attached letter from Lori McDermott – assistant superintendent
RIDDLE/JOKE OF THE WEEK
This Week – 1. What do you get when you cross a tulip with a dog? 2. What kind of pickles are best for spring weather?
Last week’s answers: 1. Why do leprechauns hate running? They would rather jig instead of jog! 2. Where do leprechauns post their photos? – Insta – sham!
MATH PROBLEM OF THE WEEK
Not a Big Difference
Zoe takes a two-digit whole number and subtracts the product of its digits. She calls the result a Zoe Number. She repeats this process with other two-digit numbers to find more Zoe Numbers. For example, the product of the digits of 82 is 8 × 2 = 16. Then 82 − 16 = 66, so 66 is a Zoe Number. Similarly, the product of the digits of 25 is 2 × 5 = 10. Then 25 − 10 = 15, so 15 is another Zoe Number. What are the largest and smallest Zoe Numbers that you can find? Justify your answers.
Last Week’s Answer: 25 four-leafed clovers
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.
LOCKE SCHOOL SITE COUNCIL
Our school council met on Monday, March 9th . 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, and preparing for assessments, and are expected to stay for the full hour. Parent pick-up at 2:45 is required.
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.
SAVE THE DATES! VOLUNTEERS WILL BE NEEDED
April 14th,15th – Trinket Sales 10:15 – 12:00
May 18th – May 22nd – Book Fair
May 21st – Ice Cream Social 6:00 – 7:30
June 17th – Field Day
Our PTO Facebook page is: “Billerica Locke PTO”. Click on the link below to take you there:
ESSAY CONTEST
The Billerica Adventure Series Corporation is sponsoring its annual essay contest related to the environment. Please see the attached flyer for more details.
FROM BMHS
Also, please see the attached information regarding the “Adopt-a-Senior” program.
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.
· Thursday, March 26th – Musical 7:00 PM Auditorium
· Friday, March 27th – Musical 7:00 PM Auditorium
· Saturday, March 28th – Musical 2:00 PM Auditorium
· Saturday, March 28th – Casa Blanca (Billerica) Restaurant Night
· Sunday, March 29th – Casa Blanca (Billerica) Restaurant Night
· Tuesday, March 31st – Report Cards Published 2:00 PM
· Friday, April 3rd – No School
· Wednesday, April 8th – MCAS ELA Session 1
· Thursday, April 9th – MCAS ELA Session 2
· Friday, April 10th – Day 135 End of Quarter 3
· Monday, April 13th – Quarter 4 Unified Arts Classes Start
· Monday, April 13th – Locke School Council 5:00PM Library
· Wednesday, April 15th – PTO Meeting 6:30 Library
· April 20th through April 24th – Spring Break
· Monday, April 27th – Return to School
· Wednesday, April 29th – Group Pictures
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