April 12, 2026
Dear Parents/Guardians, Staff, and Students,
I hope you are enjoying the weekend. We are back with 5 DAYS OF LEARNING! The newsletter will be taking a week off. Have a great Spring Vacation! Let’s see what’s happening …
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QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“Don’t let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.” – John Wooden
SCHEDULE THIS WEEK
Monday – D Day – 1st Day of Quarter 4, HW Club, Site Council 5:00 PM
Tuesday – A Day – Trinket Sales at lunch
Wednesday – B Day – Advisory Schedule, HW Club, Trinket Sales, PTO Meeting 6:30 PM
Thursday – C Day – HW Club
Friday – D Day
MCAS ELA MAKE-UPS THIS WEEK
We successfully completed MCAS ELA last week. Thank you to our students for working hard throughout the testing. For students who were absent for testing, make-ups will begin on Monday. Our counselors will contact parents and students.
MCAS CALENDAR
Please see the attached calendar for all MCAS testing dates this year.
LAST DAY OF QUARTER 3
The last day of quarter 3 was Friday, April 10th. Quarter 4 starts on Monday, April 13th and students will begin their new Unified Arts class. Grades will be posted to the Aspen portal by Friday, April 17th. They will be published on the final report card of the year.
STUDENT RECOGNITION
Congratulations to all students who received honors and high honors for Trimester 2. Also, congratulations to students receiving the Student of the Trimester award. The certificates were sent home last week. Keep up the great work!
TRIMESTER 2 REPORT CARDS-PUBLISHED
Report Cards have been published to the Aspen Portal. We ask parents to sign and return the report card envelope to indicate that they have seen the report. The report can be seen on your home screen under “published reports”. If you do not have an Aspen log in, please email portalhelp@billericak12.com and we will be able to provide this information to you as soon as possible. All student reports are published on the portal.
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.
DISTRICT REPORT CARD
Please see the attached letter from Lori McDermott – assistant superintendent
RIDDLE/JOKE OF THE WEEK
This Week – 1. Where did the egg go for spring break? 2. Which baseball player makes the best pancakes?
Last week’s answers: 1. What do you call an egg from outer space? An Egg-stra-terrestial! 2. What do Easter eggs do for fun? – Karee-yolk-ee!
MATH PROBLEM OF THE WEEK
Tic-Tac-Tournament
The teacher organizes a bean bag tic-tac-toe tournament for her class. She divides her class into 6 teams. When one team plays another team during the tournament, this is called a match. (a) In the tournament, each team has to play every other team once. How many matches will each team play during the tournament? Justify your answer. (b) How many matches are played in total during the tournament? Justify your answer.
Last Week’s Answer: 1. 504 2. 1483
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.
SCIENCE CORNER
The Artemis II successfully splashed down on Friday night. Our 6th grade science team put together the attached slideshow to share with students and families. To Infinity and Beyond!
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.
PTO CORNER
The PTO welcomes all families to the Locke. We will be meeting monthly to plan several events throughout the year. Our next meeting is this week on Wednesday, April 15th at 6:30 PM
Restaurant Night
Our next restaurant night is Wednesday, April 22nd at Chipotle. See the attached flyer for more details.
Locke Student Entrepreneur Market
The Locke PTO is excited to invite students to participate in our very first Student Entrepreneur Market on May 21st—a fun and inspiring opportunity to explore creativity, innovation, and real-world business skills! If your student has a craft or skill and would like to showcase their products at our event, please complete the form below to let us know you’re interested in joining this engaging and empowering experience. This event will be held in conjunction with our spring Ice Cream Social, so there will be a wide audience of students and families present. Cost to participate is $5, which can be paid by Venmo or check payable to Locke Middle School PTO (sent to the office).
Each student will be allowed to bring a table up to 6′ in length. Spaces are limited and will be given on a first come, first served basis. To sign up, please complete the form at this link: https://forms.gle/i95juiKvfWhrQysT9
Please note that due to the board of health restrictions, we are unable to allow the sale of homemade food and beverage items.
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:
FROM BMHS
Summer Strength and Conditioning Program
Take advantage of the summer break to harden the mind and body by attending Billerica’s Summer Enrichment Strength & Conditioning camp. The camp is designed for ALL students and is fully staffed with fitness instructors and an athletic trainer. The perfect opportunity to learn how to properly exercise and develop your fitness. The program will focus on a wide range of physical traits such as flexibility, strength, speed, agility, and stamina. Our Strength & Conditioning Program will be a comprehensive four-day per week program designed to emphasize all of the physical attributes that are important to developing core strength. Participants will also receive advice and instruction on nutrition, the importance of recovery, and the prevention of injury. All that is required of the participant is his/her motivation and a willingness to work hard. We’ll provide the equipment, instruction, programming, and RESULTS.
Offered once again– session option that will have a focus primarily on building aerobic strength as well as working on balance, flexibility, mobility, and general strength. Athletes will learn about proper form and mechanics while running as well as injury prevention routines. Athletes will also learn about the importance of nutrition and sleep and how they impact performance. This option would be ideal for athletes planning to compete in cross country, soccer, or looking to build fitness/aerobic strength.
To Register: Need a verified account with “Community Pass” if you need to activate your Community Pass account, please email communitypass@billericak12.com
Select 2026-27 Athletic Programs
Questions Contact: John Magliozzi or Laura Jenkins 978-528-7922
6 Weeks of Training
Ø June 29 to August 13, 2026 (July 4th week Closed July 6—July10)
Ø Monday-Thursday for ALL Sessions
Ø Location BMHS
Program Option #1
Ø Class of 2030 & 2031 from 8-Noon
Ø Cost $250.00 per student
Ø In addition to the Strength & Conditioning Program there will be free gym time to play basketball, floor hockey, and other team games.
Program Option #2
Ø Class of 2027, 2028, 2029. & 2030 –3 Morning sessions offered 6:30, 8:00 & 9:30 AM.
Ø Cost $170.00 per student
Ø Session is 90 minutes
Program Option #3
Ø Hybrid Model (Focus is aerobic strength)
Ø Class of 2027, 2028, 2029, 2030, 2031 Hybrid Model (Session Option)
Ø 1 Morning Session 8 am to 10 am
Ø Cost $170.00 per student
SUMMER ENRICHMENT CAMP
Looking for something exciting for your child this summer???? If so please consider registering for the Billerica Summer Enrichment Camp at the Marshall Middle School. We are a half day camp for students aged PreK-7th graders with a variety of classes available. Please see our website for details and reach out to PJ McCarthy (PJMcCarthy@BillericaK12.com) with any questions.
FROM THE COMMUNITY
Please see the attached flyer for details on a 5th-grade father/daughter dance.
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, April 13th – Quarter 4 Unified Arts Classes Start
· Monday, April 13th – Locke School Council 5:00PM Library
· Tuesday, Wednesday April 14th /15th – Trinket Sales at Lunch
· 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
· Tuesday, May 5th – MCAS Math Session 1
· Wednesday, May 6th – MCAS Math Session II
· Wednesday, May 6th – 4th grade parent orientation, 6:00 PM Auditorium
· Monday, May 11th – Site Council presentation to School Committee – 6:00 PM Town Hall
· Tuesday, May 12th – MCAS Science Session I Grade 5
· Wednesday, May 13th – MCAS Science Session II Grade 5
· Monday, May 18th – Book Fair Starts
· Wednesday, May 20th – Early Release 11:40 Dismissal
· Wednesday, May 20th – PTO Meeting 6:30 PM Library
· Thursday, May 21st – Ice Cream Social – 6:00 PM
· Friday, May 22nd – Grade 6 Field Trip
· Monday, May 25th – Memorial Day, No School
· Tuesday, June 2nd – Ditson Step-up Day
· Wednesday, June 3rd – Kennedy Step-up day
· Friday, June 5th – 5th Grade Colonial Fair
· Friday, June 5th – BMHS Graduation
· Tuesday, June 9th – 7th Grade to BMHS
· Wednesday, June 10th – PTO Meeting 6:30 PM
· Thursday, June 11th – 7th Grade to Canobie Lake Park
· Wednesday, June 17th – Field Day
· Friday, June 19th – No School, Juneteenth
· Monday, June 22nd – 7th Grade Class Day, Moving on Ceremony (Parents Invited)
· Tuesday, June 23rd – Last Day of School, Half-Day 10:40 Dismissal
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