April 26, 2026
Dear Parents/Guardians, Staff, and Students,
I hope you had a great April break! We are back with 5 DAYS OF LEARNING! Let’s see what’s happening this week…
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QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“The sun was warm but the wind was chill / You know how it is with an April day / When the sun is out and the wind is still / You’re one month on in the middle of May.” – Robert Frost
SCHEDULE THIS WEEK
Monday – A Day – HW Club, Site Council 5:00 PM
Tuesday – B Day
Wednesday – C Day – Advisory Schedule, Group Pictures, HW Club
Thursday – D Day – Practice Math MCAS, HW Club
Friday – A Day
NOTE TO FAMILIES
As we return from vacation and head into the final few weeks of the school year, I want to take a moment to thank you for your continued support and partnership. Spring is an exciting time for students, but it is also an extremely busy time with activities and sports. With longer days, students will be sleeping less and the end of the year can be challenging. We ask families to prepare accordingly to ensure that students are well-rested and ready for school. We are encouraging all students to stay focused, be patient, and finish the year strong. Our school community thrives when we all work together to reinforce respectful behavior, responsibility, and kindness. Please take a moment to speak with your child about the importance of maintaining good behavior, following school expectations, staying positive, and treating others with respect. We’re so proud of what our students have accomplished so far and are confident they can finish the year with the same level of excellence and positivity. Thank you, Mr. Garas
MCAS CALENDAR
Please see the attached calendar for all MCAS testing dates this year.
QUARTER 3 UNIFIED ARTS GRADES
The last day of quarter 3 was Friday, April 10th. Grades have been posted and can be seen on the Aspen portal. They will be published on the final report card of the year.
DISTRICT REPORT CARD
Please see the attached letter from Lori McDermott – assistant superintendent
RIDDLE/JOKE OF THE WEEK
This Week – 1. Why was Cinderella so bad at soccer? 2. What’s the difference between a poorly dressed man on a tricycle and a well-dressed man on a bicycle?
Last week’s answers: 1. Where did the egg go for spring break? – New Yolk City! 2. Which baseball player makes the best pancakes? – The Batter!
MATH PROBLEM OF THE WEEK
Three Coin Game
Jack and Jill have made up a game where they take turns tossing three coins. Of course, each coin has heads (H) on one side and tails (T) on the other side. They earn points according to the following rules.
- If the toss results in all three coins being heads (HHH), or all three being tails (TTT), then Jack gets one point.
- If the toss results in any other combination of heads and tails (e.g., TTH), then Jill gets one point.
- The winner of the game is the player with the most points after 10 tosses of all three coins.
- Play this game with a partner. Assign one player to be Jack and the other to be Jill.
- A game is considered a fair game if each player is equally likely to win the game. Explain why this game is not a fair game.
- Explain how you could change the rules to make this a fair game.
Last Week’s Answer: a. 5 b. 15
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, 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, May 20th at 6:30 PM
The PTO has several exciting events coming up in May and June. We’d love to see some new faces and welcome your support in making them a success!
Staff Appreciation Week- May 4-8
We will be celebrating teacher/staff appreciation week with a series of events to celebrate our incredible educators! Some of the highlights of the week include:
· Staff breakfast and luncheon
· Breakroom boost- restocking supplies in the staff lounge
· Wishes for your workspace- fulfilling classroom wish lists
· Snack happy hour
For anyone who would like to contribute, there are several ways to help:
· Make a purchase from our Amazon wish list for items to restock the staff lounge and for the teacher wish list: https://www.amazon.com/registries/gl/guest-view/HPIBFORPLKVO?ref_=cm_sw_r_apin_ggr-subnav-share_A5XKYJD2H4XWY57D6FC0&language=en-US
· Monetary donation to be used toward the cost of the staff breakfast and luncheon – https://venmo.com/u/BillericaLocke-PTO
· Volunteers will be needed for morning of the breakfast, the late morning/early afternoon of the luncheon, and to help assemble wish lists items! Look for a sign up in the next weekly newsletter.
Thank you to all for your support of our fantastic educators!
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.
To sign up, please visit the following link by Friday, May 1st:
Volunteers needed for upcoming events! Please save the date and be on the lookout for sign-ups
· Book fair- Week of 5/18
· Ice cream social- May 21st
· Field day- June 17th
Thank you to everyone for supporting these efforts!
LOCKE GEAR is for sale! Go to this link to purchase. A portion of the price goes to the PTO.
Our PTO Facebook page is: “Billerica Locke PTO”. Click on the link below to take you there:
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.
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 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