September 21, 2025
Dear Parents/Guardians, Staff, and Students,
Happy Fall this week !! I hope you are all enjoying the beautiful weekend. We have another busy week ahead with …
5 DAYS OF LEARNING!!
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QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“It’s the first day of autumn! A time of hot chocolatey mornings, and toasty marshmallow evenings, and, best of all, leaping into leaves!” – Winnie the Pooh
SCHEDULE THIS WEEK
Monday – C Day
Tuesday – D Day
Wednesday – A Day
Thursday – B Day
Friday – C Day
ROBOTICS INFORMATION
The Locke Monsters Robotics Team is looking for students who are interested in joining the team for our upcoming competition season. The season runs from the end of September through February/March. If a team qualifies for Worlds, their season is extended until the Worlds competition in May, which happened for one of our teams last year. FYI, we typically attend competitions once, sometimes twice, a month from December through February/March. The competitions are all day events, and can be held on either Saturday or Sunday, depending on the schedule determined by the school that is hosting the competition.
Please fill out this survey if your student is interested in finding out more about our team and VEX robotics. We will be meeting after school on Mondays/Wednesdays until 3:30 p.m., starting the week of September 29. We will meet in room 116, the computer room in the downstairs 6A/7A wing of the school. Parent pick-up is required for all meetings. Preference is given to students who are in the 6th and 7th grade. In the past, students who are in the 5th grade have been invited to participate in the Spring Training Camp, and then they can join the team as 6th graders. We still encourage 5th-grade parents to fill out the survey, so we have record of your interest, and can keep you updated on any changes/information related to the team.
The first few meetings will be for students to learn more about the VEX Robotics program and find out if they are interested in joining the team. This year there will be a one-time fee of $75 for students to join the team. This money will be used to register the team for competitions and purchase needed materials to build the robots. If you have any questions, please reach out to Mr. DeBenedetto (hdebenedetto@billericak12.com) or Mrs. Tolleson (jtolleson@billericak12.com).
STUDENT COUNCIL
Students: If you are interested in joining student council, please fill out the Google Form that was sent to your email on Friday last week. It has to be filled out on your school Google account.
HOMEWORK CLUB
HW club will start on Monday, September 28th. 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. Students can attend as many days as the parents/teachers believes are necessary. Students are expected to stay for the full hour. Parent pick-up at 2:45 is required.
LOCKE FALL PLAY AND TALENT SHOW
Please see the attached flyer for information regarding these upcoming programs. Please contact Ms. Crowley – acrowley@billericak12.com with any questions.
RIDDLE/JOKE OF THE WEEK
1. Why is 2+2=5 like your left foot? 2. Where is the best place to grow flowers in school?
Last week’s answers: 1. What do you call a biologist’s self-portrait? A cell-fie 2. What did the scientist think about the book on helium? He loved it! – He couldn’t put it down!
MATH PROBLEM OF THE WEEK
Boxed in!
Inside 1 large gift box, there were 2 medium-sized boxes. And inside each of these medium-sized boxes there were 4 small-sized boxes. And inside each small-sized box, there were 8 mini boxes.
1. How many boxes are there in total (of all sizes)?
2. If this pattern continues, how many super-tiny boxes would be in each mini box?
Last Week’s Answer: 300 Combinations
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.
PTO CORNER
The PTO welcomes all families to the Locke. We will be meeting monthly to plan several events throughout the year. We had our first meeting last week. Please see the minutes attached here.
LOCKE GEAR is for sale! Go to this link to purchase. A portion of the price goes to the PTO.
UPCOMING PTO EVENTS:
Saturday, September 27th – Restaurant Night Casa-Blanca Billerica 3:00-9:00 PM See Attached Flyer
Wednesday, October 22nd – PTO Meeting 6:30 PM
Tuesday, October 28th and Wednesday October 29th – Trinket Sales at lunch
Wednesday, November 19th – Ice Cream Social 6:00-7:30 PM
Our PTO Facebook page is: “Billerica Locke PTO”. Click on the link below to take you there:
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.
SCHOOL TIMES
School starts promptly at 7:30. Students should be in their homeroom at 7:30. The car drop-off time for students is 7:10 — 7:25. Students will be allowed to enter the building at 7:10. From 7:10 – 7:20, students who enter the building will be supervised in the cafeteria. Students will not be allowed in before 7:10 AM.
CAR DROP-OFF
Student car drop-off will be in the lower lot beginning at 7:10. STUDENTS WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO EXIT CARS UNTIL 7:10. Parents are to enter VIA URBAN ST (off Baldwin Road), drop students off at the sidewalk, make a U-turn, and exit via Urban Street.
Parents, please do not enter from Allen Road in the morning. The Allen Road entrance is only for school buses.
DISMISSAL
Walkers and pick-ups are dismissed at 1:50 after the buses depart.
TRAFFIC PATTERN FOR DISMISSAL
Parents enter via Urban Street and line up in lower circle. After the buses leave, parents are to pull around circle in a SINGLE file line to pick up children. The pick-up zone is between the two crosswalks. This is the only place we would like children picked up. We do not want children stepping in front of cars to be picked up. Please keep the line single-file.
PLEASE DO NOT PICK UP STUDENTS IN THE LOWER LOT.
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
MEDICAL INFORMATION
Our school nurse is Janice Roberts – jroberts@billericak12.com
· Students may drop off EpiPens, inhalers, and any over the counter medications.
· A parent or guardian must drop off any prescription medications.
· All medications need to be accompanied by a medication order from the student’s physician and with either an Anaphylaxis Action Plan or Asthma Action Plan as applicable
· If families need copies of these forms they can be found on the Billerica Public Schools website: https://billericak12.com/school-nursing/
· Also, as a reminder:
ALL 7th GRADE STUDENTS must submit proof of TDaP (tetanus/diphtheria/pertussis) and MCV4 (meningitis) vaccines, as well as an UPDATED physical exam, by 9/30/25
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.
FROM THE COMMUNITY
Donate Clothing, Shoes, and Books! Please see attached fundraiser flyer for the Billerica Scholarship Foundation
UPCOMING DATES
All Dates are also on our master calendar on the Locke website.
· Saturday, September 27th – Restaurant Night Casa-Blanca Billerica 3:00-9:00 PM See Attached Flyer
· Monday, September 28th – HW Club Starts 1:45-2:45
· Wednesday, October 1st – Advisory Schedule Starts
· Monday, October 13th – No School
· Wednesday, October 22nd – PTO Meeting 6:30 PM in library
· Friday, October 24th – Halloween Dance 6:00-8:00 PM
· Monday, October 27th – Talent Show 6:00 PM Auditorium
· Tuesday, Wednesday October 28th and 29th – Trinket Sales at lunch
· Tuesday, November 4th – No School
· Wednesday, November 5th – Day 45, Quarter 1 Unified Arts Classes End
· Wednesday, November 5th – Make-up Picture Day
· Thursday, November 6th – Quarter 2 Unified Arts Classes start
· Thursday, November 6th – Parent Conferences 6:00-8:00 PM
· Wednesday, November 12th – PTO Meeting 6:30 PM Library
· Thursday, November 13th — Parent Conferences 6:00-8:00 PM
· Friday, Saturday November 14th and 15th – Locke Play 7:00 PM
· Wednesday, November 19th – Ice Cream Social 6:00 PM
· Wednesday, November 26th – Half Day 10:40 Dismissal
· Thursday, Friday November 27th and 28th – Thanksgiving Recess
If you have any questions, please contact me at tgaras@billericak12.com or call at 978-528-8655. I look forward to a great school year!!
Warmest regards,
Tony Garas, Principal