France - the joy of the fournitures scolaires list

[InvincibleInvisibility]

And its that time of year again.

Another massive list of textbooks and cahiers (specific sizes and number of pages) with specific cover colours to buy. As well as all the usual pens etc.

We've just had DS2s list for CM1 (he's 9 turning 10 next year). EIGHT textbooks (manuels). Ten cahiers! Loads of pens and papers and paint. And bizarrely two pencil sharpeners.

Oh and a precision about the type of compass to have (I'm ignoring that one - he's dyspraxic and will continue with the one we have).

Anyway, Ive managed to do all the major things by going to 3 shops in 2 different towns (no internet delivery where we are). And by raiding our supply store. Annoyingly we have lots of A4 cahiers but this year the school only wants "grand format".

Not yet got the list for 5eme. But we're leaving on holiday Sunday for 7 weeks so hoping it comes before then....

What random things have you had on your lists?

Wow, what a nostalgic thread. I went to the French Lycee in London about 100 years ago, where there was one little shop to deal with all this for the people that weren't going to France for the summer La Page - I'm still on their mailing list. Subsequently there was amazing service set up by a couple of parents called Fourniture Facile (no idea if it's still going) where you would just tick a box to say which year your kids were going into and at the end of August a beautiful box would be delivered to your door with everything they needed. Bliss. I found myself idly strolling through the rentrée section in Monoprix yesterday recalling that not only did we have to supply all the cahiers, but also different coloured covers for each of them. I also noticed the rack of white lab coats (in two different styles for boys and girls) and someone has already mentioned the insanely expensive calculators. DH's company used to give us a rentrée allowance for each child.

It's the diary that the school provides, which also contains all sorts of useful information and sections where the parents and teachers can exchange information.

At least we have stopped with this nonsense and have an online application instead. (also in France, but private school). App also has their homework, grades, absence notes etc.

Otherwise our list is indeed mad (folder, navy blue. 4 workbooks in pink and 5 in blue, 96 pages, 4 in green, 48 pages etc etc.) Yes I spend about 200 eur per kid and that doesn't include the schoolbag, indoor slippers etc.

@cyclamenqueen
The government gives a very generous payment in August for this,
and these lists can be done cheaply, if you shop around, the supermarkets do basic supplies and there are second-hand places that have tonnes of stuff for next to nothing.

As a teacher in France, I quite enjoy browsing the ''rentrée '' section of the supermarket just to eavesdrop.

^^

Here it's Walmart. Mothers with the lists printed out, can't make head nor tail of anything, looking anxiously through the pens and pencils, kids screaming at their sides

I'm feeling a lot less alone 😊 Then again the class WhatsApp groups also have parents asking where to find various books (no internet delivery where we live). I can assure PP that its not a "very British thing" - French parents are equally annoyed by the lists (although I know many who just ask the nounou to do it).

We used to be in a private school where we paid 150 euros per year per child for school supplies but these didn't include pencil cases and contents, paints, calculators etc.

Now we have one DC in private college- we have to buy everything. And annoyingly the same subjects as last year do not need the same formats/colours as this year - God knows why!!!!

Also 1 DC in state primary school (see the list attached up thread).

Yes we don't have to buy uniforms like in the UK but my DC have always had restrictions/uniforms.

School 1 (private primary): shoes not trainers, non holey trousers, polo shirt or shirt, covered by a tablier. Navy sports shorts and white tshirt for PE

School 2 (state primary): white polo shirt (logo optional), khaki shorts, green sports shorts and white tshirt for PE

School 3 (private secondary): logoed polo shirt, dark blue or black jeans, navy shorts and school tshirt for sport

The government have increased the rentrée allowance this year for poorer families to be in line with inflation. Something like 434 euros per child. Of course this will be used for achool supploes but also bags, shoes, clothes.

And as PP says, the canteen is really expensive! 9.50 euros per day for DS1!!! And very difficult to take packed lunch.

School supplies not alcohol 🤦‍♀️

Well.....

9.50 per day 😱😱

Packed lunches aren’t allowed at our school. Either they eat at home or you pay. We can’t get them home, so school dinners it is. Loads of our students eat at McDo as a happy meal is cheaper than school lunch 😩

Today I bought two pochettes of papier calque and that was the last of my list. Sigh of relief.

Although they went back to handball today and the sodding coach told them that their indoor football trainers aren’t good enough for handball as they use different parts of the foot, so now the two oldest seem to think they need specific handball shoes. Last year they just had bog standard trainers, so I thought having actual indoor trainers was already a step up, but no, apparently they’re still not good enough 😡

Argh for the trainers!

We fought for 3 years to go a packed lunch for DS2 (undiagnosed SN). Eventually things came to a head when in CP a lunchtime supervisor forced him to eat and he threw up all over himself (obviously we didn't find out til after school 😡).

When we moved I didn't even hesitate. Just filled in the forms and got a prescription from the Dr. This school doesn't care fortunately.

Oh and despite being state school we still have to pay for in to eat his packed lunch in the cantine...something like 2.50 euros a day.

What a nightmare for your poor DS2! I’m glad you’ve got a more flexible school now!

Are you juggling three different schools? Or just two on the go?

We teach at the school the boys go to, so I’m going to collect the two eldest at least twice a week and either eat picnic if the weather’s good, or just in the car and get some of their homework done. It’s a bit depressing, but it’s a massive saving! And will clear some homework.
The little one finishes at 11h30 though, so not a chance I can get to him in time, he’s in the cantine for 4 days.

We re just juggling 2 schools at the moment luckily.

Oh god not the special shoes! We got this for a while as the kids just wore trainers to school but they weren't special enough to do sport in.

The PE teachers just love to chat about this sort pointless thing, luckily they normally run out of energy a few week in as three quarters of the class has the same bog standard decat trainers and they give up.

It's like they're trying to put you off sport for life.

We have the same issue of having a pay to eat pack lunches but the school lunch is both awful and worse 12eur - you can practically get an actual sit down meal in a resto for that so these days they just walk to a supermarket and buy a sandwich!

I am French and had to google what a Lutin is!

Yeah my French DH didn't know what a lutin was either!

Well today the primary school Cm1 parents are exchanging photos of textbooks trying to work out which version is the right one...

The secondary school has just written to say we can sign DC up for a pre rentree 4-day stage to revise 4 subjects...starting next Monday morning (talk about advance notice!). And more importantly we STILL don't know what date DS1 (5eme) is going back to school....

We only had this in maternelle. In primary and collège the various APE has centralised the orders so that you buy it all in one go and pick it up at the Bureau Vallée (primary it came direct to school... like that's it's a discounted bulk order and the APE gets a %

Lucky he is allowed a packed lunch. However the € 2.50 is probably frais de garde - to pay for the staff looking after the kids.

Oh I know why we pay. It's just that it's state school and I know you don't pay lunchtime supervision in England...

Packed lunches aren’t allowed at our school.

How does that work, do they cater for restrictions/allergies? Our private school at least has a vegetarian menu now (although salmon is apparently also a vegetable) but the state school only had one option. And pretty sure they would not be able to manage allergies anywhere so those kids need to bring their own.

Packed lunches are tolerated for kids with allergies or other medical reasons (Dr's notes are compulsory), I've never know a school to charge the parents for it though.
Most schools have one vegetarian meal a week, for the other days the veggie kids (and staff) are expected to eat fish (or just the sides, hoping that between that and the starters you can cobble together a reasonable meal).
Our (state middle) school meals are €5.50 for staff and €4.20 for pupils, if you eat everything (not many kids do) it's quite good value for money.
It really does depend on the head chef, we've had amazing chefs who knew all the local producers and negotiated like crazy to be able to make really nice meals, to awful ones who just wanted to do whatever was quickest and easiest regardless of taste and presentation. In both cases our kids have always complained, they'd like to have burgers and chips weekly (they're on the menu twice a year at our school).

Urgh didn't proofread that post 😲

In all 3 schools we've known you have to pay to take a packed lunch. For provate school we paid the school directly. State school we re paying the Caisse des Ecoles.

The first school really fought us having a packed lunch but once Ds2 started being sick at lunchtime they said to see a Dr and accepted the Dr note.

It’s private, and there are at least 3 options on the menu. There’s always a way to avoid pork, although I’m not sure about halal, and you can always cobble together a fairly substantial vegetarian meal between sides and starters, vegan would probably be tough. Gluten-free should be doable. Dairy-free probably achievable too. Just avoid the cheese/yoghurt course.
On a Friday it’s fish or vegetarian for everyone.

There’s a list up in the cantine of the children with dietary issues and what they are, plus the severity of the issue (in the teacher’s section I mean), so they are just eating school dinners. Stuff like « X - no pork, Y - no peanuts, J - no shellfish. ».

We’re in a small town though (like 12,000 people, plus surrounding villages) and a lot of them live in walking distance. We teach there and live a fair hike away, which is why our kids can’t go home for lunch, to their disgust.

Wow my kids have never had a choice of food at the canteen (private sous contrat).