First year at high school. What supplies?

[Allthatglittersisgold]

My son starts high school this year. Just your typical local high school. How do high school kids keep themselves organised? Ring binders with seperate folders? Do they keep everything in their bag all week or pack per day? I just cant remember what I used to do and want to help him organise himself.

DD packs per day.

Pencil case fully stocked.

Small notebook for first couple of weeks to write down passwords etc

Used those A4 plastic envelopes to keep work in.

Now uses a lot of notecards too.

Bought her the GCSE calculator too but not sure if it gets used much tbh.

@Allthatglittersisgold are you in the UK?

Some of this will depend on school. DD seems to have all her books at home and take them in as necessary, but has a locker so her PE kit lives in there. DS has no locket but his teachers seem to keep hold of a lot of his books.

The school will give you an idea of what stationary etc they need.

Unless your son is INCREDIBLY organised, expect lots of stuff to go missing so have back up supplies at home.

In his every day pencil case, he'll need 2 or 3 pencils, sharpener and eraser, a ruler (30cm. rulers are the most useful - look for one that folds in the middle so it fits in a smaller pencil case), 3 blue or black Biros or similar pens that he finds it easy/comfortable/legible to write with, and 1 or 2 highlighters. Check whether the school requires a fountain/ink pen (I would say this is unlikely). A red or other brightly coloured Biro can also be handy for marking his own work or underlining key words, etc.

For Maths he'll need a pair of compasses and a protractor as well as a calculator (the school will almost definitely stipulate a certain one so wait for those instructions - ordering online can be cheaper). Tell him he is paying for a replacement calculator out of his pocket money if he loses it...and hey presto he will suddenly take the necessary care not to lose it! (This is also a good strategy with school shoes, trainers, and P.E. kit). Make sure the calculator is named.

Coloured pencils or pens will also be needed for classes like Geography. I would suggest a small pack with 6-10 colours (even sort of party bag / Christmas stocking size can be fine as it's less to lug around and easier to keep hold of on the desk - they can be replaced cheaply when worn out).

Make sure the pencil case is clearly named.

He's likely to need a transparent pencil case (or make-up bag) for exams., including internal school exams. Some schools require students to write their exam. scripts in black, and most of the public exam. boards do.

Keep a supply of pencils and pens at home and replenish frequently.

Sorry, I forgot to say he will need a glue stick (have a good supply of these at home too) and probably a pair of safety type scissors in his pencil case too.

As well as school it also depends on child!

DD keeps most of her books at home, and packs a 6 section folder with the things she needs for lessons at the start of the day.

DS keeps practically everything in his locker, and only brings home things he needs for homework.

As well as LockedOut's excellent list above, I'd add "glue sticks" and scissors everything seems to be sheet based, and to be stuck in books these days.

Also a working printer or access to one, with supply of paper and ink!

LOL we cross posted on the glue sticks and scissors!

Some schools require students to cover books with sticky back plastic as part of their very first homework.

I ended up having to buy a massive roll at one point as that's all there was left and I still have enough to cover the entire towns school books.

Large ruler as well.

Don't forget a name stamp and indellible ink for marking - found it great for marking pretty much everything but sports socks

Protractor seems to be indispensable. Our school does actually have a list somewhere - check out the webpage thoroughly or the 1st year guide or handbook if they have one.

Try to get your son in the habit of packing his bag for such day.

Have a dedicated space for his school books at home.

What works really well is something like this or this with a section for each subject where he can keep the exercise book, any textbooks, folders etc. all together then take out when needed for school, homework or revision. When he finishes an exercise book then he can keep it there for revision in the future and just take the current one back and forth to school.

A good strategy is to sit down with his backpack as soon as he gets home from school and spend 10 minutes sorting out each of his books from the day - sticking in any loose sheets, hole punching anything that needs to go in a ring binder, etc. Make sure all those scrunched up worksheets are extracted from the bottom of the school bag!

Also pack the bag for the next day before bed / after dinner.

If he has a homework diary type of thing, encourage him to use that too, as it will help him be organised with homework deadlines and writing down other things he needs to remenber such as specific items to bring in on a certain day or dates of future tests, etc. It's a good habit for the future when there's more to remember and should also reduce the detentions or sanctions for forgetting stuff.

As a teacher, the bare minimum I expect my pupils to have is:

2x biros (spare for when the first pops/breaks/gets lost)
2x pencils
30cm ruler
Rubber
Calculator

Bonus items:

• All stored in pencil case (this should be common sense to me but past the age of 14 boys seem to develop a particular aversion to them!)
• A couple of different coloured pens
• Highlighter
• Gluestick
• Basic coloured pencils

(oh and scissors as another bonus item!)

This is brilliant info, thanks so much. Going to have a look at supplies.

We are in the UK, no lockers and my son is generally very unorganised. Figured new school, new routines and hopefuly he will get some good habits. I think I will dedicate time each day to helping him sort his bag till it becomes normal practice for him.

When he gets his timetable, take a photo/photocopy of it so you can always check which lessons and which days are P.E./swimming without relying on his memory.

Good idea. I'd say he is pretty much guaranteed to lose his. When I was at high school (back in the day) we got planners for homework. Hoping this school does something like that too.

induction day/evening they usually give advice on what child needs to bring daily. Our schools provides planners, for instance.

My DDs school no longer has planner - BUT uses a fabulous online resource which even has an app and parents longin so I get copies of all her homework.
Most lessons to GCSE are still done in school provided exercise books.
A shelf or a storage box to store each days books ready for bag packing helps.

We have those Ikea shelve/cube things at home so DCs have one each dedicated to their school books and supplies. It helps them be organised as everything's in one place so they can find books and pack bags every day in line with their timetable.

Definitely photocopy or scan their timetable and any log in/password info. Buy a load of rulers/black and blue biros/pencils and keep a stock at home so they can be quickly replaced. The maths tins with compass/protractor etc can be useful, Tesco usually have them on offer around now.

I know it's not what you're asking, but make sure you get him a strong bag as the weight of what they have to carry about is horrendous. I had a daughter who insisted on anything but a rucksack, by December we'd gone through two bags and along with all her friends they'd converted to rucksacks with a couple of compartments.

Writing books were supplied at DD's school, but when she got into GCSEs she found it useful to have ring binders for her revision notes.

Many kids seem to want a top range phone, but I'd say don't be pressurised until you know what his friends have and what he really needs. DD was in with a crowd who hardly used their phones, in fact, some days she didn't bother taking one.

Oh if he's doing food tech - then get some "Klip Lock" type boxes of a range of sizes for transporting ingredients.

Don't buy a calculator too early - many schools specify a particular calculator needed for maths so you'd end up buying another.

Lots of coloured pencils, lots of small glue sticks (they go manky so best to have small ones to throw away).

No need for ring binders in the early years as most schools will hand out exercise books followed by large amounts of scrappy worksheets for them to stick into their exercise books!

Unless the school provide lockers (few do), a very big rucksack for all the daily exercise books, text books they'll be lugging about plus pencil case, packed lunch etc., plus another bag for sports kit, cookery, tech, art, etc as required.

As for pens, pencils, rubbers, rulers, pencil sharpeners, protractors, compasses, etc - just buy in bulk (very cheap at pound shops or supermarkets) as they'll get lost/damaged frequently so best to have a stock at home to replenish the pencil case weekly!

Looks like you have already got some great ideas from the lovely mums above, however here are a few things that my cousin found to be super helpful but not usually first considered!

• Retractable keychain; with new school comes new responsibility! My cousin was constantly complaining about how her son kept misplacing his keys so she got him a extendable keyring that he could attach his bag so he could never lose it!

• A boot bag; these really helped out with P.E and dirty shoes. They stopped the muddy boots from spoiling the other clothes! You can get personalised boot bags as well as other decorated ones but they are super useful.

• Plastic folders; if your child plans on storing work in their locker definitely invest in some plastic folders. Last thing you need is soaking wet homework if the lockers are not secure and outside... This happened to my cousins kid and whilst he was happy he didn't have to do the homework - mum was not impressed!

They should have a healthy supply of pens and pencils as these will often get lost! But items like glue and scissors, the school will already have a supply of these so no need to buy these. A pencil case with the basics of pens, pencils, a rubber and ruler should be fine!

Those are the three things that have been highly recommended but not often spoken about! I realise I am a little late to the party, however, hope this helps!! Also popped some useful sites if you are wondering where to get some bits :)

(keychains) www.able-labels.co.uk/boot-bags/ www.businessinsider.com/best-school-supplies-students-k-12?r=UK&IR=T

We had a list with mandatory items. DD takes theses in each day and I have a full second set at home as she could get detention for not having her calculator for example.

The school supplies workbooks and DD takes only the ones in she needs for her lessons. Some girls keep all in their locker but I just don’t trust DD to remember what she needs for any homework.

We have clear plastic wallets for pieces of paper she produces for arts or other topics.

She packs her bag herself each evening, the only things going in in the morning are her water bottle and snack.

PE kit and arts kit live in her locker unless needed for homework or kit needs washing.

We have a big family style calendar where DD writes her homework on it and ticks it off when done. It gives DH and me the chance to see if she finishes everything on time as she still struggles a bit.

They have a planner for putting homework in, we use it for short messages, they have timetable and some other stuff in it plus space for passwords, links. That needs to be signed by us once a week.

Ok, I realise now that I may have gone overboard with my children but as Ds1 is in year 11 and super organised it clearly worked.

2 pencil cases, both live in the school bag and are never taken out at home. In one case, pens, pencil (mechanical no sharpening required) glue stick etc, the other has protractor, coloured pencils, compass etc so the less used items. Also spare coloured pens which are part of their required equipment. If they don't have this they get a negative in their planner so they are prepared.

Rucksack is a laptop bag as they are padded against their backs and can take a lot of weight.

At home, wooden magazine file for each day of the week. Bag emptied from the day books put into correct day file for when it is next needed. Homework written down and put on noticeboard (see below.)

Timetable, copied, pinned onto noticeboard in room, opposite where they sit at the breakfast bar in kitchen and on the back of the front door.

Noticeboard in room - a section divided into days so they can pin up homework using ready cut strip of paper so they can see at a glance how much homework they have and when it is due in. Noticeboard was from Ikea, I just put coloured paper on it which I draw on the days of the week.

Weather app on phone so they can see if they are wearing their waterproof coat to school or not.

A4 plastic wallet to bring home letters from school, although planner is marked when staff send letter home.

My DD's school gave you the facility to buy a fully stocked pencil case at the start of term with everything you needed. That made life easy.

She can buy replacements cheaply from school shop at breaks- its detention if she doesn't have anything when it's needed in a lesson.

Books - the school supplied plastic covers.

She has a locker but never uses it - she just takes in books / pe kit she needs each day.