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It’s the time of year when back to school ads are everywhere we turn whether we’re ready or not. High Schools in Frisco are hosting freshman orientation and parents are eagerly registering their children online to bypass the long lines on campus.
Every year at this time, I receive the following email from FISD high school parents. “What school supplies do I need to buy?”
I’ve always found it odd that high schools don’t furnish school supply lists. With this in mind (and what feels like a million years under my teaching belt), I’ve created a list of recommended essentials for both on-campus, as well as for home.
On-campus school supplies:
- Pencils
- Pens
- 2 binders, 2-3 inch size
- Dividers
- Lined paper
- Colored pencils
- Highlighters
- Backpack
- Keep in mind that some campuses may not allow students to carry backpacks in the hall. Other campuses will have no other option because there are not enough lockers for all of the students. Be sure to reach out to your child’s campus on this one.
School supplies for home:
- TI-84 Plus
- A color printer where your child will have easy access to print make up work. The vast majority of teachers have a website where your child can access the classwork and homework. So when your child says he doesn’t have homework, you can not only check the website but also immediately print it.
- There needs to be a place for completed class work in the house. Whether it’s a filing system or binders, it’s important that your child be able to access old assignments to cross-reference prior to cumulative exams. Or, as the classes build upon prior skills over time, even cross-curricular.
- A copy of the required reading for English class this school year, even if one is provided by the campus. Your child will most likely want to write in the book as they learn the importance of purposeful annotation.
- 2 binders ready to replace the originals when they start looking ragged in February.
The first week of school is the optimal time to become organized for the year. Most classes will send home a syllabus where teachers will list specific supplies needed for the class along with the class website, and general class structure and expectations.
If you have resourceful tips for where to purchase the above-recommended school supplies or other items you would add to this list based on experience, please share in the comments section below.
Best of luck to all in the 2018-2019 school year!
About Korinna Kirchhoff
Korinna has been teaching students with special needs in Frisco ISD since August of 2007 and knows that the reason people move to Frisco has everything to do with the schools. As a mom of twin daughters, her eye is on what makes Frisco the ultimate place to raise a child. In her free time she is a voracious science fiction reader, documentary addict and amateur turophile.
Except for pens and pencils, definitely wait until the first week of school to buy most supplies. We are in our tenth year of having a child at Liberty and every time I’ve tried to guess on school supplies for their classes, I end up returning a lot of stuff. I’ve found that Walmart is the cheapest on school supplies.
My only comment is that it’s been most helpful for easy mornings to have 2 backpacks with duplicate basic supplies. One for A and one for B day. Only catch is if they have time to do homework for the Opposite Day but this was rarely the case so far.