Hello, everyone!
I'm not trying to intrude on your summer (I promise!), but have received several inquiries about school supplies, so l thought I'd send out a message, giving you "the intel" that you will need for the upcoming school year.
First of all, welcome to our new families and "hello!" to our returning SJES families. We can't wait to see you in August! I am Keri Mahoney, the proud Principal of South Jefferson, and I'm excited about our upcoming school year together. I feel like this is going to be a fantastic year for all of us.
Our staff is recharging and catching up on some much-needed and well-deserved family time and rest. I'm sure that YOU have noticed the stores are already stocking their shelves with beautiful and exciting school supplies.....and this often brings about questions such as "what does my child need for school?" or "why aren't their supply lists available?" "what is 'loose leaf' paper???!", etc. For schools, there is always the art of balancing between not wanting to impose on our families to purchase school supplies and the teachers purchasing things for their classrooms out of their own money. What to do??
While we provide many of the school supplies that your child may need (crayons, scissors, pencils, etc), I asked the staff to share with me (so that I could pass it along to you) about what they'd love to have in their classrooms, if these items were donated by their parents or others in the community. I'm going to break it down by grade levels/ classrooms, to make it easier to navigate.
PreK:
Baby wipes, Clorox/antibacterial wipes, thinner/smaller dry erase black markers, washable markers, (crayola preferred), tissues, gallon-sized Ziploc bags, individual water bottle.
Head Start:
Baby wipes, Clorox/antibacterial wipes, tissues, individual water bottle.
Kindergarten:
The K teachers love water bottles for their students (Ms. Horne provides these for her class already), headphones (for use with devices—-please no earbuds or Bluetooth headphones), paper towels, tissues, dry erase markers, glue sticks, Clorox/antibacterial wipes and Crayola crayons. A change of clothes in a ziploc bag (socks, underwear, top and bottom), labeled with your child’s name, is always appreciated.
First Grade:
Glue sticks, scissors, tissues, wired headphones for devices, water bottles, Crayola crayons, black dry erase markers, Clorox/antibacterial wipes and a wide ruled composition notebook. A change of clothes in a ziploc bag (socks, underwear, top and bottom), labeled with your child’s name, is always appreciated.
Second Grade:
Wide-ruled composition notebooks, wired headphones for devices, pencils, tissues, glue sticks, Crayola crayons, dry erase markers, Clorox/antibacterial wipes and water bottles.
Third Grade:
1 spiral notebook, 1 composition notebook, 2 folders (1 purple, 1 yellow), crayons, expo markers, pre-sharpened pencils, pencil top erasers, index cards, 1/2 gallon ziplock bags, tissues, Clorox wipes,
Fourth Grade:
1 inch binder with clear front insert and pockets inside, 1 plastic folder with prongs and pockets inside, 4-6 black dry erase markers, 2 college-ruled spiral notebooks, 1 college-ruled composition notebook, Ticonderoga #2 pencils, a small pencil bag, wired headphones for Chromebooks, tissues, disinfectant wipes,
Fifth Grade:
Ticonderoga #2 pencils, 3 different color folders with prongs and pockets inside, loose leaf paper (wide rule), a pencil bag, tissues, water bottle, wired headphone for Chromebooks, Clorox wipes, gallon plastic baggies, post it notes.
Special Ed: tissues, Clorox wipes, pencils, loose leaf paper.
Library: Tissues
PE: Tissues
Music: Tissues, black dry erase markers
Art: Tissues and glue sticks (We ask everyone to bring an old shirt for Art to protect clothing when using paint or other art products).
HERE IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF THIS POST:
This is NOT necessary, nor is it mandatory. These items are shared with you in case you happen to be in the school supply aisle, are getting the jump on Amazon savings days or you're like me and love a good bargain and can never resist a Sharpie or a cool water bottle!?) or you just want to be helpful and actually purchase what the students and staff will use in the classrooms...
Again, NONE OF THIS IS REQUIRED. We will always make sure that our students have everything that they need to be successful.
BUT, if you are interested in picking up a few items here and there, as you navigate through the rest of your summer days, and you want to make a teacher's wallet a little happier, this is a way that you can help.
I hope that this list has been helpful and IF you made it this far in the longest post in the history of Facebook, Ms.Mahoney's supply list consists of Dunkin Donuts iced coffee.😆
Have a wonderful day and we'll see you soon!
Ms. Mahoney
P.S. If you're contemplating purchasing supplies, keep in mind that there is VERY LITTLE ROOM in desks. Bulky pencil boxes and unnecessary items are not worth the investment. Smelly glue or noisy toys, disguised as school supplies, are not needed.
What IS worth the investment? Ticonderoga pencils. Crayola crayons. Expo markers. Yes, they may be brand names and more expensive, but they last longer and are good quality. They are worth it. If you have the ability financially, to purchase a few extras for families that may not be able to buy all the supplies, it is the kindest and most-appreciated gesture. 💜
P.S.S. After listening to over 20 metal water bottles hit the floor on a daily basis, trust me when I say that a water bottle that is NOT loud when it falls would be awesome. Some of us have PTSD from that sound. 😊
P.S.S.S. Sending in tissues and Clorox wipes during the year is ALWAYS a wonderful thing. We go through MANY of each.