Who doesn’t love going back to school? New supplies, new clothes, new classes and new friends… After having spent a decade working in schools, I can tell you from a teacher’s perspective that you may not have thought of everything. Allow me to clue you in on 6 things you really need to think about before going back to school.
- Know the school’s dress code. This can be obtained from the school office or possibly the school’s website. You never know what may be considered inappropriate at a new school. For example, several years back when skull- and pirate-print attire were popular, they weren’t allowed on the campus where I was working. The dress code was printed in the school handbook, which parents signed the first week of school, but they often didn’t actually read through the booklet before signing it. Their out-of-dress-code-compliant child would be held in the office while parents were called to come to school and bring their child a shirt that didn’t have a skull and crossbones on it. At our current school, knee-high black socks aren’t allowed because they are popular attire among local gang members. Weird, huh? Some high schools don’t allow athletic team apparel (like Raiders jerseys) or anything with “bandana print” because they can be gang-related. To be on the safe side, you will want to know what is and is not ok before taking your children shopping.
- Picture Day. While you are out shopping, keep in mind that picture day will be within the first month of school. Maybe set aside one special outfit for the first day of school, and another one for picture day. Before your child’s picture day, make sure you have all the ordering information. Some photography companies allow you to preview your pictures before ordering, while others require you to pay for your order on picture day. In the second case, you can return your pictures if you don’t like the way they turned out. Most schools also have a ”make-up” picture day for students who want a re-take or who missed the first picture day.
- Lice. Yep, I went there. To quote Miss Wendee (our school nurse), if you are in school, you’re exposed to lice. They are nasty, gross, and highly contagious. Be proactive as you gear up your kids for school. Insist that your daughter wear her hair pulled into a ponytail or braid. Headbands and clips are cute, but loose hair is an easy target for lice. Watch for itchy scalps and never, under any circumstances, allow your children to share clothing or hats with other kids. If your children do come home with lice, don’t be ashamed. They like clean hair and can easily transfer to you from a single strand of someone else’s hair. If you choose an over-the-counter shampoo to get rid of the lice, be sure you follow through with the treatment. Most shampoos instruct that you repeat the process after two weeks, once the adults are gone, to get rid of the eggs. I’ve seen many repeat cases of lice because parents neglected to repeat the treatment as prescribed two weeks later. They didn’t see the lice anymore, so they thought they were gone. The adults were gone, but their eggs weren’t!
- Yearbooks. High schools and middle schools usually sell a yearbook at the end of the year, but even elementary schools sell them now. You may want to ask your child’s teacher at back to school night about how much you can expect to pay, especially if you have more than one child in school. A friend of mine with 3 children was able to convince them all to share the same yearbook. If you plan ahead and the books aren’t too pricey, you may be able to afford one for each child. Our elementary school’s yearbook last year was $25, while the high school one went for $65. Better yet, take a lot of photos throughout the year on your own. Then use a photo printing site like Shutterfly and print your own photo book! If you sign up for their alerts, they often offer promo codes for photo books for as low as $10.
- Have a plan for “fridge-worthy work”. You know, those 100% weekly spelling tests and monthly art projects? They start to pile up on all sides of the fridge before you get your child’s first report card. Here’s an idea to help you get a grip on hard-to-part-with papers: Give your child a “spotlight” place on the fridge where he or she can put up their favorite piece of work. Give it a week or two in the spotlight, then move it to a folder of your child’s work for that school year. Years down the road when your child is grown, he will love looking through his old papers and art projects.
- Check the school calendar. On your school district’s web page, you may see a link for “calendar”, but this is often for the district calendar of board meetings and stuff. The school calendar may be found on the school’s website, or as a link on the district website under the title “2014-2015 Instructional Calendar”. Here you should find the dates for important events like conferences and holidays. Be sure to check the calendar and make sure that there are no surprise holidays. One nearby district used to have a week-long holiday in February called “ski week”. Our school has a 5-day weekend in February for Presidents days, and shortened days during conferences. Summer school dates, report card dates, and state testing dates can sometimes also be found on this calendar. All of this information is important to parents in arranging childcare and scheduling vacations in advance.
Fall is one of my favorite times of year. I love back to school shopping and getting ready for a year of learning. Be sure to also prepare for a wonderful school year by knowing the school’s dress code, having a plan for valuing your child’s hard work, and being aware of what is going on at school.
I’m sure there is more back to school stuff I didn’t think of that maybe someone coming from a non-educator’s point of view would know about. Did I leave anything out?