Office Supply News Blog August Archive blog.topic  

Back to School is Hard for many students

By News Minder at 08/27/08 17:02

With school starting all over the United States, it is hard for families to buy new clothes and supplies for children for school. And for many schools the list of supplies is endless: Glue, Crayons, Rulers, etc. I know that in my own family, layaway was always a big part of school shopping. We would do a little at a time and put the clothes away until school started.

Well there are people that are interested in helping students to get the supplies needed for back to school. Countless office supply companies, private donors and charity organizations around the country are scrambling to gather enough supplies. Read here about one particular effort, Three groups working to get students what they need for school - The Lexington Dispatch. I think it is great for people to pitch in to provide kids education necessary for their futures.

Antimicrobial School Supplies

Forget hand sanitizer. We are now making our school supplies germ free. For anyone who has children, this is certainly an alluring ideal. We all know that germs run rampant in schools as many children share supplies, but is the world becoming germaphobic?

We have all heard about the resistant bacteria that are nasty and hard to kill off. I just wonder if we start up with the antibacterial on everything if it will kill the good bacteria that we need for our bodies to function properly (yes we have bacteria on our skin, even e.coli that naturally live in our guts). I guess that decision is up to parents if they want to purchase school supplies like that. I certainly think it is a good idea but hopefully it does not get too out of control. Read the article here, Agion Antimicrobial Protection Rules for Back-to-School Supplies.

Locker Magnets are a Hit With Teens

I know as a teacher that it was really annoying when I would have to reprimand the children for decorating their lockers. I wanted them to be able to create a unique space for themselves, but many of them used contact paper to do it which left a sticky residue on the lockers. I found this magnetic locker wallpaper that is just great. The kids can use it an there is no mess.

What is so inspiring is that a 15 year old girl invented this product because she wanted to give her friends a way to decorate without getting in trouble. To read about her invention visit, DuBois Teen's Invention Reaches $1 Million In Sales - News Story - WJAC Johnstown.

Technology at the top of Back to School Lists

According to this article, 70 per cent of Canadians have computers and computer products on their back-to-school shopping lists, computer supplies are a must have for many students for back to school this year. Not just college kids either, elementary and high school kids as well.

When I was in elementary school, the biggest purchase for us would be crayons and notebooks. We never even used computers unless it was to play oregon trail! I guess the world is changing though and they are deciding to introduce a technology that will be a huge part of jobs in the future.