by Dennis Harter, MS Principal
dennish@isb.ac.th
As we have shared in earlier communication, this year we have not been able to start the school year with use of the lockers in the middle school. Our normal practice is to insist on using lockers, having students only carry the materials they need for one class at a time.
Students have their bags with them more than before
Unfortunately, due to physical distancing requirements and the natural clustering that would happen around our lockers, we have had to ask students to carry their own bags from class to class throughout the day. We understand that this isn’t ideal.
Students are only carry their bags to school and between classes, the latter of which is about 15-30 minutes total, spread out throughout the day. We leave the bags in classrooms at lunch. However, we also know that before and after school, some students walk or bike and have their bags on their backs for much longer (which lockers alone don’t help with).
While we remain hopeful that we can open up locker use soon, we want to support students by minimizing what they are carrying each day. We could use some partnership at home to help with this.
They don’t need so much stuff
The middle school schedule has alternating days. Students either have odd period classes (1,3,5,7) or even period classes (2,4,6,8) on a given day, but not both. As such, each evening, students can pack their bags with only the materials needed for half their classes. They need the laptop each day, but can bring only notebooks or materials for the classes that meet that day and we really don’t have many “textbooks.”
For example, they don’t need the writing journals or books they are reading for English to be in their bag every day – just on the day they have English.
Help your child ease the load
We know that MS students can often struggle with organization or just not want to bother pull items from their bags and add them each night. This is where parents can help their child develop a system at home. Create a consistent space where they keep their class materials. Each evening or morning when they pack their bag, they can take everything out from the day before, and transfer in all the items they need for the coming school day. After doing homework, students can put those materials in that same spot.
By keeping the materials they’ve just removed in that same location, the switch for the next day is easy and quick.
Students may also want to write the period number on the front of notebooks or materials or even just and O or E for odd and even, again making it easier to spot what needs to go into the bag depending on the day.
Developing self-management and organization skills is essential learning at this age group. Students need our help. In this case, these skills can also help their bags from being overweight.
We will continue to work with students on these ideas at school and appreciate your support in helping your children develop a system at home.