They have already sent out the MS supply list and it says they carry their backpacks all day and then provides a laundry list of things that need to go into the backpack.
My kid claims they don’t use lockers. Is this the new normal? I was shocked they didn’t have them in elementary already.
Am I just supposed to buy her a backpack bigger than her that leads to back issues? Half kidding?
I’m not familiar with the block scheduling etc where we live, so I’m just trying to figure out how to make it work for her.
She also likely will be bringing lunch, so when I asked where she stored her lunchbox, I got a blank stare. Not in the lockers apparently. 🤔
I have heard of a lot of schools that don't use lockers. My kid's school had them, but she never used hers. She also didn't need/use as much stuff as was on their reccomended supply list. She figured out what supplies she actually needed and only carried that stuff.
Lockers in elementary schools? They have cubbies in their classroom... They don't switch classes except for specials (PE, music, library & computer lab).
I didn't have a locker until junior high (8th grade) but my school district is super weird with a middle school & junior high before high school. The middle school was 6th-7th and the junior high was 8th-9th. The high school was only 10th-12th.
No lockers is the norm. Here they get 4 minutes between classes. There would be no time plus there are no text books anyways. So yes they carry everything around all day. It’s heavy. DD’s backpack weighs 20 pounds plus an instrument (that she does store). They get used to it.
No lockers in MS or HS. Covid killed them, but it's manageable because they aren't carting around textbooks like we did. My two have always managed to fit their lunches in their backpacks. There are lunchbags with shoulders straps or clips, if that doesn't work for her.
Post by fancynewbeesly on Jun 16, 2024 9:45:12 GMT -5
My daughter had lockers but not sure how much she used it. She definitely had a massive backpack filled with a ton of things--her lunch box didn't fit in it so she would carry that. She rides her bike to school so it is a lot. I think in her backpack she has her binder, Chromebook, charger, pencil case, fun reading book and math notebook. Also two folders.
Post by pierogigirl on Jun 16, 2024 9:58:47 GMT -5
My middle schooler uses a locker every day. My high schooler never uses his locker and just carries his backpack. Both say this is the norm for just about everyone at school.
Here kids tend to use their lockers in middle school on arrival, at lunch and end-of-day.
At the high school, nobody uses their hall locker. Nobody wears a coat. Ever. Student athletes might use their gym lockers and music kids might use instrument storage, but most haul everything all day.
Post by InBetweenDays on Jun 16, 2024 10:19:17 GMT -5
DD had and used a locker in middle school. They then had one giant trapper keeper type folder that kept stuff for all their classes and they carried that around (so they didn't have to go to the locker between each class).
DS couldn't use the lockers at first due to COVID. And then once that was lifted they just never used them. He carried his backpack everywhere. And kept his lunch in his backpack.
ETA: we do have lockers in high school. But again no one uses them. DD and DS used the gym lockers for sports, but never used their hall lockers.
Post by plutosmoon on Jun 16, 2024 10:29:23 GMT -5
Our high school is 7-12, so it encompasses middle school. The kids aren't allowed to carry a backpack during the day. DD isn't at the high school yet, but I have heard from friends with older kids that they use their lockers because of this. They do a block schedule, so most only need to stop by at the beginning and end of the day.
DD has had a locker at school since first grade, they use them to store their coats and boots in elementary school.
Since you have a girl, I will tell you how this went for sixth grade this year for my daughter and many of her friends. Yes, she will carry a large backpack that is INSANELY HEAVY. Then, throughout the year, she will begin to add to the weight. First, it might be the stupid stanley mug that EVERYONE HAS. Then, it will be the fancy Sephora hand sanitizer. Then, it will be some lip gloss. Then, she will want to carry her lunch bag separately — a lululemon bag will suffice, but she will really want a Scout. In fact, she will want a Scout so badly that she will refuse to take her lunch anymore and then just eat Cheetos from the cafeteria every day.
You might have a kid that is different so the status symbols will vary and not be so ridiculously generic. But, the pressure to conform with what everybody else is doing just leads to more and more weight in the backpack. The kids don’t seem to mind the weight.
Lockers went away entirely with Covid. They have also made bell periods super short to both increase instruction time and decrease the amount of minutes for a fight to start.
Post by penguingrrl on Jun 16, 2024 10:58:09 GMT -5
That’s our normal. Our middle school was built without lockers in the 1930s and they added them, but in the back of the classrooms where coat closets were, so not accessible during the day.
Our HS has lockers but nobody uses them. They’re often far from your classes and the passing period is too short even if you literally pass the locker. My kid has never seen theirs or used it.
We carried huge backpacks all day every day when I was in MS/HS as well.
Post by dcrunnergirl52 on Jun 16, 2024 11:09:19 GMT -5
DD and DS1 are going into 9th but at a secondary school that is 7-12. Everyone gets a locker but no one uses them. In 7th grade, they weren't allowed to carry backpacks, but could carry slim laptop bags they they shoved their notebooks/binders and their computers into and carried their lunch with the other hand.
This year, they allowed backpacks. There aren't any textbooks, so that helps but somehow their bags still get heavy with whatever other stuff they stash in there. I can barely lift their bags (and I always tell them to clean them out to lighten the load) but somehow they are fine walking to and from school with them and never using a locker.
I figure their backpacks have to be better for their backs then this bag that I carried in the late80s/early 90s, that was full of books and was unbalanced on just one shoulder.
Post by thebreakfastclub on Jun 16, 2024 11:29:30 GMT -5
My son is moving to a 6th grade building. They are assigned to a specific wing where they receive a locker. All classes are close to the locker and each other this coming year.
We have an orientation night in mid August to walk the schedule, try out the locker, and ask questions.
We have lockers and kids...kind of use them. They do put their lunches in them, and sometimes their sports bags but they carry everything in their backpacks to classes. And yes, they are big and heavy (though we don't have any textbooks so it's just binders and notebooks and a computer).
A few (very organized) kids use their lockers regularly. We have 2 classes, break, 2 classes, lunch, 2 classes so some kids get what they need for the two classes and go to their lockers on the breaks. But it takes a high level of EF to do this and most don't.
"Hello babies. Welcome to Earth. It's hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It's round and wet and crowded. On the outside, babies, you've got a hundred years here. There's only one rule that I know of, babies-"God damn it, you've got to be kind.”
Post by luckystar2 on Jun 16, 2024 12:15:29 GMT -5
I think because kids aren’t using books, locker use has gone down a lot!
Our junior high didn’t allow backpacks. They could use a sling bag throughout the day. So dd would drop off her backpack, lunch, and carry everything for day in her sling bag. Now in HS she just carries around her backpack full of stuff all day. She told me she didn’t even know where her locker was anymore! She went to it at orientation and the lock didn’t work well and that was it. They don’t have much time in between classes and her locker wasn’t convenient location so she just never used it.
Her backpack is heavy. She has Chromebook and then a folder and notebook for classes plus a lot of classes have workbooks.
What annoys me is that the school supply list always had every class saying you needed a 3 ring binder. Um no. There is no way she can take that many binders!!! For the most part she uses folders for loose papers and maybe one binder that she uses multipurpose.
My son has a locker, they don't carry backpacks. I got him a sleeve for his laptop that he left in his locker and used it while in school. The school supply list is NEVER right.
I grew up where we had snow and needed winter coats. I guess I don’t know where that will be stored if not the locker. Same with instruments if you come in the back door and don’t go by the music room.
The supply list is half for her to bring daily and half for the classroom. I’m guessing her home room.
I am mad we trashed all her poly folders from this year. Apparently she needs another 4+ for 6th.
Since you have a girl, I will tell you how this went for sixth grade this year for my daughter and many of her friends. Yes, she will carry a large backpack that is INSANELY HEAVY. Then, throughout the year, she will begin to add to the weight. First, it might be the stupid stanley mug that EVERYONE HAS. Then, it will be the fancy Sephora hand sanitizer. Then, it will be some lip gloss. Then, she will want to carry her lunch bag separately — a lululemon bag will suffice, but she will really want a Scout. In fact, she will want a Scout so badly that she will refuse to take her lunch anymore and then just eat Cheetos from the cafeteria every day.
You might have a kid that is different so the status symbols will vary and not be so ridiculously generic. But, the pressure to conform with what everybody else is doing just leads to more and more weight in the backpack. The kids don’t seem to mind the weight.
Lockers went away entirely with Covid. They have also made bell periods super short to both increase instruction time and decrease the amount of minutes for a fight to start.
lol! Sounds about right. I had to google Scout bag though. The lululemon ones are still going strong here. The junior high uniform of hotty hot shorts, swiftly tech tee, Kendra Scott necklace, matching Stanley, and matching converse/nike’s is definitely still going strong. Oh and last year it was a certain backpack, too.
DD is into the shoe trends for sure. The rest of it? Nope thankfully.
My son didn't have a locker in middle school. It had something to do with covid, but I forget the connection there. They don't have books except for a novel they might be reading in English. He just had a binder with multiple tabs for each class, and his chrome book. He didn't have an issue fitting his lunch in. We did have to pack it in hard plastic to make sure that it didn't smoosh.
The high school doesn't even have lockers anymore. DS is only there for 2 classes (block schedule plus tech school) so it's even easier to manage everything.
DD will start middle school next year and I have heard they are requiring lockers now. I have no idea how that will work-- among many other reasons, I'm not sure she'll be able to manage a combination lock. I guess we'll see how it goes.
In summary, I think it's more unusual to use a locker than to not use one. Even back in the stone age when I was in HS, I could probably count on one hand how many times I ever used my locker.
I grew up where we had snow and needed winter coats. I guess I don’t know where that will be stored if not the locker. Same with instruments if you come in the back door and don’t go by the music room.
The supply list is half for her to bring daily and half for the classroom. I’m guessing her home room.
I am mad we trashed all her poly folders from this year. Apparently she needs another 4+ for 6th.
We have cold weather and snow and the kids don’t wear coats. It’s bizarre to me, but my kid says it’s easier to just skip the coat than to carry it all day or try to find their locker, figure out how to use it, and find time to go. Kids who are bused don’t have time to get to lockers before/after school and the building is so big few kids have lockers they can actually get to.
Post by twilightmv on Jun 16, 2024 15:53:49 GMT -5
It was normal for my middle schooler and I also don’t get it. His backpack was so heavy, and he had a lunch box, Chromebook, and flute to deal with on top of every teacher asking for subject notebooks and folders. I don’t know how he dealt with it. We also sent him to school without a coat most days, because he’d have to carry it from class to class.
The only locker I've seen regularly used in recent years belonged to one of my seniors. He worked part time at Trader Joe's and kept it stocked. Roughly a dozen of his friends also had the combination, and they all used it for snacks throughout the day. I confess, it was kind of genius.
FWIW, both my middle schooler and high schooler carry around moderately large backpacks that are mostly full of 1-2 big binders (my high schooler is on an A/B block schedule and switches the binder daily so they only have the stuff they need for that day's classes) and their chromebooks. When they carry a lunch box it gets clipped to the backpack with a carabiner or carried. Both of them could have lockers if they wanted them, but like so many people have said there's not a lot of time during the day to visit a locker (nor was there when I was a student--my sophomore year locker was in a different building than 6/7 of my classes) and most kids seem to prefer carrying everything with them all the time anyway.
Post by mcppalmbeach on Jun 16, 2024 17:49:47 GMT -5
No lockers here in middle or high school. Very heavy bags including lunch boxes and very heavy water bottles. If they do pe they do get a locker for that to keep pe clothes and shoes.
My kids have lockers and use them. They have them in elementary for coats and snow gear. My DD’s MS doesn’t allow backpacks bc it’s overcrowded and that’s their solution (massive eye roll). She carries her Chromebook plus a big binder and a pencil. She doesn’t need to go to her locker throughout the day.
ETA: kids in MS and HS don’t wear coats. A heavy hoodie for the negative degree days (we live in MN so there are plenty). Another massive eye roll.
Post by minniemouse on Jun 16, 2024 18:10:54 GMT -5
Our middle school is grades 5-8 and they use lockers. They are not allowed to carry backpacks during the day. Her backpack for carrying stuff to and from school is very heavy - Chromebook, many folders and binders, a math workbook, lunch etc. for high school, no one uses the lockers. There just isn’t enough time to go to them. They are allowed to carry backpacks, thankfully.
I grew up where we had snow and needed winter coats. I guess I don’t know where that will be stored if not the locker. Same with instruments if you come in the back door and don’t go by the music room.
The supply list is half for her to bring daily and half for the classroom. I’m guessing her home room.
I am mad we trashed all her poly folders from this year. Apparently she needs another 4+ for 6th.
We have cold weather and snow and the kids don’t wear coats. It’s bizarre to me, but my kid says it’s easier to just skip the coat than to carry it all day or try to find their locker, figure out how to use it, and find time to go. Kids who are bused don’t have time to get to lockers before/after school and the building is so big few kids have lockers they can actually get to.
Yep - I live in an area that can get really cold and snowy. Kids generally don’t wear coats anymore! In junior high dd didn’t take the bus that much (way too early) so that helped some. But she would just drop some stuff off in locker first thing and then grab it back at the end of the day. I don’t think she wore a coat once this year in HS. I know she will occasionally drop something in a friends locker that is closer to things occasionally.
She plays an instrument but she kept it in the instrument lockers they have. She’d drop it off first thing and then grab it at end of day. Although she rarely brought it home to practice this year so it stayed in instrument locker at school. I don’t think anybody uses their actual lockers for instruments.
If your kid is saying that, then it’s probably true. This seems to vary a lot by school. My middle schoolers do use lockers. They have the classes arranged in groups so that kids have a locker near their classes.
High schooler also has a locker and goes to a couple times a day. We went to our go lockers between almost every class. She only goes a couple times. I think, however, they actually are not allowed to carry their backpacks around all day. I think they can only bring what they can carry.
We live where it gets really cold and snowy…if kids are dropped off or can wait for the bus in a sheltered area, they don’t wear coats. Mine have to because it’s 1/4 mile to their bus stop and no garage or wind break open for them at the stop. On really cold days, the bus is likely to be running late and wearing a coat is a safety issue, not just comfort. So we bought a less bulky coat and he generally just wears it all day at school. (Despite me telling him he should throw it in the locker.) Maybe next year…
My oldest is a percussionist, so he just carries his sticks everyone. Kids with bigger instruments have band lockers. They make a trip down to the music hall to put their instruments away before going to their swing of the school.