With school starting in the South Orange-Maplewood School District on Thursday, September 3 for K-7 and 9th graders and on Friday, September 4 for grades 8 and 10-12, you’re probably looking to get started on back-to-school supply shopping.
But first you’ll need those school supplies lists.
Your PTA or HSA has them — except in the case of Maplewood Middle School and Columbia High School. The MMS HSA explains, “We asked the administration and were told that the teachers will be informing the students of the supplies they’ll need during the first few days of school. So the advice is to hold off on buying a ton of specific stuff until your student tells you what is required. For the first day, just make sure your student has a few essentials: pen, pencil, notebook, folder. The rest will come!” (Also, you might want to purchase and get your rising 6th graders familiarized with their combination locks now — for gym and regular lockers.)
In the case of CHS, teachers will provide information to students on needed supplies at the start of the school year.
For the rest, you can find the school supply lists on each and every PTA or HSA website (see links below).
This is also a good time to join your PTA/HSA. Parent-Teacher Associations and Home & School Associations are an important means to support schools, students and teachers and to get and stay connected to everything that is happening at your child’s school.
To join your school’s association in the South Orange-Maplewood School District, visit the websites listed here:
Elementary
Clinton Elementary School — www.clintonelementary.org
Marshall/Jefferson Schools — marshalljefferson.org
Seth Boyden Demonstration School — sethboyden.com
South Mountain School — smsuperstars.com
Tuscan School — www.tuscanpta.org
Middle Schools
Maplewood Middle School — www.mmshsa.org
South Orange Middle School — somshsa.org
High School
Columbia High School — www.columbiahsa.org
Now is also a great time to get involved with the Achieve Foundationwhich raises funds to “promote exemplary public education for all students and educators in the School District of South Orange and Maplewood.” Achieve supports efforts such as the Seth Boyden Outdoor Learning Center and the CHS Robotics Club.
Find out more about Achieve here: achievefoundation.org.
