Hi,

Just been finding out information on enrolling children for school in Nova Scotia and I see there are lists for each year of School Supplies.

I presume these are for the children to use throughout the year or are they used as part of the classroom supplies only 30 pencils per child ?

Also, what are Duo Tang Folders ?

Confused already !!

Michelle

That threw me too...
Duo Tangs are those thin cardboard or plastic report cover folders with the fold up / down metal prongs to hold the work in place...
http://www.staples.ca/ENG/Catalog/ca...affixedcode=WW

Yes I too had a duo tang problem.....


Walmart was fine to get everything that we needed - and I think the thirty pencils might be because kids are ALWAYS loosing pencils!

Happy hunting (oh yes and I am soooo sending Mr Miggins with the list next year)

Mrs M

Strangely i just did the school list shop and am now $100 lighter in pocket ( and that includes the 4 tennis balls for the chair legs !! )

Duotangs got me the 1st year tooWe went and asked the next door neighbour and she just laughed at us

We found in elementary school the school supplies were held at the front of the class and the kids came and got what they needed when they needed it, towards the end of the year we were asked to supply more paper.

In Middle school the supplies are the kids only, they keep them at home or in their locker and you are expected to replenish as necessary, which is all very well if your kid tells you that they have runout of something

This years supplies for grade 7 have so far cost me $90 including a new backpack - and that's when she has already got calculators/rulers/geometry sets etc. Still it's cheaper than a school uniform, although I would prefer she had one of those too.

We have done one year already with uniform in the UK so it will be interesting to see what I prefer - but I know for a fact the boy is pleased to wear his own gear.....

I could be heard muttering through the aisles with three other duo tanged out mothers also!

Which made me feel better - cos they were CANADIAN!!!

Mrs M

Yep - duotangs got me too the first year - I've also found that Laurentian coloured pencils last a lot longer than Crayola which seem to break all the time. I'm actually currently sporting a rather big blister on my finger from sharpening those 30 writing pencils today!

This year (grade 3) I seem to be buying teachers' supplies also - marking pens and highlighters; kleenex for the class etc.

Also for parents out there new to the Canadian school system another tip - buy seasonal sports stuff as soon as it gets into the shops unless you are prepared for a search eg skates won't be needed till Jan probably but get them asap - and you will also need a hockey helmet for school skating - can't just wear a bicycle helmet. We got caught without either the first year and ended up borrowing a too big helmet from a neighbour for our son plus had to buy expensive skates cos that was all that was left in the shops.

Finally - regarding clothes - snow pants are not the same as the thick plastic pants (more like oilskins) which are only for rain. Our son went through the whole of the first winter in the latter with me thinking they were snow pants. He was ok but his teacher finally sent a note home in March asking me to get him some snow pants! I felt dreadful but he assured me he hadn't been cold.

My son's school hasn't had a lot of foreign kids so don't even think about explaining some of these things.

PS Snow boots are not waterproof - you can't get away wearing them in puddles for any length of time without getting wet feet - gosh, I'm a horrible mother

Me too with duotang thing, i thought it was a made up word when i first heard it At least they have a specific name for it here in Canada as i never knew what they were called in the UK.

We don't have to buy our own school supplies, we pay school fees at the start of the year and this covers cost of supplies. Along with the cost of milk (which is optional) and any hot lunches that we sign up for, Sept is quite an expensive month. Add to that fees for any out of school activities, which are due in full at the start of term, Sept is now a very expensive month.

I do wish they had school uniform here though, it is so much easier. I have seen some school skirts and pinafores in Walmart recently, hoping they might set a trend.

Jo xx

Hi All,,

Thanks for the replies, things are certainly getting clearer.

What do the majority of kids do in respect of lunches school or packed lunch & if packed do the kids take lunch boxes like we do here ?

What sort of sports equipment are children expected to have at 8 & 10 ?

Sorry for alll the questions,, just reading this and thinking gosh hockey helmets, skates etc.. ??

Yes, personally I prefer school uniforms as always thought in the UK it made sure everyone was wearing the same regardless of "background" whereas,,,, no uniform do kids get the mickey taken out of them cos "not fashionable etc.",,, hopefully this wont & doesnt happen,, just remember being a child myself and suffering the torments cos my parents couldnt afford the latest trainers !

School supplies?

Isn't that an unexpected event in a Chinese educational establishment?

Chairman M.

Yes, all of the above. Established parents likely have a source for used equipment, last year's kids, failing that try Play It Again Sports. It can get expensive though, encourage swimming and ballet, discourage ice hockey and skiing, avoid figure skating and anything involving horses.

Quite. We have been fortunate in that The Boy, who is very sporty, loathes hockey and gets hayfever.

On the subject of school supplies, I'm not too worried about pens etc. That stuff is easy to claim as office expenses. The real hit comes from text books. That will likely get worse if he's made it into CEGEP this year.

Ha! Two kids. University. Gray's Anatomy.

Good advice. Our daughter loves swimming and our son prefers soccer.

The bad news is that both are hooked on skiing and snowboarding

Oh well.

Swimming has to the number one, supreme, ne plus ultra activity from the parent's point of view. The investment in #1 daughter's swimming was minimal and then all through high school and university she made money as a lifeguard/coach/pool manager. Even now she has a full time job she does the odd shift guarding or coaching. Huge bang for the buck and if lifeguards weren't such huge stoners it'd even be healthy.

Swimming and snowboards. Oh my, do you remember Sean Penn in Ridgemount High?