School supplies list, bus routes, etc.

[Anonymous]

We are new to an elementary in MCPS this year. When is the school supply list, bus route info, classroom assignments, etc. usually become available?

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Usually not until the week before school starts for the class lists and supplies. Bus Routes may come a bit earlier. Our school sends postcards with teacher assignments or sends an email. They also have an open house a few days before school starts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Usually not until the week before school starts for the class lists and supplies. Bus Routes may come a bit earlier. Our school sends postcards with teacher assignments or sends an email. They also have an open house a few days before school starts.

Oof! Feels last minute, but thanks for the info.

[Anonymous]

Get out now, don't wait.

[Anonymous]

supply lists are usually available on the school website right about now. They do not change much from year to year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:supply lists are usually available on the school website right about now. They do not change much from year to year.

Oh, good call. Thanks for the note of common sense!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:supply lists are usually available on the school website right about now. They do not change much from year to year.

Oh, good call. Thanks for the note of common sense!

It’s also worth waiting until after back-to-school night to buy the whole list, because the one on the website will be a general grade-level list, and some teachers don’t require or use everything on it. If you buy a few of the basics like pencils, crayons, maybe one folder and one notebook, that’s usually enough to get them through the first week or two. Then you can ask the teacher about the rest later, if they don’t send home their own supply list in the meantime.

The first few years, I bought the whole shebang, exactly what was on the list, and they either never used a lot of it, or at BTSN the teacher flat-out said, yeah, you don’t need to buy this or that, and I’d prefer they had these rather than those. One year my kid came home in June with a stack of the required composition books that had never been used.

[Anonymous]

You might want to join your school's PTA's listserv, because people there can give you more specific answers too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:supply lists are usually available on the school website right about now. They do not change much from year to year.

Oh, good call. Thanks for the note of common sense!

It’s also worth waiting until after back-to-school night to buy the whole list, because the one on the website will be a general grade-level list, and some teachers don’t require or use everything on it. If you buy a few of the basics like pencils, crayons, maybe one folder and one notebook, that’s usually enough to get them through the first week or two. Then you can ask the teacher about the rest later, if they don’t send home their own supply list in the meantime.

The first few years, I bought the whole shebang, exactly what was on the list, and they either never used a lot of it, or at BTSN the teacher flat-out said, yeah, you don’t need to buy this or that, and I’d prefer they had these rather than those. One year my kid came home in June with a stack of the required composition books that had never been used.

Agree. I bought too many that homeroom teacher delete many & add 1 item.

[Anonymous]

And bus routes don’t change that much either. You can find last year’s bus schedule on your ES website as well. That will give you a general sense of times and stops.

If you’re new to MCPS, I highly recommend sending an email to your neighborhood listserv or ES listserv to organize a playground meet up for other kids in your kid’s grade. It’s a good way to meet some neighbors/other parents who can help you get information and it’s a great way to ensure your kid sees some familiar faces on the first day.

[Anonymous]

Our school supply lists are up now on the website. This is the earliest they have ever been available. Bus info comes later.

[Anonymous]

Mcps webmaster here:

You can always contact the school and ask if they have that information. The school supply lists get finalized in June and I know the bus routes have already been finalized so I don't really know why there's a whole bottleneck and not getting it uploaded on every website other than that if the local school webmaster is a 10 month employee then the principal might be waiting until they report back to school during pre-service to have them upload the website.

I asked my principal for that information early so I could get it on the website before August since I know a lot of people travel in August (myself included) and want to get started on school supply shopping.

[Anonymous]

Our principal emailed us the list and bus routes last week. It’s pretty much the same as last year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Mcps webmaster here:

You can always contact the school and ask if they have that information. The school supply lists get finalized in June and I know the bus routes have already been finalized so I don't really know why there's a whole bottleneck and not getting it uploaded on every website other than that if the local school webmaster is a 10 month employee then the principal might be waiting until they report back to school during pre-service to have them upload the website.

I asked my principal for that information early so I could get it on the website before August since I know a lot of people travel in August (myself included) and want to get started on school supply shopping.

Ooooo this is good info and good of you to get that out early. I did discover over the weekend that everything is up on the website, which is great.

Thanks, everyone!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mcps webmaster here:

You can always contact the school and ask if they have that information. The school supply lists get finalized in June and I know the bus routes have already been finalized so I don't really know why there's a whole bottleneck and not getting it uploaded on every website other than that if the local school webmaster is a 10 month employee then the principal might be waiting until they report back to school during pre-service to have them upload the website.

I asked my principal for that information early so I could get it on the website before August since I know a lot of people travel in August (myself included) and want to get started on school supply shopping.

Ooooo this is good info and good of you to get that out early. I did discover over the weekend that everything is up on the website, which is great.

Thanks, everyone!

The MCPS website only has last year’s bus schedule and my kids’ schools also only have last years. The websites have been updated but say that his schedules are coming soon.