This is one of my biggest expenses. How do you handle tissues in your classroom? Does your school provide 'em? Do the kids? Do you? Last year I asked parents to donate boxes at the beginning of the year. I got a few and they quickly ran out. I asked for more and got only a couple of boxes. After that I gave up. I probably bought at least 8 boxes a month - more during cold and flu season and spring allergies. It gets expensive! What's your tissue situation?
My kids last year used sooooo many. They were a bit ridiculous about it. But we had a good supply. I asked for a box per kid in the beginning of the year. Some brought more, some didn't bring any. Around January I asked for more. I offered a little incentive to get the kids to go home and ask or remember to ask when they were in the store with their parents. I got a bunch more then and our last box ran out 2wks before school ended. I hope I'm just as lucky next year. (The year before I wasn't and I was in your place, buying boxes. I always bought the cheap stuff then regretted it when I was the one who needed to use them!)
It's on our school supply list, so most kids bring tissues and I rarely run out. Those teachers whose kids don't bring it, or who run out, get a roll of toilet paper from the custodian whenever they need it.
Our supply list requests two boxes per student but only about half bring them. When we run out, I ask for more and typically don't get more than a box or two. If I don't get any donations, I get toilet paper from a janitor. I do donate four boxes of tissue to the class supply. After that, I might donate toilet paper.
I keep a box of "good" kleenex for myself. With some classes I've rationed it out, I'd make them sniff, if I could hear something then they could get a tissue. There were certain students who are not allowed to get their own as they take a handful.
I try to keep tissues stocked at all times. I have a naturally dribbly nose, so I need them on hand. I usually stock up at Staples, where you can buy boxes in bulk. My grandma is moving out of her house and she is a hoarder (for real). She found me like ten boxes of unopened Kleenex. Score! One member of my teaching team keeps a roll of one-ply toilet paper in the room. Kids just pull off as much as they need. :haha:
I, too, was lucky last year. Perhaps I was just smart though, lol. I refused to purchase them last year. I was fortunate in that I received about 20 boxes of tissues at the beginning of the year. When we ran out, I would send a cute note home requesting more. When we received more, great. When we didn't, the kids used our horrible brown paper towels. That spurred a couple of parents to keep buying. Of course, out of 16, about 5 never brought the first box!
It's on our school supply list and I always end up having way too many. When I first got my classroom at my current school, there were TONS left over from the last school year. And then I believe each student brought 2 boxes. So I was overloaded with tissues. I had to be creative to find places to store all of them. Now I don't have any students to bring them in, but the teachers at my school are usually very generous if I email and ask for some supplies. I'll usually have students bringing me supplies 5 minutes after I send the email!
My school has been providing for the past few years. Before that, I asked for 2-3 boxes per student, and they brought what I asked for.
Oooh, if I have extra, FarFromHome - I'll share with the art, music, & PE teachers and the librarian! Great idea! Now if only I get extra, lol!
Our school provides two small boxes every 4-6 weeks. It's not enough. I ask students to bring Kleenex for the room. Usually no one does. We go without until the office gives us more in another month or month and a half. I keep a box of good Kleenex for myself at my desk. No one but me touches it.
Our school has the ones that are like sandpaper, so we ask for them in our school supply list (2nd grade list). I request them as needed throughout the year and I will bring in a few boxes as well. Like another poster, we ran out for good about 2 weeks before school ended. So the kids used paper towels until the custodian brought a box to us.
Is it bad if I just leave a roll of toilet paper from the custodian on a shelf. I doubt the high school students will bring anything so I may just go that route.
I put it on the supply list. I ask for each student to bring in 3 boxes. Most do so this solves the problem.
I always had them on my supply list. That was always the one and only thing that EVERYONE brought. Kleenex has hit the jackpot with the packages of 4 boxes, IMO. Don't buy them anymore. Buy yourself whatever you want to use, and that's all. If you must, take a roll of toilet paper and put it in a kleenex box so it's like a dispenser. Kids will survive without Puffs. You could always put it out there on Facebook that you need Kleenex for your classroom.
We ask students to bring in three large boxes, and most do. I usually run out before the end of the year, but this year I actually had extra. I sent a few boxes to the IMC, and I have some extras for the start of next year. Oh, and I always keep a 'private' box for myself also!
We put 2 boxes on our school supply list. I usually run out in January and offer 1 point of extra credit to kids that bring in some more. It's amazing how many parents will buy Kleenex for 1 little point! Since I usually have around 300-400 points per quarter, the extra credit doesn't even impact their grade.
My school last year supplied them. If we ran out you just had to run down to the nurse and get another box, sanitizer was the same way. I also kept a hidden box of Klenexx behind my desk just for me. I had one student tell me that I was now her favorite teacher because I gave her her own box of Klenexx w/ Aloe. She was one of the students that I had for my really small journalism class and she had been dealing with horrible allergies. By the end of the day when she came to my class her poor nose was bright red from the cheapy single ply tissues the school provides. I felt bad for her and gave her my spare box. I did not know you could make a high school student so happy by giving them a box of tissues.
I keep a good box for myself. I start the year with a box for the kids. Once it is gone, I buy packages of cheap dollar store toilet paper. We aren't allowed to require students to bring in materials. We aren't even supposed to ask for donations of non-academic materials.
Our school supply list includes a box of tissues per student. Only about 1/2 brought them in last year and I quit donating my own when I hit 4-5 boxes. I got a roll of handtowels from the custodian. I figured the roughness would prompts someone to bring in tissues. I asked for extra boxes from my team teachers. One always has a ton - I don't think the boxes are put out in that class. I think the SES of the kids in the school dictates if tissues are donated or not. I keep tissues for me in my desk.
I get parents to donate them. I can get them from school BUT it comes out of my supply budget so I don't (plus they are horrible). I keep a box of good Kleenex for myself at my desk. No one but me touches it.[/COLOR][/QUOTE] I have got to start doing this!!!!!
I learned my lesson after my first year when I didn't put it on the supply list. Since then I ask for 1 box per student - most bring a few don't. At this point I actually have a good supply and I always have tissues out. I can start the year off with some tisses from last year which is nice
For some reason our school always has an abundance of tissues. Other teachers end up giving me a good dozen at the end of last school year, so I'm all set for the fall. Our parents are also fantastic when it comes to parties. ....reading and math fact review? Not so much. But very generous all the same.
I teach middle school and high school. I just buy whatever comes in those 4 packs. I usually spend 20 dollars-25 dollars a year. I did have one of my sophomores randomly bring me a 4 pack last year.
It is on our school supply list. When we are low, I put a note in their agenda asking parents to send some. If it doesn't work, I ask the custodian for a roll of toilet paper and after a few days of that someone usually brings some in!
I usually ask on my supply list and do okay with parent donations. One thing I've done is buckle down on the students using hand sanitizer before/after they enter the room and before/after the table captains hand out papers. I also have used Lysol (after the students leave) on doorknobs, chairs, desks, and the bins where papers are returned. That has cut down illnesses considerably.
I always ask for between 2 to 4 boxes. The past two years I've only asked for two boxes because I have some left over from the previous year. I probably have 30 or 40 boxes in my cabinets. One trick I have found that works is to keep them out of sight. While the boxes are accessible the kids can't see them from their seats. It kind of stops the kid that just wants to get up from having that constant reminder of a good excuse. It also saves my boxes from being depleted midyear.
I didn't offer any last year, my first year as librarian. I was just too busy to worry about it. At the end of the year, I snagged a few from a teacher who was leaving. I'll ask teachers for a donation of one box each at the beginning of the year. If those finish, I was thinking of putting toilet paper in a box and calling it a day. I use a lot of Lysol to keep the germs from taking over. You would not believe how many times I've seen kids sneeze on the books. ;p
I don't get to have a supply list for my resource room, so I usually beg classroom teachers that have my students in their rooms to share with me. Sometimes I'm lucky if I get one box in response to my email. :| When the little that I have runs out, I get a big roll of rough, scratchy paper towels from the custodians and tell the kids to either use that or bring in something better. Since I have little ones, they usually don't remember to bring in something better. I, too, keep a box of the good ones back at my desk. I only share those with the paras in my room.
I am lucky enough to have a sink and a paper towel holder in my classroom. I just have the kids wipe their noses with the paper towels that are provided by the school janitor. Paper products are going up in price. I would have every parent send 2 boxes.
Thanks for the feedback! I'm going to start being more vigilant with my "reminder" supply list letters home. BTW - I don't know how some of you got by all year on one box donated per student. I usually went through almost 2 boxes in just one week.
Oh boy! This is a great idea! I gotta tell you, while I was a sub, kids definitely overuse the tissue box as an excuse to get out of their seats. There will be some students that use the tissues all class just so they don't have to be participating. I actually think it's a more popular excuse to get up than using the pencil sharpener. If I happen to sub again, I wonder if I should forbid use of the tissue box unless I hear sniffles. I hate to think that by having a sub that a teacher's supply gets unnecessarily depleted.
Our parents provide them and are really good about bringing in more if we run out. I know this is not the case everywhere though.
Another thing I do to discourage students from wasting tissue is walking the box to them. Getting a tissue is a lot less inviting when they don't actually get to get up. They blow their nose at their desk and then they can get up to throw the tissue away. It also stops the kid that wants to spend 3 minutes at the trash can picking their nose.
My school suddenly stopped providing them the year before last. Didn't give us any pre-warning, just stopped. I teach older students so maybe that helps. They don't tend to have as many colds. But...I don't provide any tissues. I tell the students upfront that I have spent all that I am going to spend on classroom supplies and they need to provide the rest. I tell them that the school doesn't provide tissues any longer (which usually ruffles their parents feathers, yay!) and that it would be in their best interests to bring some boxes to share and/or swing by the bathroom for toilet paper on their way to class. I say the same thing at Open House. If I am teaching advanced students, I get several boxes donated at the start of the semester. If I am teaching regular classes I hear a lot of sniffling I always buy my own box to keep in my desk. In, not on, and I am quite selfish about not sharing with the class if we're out. Can't stand it when a kid gets up and grabs six or seven tissues at once. Then throws away five of them. @@ I'll talk to a student of mine, but when I have floating teachers in my room, it gets more difficult.
