Managing belongings

Throughout the year Morgan had great difficulty in keeping track of his belongings, regularly losing his pens and pencils, not knowing where his school books were and forgetting his change of clothing for PE, which was required on three days each week.

Losing pens and pencils was an issue for a number of students in the Grade 7 class. Josh’s class and personal supply of pens, pencils rulers... diminished rapidly as the year progressed. As this was a class-wide problem, it was easy to find potential solutions to this problem as a class.

 A range of strategies was used that assisted Morgan and other students in the class. 

• Pens were attached to students’ desks with rubber bands or string. This was possible, as this was the core classroom for the students and not used by any other students.
  
  Towards the end of the year (and the end of the stationery supply) a list of equipment ‘available for loan’ was placed on the whiteboard. Students simply took the equipment and listed their name under the appropriate item description. This strategy encouraged responsibility, as the students using the equipment were accountable and easily identified by Josh.

• Morgan’s forgetting of a change of clothes for PE continued to be a problem all year. Children were regularly reminded at the end of the day that PE gear was required for the next day, reminders were written on the whiteboard and the timetable was beside the door. It clearly illustrated daily and weekly events. It was suggested to Morgan’s family that a timetable of his week at school be placed in a clearly visible location at home. This would help to support structures in place at school and prevent anxiety and stress before school about upcoming lessons and homework / books needed.
• A tracking document [Word 37 KB] was published on the SharePoint site to help staff gain a clearer picture of whether there were certain days on which Morgan was forgetting his equipment.