Last night was Back-to-School night at Ryan’s middle school.\u00a0 For two hours parents rotate through their child’s class schedule to get the low-down on the upcoming year.\u00a0 For\u00a0me,\u00a0it’s also a chance to see people\u00a0I haven’t seen in a while.<\/p>\n
So there I was, sitting in the gym setting up a carpool for cross country, when the PE teacher began his schpeel.\u00a0 I happen to be very pleased with the program at the school.\u00a0 It’s well defined and all kids are exposed to a variety of ways to get phycially fit.\u00a0 Then he started talking about the lost and found bin.\u00a0 Twice a year, once at Christmas and once at the end of the year, he fills up five garbage bags of gym clothes and sweatshirts and hauls them to a needy charity.\u00a0 I think it’s great.\u00a0 There are probably some really nice clothes in those bags.\u00a0 What I don’t think is great is that twice a year, once at Christmas and once at the end of the year, he fills up five garbage bags of clothes and sweatshirts.<\/p>\n
One of the requirements to the PE clothes code is that all students have their last name written in the designated spot on their PE shirt and their “number” gets written on their shorts.\u00a0 Like many schools, they have specific PE attire that they purchase, apparently throughout the year…we’ll get back to that.\u00a0 Ryan has two sets of PE clothes.\u00a0 One set he wears all week and brings home to be washed on Friday.\u00a0 The second set he puts in his backpack right after he dumps the smelly ones in the laundry basket.\u00a0 The second set is for the times I simply do not feel like doing laundry on the weekend.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I buy both of my boys their first sets of PE clothes.\u00a0 After that, they’re on their own which means, if they lose a shirt or pair of PE shorts, it’s their responsibility to buy themselves a new one.\u00a0 And yes, they need to buy a new one.\u00a0\u00a0 Not wanting to do laundry on the weekend happens to me a lot.<\/p>\n
This is Ryan’s second year in middle school and Nathan is a sophomore in high school.\u00a0 That means Ryan has been through one complete year of wearing school PE clothes, and Nathan has been through three years.\u00a0 Not once have either of them lost a pair of shorts or a PE shirt.\u00a0 We did get a little scare when Nathan was in the eight grade.\u00a0 He “lost” his PE shoes.\u00a0 I had him check the lost and found in the boys locker room and they weren’t there.\u00a0 For grins he had one of his friends who is a girl check the girls locker room.\u00a0 Sure enough, they were in the girls bin.\u00a0 Oh happy day because I don’t buy a second pair of shoes, either, unless they’re worn out or outgrown.<\/p>\n
So here’s my response to the overflowing lost and found bin.\u00a0\u00a0 Apparently kids are “losing” their PE clothes on a regular basis.\u00a0 And since it is a requirement to come to class dressed appropriately, parents must be purchasing new clothes throughout the year.\u00a0 And although I’m happy that the “lost” clothes are donated, I’m not sure how excited a kid is going to be to be wearing a shirt with a middle school logo on it\u00a0and “SMITH” in big, black letters.<\/p>\n