Julie W
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,209
Jun 27, 2014 22:11:06 GMT
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Post by Julie W on Nov 7, 2015 0:17:24 GMT
I was reading the parents Facebook group for my daughter's school. There was a post from PTA volunteers about lost and found items with names on them letting parents know to have them picked up.
A parent asked what is the purpose of labelling the items if they are not returned to the child. I was surprised by this, as though even though we label DD9's items, it never occurred to me when she loses something that she should do anything but check lost and found. I was surprised to learn that the PTA spends numerous hours when they can sorting through and returning items.
The argument was made that there are kids that ride the bus whose parents don't get to school often ( it is a charter immersion school with kids from all over our large city) but again I still was surprised to learn some people had this expectation.
I have seen this lost and found and it is MASSIVE. In the winter I am surprised to see snow pants in there that linger. I can see a mitten, but snow pants? many times there is a reminder about the growing list and plenty of notice before anything is donated (hence why volunteers sort through items with names).
Where are the Peas at on this one. is it reasonable to expect these items be returned if there is a name on it, vs. expecting the owners to find it?
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Post by Scrapper100 on Nov 7, 2015 0:20:02 GMT
At DSs old school they would donate the clothes a couple times a year. Having searched it many times looking for items it amazed me how much clothing went unclaimed. They didn't hunt you down it was your responsibility to look through the piles of clothing.
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Post by ktdoesntscrap on Nov 7, 2015 0:20:24 GMT
NO.
I think if a kid leaves a jacket in a teachers room the teacher might return it to them.
but once it is in L&F kids responsibility.
I know I am constantly asking my daughter to check lost and found for stuff.
ETA : at my daughters old private school... not a wealthy school.. just middle class... one year they donated 35 coats from L & F to a local shelter. 35! I think there were like 120 families in the school Mind boggling.
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Post by stampinbetsy on Nov 7, 2015 0:22:57 GMT
I think the problem with returning items is that someone would have to look up what class everyone is in. I agree that if you loose something you should go look for it yourself.
One year when I was still teaching, we had quite the pile in the lost and found, so the secretary spread everything out in the long hall that goes all the way down the building. Everyone had to pass all those things to get anywhere, so lots of things were found that day
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AnotherPea
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,968
Jan 4, 2015 1:47:52 GMT
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Post by AnotherPea on Nov 7, 2015 0:23:23 GMT
If you lose it, look for it. I've been involved in many schools and I've never seen a situation where a child could not go and look for something at some point.
That being said, if the pile isn't too nasty looking or too deep, I have looked through ours to see if any of my students' stuff is in there. But it shouldn't be expected for anyone to look other than the child.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Apr 28, 2024 4:04:08 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Nov 7, 2015 0:23:17 GMT
How old are the kids in the situation? My thoughts would that the kids as they get older should have more responsibility. But I think a lot of parents will just replace a lost item rather than try to spend their time (or their child's time) trying to hunt it down (multiple classrooms, open areas, bus rides, etc). And sometimes the lost and found is not easy to find or work through.
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Post by melanell on Nov 7, 2015 0:24:15 GMT
Our middle school teachers keep their own lost & founds in their classroom areas, plus the school has a main lost and found. It's off the main office, so if a kid is missing something, they can go to the office and ask to check if it's there and/or they can check in their classroom or any other classrooms they spend time in. In elementary they keep one big lost and found box that parents or older kids can check it if need be. I would not expect to get any call from a school regarding a lost item. There are countless lost items floating around every year. That would be an enormous amount of time to call people about any marked items. I figure the purpose for marking items is so that if I tell my 6 year old to ask Mrs. Smith if their red coat is in the lost and found and there are 2 red coats in the box, Mrs. Smith can easily tell which belongs to my kid without having to rely on the observation & recollection skills of a 6 year old.
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Post by missfrenchjessica on Nov 7, 2015 0:25:50 GMT
I teach middle school students and you wouldn't believe how many hoodies, sweaters etc. are left in my classroom. They sit in my room on my counters for WEEKS before I get so sick of seeing them, that I send them down to Lost and Found. These items belong to students who come to my room once a day...and they are not in the least concerned about their clothing. I certainly wouldn't be tracking parents/students to get their things back. There is such a thing as personal responsiblity.
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Post by bc2ca on Nov 7, 2015 0:26:28 GMT
An amazing amount of clothes ended up in our elementary school lost & found. A good portion of the sweatshirts belonged to my son. I always felt it was my responsibility to retrieve them.
Even with a name on the label, someone needs to figure out what class the kid belongs to and when you have a school of 600 that is nearly impossible. IIRC, the L&F was emptied and donated before all major school breaks.
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Post by melanell on Nov 7, 2015 0:26:42 GMT
ETA : at my daughters old private school... not a wealthy school.. just middle class... one year they donated 35 coats from L & F to a local shelter. 35! I think there were like 120 families in the school Mind boggling. At the end of the school year, plus the last day before the holiday vacation, our schools put out everything in the Lost & Found for people to look at, in a last ditch effort to get some of it back to its owners. The amount of items is insane. Tables and tables worth. The kids just don't care. They walk by and don't even look.
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Nicole in TX
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,951
Jun 26, 2014 2:00:21 GMT
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Post by Nicole in TX on Nov 7, 2015 0:28:40 GMT
If you are missing something, the most logical place to look is lost and found.
My school takes bags full of items to the thrift store at the end of every school year. One pair of boots were Uggs. Who doesn't look for $150 boots?
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Post by ktdoesntscrap on Nov 7, 2015 0:32:15 GMT
I gave my daughter a kate spade bag I bought from a resale shop... I paid around $50 for it. New it was more like $300. But it was too small for my giant Kate Spade wallet! ( go figure)
She has lost it. I can guarantee you that she has looked at EVERY single lost and found.
She just can't remember where she last had it. I am still praying it is inside another bag somewhere.
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Post by monklady123 on Nov 7, 2015 0:49:01 GMT
I agree (with whoever said it above) that the point of name labels is for when the kid says "I lost my Old Navy sweatshirt" the adult in charge can find the kid's shirt among the 50+ Old Navy sweatshirts. Or, if the kid is looking through the lost and found stuff he/she might think "hmm...this looks vaguely like one I used to have... hey, it IS mine." kids. The elementary school where my kids went keeps a hanging rack in the main hallway near the front door and hangs stuff up. They also have a long table nearby for other stuff. They donate it regularly. I sub at this school almost every day and this odd weather we've been having has really caused an increase in the lost and found stuff. The morning is cold so everyone wears sweatshirts and jackets. They take them out to recess because they remember it was cold the last time they were out. But by lunchtime/recess it's warmed up a lot, then they run around like crazy, so they all shed all their outer clothes. Then the whistle blows to go inside and they all get amnesia about the fact that they brought those jackets outside.
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katybee
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,377
Jun 25, 2014 23:25:39 GMT
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Post by katybee on Nov 7, 2015 1:00:13 GMT
At least once a week I find a coat or jacket in my classroom that nobody will claim. I will hold it up and ask WHOSE JACKET IS THIS??? and all I hear is "not mine..."
I have even held coats directly in front of kids--on the day they wear them to school and ask IS IT YOURS? And they will swear up and down that it is not. Only for me to find out later that it really was theirs after all....
5 year olds are so weird!
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Post by librarylady on Nov 7, 2015 1:07:57 GMT
Most schools do NOT have a person willing to check for names, and then track down the child to return the item. It is the unique school who would have a volunteer willing to do this.
Elem. school lost and found items have amazed me for 20+ years. Children won't claim the items. How does one shoe show up in the Lost/found? How did the kid go home with one shoe? Why aren't parents tracking it down? Every school where I have worked ended up with large donation to thrift store from the lost/found items.
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Post by littlemama on Nov 7, 2015 1:11:23 GMT
I think the owner should be found before the item hits lost and found. Nameless items go in lost and found, anything else should be given to the teacher/left in the classroom for the student to pick up.
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blue tulip
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Posts: 2,983
Jun 25, 2014 20:53:57 GMT
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Post by blue tulip on Nov 7, 2015 1:19:55 GMT
I guess i'm in the minority, or maybe our schools are smaller? if it has a name on it, it can be typed in and the classroom returned in seconds. the teacher could be sent a quick email or note that johnny's coat is in the L & F. i'm trying to see things from the teachers who have posted's perspective, but again, our elementary schools are not that big and it certainly doesn't seem like a big deal to return it to them. the only things I've ever seen in the L & F were unlabeled things.
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Post by Jennifer C on Nov 7, 2015 1:25:14 GMT
The elementary school that my kids went to begged people to let the school secretary know if the kids have a lost item. She didn't mind them doing this because she rarely was called.
Jackets, coats, hoodies were regularly spread out in the hallway at the end of every 6 weeks. At one point, they even posted videos that someone took on their phone to the schools facebook page. They still donated tons to the local thrift store.
My son lost a hoodie in 2nd grade. It was black with a school logo. I had his first name monogrammed on the shoulder area and I used a silver sharpie to put his name and grade on the inside. He lost it. I asked and asked him for it. He said he searched everywhere. It was in his teachers classroom and she had it sitting in her lost and found box waiting for him to ask for it. He never did. She told me it was given to her by the cafeteria ladies and she asked him if it was his. He said he didn't think so. She said yes, he said no because he didn't wear one that day. He did. At the end of the 6 weeks when I had a parent teacher conference she gave it to me. My son looked at me and said you found it!
Kids are to lost and loony to keep up with their stuff. My son is now in middle school and I still just buy him the generic inexpensive hoodies because I know he will lose it. Jennifer
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AnotherPea
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,968
Jan 4, 2015 1:47:52 GMT
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Post by AnotherPea on Nov 7, 2015 1:26:47 GMT
I think the owner should be found before the item hits lost and found. Nameless items go in lost and found, anything else should be given to the teacher/left in the classroom for the student to pick up. So how does Teacher A who finds a sweatshirt on the playground have any idea whose class Johnny Appleseed is in? She would have to take the item to the front office and have someone look up the student's name (assuming that his legal name is written legibly in the garment, not a nickname or middle name). Then, she must walk the item to that teacher's classroom (assuming here that the teacher is in her room available for delivery). A room that might be in the opposite direction she needs to go. Way too much time for multiple people. Much easier to drop off the item at the end of the day and/or get a student to run the item to the office for you.
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Post by nepean on Nov 7, 2015 2:06:58 GMT
My kids attend a small school and they wear a mandatory lands end uniform. I work at the school and run the annual used book and uniform sale. Once a month we warn students and parents to check lost and found, then we donate all non uniform items to goodwill. We do keep all uniform pieces and sell them at the annual sale. I do attempt to return any items with names in them, but most do not have names in them. I certainly don't spend any more than half an hour a month trying return items, any more than that would be out of hand.
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Post by Skellinton on Nov 7, 2015 2:19:47 GMT
In my school the names inside the coats probably mean nothing half the time. Lots of coats are second hand as I work in a low income school. at some point the parent should be at the school- conferences, performances, ice cream social, etc, they should check the lost and found then. Our school donates 3 times a year and it is astounding the weird stuff in the lost and found. We once had a large red colander in the lost and found for months. Totally think it is parent and kid's responsibility, volunteers are too precious to waste tracking down lost and found stuff.
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johnnysmom
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,682
Jun 25, 2014 21:16:33 GMT
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Post by johnnysmom on Nov 7, 2015 2:21:08 GMT
I guess i'm in the minority, or maybe our schools are smaller? if it has a name on it, it can be typed in and the classroom returned in seconds. the teacher could be sent a quick email or note that johnny's coat is in the L & F. i'm trying to see things from the teachers who have posted's perspective, but again, our elementary schools are not that big and it certainly doesn't seem like a big deal to return it to them. the only things I've ever seen in the L & F were unlabeled things. Our school is very small and the principal even mentioned at Kindergarten Registration that she tries to get lost items back to the kids herself and even initials can help. She said that between the size and initials she can usually get the item back to the right kid. But our schools are small, less than 50 kids per grade.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Apr 28, 2024 4:04:08 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Nov 7, 2015 2:25:59 GMT
The middle school has this big bin outside the office that the kids can look through any time they lose something. Problem is that anyone can go through it and "claim" something. DS has lost two lunchboxes and a bag I made him this way. Granted, he needs to do a better job of keeping track of his stuff but it's still crappy.
When they were in a charter school (less than 400 kids total), whatever didn't get claimed at the end of the school year usually ended up donated with the exception of hats, gloves, and other cold weather gear. Glasses were kept until the owner could be located no matter what. If a glove was missing its mate, it was tossed at the end of the school year.
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Post by ~KellyAnn~ on Nov 7, 2015 2:45:04 GMT
When I worked as an attendance secretary at a large (1700+ students) high school, I'd go through the lost and found once a week looking for names so I could return them to their rightful owners. We donated unclaimed items once a month. I had to stay on top of the L&F or it would take over one corner of the office.
Jackets, hoodies, clothes, a bra, shoes, backpacks, sporting equipment, planners, gloves, scarves, glasses, jewelry, textbooks, homework, cell phones, ipods, keys, IDs, purses, wallets, lunch bags, graphing calculators and even a diamond wedding ring (that, and the bra, were never claimed!!!)
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Post by Linda on Nov 7, 2015 3:04:30 GMT
My son lost THREE winter coats one year in the space of about a month - this was 1st grade. They had his name on them and we checked and checked with lost and found...nothing. My guess (we lived in a economically depressed area) someone else who needed a winter coat ended up with them
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Post by librarylady on Nov 7, 2015 3:05:29 GMT
I think the owner should be found before the item hits lost and found. Who will perform this duty? Will you take a teacher out of a teaching situation to have him/her sort clothing? If you have a school with zero to 5 parents who have an interest in what goes on at school, how can you get a volunteer to do this job?
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Post by littlemama on Nov 7, 2015 3:34:24 GMT
I think the owner should be found before the item hits lost and found. Who will perform this duty? Will you take a teacher out of a teaching situation to have him/her sort clothing? If you have a school with zero to 5 parents who have an interest in what goes on at school, how can you get a volunteer to do this job? Who said anything about sorting clothing?. Person A finds item, if that person doesn't know what class the child is in, they ask their class if anyone knows. If no one does, the item goes to the office so the child can be looked up by the office staff, item is delivered by student aide. If the name isn't in the system, it goes to lost and found with unlabeled items. It's not rocket science and doesn't take but a moment.
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Post by 950nancy on Nov 7, 2015 3:47:37 GMT
As a teacher, lost coats and hats and lunch boxes were the bane of my room! I devised a plan that at the end of the day (kids were in my room all day) one student would pick up whatever was left on the coat rack and announce a missing owner. We waited until some kid admitted it was his/hers and took it home. At the end of every quarter, we would have coats on parade and the fifth graders (over 100 of them) would pick and carry every single coat, hat, sweater, etc that was in lost and found in a fun parade through the classrooms where the kids would actually see their stuff and take it. Oftentimes an older brother or sister would grab something that belonged to a more clueless little brother or sister. There were time when each fifth grader would have 7-8 items to carry. We usually ended up getting rid of about half of the items. They were also out on display several times a year when there were concerts or assemblies so parents could see the stuff. Very few kids actually had first and last names on the coats, but if they did, they were delivered to the kid. There were also a few parents who liked to shop from the lost and found and took other kids' coats.
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Post by 950nancy on Nov 7, 2015 3:49:16 GMT
Who will perform this duty? Will you take a teacher out of a teaching situation to have him/her sort clothing? If you have a school with zero to 5 parents who have an interest in what goes on at school, how can you get a volunteer to do this job? Who said anything about sorting clothing?. Person A finds item, if that person doesn't know what class the child is in, they ask their class if anyone knows. If no one does, the item goes to the office so the child can be looked up by the office staff, item is delivered by student aide. If the name isn't in the system, it goes to lost and found with unlabeled items. It's not rocket science and doesn't take but a moment. In our school 95 percent of the items were not labeled. We had an office aide that tried to find the owners, but with 700+ kids, you just couldn't keep up.
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styxgirl
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,866
Jun 27, 2014 4:51:44 GMT
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Post by styxgirl on Nov 7, 2015 3:50:04 GMT
I'm assuming this is for grade school?
At my DDs school, they have a lost and found bin. When there is high parent traffic at the school, they lay it all out on tables. (Parent teacher conference time, Halloween/Valentine parties, etc.) whatever is leftover at the end of the year gets donated. Our PTO doesn't have anything to do with it.
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