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Matt Bien is retail manager at Sharp School Services, in Hobart.
Study guides are available at Sharp School Services in Hobart.
Classroom decorating supplies are among the items for teachers at Sharp School Services.
Last Chamce Overstock in Schererville offers storage hampers for dorm rooms.
School clothes also are available at Last Chance Overstock.
Sharp School Services carries visual aids to learning.
Storage cubes for dorm rooms are on sale at Last Chance Overstock.
Students can find sharp shoes at Last Chance Overstock.
Last Chance Overstock stocks iPad covers.
Pens and pencils are among the supplies available at Sharp School Services.
With the beginning of the school year just around the corner, local shops are stocking their shelves in anticipation of the retail rush.
Though back-to-school shopping is an annual event, this year may look a little different thanks to ongoing supply chain issues.
“My main recommendation for people when shopping for school supplies is if you need it and you see it at a store, buy it,” said Matt Bien, retail manager at Sharp School Services in Hobart. “Supply chain issues remain prevalent and once items are gone from the shelves, it’s often difficult to tell when they will be available again. Things are definitely better than they were last year, but some issues still remain.”
Retailers expect the usual demand for common school items such as backpacks, lunch boxes, pens, pencils, crayons, paper, calculators, face tissues and sanitizer.
In addition to these staples, Bento Boxes, water bottles and reusable products for prepping lunches are trending this year, says Kathy Perry, store manager at Last Chance Overstock in Schererville.
“Bento Boxes are a hot trend because they have separate sections for items,” she said. “They allow you to control their portion sizes.”
While planners used to be a common back-to-school tool for staying organized, many stores don’t sell as many, Bien says.
“With many schools going 1-to-1 with electronic devices — Chromebooks, iPads — the planner is kind of going extinct,” he said. “When planners are required, the schools are often supplying them for students.”
With the increased use of Chromebooks and iPads, Perry says Last Chance overstock has growing demand for covers and cases.
Popular as well are branded clothing such as Under Armour, Hurley, Champion, Puma, Calvin Klein, Eddie Bauer, Disney and Levis, Perry said.
“We even have Pikachu, Minecraft and many more in both clothing and shoes,” she said.
Layering is back in style too, especially as temperatures cool.
“For girls, we have a lot of jean jackets, leggings in different styles, dresses and tops to add that fashionable touch,” she said.
With any clothing purchases, Perry advises to take advantage of summer sales now.
“Last year, the warm weather lasted until October, so kids were wearing shorts and short sleeves to school for longer than normal,” she said.
As the COVID-19 pandemic remains a concern for many families, and cold and flu season is just around the corner, Perry says she expects there to be some demand for items such as sanitizing wipes, hand sanitizer, masks and other cleaning products.
“We offer several varieties of masks still, as well as sanitizing cases that (students) can put their phone and other items in after they get home to sanitize their stuff,” she said. “We also stock individual bottles of sanitizer that they can attach to their backpacks.”
Perry advises parents to not forget rain boots and rain jackets while they are available.
“The last thing you want is to have them getting drenched while waiting for the school bus,” she said.
In addition to notebooks, folders, pens and pencils, Perry says, luggage and storage boxes are expected to be popular this summer as families prepare to send their students to college.
“Dorm rooms tend to be tiny, so everything needs to have multiple uses,” she said. “We have storage ottomans and storage cubes that they can use to keep their things out of the way, as well as a variety of organizational items.”
Closets tend to be small as well, so storage containers that fit under beds can hold clothing.
“Don’t forget hangers for clothes as well as over-the-door hooks or Command hooks for coats and hoodies to maximize their space,” Perry said.
Other items to add to a shopping list include toiletries, cleaning supplies, flip flops, towels, wash cloths, bedding, detergent, snacks and a mattress protector.
“Another thing most people don’t think about is a small tool set for fixing things if they need to,” Perry said.
Though school supplies are often purchased for students to use at school, Perry says it's important to have them on-hand at home in a place where kids can do their homework.
“Set them up for studying success with a desk, lamp and organizational items so they have their own area to study in,” she said.
Other items to consider include comfortable loungewear to change into after classes, grab-and-go drinks and snacks and extra pens, paper, calculators and headphones.
“Earbuds and headphones are a wonderful way to keep them focused when you have a lot going on in the house and they need to listen to a lesson or just want to have music going as they study,” she said.
Bien says teachers are also gearing up and getting the supplies they need for a successful school year.
“We try to provide everything a teacher would need to run their classroom and everything a school secretary will need to run the office,” he said. “The basic items don’t change much, but the biggest changes are in the decorative area where our vendors will change up styles and themes on a yearly basis.”
As technology evolves, many supplies teachers look at adding to their classrooms come in the form of video or programming tools. For example, some new technology tools that the George Lucas Educational Foundation says are popular among teachers include Flipgrid, which gives students the flexibility to submit digital projects, and Gimkit, which allows educators to create question sets that students can answer repeatedly while competing against one another.
Though every school district, school and grade has its own supply list, here are some staples that will help get your student through the year. Although many of these supplies are found on area school websites, it’s important to check your child’s school and grade level for specific supply needs.
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Matt Bien is retail manager at Sharp School Services, in Hobart.
Study guides are available at Sharp School Services in Hobart.
Classroom decorating supplies are among the items for teachers at Sharp School Services.
Last Chamce Overstock in Schererville offers storage hampers for dorm rooms.
School clothes also are available at Last Chance Overstock.
Sharp School Services carries visual aids to learning.
Storage cubes for dorm rooms are on sale at Last Chance Overstock.
Students can find sharp shoes at Last Chance Overstock.
Last Chance Overstock stocks iPad covers.
Pens and pencils are among the supplies available at Sharp School Services.
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