School Supply List... (incredibly stupid one at that)

[xlightwingx]

edit: to those who go to public schools in north america, I envy you to no end. Really. (ok, I go to a american-english-speaking 'public' school... but still. its different)

[/starts rant]Yep. 8th grade. Whopee. not. I have a bizarre supply list full of things I'm NEVER going to need... then again, I don't actually know that >=0
(ok, my problem's insignificant compared to some other people's, but just listen... or something)

Supply List

2 Box pencils (meaning 24. now lemme think. Why would I need 24? And why is wasting wood better than using mechanical pencils?)
Blue or black pens
Erasers
1 Spiral notebook – graph paper (8.5” x 11”)
1 Memory stick (256 megabyte)
Lined, 3 hole paper – (8.5” x 11”)
Colored pencils/markers
Ruler and protractor
2 three-ring binders (two. I can barely fit ONE in my backpack with all the text books)
Highlighter marker
2 Sets of dividers (why two?)
3.5” x 5” lined notecards (wtf FOR? what, the teachers can't provide them on the 1/193847829 chance that we'll use them?)
Glue stick
5 Sheets of tag board or poster board (36” x 24”)(5? I remember using exactly... none last year.)
TI 84+ Silver Edition Graphing Calculator. (We're in grade 8 ffs. Do we really need to waste $130 on a freakin calculator? there's a crapload of stuff you can do with $130. And we have to waste it on a calculator. and why the hell is this calculator so expensive anyways?)

Yep. Totally looking forward to grade 8. Totally. Any suggestions?

edit: since I'm totally not happy with the replies I've gotten, (they were all negative and un-understanding), I'll make some things clear.

1. We function on powerpoint. Literally. We have a promethean board in ever single freakin classroom.
2. The nearest store where I can buy a TI-84 is at least 30 minutes away, it would cost a lot to ship a calculator from the US to the MIDDLE EAST, and the stores all ran out. So I do actually have logical reasons for my complaints. OK? I whine for the pure fun of it. rolleyes
3. I actually need that calculator. And I have no idea why. Because the kids in china/possiblyotherasiancountries don't even USE them. And their math turned out inhumanly well.

[Dark Incorporated]

Buy those things and stop crying.

[xlightwingx]

Strange. I don't remember crying. Yet xD

[BiteMeTender]

That isn't crazy....Trust me I'm going to HS and I had all those in Middle school and I'm using all those in HS right now if not even more stuff. So don't be shocked yet, just wait till you get to high school. gonk

[Dark Incorporated]

xlightwingx

Strange. I don't remember crying. Yet xD

Figure of speech.

That is nothing too serious. Who cares?
Use the pencils when your d***o gets out of juice.

Be creative.

[Cheerful Gator]

I don't really think you need to get exactly what they say, I mean, if you wanted you could get mechanical pencils, and you could get whever organizing things you wanted, so long as you have a system for keeping track on everything, have a place to take notes, and have a place to put handouts. middle school teachers have a nack for telling you how they want your stuff organized, but really, everyone has a system that works for them, and it's different for everyone.

As for the calculator, that's really a bigger deal and I'd recomend the one they tell you to buy. Calculators can be expensive, I know, but if you get a cheaper one you'll regret it. trust me.

[Pom Graines]

Calculator= it's a special calculator with graph and charting on it so that's why it's so expensive. YES you will need to use it and not just for '4x9' kind of stuff. It's expensive because it's not just a regular calculator and more work/effort goes into the production as well as other market-type explainations.

2 binders: because the teacher(s) probably want to help you be organised, and trust me in highschool when you get there you'll want two. if you can't fit them in your backpack 1. get a bigger backpack, 2. take home only one at night if you need to work with only one or 3. carry one in your hands.

2 sets of dividers for 2 binders..... obviously.

the notecards are probably there because you may be asked to do presentations infront of your class this year and you will get marks deducted for having a big sheet of paper with your information on them infront of you. Cue cards are more professional and they're teaching you to use them now.

Poster board? That's like...bristol board, right? Giant sheets of stiff-ish paper, sometimes with a glossy side? Comes in lots of colours? Okay. Well, they put that on there, again, for special projects that they're probably going to ask you to do. You're in grade eight and you didn't need to use any of this stuff yet? I've used bristol board since grade one all the way up to grade 12...and a friend of mine had to use it in her university classes a few times o.O;

Remember: Just because you didn't need something in a previous year doesn't mean you won't need it this year.

[alligator saurus]

seriously don't get too much until your teachers tell you what you need. I only get some folders and notes. Pencils and pens and then when the teacher tells us what we need I'll go get the stuff

[Thrill-A-Night]

lol. Trust me you need all of that. Especially the graphing calculator. It is jesus. =3

[CAPTAIN Plixy[Stix]]

Why don't you stop complaining and just buy it? You will need the TI-84 in the future so what's the point of putting it off? And if they ask for a TI-84, then uh, you need a TI-84.

When they say you need about ten blue pens, black pens, red pens, and pencils, they only mean a few. They say a lot because kids either lose them or let others borrow them and those people never return them. It doesn't really matter how many you get, anyways. The supply lists call for more than what you actually need.

The binders are supposed to help organize your things. I reused my binders in high school instead of buying new ones unless it was broken. You will need binders in high school and some teachers want you to have a binder specifically for their class. Two sets of dividers for each binder, obviously.

Why should the teachers provide things for you? It's your responsibility to be prepared and the note cards are used for presentations. If you have some lying around the house, you can just use those instead of buying new ones.

[Navitoro]

sounds like a normal school list to me
stare

[enoerauqs]

Because with that calculator you can compute everything and you can even play games lol , also it weighs a crapload. That is why it costs $130. eek

[HairySarriBerryPie]

Well, though the calculator is expensive, it'll also be useful in your highschool career, so it's not a waste of money.

As for things like '2 sets of dividers' well just get what you think you need, and then if you need to buy more later in the year.... (and of course, you can always wait til they go on sale, and jsut stock up then?)

[Kitten West]

Just about everyone has a list like that. You should see the list of stuff I have to get for my son who is going in to first grade xd

The thing is, you will need most of it if not all of it. And I recently found out that even teachers have to buy their own classroom supplies. This is why they need you to purchase your own, they obviously can't expect one teacher to pay for all of that out of his or her own pocket.

[ronald-weasel-y]

You can stop complaining any time now.
Trust me, you will need the supplies.
WTF kind of math are you taking that you need a graphing calculator...
in 8th grade?
I'm in honors geometry and I don't even need one.