Get Ready To
Streamline The
Back-To-School
Paper Flood
Christ-Centered
Education
PreK 3 & 4, K – 8th Grade
Ranked #7 of WNY Middle Schools
by Business First and #1 in West Seneca
Safe & Loving Environment
NLSA Accredited
NYS-Aligned/Faith-Based
Curriculum
Before & After School Child Care
Technology, Art, Music, Phys. Ed.
Community Mission Projects
www.ThinkTrinityChristian.com
146 Reserve Rd • West Seneca, NY
716-674-5353
ST. ANDREW’S
Country Day School
Where faith, academics & service ignite
our future & build tomorrow’s leaders.
ENROLL NOW!
• PK3 & PK4 PT/FT Programs
• Grades K-8
• Personal & Effective Class Sizes
• Before School Drop Off at 7am
• After-School Program
• Integrated STREAM Programming PK-8
• Spanish beginning in PK
• PK-8 Sports & Clubs
• All Are Welcome
1545 Sheridan Dr., Kenmore,
corner of Sheridan and Elmwood
Call for a personal tour
(716) 877-0422
www.standrewscds.net
12 WNY Family September 2019
— by Christina Katz
T
he first day back to school is
promising. Your children are
carefully coiffed and dressed
in their cleanest and newest. They are
nervous, excited, maybe a little anxious,
while you probably feel elated by the
possibility of a little time for yourself.
Surely there are a few tears to wipe
away, maybe a couple of family mem-
bers to call or e-mail with the reports of
“how big” and “so brave.” Emotions and
expectations are running high, and then,
guess what comes home along with the
report about how the first day went?
A deluge of paper, that’s what. And
this is only the beginning. Piles form,
coming via backpacks or extended in
the clutches of paint-and-glitter-covered
hands. Stacks quickly start to teeter with
appeals for donations, requests for vol-
unteer time, yearbook payments, and
extra-curricular enrichment, and calls to
rally school spirit.
If you have multiple kids, you’d
better act fast before a torrent of paper
takes over an entire room in your home.
It’s only a matter of time before papers
come reminding you of their predeces-
sors, which you forgot to sign and re-
turn. Or maybe you just lost track of
them in the flood.
What happened to the paper-free
plan? Remember how technology was
going to relieve us of all of this paper
madness?
Maybe we’ll get there some day. In
the meantime, a steady stream of paper-
work is heading your way, and you need
to learn how to manage it. After seven
years of dividing and conquering a vol-
ley of school communications, I’ve got
my paper-flow systems down pat. Here’s
what I’ve learned:
Recycle Most Of It. Initially, you
will look at what your kids hand you and
think, “Oh my gosh, my baby made this.”
But, trust me, the thrill quickly chills.
Ask yourself instead, “Will I die, will my
child suffer, or will we experience seri-
ous social disgrace or bumble a critical
parent-teacher communication if I throw
this away?”
If the answer is, “No,” toss it-quickly.
You won’t miss it. I promise. When you
are unsure, invest in some inexpensive
cloth wall pockets to temporarily store
the papers you can’t bear to part with yet,
like school directories or instructions for
future events you plan to participate in.
Pick & Choose. Your first year
through the “paper mill,” you’ll need to
learn what to participate in and what to
pass over. So think of year one as your
paper prioritizing initiation. PTA? Yes.
Fun Run? Okay. Basketball fundraiser?
Maybe not this year. Scholastic book
purchases every month? It’s up to you.
Select what you can manage and don’t
worry about doing more. Whatever you
can handle; let it be enough.