METTER - Why bother with crowds and long lines when you can buy all the school supplies you need in a pre-packaged kit right in your own school?
      Metter Elementary's second grade teacher Ashley Phillips thought the idea would save parents the hassle of trying to find all the right items themselves.
      Once Phillips pitched the idea to the Parent-Teacher Organization (PTO), the plan took flight.
      A master supply list was created for each grade level, including all the items teachers want students to have when they come to the first day of school, then Phillips went shopping for the most affordable yet durable supplies. Parents of Candler elementary students, grades K-3, can simply walk into the school and buy the pre-packaged kits, with no need to ponder over #2 pencils or 4-pocket folders.
      Phillips said that school nurse Sally Powell, also very involved in PTO, was instrumental in getting the project underway.
      "Kids come in every year with the wrong supplies," Phillips said. Not only are the kits convenient, they also save parents from fighting with the back-to-school shopping crowds or picking up the wrong things, she said. There has been great participation so far, Phillips said.

       The kits are being sold at cost; the PTO isn't making any profit from the sales. The kits have been particularly popular with dads who visit the school with their kids, Phillips said.