BY LIZ JONES
Packs of bright coloured pencils and felt tipped pens, for example, or the fresh smelling blank pages of notebooks and pads.
Shiny new school supplies, including contemporary lunch boxes and backpacks, are the perfect incentives for students to start the next academic year with renewed energy and enthusiasm. Fortunately, a variety of stores in Bermuda offer plenty of choice and, in some cases, discounts to schools and teachers.
A.F. Smith 292-1882 | www.afsmith.bm
As Marketing Director Morgan Smith explains, deals directly with the Department of Education and with many private schools. A partner with Support Public Schools, the store sells in bulk, offering the best possible discounts and delivering right to the schools.
At the store itself, supplies range from traditional stationery to student printers and chairs, at “very aggressive pricing”, with regular cost-effective promotions. A.F. Smith is Bermuda’s Apple Authority for products, including MacBooks, iPads, and AirPods. Crayola, Elmer’s, and Mead are some of their biggest brands while customer favourites include geometry sets, pencil boxes, notebooks, and Texas Instrument calculators. Teachers visiting the store receive year-round 10 percent discount.
People’s Pharmacy 292-7527 | https://orders.peoples.bm
People’s has a large range of school supplies, especially for nursery to pre-schoolers, as well as older students. Assistant Manager Sinead Scott-James is particularly excited about their newly launched brand, Talking Out of Turn, whose products include laptop sleeves, pencil cases, desk organizer sets, and pens. Stephen Joseph is an excellent brand for pre-schoolers offering sleeping mats, art smocks, backpacks, and lunch bags. Eco-friendly lunch boxes by Planetbox and Yumbox are also for sale. All customers receive a loyalty card. Discounts are available on case packs.
The Phoenix Centre 441-279-5451 | phoenixstores.com
The Phoenix does not have discounts for students but as Store Manager, Kevin Rivard explains, “We try to source products at affordable everyday prices.” Items include binders, report covers, paper, pens, pencils, erasers, composition books, pencil cases, backpacks, lunch bags, Crayola brand crayons, pencil crayons and markers.
School Boxez 747-8066 | www.schoolboxez.com
School Boxez is an online store, perfect for those who haven’t time to shop. Tracy Burgess offers three categories of school stationery kits at set prices: upper primary school box, middle school box and high school box, all containing essential items. She is currently offering a 10 percent discount while supplies last.
The Stationery Store 295-6311 | www.stationerystore.bm
The Stationery Store offers a ten percent discount to teachers with valid ID. As Janee Pitt, Store Manager, says, “We are a one stop shop for all your back-to-school needs. Bring in your child’s school list and we should have everything you need. Our warehouse does accept orders from schools, but we ask for orders to be placed as early as possible to make sure we fulfil as quickly as possible.” Stationery brands include Mead, Oxford, Expo, Sharpi, Helix, Papermate, and Crayola. Recently introduced are their exclusive Back to School labels, dishwasher and microwave safe and perfect for lunch boxes, backpacks, and hard surface materials.
