In preparation for in-person and virtual students in the fall and the possibility of going totally virtual at some point, I prepped folders with all the music/handouts students would need through winter break. A local music store kindly donates folders each year. I color-coded papers as I normally would so students can find sheets faster. To ensure students would have a pencil (as I won't be leaving pencils on the stands for students to share throughout the day this year), I bought boxes of pencils, sharpened them, taped a piece of yarn to them, and taped them to the folder. To the pockets of the folders, I taped in a "Contents" list and a fingering chart.
So far they're working out fine--and only a few students have totally dumped all the papers on the floor when they were pulling out the pencil. Not quite sure how they managed that :)
Update: Now, a few years later, I'm also including concert dates and a reference sheet. During the school year, I tape in the concert order for each of our concerts as well. It takes quite a bit of prep time before school starts, but I am happy with the result :)
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