File Folders

So much has happened! I went to Minnesota, attended clicker training and started collaborating with one of very good friends and colleagues. At clicker training there was only one more Social Studies teacher there and she was from Middle School. She was great to talk to though and I thought she had a great idea for students who miss work, so I'm going to steal her idea and use it for next year! This is what teachers do best! I love that it is understood that teachers will use your ideas in their classroom if it will work for them. Academia was very secretive, for good reason, but I didn't like the climate of suspicion and sense of ownership around every piece of research. Teachers collaborate...need to collaborate to be successful!
Here's the idea: Set up five folders labeled Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, staple them to the wall and whatever leftovers for worksheets, etc. the you have put them in the folders for students to take when needed. I'm setting them up in the front of my classroom where students can grab work on their way in, but that's it. They are not allowed to walk around the classroom once the bell rings. If they miss a test I will put a note into the folder saying, "You missed a test!" followed by a call to action: "I will take this test on _________ (insert date) Signed, ____________" That way if a parent calls and says their child (who never lies and is perfect in every way) did not receive a test I can pull out a record saying the date she/he agreed to take the test and did/did not show up.
Love it!? I will use one set of colors for M/W/F and another for T/Th. We are going to an A/B schedule next year so I will only have the little charmers either 3 or 2 days a week. So confusing, but if I can help the students make sense of it even with the little things I think it will help.
Any other organizational ideas?