Have you ever reached into your backpack for your AirPods, only to discover that you misplaced them the class period before? Many Wayne Hills students can say that they have experienced this at least once.

A large number of students at Wayne Hills own AirPods, Apple’s popular form of wireless headphones. These run fairly expensive, ranging from $129 to $549, depending on variation and generation. Though despite how much money students have paid for their AirPods, many still mindlessly lose them along the way.

When you search Hills’ “lost and found”, you will probably see the same items every time: glasses, jackets, water bottles, and a number of AirPods cases. Secretary Mrs. Dellagatta confirmed that on the daily, about one or two pairs of AirPods are reported lost by students, teachers, and custodians. Generally, the main office holds these AirPods, however they also collect in the teachers’ lounge and in many classrooms. Most of the time, students come to retrieve the AirPods they’ve lost, yet some pairs remain unclaimed for over a year.

After surveying forty-four students, sixteen admitted to having lost their AirPods here in school, and twenty-one admitted to having lost them more than once outside of school. Sophomore Luciano Garcia, who had lost his AirPods in school before, said, “I lost my AirPods at the beginning of last year. I honestly don’t know how, I think I just dropped them.”

Students, like Luciano, are often unsure of their AirPods’ whereabouts, and the question still stands: how do their AirPods slip out of sight so easily? When asked why she believes students are always losing their AirPods, Mrs. Dellagatta laughed, and said, “[It is the result of] a little irresponsibility. I mean, they could fall out and students might not know it.”

As students are on the move throughout the school day, it becomes difficult to keep track of whether their AirPods are in their ears, in their backpack, or halfway across the school building. Luciano said he, “[Knows] for sure I lost them because I wasn’t paying attention and absentmindedly misplaced them.”

According to Mrs. Dellagatta, a possible solution to this problem would be for students to put their AirPods away immediately after use. If this falls through, however, she advises students who lose their AirPods to be proactive immediately and not wait for them to turn up themselves.

So, the next time you are finished listening to music, make sure that your AirPods return to their case and get tucked away in your backpack safe and sound.