Howdy! My name is Joe and I attend high school in Southern California. I am going to be a sophomore in the next school year. Besides being very academically focused, I partake in several extracurricular activities such as musical theatre and French. Below is my advice for parents that are shopping for their back-to-school teen or for high schoolers that are making a shopping list of must-haves.

What I first suggest as a great Back to School purchase is the Sony PRS-505 Reader Digital eBook. It is an eBook reader that allows teens can digitally carry almost all of their most lengthy books in their backpack, condensed into an easy-to-carry tablet reader. This can be very lifesaving since back problems among teens have been rising because they carry so many books in their backpacks. Plus, the special screen makes the text look just like it was printed on paper. It may be a little pricey for some at almost $300 for the silver version, but your bookworm will definitely appreciate it.

If your high school teen is into photography or in a yearbook class, then I would recommend buying a new camera for the new school year. The one that I own and recommend is the Casio EX-Z77SR 7.2MP camera. This camera is great and has enough megapixels to generate a great picture that can be enlarged and still look clear. Your teen will also thank you because this camera can shoot in a Youtube™ capture mode that can record videos straight to Youtube™. With the social era among teens rising, it's becoming increasingly easier to send information and media across many different formats.

Another must-have for school is a USB flash drive. Teachers are constantly demanding teens to create PowerPoint ™ presentations for school and we need a way to transfer them to school without relying on e-mail. The Kingston 2GB Data Traveler USB Flash Drive is a simple and affordable way for a high school student to transfer their electronic information to different places quickly and affordably. The entry-level versions cost less than $15 each. You can't beat the price, especially for something that I'm sure can be used for all four years of high school.

One item I know is a must-have for all high school students is a copy of Microsoft Office 2007 Home and Student edition. We all create presentations and documents now for school and this is one of the best software products available for doing it. I owned the previous Office 2003 edition and this latest version has a new interface that's more simple and intuitive to use. It helps me complete my homework and projects quickly and effectively. I owe a lot of my good grades to the Office 2007, especially Word 2007 and PowerPoint 2007. My teachers love how great my homework looks. If I used anything else, my work wouldn't look as good or print out as easily as it does when I use Microsoft Office 2007.

Another product that I highly suggest for Back to School is the CA Anti-Virus Plus CA Anti-Spyware 2008. It's a combination piece of software that I recommend because viruses and spyware make a high schooler's job of doing homework much harder. They slow down computers a lot and make losing important files more likely. I've heard countless stories where some of my friends lost their work because their computer froze or automatically shut down without saving due to a virus or spyware. Those excuses don't pass with my teachers. I can confidently say that this software will make you and your high schooler much happier knowing that your computer is safe.

I'm really looking forward to my sophomore year. Hope my Back to School recommendations for high school help you succeed academically like they have for me!