Teachers and parents in the US apparently still communicate with each other by literally pinning notes on children:
"TRANSPORTATION TIPS FOR PARENTS
For the first two weeks of school, please pin a note on your primary grade child’s clothing with the following data: Name, Bus #, Bus Stop, emergency phone number, and Teacher’s Name."
https://www.stlucie.k12.fl.us/pdf/departments/transportation...And here's a nice, though possibly apocryphal, story:
"Young Thomas Edison came home from school one day with a note pinned on him. The note from his teacher read, "Keep this boy at home. He is too stupid to learn.""
https://www.google.es/search?num=100&ei=p2feWqHsOOTMgAao2ZqY...