I think it's the curriculum rather than the name of the year. In the Territory we call it Transition, but NSW calls it Kindergarten (they don't have a kinder program like all the other states).
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I think it's the curriculum rather than the name of the year. In the Territory we call it Transition, but NSW calls it Kindergarten (they don't have a kinder program like all the other states).
We call it prep ;)
The Australian Curriculum v5.2 Talks about Foundation to Yr 12.
Personally have found that during 2013, the communications from the local primary schools transitioned from using Prep to Foundation. Alot of this discussion has been had in the 2014 thread.
Considering there is often confusion with the whole different states calling the first year of Primary school something different, the use of Foundation should make it easier for members to know whether they are dealing with a preschool/kinder thread or a prep/reception/kinder/transition/ first year of prep thread.
It makes sense for them to have a uniform term for the first year of schooling - but the change of this thread has been the first time I have heard it called foundation (including in my email correspondence with 11 local primary schools, discussions with other parents with kids in school, colleagues, friends, family, playgroup people, friends who are teachers ... etc).
When the thread title got changed, I actually googled it - and found that the Victorian government based sites (Live In Victoria, education.vic.gov.au, etc) that I looked at all still call it prep. The link you've now posted is the only thing I've seen using that term.
I'm not having a go at you for changing the thread title, I'm saying that from my perspective, the term "prep" is still the common term being used in Victoria.
In any event, it's a side issue.
So how are people deciding what school to enrol their LOs in?
What's on the "must have" list?
I'm confused as to which age group this is. DD will be 2 in February, which means she will be 4 in the Feb of 2016 and starting what we call Kindergarten here in WA. We go K, Pre-Primary, Years 1-12. Is this the same year group you lot are all talking about?
I've never heard it either, but agree that it makes sense for all states/territories to call it the same thing. It gets confusing that some states call the first year of school kinder, where we use that term for the four year old year before school.
We never used to have a question where our kids would go to school. The local public primary and high schools were both great so they'd just go there. There was only one local private primary school and one private high school and their education programs and reputations were very comparable to the public schools.
Now we've moved, and have a choice of one public high school with a horrible reputation (and I've met quite a few of the graduates - not people I care to meet again!) and two private high schools. We've chosen a high school based on its size, cost, reputation, and acceptance. By that I mean both private schools are religious, but one appears less pushy than the other and is very accepting of all cultures and religions. We loved the tour we did.
So for primary school, we can go to the primary school on the same campus as the high school, the tiny one in our town (only two classes and 30 kids) or the small one in the next town (one class for each year level). I'm leaning towards the private one because DD can keep the same friends and campus the whole way through, her two besties from childcare are going there, and I really like their teaching style. We are checking out the small one in the next town once school goes back though.
This thread is for what you call Pre-Primary. SA also calls the four year old year Kindergarten :):
What Teeki said, phebee :)
In Vic, you have to be 5 by the end of April. DS1 doesn't turn 5 until May 2015, so he'll be in prep in 2016.
I have heard that you can sit some sort of "test" to get let in anyway, but I haven't looked into it, and can't see any merit in doing that for DS1 anyway. He'll be fine to wait another year. From the little reading I've done about boys and schooling, being that bit older will probably actually be a really good thing for him.
The things we're looking at are:-
1. active use (and not just lip service) of the inquiry learning method.
2. class size and school size.
3. being able to walk to school (a big plus in my book).
4. plenty of outdoor activities.
5. sports programs there, or linked (particularly soccer).
6. what music and arts programs they do (again - there's obviously the curriculum, but different schools have really different approaches).
7. what (if any) languages they teach.
8. what (if any) parental involvement is expected, encouraged, etc.
9. what kinders feed into it (and whether we're happy with that/those kinders).
10 what (if any) animal involvement they have.
I'm obviously also doing a fair bit of reading on the "my schools" site, but I'm doing it with a large grain of salt.
That reminds me nutter, I was very interested in classes outside of the regular English, maths, etc. The private school we like has music and dance classes, a language (either German, French or Indonesian) class, excellent sports, and as it's attached to the high school which has an ag program there are farm animals on site that they interact with and learn about.
It's not all done at the same time and there is choice, but I love that those extras are there, I didn't have any of those options as a kid.
Our school is changing to foundation this year in Vic, which means dd2 is in F-W, there is also an F-O glad the kids don't know what it can stand for but there were a lot if sniggers at the info night.
Our school is public and reintroducing Indonesian this year, love the idea although it wasn't something we actively looked at when choosing a school.
BR it used to be just grades 3-6 doing Indonesia but now it's from grade 1-6
PN yes it's changing to foundation
Ah I got confused then! DD will be starting NSW kindergarten (pre-primary? In nsw we have pre-school (4), kindy(5), 1-12) in 2016, as she will be turning 5 in feb 2016. Methinks I need to find the other thread! :lol: so confusing with all the different school structures!
Nope, you're in the right thread Hope! This is for the first year of formal, five day a week school when they're five years old.
In qld it's now called prep. My son is 5 in feb 2016 and the but off for that year is born before June 30.
Oh good! Thanks teeki! Lol
I'll join in, my DD2 will start Prep in Victoria in 2016. She will go to the same school as her older brother and sister. She starts ELC3 (3 year old kinder) at the same school this year and she is VERY excited. I'm hoping for an easy settling in as she is very familiar with the school and knows an awful lot of the kids. Her class this year is made up of 12 or 13 younger siblings of existing students (the remainder are new to the school) so she already knows most of her class. :) My other two attended the same ELC program and loved it, I'm sure DD2 will too. The transition to Prep in 2016 should be pretty smooth - same school, new classroom and some more friends!
The school we've chosen for DD is the one her big brother will be going to. I had narrowed it down to 2 by looking at the schools websites, googling and my schools. We actually ended up choosing my second preference based on location, cost and the fact I found second hand uniforms on gumtree lol. We have a public school with a really good rep walking distance from our house. So cheap, convenient & ticked all our other boxes.
My first choice was a private school, a 10+ minute drive away. Really impressive, not overly costly (about the same as I'm currently paying for daycare),christian based school with a great rep. I really liked that it went from p-12. We did a tour & were impressed in every way (cleanliness, friendliness & openness of staff & teachers, positivity of the students, opportunities available for sport, music etc). I intend to enrol both kids eventually. If local public school doesn't work out, I will enrol them earlier otherwise I'll enrol them for high school. I'm hoping that by going public for primary, I will be able to save enough that I might be able to allow them to go on trips in high school. The high school we want does a trip to Thailand where they visit poor communities and work with them, which I think they would be very beneficial for self absorbed teenagers.
Oh so my DD would go in a 2017 thread then?:
Yep :D:
This is so, so frustrating. I can't see this thread (or basically any others I'm interested in, at the moment).
I might need to self ban until this white screen thing is fixed. :(
My DD1 will be turning 6 in march that year , she will be starting kindy then
Investigating kinders ... Different thread, but linked!
Sooooooooooo, I've set up 11 interview with local schools. April is going to be busy!!
I need to get our application in too. Just hadn't thought that far ahead.
Mildz how come you hold her back??
Wait, what? Should I be getting onto booking tours and such now? Or are you just being super organised?
I'm still not even 100% sure where the school is that I'm sending DD1 :lol: I need to go visit...
I am glad I don't need to go school hunting!!!
I do have days of thinking maybe I should send DS2 next year instead as he is actually doing more of DS1 things with no fuss than DS1 is. Wants to do the readers and the flash cards etc! But he would be so very young that I do know deep down waiting a year will be beneficial for him in the long term.
PN good luck with all of them!
Teni how can you not know where school is you have picked?? is it zoned is it close enough to be able to walk?
I mean I don't know the exact address - I know vaguely where it is in the suburb, I've just not been there :)
Not really close enough to walk, but simple enough with public transport and extremely easy if I have a car by then. It's actually close to where DH and I met!
I've heard a little more about the five-minute-walk-away one, and I'm very adamant the girls won't be going there. It doesn't have a great reputation, and that's saying a lot for this area!
I'm super organised ;)
I want to do the tours myself (with DH) which means taking annual leave for them, and we want to pick the school.before we decide the kinder. We need to book the kinder soon (probably by June) so we need to get a wriggle on!!
I wouldn't be waiting until June to pick a kinder, I'd be putting applications in every kinder you think you may go, in our council each kinder handles the enrolments, I know for our kinder, the enrolment forms are out now, given most criteria you'll need to get in ASAP to get the kinder and times you want.
I feel the same way feeb. Ds2 is so different to ds1. Delaying school was the absolute most rewarding decision we made for ds1. Ds2, hmm. Don't know. It's tough!:
DD3 is the only one of my kids who'll be older. My others are all younger than their class mates, being born in March, April & early June.
DD3 is October. She'll start 4yo kindy next year - 2, then 3 days a week - then Preprimary in 2016. Looking forward to her going :) Kind of... :lol:
No choice of schools here. Its High schools I have to make a decision on for next year :/ Boarding schools...
The kinders I've spoken to have all said 4yo enrolments aren't done until much later in the year ...?
Might make some more calls just in case!!
PN most of the kinders around here are through the council the cut off is June 30 but if they are in another area check as it might be independently managed which means they could be doing them now. We ended up going with one outside our council and enrolled last year for 2015. Our school doesn't take enrolments until the year before but glad we know where he is going already. He will have friends from daycare at the school and nows a few from drop offs and pick ups.
Offers in yarra ranges come out around July ish, but putting in an enrolment needs to be done quite early, maroondah council use the Mika system, ring the kinders and ask when the forms are available. Are you looking in mainly yarra ranges??
Moderator Message ยป
The two existing threads for starting school in 2016 have been merged into this one. This thread is for general chatter about anything to do with kids starting their first year of primary school in 2016. This is known as different things in different states: prep, kinder, foundation, transition, reception. This thread is for the first year of official primary schooling and everything that goes with getting ready for school.
According to what I was reading, mika needs to be done by 30 June, and is assessed on location, and doing any earlier doesn't increase your prospects of getting your first preference.
The ones closer to home aren't under mika, and while some will accept applications now, others don't want them yet.
And with one (your fave, if I recall!) I'm waiting on a call back from the enrolment officer :)
That's correct with mika, it's about location, I'd ring those kinders again love and triple check, if criterias are like ours, getting in as early as possible means you're more likely to get a spot.
Three school tours knocked off today.
Another three tomorrow.
So. Tired.
Six down, three to go!
The two we went to today are both straight onto the "no" list.
It was a lot of time involved in interviewing, inspecting etc, but I still consider it to be time well spent to get the list down ... there can only be ONE!
How are other people going, picking the right school?
Talk about DS starting school has only arisen in relation to me working part time after baby #2 is born this September. I didn't know people thought about it or put names down so early! I'm in NSW, so DS will be going into Kindergarten (or whatever it is now called) at primary school. He is born in April 2011, so starting him in 2016 will make him 4yrs9mths when school starts. Eek! Isn't that young? The alternative is to wait a year where he will be 5yrs9mths.
I don't know what to do really. Our financial plans rest on me returning to full time work in 2016 in line with DS going to school, and sorting out care for this baby. I don't even know at this stage is DS will be ready for school then. He has only started going to day care this year and loves socialising, but outside of that we don't have any friends with kids at all let alone his age. I don't know, it's doing my pregnant brain in!
I know the finances can be sorted and I wouldn't want to force DS into something he isn't ready for (and secretly I wouldn't mind working part time a bit longer for this next baby's sake and more mummy/work balance). Our options are really only public schools. we have one close to us that has a bad reputation and one a short bus/drive away that I would prefer, so I would aim for that one.
How soon are you meant to put their name down? Especially if the school is in your local area but not the closest geographically to your home? I am feeling really hopeless with all this! If we hadn't had another baby I woudlnt even be thinking of school until the year I thought he was meant to start!