What school to send your child?

Here's a poll to see what BellyBelly members think about schooling and their child.

Discuss your thoughts and share why you have decided on the particular method of schooling.

Will be sending Kameron to a public school. Public system was good enough for us kids so it will be good enough for him.

have a reception to yr 12 school about a 15 min walk away so that is where he will go.

Love

Single sex Catholic Congregational for high school, local Catholic school for Primary

Emily will be going to a public co-ed primary (just up the road from the new house). And more than likely a private school for high, we are looking at Sienna and MLC, this is largely because I am not impressed with the public schools in that area as there aren't many and the ones that are around are way too far from home. I went to public for some years and a private for some years and both were fine. I personally think it depends on the childs willingness to learn and thier personal abilities (do they excel in English, Math etc.) as to which school idealy I would like to send them too. For example Luther has a fantastic english depatrment. As I said I think both are really fine depending on what schools are like in your area, I know of bad public schools and I know of bad private...

Carley :)

I voted for public co-ed, but if I had the money, I would certainly go private for Secondary School.

I had experience of both, and would say that the Private School was the better of the 2, but that was over 20 years ago.

I was very lucky to get Matt into McKinnon Secondary, which is one of the best public schools in Melbourne. It has a very small zone, and we live outside it, so I had to submit a resume on his behalf to argue why he should be accepted. Fortunately, he was a straight A student, so they were happy to have him, but I sweated on the outcome as the other options in my area were not good. I know of others who missed out on a place who deserve to be given a place in a good school.

Private schooling was always my aim, but alas, finances will not allow me to send them all, so we are persevering with the Public System. I have been impressed with McKinnon, his grades are still good, and the teachers are very committed.

I think at primary level the public system is fantasic, and kids benefit from interacting with the opposite sex.

Regards, Jill.

We plan to send Hailey to a public school for primary and either St Leondards (Patterson Lakes) co ed or Mentone Girls Grammer (girls school) for secondary.

I am not sure which way to go - but I don't think our area has very good public high schools at the moment - of course considering Hailey is only 19months sold who knows by the time she is old enough to go to secondary school!! :wink:

Belinda

I have opted for private schooling for Leonie. There are many reasons some of them being:

closest school (big plus - we live out of town a bit),

religous education - although I don't actively practice my religion we live in a predominantly Christian society - our holidays are religious ones - Christmas/Easter - she is starting to ask questions that I am not sure how to answer - although the school I have chosen is not of my own faith, I feel that most Christian religions basically follow the same path;

discipline.

I realise that by sending her to a private school won't guarantee how she turns out, but I know that I care enough about her education to pay for it and I am hoping that parents of other children attending the school think similarly.

Anyway, its probably the most important decision I have made to date regarding Leonie - I only hope its the right one. LOL

Mum2Three I like your answers very similar to mine.

Paris will go to public PS (I think) mainly because DH & I have talked about it and (he went private I went public) I think he missed out on alot of the "fun" stuff at private PS book weeks, hat parades...just fun stuff. I think PS Education is a lot less low key than high schoolI know that alot of the important learning happens here but I think that at primary school age they are more willing to learn and less likely to get distracted by peers or outside influences. And as for High School I want Paris in a Private HS mainly because a) discipline b) focus on study. I don't deny that there are bad kids at Private or there are good teachers at Public, but I like to think because I am paying for it if I have a complaint they are more likely to take me seriously, and hopefully Paris will take her education more seriously too.

*hugs*
Cailin

Our older DS has started preschool at a state school this year.

We thought about sending him to a lutheran private primary school, but then Bradyn decided he was on his way and this made up our mind.

If we can afford it when the time comes, we would like to send the kids to a private high school.

I've experienced quite a bit on this subject and whether is private or public shouldn't be your main concern, but the education standards. I sent my eldest two to our local Catholic Primary school - as you do being Catholic. I was always a bit sus on the level of education Matthew was receiving, but I would get his reports and feel like I was just being silly. He was well liked by friends and teachers, was on the soccer, cricket, football, swimming team.............. but there was still something that unsettled me. In Grade 3 Matthew sat the GAT test that all Grade 3's across the state take - the results of this totally shocked me. here was a child whose reports said he was on par in all subjects and this test told me his level was around grade's 1 in a few things and PREP in reading! OK - I can hear what you are saying - how did you not notice! Matthew always hated reading especially reading aloud for home reading, yet his journal was always completed by a "reading mum" as wow, great reading, fantastic etc, so I did think he was doing ok. I confronted his teacher (who unfortunately was the sports co-ordinator) who told me that these test never give a true picture of a child, different conditions that they are not used to etc..... I took that on board and then seriously looked at our local primary school for the following year. Zachary would be starting school so it was a great chance to get Matthew a fresh start.
The primary school allowed Matthew and Joshua to come a couple of mornings a week (just like prep orientation) so they could get to know the school and make friends for the following year.
The boys started at the primary school the following year and Matthew's problems were picked up by his teacher in 2 1/2 days. She called me in and we had a chat and we had Matthew in a reading group for the next half of a year. By July, Matthew was up to the standard of an average Grade 4. I was so impressed by the dedication this teacher had. She also made sure that he was in her class the following year so she could keep tabs on his development. Now he is doing great in Year 8.
With us moving later on this year, I have had to make the schooling decision all over again - believe me I really made this into a huge research trip LOL. In the area that we are moving into I have decided on one of the local Catholic Primary schools for Zachary and Christian and a Public High school for Matthew and Joshua.

Emma started school at the local state school but that changed during second term of year 2. Emma is a bright student, especially in the area of language and writes and reads very well for her age (I tested her reading age last year when she had just turned 8 and she was reading at an age of 10yrs). She was put in a composite class (1/2) based on her age not her ability and then there was the danger Em felt in the playground and her maths teacher who said to me on parent night when I asked about homework "Well your a teacher can't you organise something for her?"

The 2 of them now attend the local catholic school and while class sizes are bigger I feel a little happier about their level of education (although I must make an appointment to speak with Em's teachers ... still some issues there with Em saying she hates school because she is bored). Jack loves it and is thriving ... I think he maybe a bright student too ... his special area of interest is anything and everything!!!

They will hopefully stay there until they finish school and then they will be going to Murdoch college for high school. Murdoch is a Co-Ed Secondary school that is on the campus of a University so in yrs 11 & 12 they are able to access the university facilities as part of their learning ... they also have a pre vet course and Em has said she wants to be a vet!!!

I also agree that you need to focus on the education standards rather than the public Vs private issue. I am a teacher in a state school and love my job ... but I choose not to send my kids to a public school because I feel they are better off where they are.

Cheers

My oldest went to Public school (lots of different ones, in different states, we moved around a lot).

When DS started school we lived in the Country - one public school, one private catholic school, we picked the private one.

We have since moved to a bigger country town and enrolled them in the closest public school, they lasted 5 weeks and we enrolled them back into a Private Catholic school.

There were many reasons but the biggest one was that DS#2 turns 5 three weeks into term 2. The public school would not take him until term 3. He had completed four terms of Kindy, so the kindy would not take him either. What was I going to do with a 5 year old that is ready for school for a whole term!!!!!!! Private Catholic school will take him no worries, he has been for two school visits and his teacher thinks he is more than ready to start school.

Also DS#1 is advanced in his reading (year two level in reception) but he was behind in his fine motor skills (writing, cutting etc) The private school identified this and encouraged his reading to higher levels and put him in the LAP program for his fine motor skills. The public school did not even acknowledge his reading skills - instead they put him down and made him read easier books (which he got bored with). They also never acknowledged whether or not he still needed extra help with his fine motor skills. His whole attitude seemed to improve when he went back to Catholic school!!!!!!

I like the idea of proper uniform, which can be expensive at first, but usually it lasts for years and years and they are not wrecking their own clothes.

Hi - I can't help but think, that fees for private high schools at the top end for year 12 are around $15,000 a year and added to this all else that goes with attending one of these schools.

What are they going to be like when our two and three year olds are twelve and thirteen ? $20,000 ?

Nick and I between us, earn just over what is considered to be the *average* wage and just manage to cover bills and put a bit away. Where do regular people get that sort of money ? And twice that if you have two children ?

My parents took out loans with AVCO so my brother and I could have private schooling, and my two sisters went to regular schools and have both excelled. I think someone back there said it depends on the child. I'd like to think we could pay for the second half of high school as private.

Barb.

We are looking at public for primary & private for hgh school for very much the same reasons as Cailin & Marc.

We both went to public primary schools & then the same private high school, so we are happy with how things were for us. The high school that we went to now goes from prep to year 12, but having my sister working in the after school care there has really turned us off having our kids go there from day 1.

We will be sinding Nicholas to a public co ed school. Both of went to public schools so he will do the same.

Kazz & co \:D/
Nicholas 26/10/02

Hopefully Jack will be going to our small private catholic primary, at the moment it has the best name. Then later on it will depend on how acedemic he is, we have two good private schools which cost a fortune but I don't see the point in sending him there if he is not acedemically minded.

Jo

I am very happy for Aidyn to go to a Public primary school...
I went to public primary and highschools, and was relatively happy with them both. But I do think public primary's are better than the highschools.

We will have to see if we can afford to send Aidyn to a private highschool, and I think it will also depend upon how academic he is.

I have a feeling we may get some interference from MIL though if we decide to go public, as she sent DP to all private schools, and is very pushy when it comes to suceeding academically - it is the be all and end all to her (I think it is a culture thing)...

I have voted for a public co-ed school for primary school because I believe that good public primary schools have just as much to offer as private ones. I am biased because I am a state primary teacher, but it also makes me aware of the new curriculum initiatives and everything that primary teachers have to go through. Trust me, our public schools have some very good quality teachers going through that care about your kids and do all they can to provide an excellent education. It's also a hell of a lot cheaper!
In saying this, I would love to send my children to a private school (Christian College) during high school. High school is a whole other world to primary school! As far as public high schools go, I think they get a raw deal as to what behaviour they have to put up with when feral teenagers are lumped on them. It is very difficult to expel a child from a public school. I don't want my children having to put up with a nutcase child in his/her class (mind you - my kids could be the nut-case children, :lol:).
Friends of mine that have attended Christian College always seemed so happy with their school and they always looked tidy with nice uniforms (unlike us state-school kids that looked like we had just been hit by a bus most of the time - very untidy). There also seems to be more choice of subjects and more one-on-one with teachers. Children are encouraged to become prefects and hold responsibility in the school. It just seems a much nicer environment for young adults.

Your story was interesting mum4boyz in relation to your son's reading levels. I am not sure how the system works in private schools (and please correct me if I am wrong) but, here in victoria, public schools have to follow a curriculum inititative called "Early Years". It is an intensive literacy and numeracy program that all public schools are expected to follow from prep through to grade 4 (5-9 is called "Middle Years"). There are many strategies used to aid children in reading, writing and numeracy that I have seen first hand, actually work. So perhaps this is something you can all look out for. Ask your child's teacher about Early Years and how he or she practices it. I am still in the very beginning stages of learning how it works, but the children in my class are thriving (most of my "lower" readers are onto levels that are quite sufficient for their educational level atm). I know this only applies to Victoria (the sooner they standardise the education system across the country, the easier it will be for all of us!) but I am sure the other states have the equivalent.

Both my daughters attend a public co-ed primary school. Shannen is in Grade 5 and Tayla is in Grade 3. The standards of teaching so far have been brilliant, especially this year. Tayla is one of the youngest in her year level and has some developmental problems that we are currently seeing a private occupational therapist for, which the school is in full support of. Shannen on the other hand, is extremely bright and excels at everything.

I have already been sussing out the local secondary colleges. We have 2 about 5 minutes drive away and I am lucky as I have friends with students at both. I have chosen a public co-ed for Shannen, I did that in Yrs 7-8 and then went all girls and was not a good idea. the school that I have chosen is smaller than the other, smaller class sizes, well funded and interested in their students welfare, which is extremely important.

I am currently having issues with my primary school over the fees not covering what they were intended to and me having to pay for basic items like pens, pencils and books. I guess things have changed a lot since I went to school, where we used to get the brown paper bag with our supplies for the year in them, these days the school supposedly holds on to the extra supplies and then hands them out, unfortunately they run out my Term 2. Something doesnt add up!!!

Dinky, that's the way we do it. The kids have their supplies at the beginning of the year and it has to last the whole year. Because I have such a young grade, all of the coloured pencils, led pencils, glue sticks etc. are just put in tubs in the middle of their tables and they all share. I have almost run out of glue and the led pencils are depleting at the children use them up like crazy! There just weren't enough ordered!
Whatever is left over (and I doubt any will be left over) stay in the classroom for the next year. Eventually each classroom builds up a bit of a supply (though always limited of course). I have a new classroom so there isn't much of anything in back-up supplies.
I don't think the schools do it maliciously. I think they just try to use it to the best advantage and try to spread the supplies out as far as they will possibly go. There are limited funds and state schools are very reluctant to charge even more in fees for more supplies. They are already aware that fees are hard enough to pay as it is.
The grade next door to me have their own pencil cases as the teacher prefers the kids to have their own things and be responsible for their own things. That's her preference and I would probably do it that way if I had older children (I just find that the children that "lose" things alllll the time benefit from the sharing because then they are not always missing out iykwim?).

Debbie

Thank you so much for your reply. I just dont understand the fees business at all. We had a new principal take over and the fees have increased by $50 per child, so I would think that they would be able to get the necessary basics for each child on that. It is really frustrating when you are on a tight budget and the girls come home saying that they need new books etc. Last year they supposedly allocated $90 per child for materials, but we had nothing left by mid Term 2, one of the teachers let it slip that only $30 is spent on actual supplies, so it has been frustrating a lot of parents and we cant get answers out of the school.

I can imagine how frustrating that must be. Esp. when the kids run out of things so early in the year! I thought that running low by the end of term 3 was bad!
It is such a pity that there just isn't enough money at schools for basic supplies for the children. You shouldn't have to fork out extra money when you have already paid so much! I even have to get the kids to buy tissues for the classroom because they aren't supplied. It is silly really! I would buy them myself but my kids go through a box every few days and I simply can't afford it.
I guess that is why we teachers "appear" to strike so much. Not only are we underpaid, but we can't provide the best education we would like because of lack of funds. It's frustrating from all angles!
I just hope that whatever gov't gets voted in at the election does more to support public schools. Goodness knows we need it!

All private and public school teachers recieve the same degree to teach in the first place. If you want your child to be well educated then send them to a school that makes THEM HAPPY and where you can clearly notice that they themselves are willing to learn. What many don't realise is that its up to the child itself to learn and both public and private schools aren't going to make a difference. Only you and your child can help make a difference. If your child is not achieving to what you think that they can achieve, then thats when you have to be a parent and take care of the problem and find out why this is happening. It just might not have anything to do with the teaching of private and public schools. So just take time out and talk and listen with your child to find out what they think is best for them and not what YOU think is best for them.

I have 2 DD's and they will be going to Montessori starting in pre-school until grade 6, and then a private girl's school.

I chose private co-ed. The reason I chose co-ed is that I would like all my children to go to the same school and also I'm not really into gender segragation. The reason I chose private is that I would like them to attend an Islamic school. My experience in Australian shools and DH's as well has been that they teach in a very Eurocentric way. If your not "aussie" you end up wondering why your history, language and culture are deemed unimportant. I would like my children to learn Arabic and all the Islamic schools teach it from yr 1 onwards. In addition they teach Middle Eastern and Asian history as well as Australian history. The only problem is that the best ones have waiting lists as long as your arm and a couple of them achieve very high HSC marks but seem to do so by neglecting other aspects of personal and physical development and asking students who do not atain high grades to leave which I think would be quite damaging to thier self esteem.
I'm putting Yasin down for a few of them and when he's older I'll send him to whichever one seems to suit his abilities and personality the best.

I went to co-ed catholic systemic primary schools , and then an all girls catholic private high school, then a public co-ed high school.
Based on my experiences, i would definately go for a co-ed school. I would definately consider a public school as there are some really dreat ones around, but if i could find and afford a good private one, i would also definately look into it. But it has to be co-ed!

Government co-ed, both primary and secondary. This has always been what I wanted, and my wishes would not change if I won lotto.

We're not religious, so no religious education for us. Ruth does quiet reading when they have RE at school. I can't understand why they are allowed to have RE in Government schools, and I suspect it may be unconstitutional or something. I'm sure I read somewhere about a right to secular education meaning no RE, but all the primary schools seem to have it. Few of the locals here are from Christian cultures anyway, but they try to get around it by saying its to help understand the local culture. It's not my local culture, and I don't see them teaching
Aboriginal, Islamic, Hindu, Tao, Jewish or any other culture. If they teach one they should have to teach them all!! (in government schools) (Grrr)

Co-ed I like because I think genders need to learn to be around each other, seems more natural etc. I've heard that girls do better in single sex schools, but they won't have that advantage when they leave, and I too would want siblings to attend the same school.

Government schools for a few reasons. I like the idea of free and equal education for all and want to be part of it. Also, when I was school age, the private school kids I met (some of them my boyfriends) were 'snobby'. Another reason is that I've heard that although kids from private schools get good VCE results & get into uni, it's not always so easy for them when they do get to uni and have to fend for themselves. Private schools have been known to nudge kids out it it looks like they're not going to make their stats look good.

Having said that, I did go to a lot of trouble to make sure eldest would be going to the best government school available to us, and we moved into the zone 1 1/2 years ago especially.

Happy to say she started high school this year and we're very happy with our choice. Her father (ex husband #1) says he's "not racist but there are too many Asians there" Easy to see why I divorced him. The kids' friends are Sri Lankan, Indian, Chinese, Vietnamese, Malaysian.........from what I can see mostly lovely hardworking conscientious kids from lovely hardworking conscientious families - a good environment for studying in. And the advantage of being familiar and comfortable with the reality of our multicultural society.

Of course your choices can be restricted by where you live. I had a friend who lived in the country & chose the catholic school because the government one was a shocker! And you can get wonderful and awful teachers whereever you go. Good teachers are undervalued and absolutely the backbone of the country, like good nurses.

Must....stop.....talking............now.

edited to say we moved here 1 1/2 yrs ago

It seems to mainly be in the maths/science areas that girls do better without boys around. If I had a daughter who enjoyed these subjects or was good at them I might consider a girls school.
I've been told by a few people that private school children don't do well at uni but I've never really noticed it myself or come across any studies that say so. I suspect that it might be a bit of a myth.

Richmond Girls is a government school which specializes in maths & science, & in such a lovely spot on the river too.

I voted private co-ed, which is what we're think at the moment, but that may change..

It feels strange that our baby isn't born yet and we're talking about schools already. If I found a good public primary school that I could get our child into I would consider it, but the one we are zoned to is not good, I'd move before I'd send my child there.

The closest private school to us is around 6k for prep - 9k for yr12 this year - who knows how much that will go up by in 6 years time..

The one other one we're thinking of is Bacchus Marsh Grammar, they have buses from where we live but its still a 40 minute ride which is a lot for a preppie.

I've found most private schools, at least in Melbourne, have some for of religious instruction though, which I'd prefer not to have (Unless they studied a braod range of religions - I'd be all for that)

For high schools, it would depend on the child, whether their interest are academic, or they want to do a trade etc. McRob or Melbourne high would be my choice if they passed the entrance exam though, and were academically inclined.

ray ray,
I agree with the BROADER range of Religious Instruction... WEhy do they call it thaqt but then only teach Christian/Catholic!

I did not pay the extra $15 per year for maddy to be taught this, as we are Balinese Hindu, but it's not super strict or anything & I'd think it much smarter to teach all religions so people are more informed & less culturally judgemental & racist... Which is generally religion based!

I was talking to Mum on weekend & we could count during my 6 years (at same primary school Maddy attends!) that there was 1 chinese girl, an Indian girl & a boy from Russia, that was the only other coloured. natinality children I ever came across in primamry school...
Maddy's friends consist of Pakistani's Phillipinno's, Chinese, African, a girl with Cerebral Palsy, Greeks, Italians etc... They get to bring foods in from their parents country to share & learn alot about the other childrens lives etc....

I said Public Co-ed, which is where Maddy goes & is excelling, as it is a school of only 125 students... She is currently in a grade 1/2 composite & thriving, I agree with whomever wrote if the child is comfortable then they will do well, Maddy has spent alot of time at the school the year or 2 before actually attending & so knew the older kids & was comfortable. Also they have a grade 5/6 & Prep or new student buddy system, the Buddies actually did reading, Maths/counting etc with them for an hour or 2 weekly.. They also did school concerts in groups more so than age groups, the entire school pulls together & is one big class! There is no bullying & I am very happy with the school, there was even a teacher there that was there when I was at the school!!!!!

I voted unsure/confused as I am not sure what school I will be sending Charla to for Primary and High School.

At the moment we are enroling her into Treetops Montessori School in Darlington for Playgroup (from 18 months) and for Cycle 1 (3-6 years).

We probably won't be able to afford to send her there for primary and high school, so I am not sure where we will send her until we get closer to the time where we need to think about it.

We will doing public primary but am still undecided about middle school and high school if we will go private for that.

Hello, this is a really interesting discussion to me since we've just been having to decide on a high school for my eldest daughter. My two girls are in a Catholic Primary school which is so very caring and we definitely want a Catholic high school but were worried it would be too expensive for us. Here in SA if you are below a certain income (approx same as to get a health care card) you get a school card so I emailed the school to find out what sort of discount they give. I was so impressed, they give a huge discount to school card holders, plus additional discounts the more children you have in the Catholic school system, and they even said if this still sounds too much we are negotiable!
At the moment I have 2 girls in primary school, which costs about $1500 all up a year, including all books etc, and excursions. High school will be slightly more, increasing just a little bit to Yr 12. Great hey?!
thanks
Tigerfilly

Hi there,

I have chosen to send my son to a montessori school,
I love the way they teach kids it is so relaxed but structured all at the same time if that makes any sence, we chose montessori after having some issues with his behaviour and putting him in a programe called twos plus which is like playgroup it made such a huge diferance with Peiter we couldn't not send him to the montessori school,

I am so happy with the choice we have made it is such a great way to teach kids and for kids to learn

We are homeschooling our daughter, and not only does she love it, but her education is just blossoming, and she is so passionate about learning! I know it's not for everyone, but we feel it's the best decision for us and our daughter we've ever made

I voted for unsure... Will probably be public co-ed, but am considering homeschool (at least for a while). We've still got heaps of time to decide, though :)

My DH and I attended public schools which was good enough for us back then but sadly it's not the same these days. Back then our schools enforced a uniform which taught us to take pride in our appearance: socks up, shoes polished etc... these schools couldn't give a damn how the kids rock up. Also "back then" they taught a bit of religious ed... these days they can't even mention Santa. The public system is just not the same (confirmed by BIL who is a demoralised public teacher).

So we've sent our DD to private schools and essentially she is getting what we got. Shame we have to pay so much extra for it. She also gets the added benefit of being in an environment where they don't cut down the tall poppies by calling smart kids "teacher's pets' etc which is what DH and I had to endure. She loves school so at the end of the day it's all worth it, even the critical comments from our relatives who think we've turned into snobs!

My sister's and I attended public schools for both primary and high and all three of us have degree's. My sister's are both Early Childhood teachers and I am a Registered Nurse with views to defect to teaching since the hours and pay are better especially with five children. I really don't believe it makes a difference. We live in a small country town and there is only one Primary school, but we are moving at the end of this year to Brisbane. There are exception to every rule, I know that there are definately schools I wouldn't send my children to but that decision is not based on the fact that they are public schools but due to the fact that the schools are in lower economic suburbs and therefore unfortunately the world being what it is I don't want my children socialising with these children, call me a snob, I don't care. Atleast I try to keep my children safe. I have a lot of friends who went to private schools and they send their children to public school and actually only a couple of them have a degree. I think a child's education depends not only on their teacher's and the school, but mostly on the parents involvement and interest. Personally, I wouldn't consider home schooling for my children, my reasoning for this is we believe that the social and emotional development of a child is very important and we believe that we as social creatures benefit from contact with other people on different levels. Children are children not adults and need other children to interact with on a daily basis. I also believe that the people around us shape the kind of people we become, so it is important to put them out there and it also helps that develop independence and judgement skills. Two of my children go to school, one in kindy and baby is in daycare for four hours once a fortnight while I go to work. My two older children do hockey and Ballet, my three year old will start teeny weeny's dance class this year.

Froofy definately not a criticism, just curious, you must be very stong and dedicated to do it, what was your decision based on for home schooling?


edited, I hate my spelling errors, lol

A public co-ed school for our kids. Both DH and I went to public schools and have no problem with them.

There is no way we could afford private school fees even if we wanted to send our children there.