I've decided on Amelia's primary school, though my mind might change by the time enrolment actually starts. The first school I wanted is too expensive, so it was just going to be the one that's a five-minute walk away, but then I learnt one about ten minutes' drive away does AUSLAN for their LOTE, and I was sold. Hopefully the rest of the school is up to standards - admittedly the only thing I know about it is the LOTE - and if so I don't see a problem. Maybe the traffic I'll inevitably encounter...
If it turns out the school's not up to scratch in other areas, I'm happy to send her to the one my brothers went to, and that I spent a year at. It's a good little community there, almost like a small town school in the suburbs. Everyone knows each other
Like TeniBear, there was a school we wanted to send him to (where DH went), but the fees are $11,000 for prep. I find that ridiculous, so we are going for the next best school which is also closer to home.
At this point, my only pre requisite was a good reputation and religious education. Hopefully the rest fall into place when we go and actually see it and get more info about the school. Everything I have read so far I have been happy with.
DD goes to her kindy next year which is part of the local school she will go to the year after..... So pre-primary 2015. Our kids are the same age nutter.... Now I'm confused!!
My DS will go to prep in 2016 I have contacted the school I want him to go to and cause we are JUST outside the zone the principal advised to ebeoll him first week of term 2 of 2015
So I'm not crazy for considering schools this early then? At the moment we are planning on sending both girls to the local public school. We live in a good area so the local school is great (as far as I'm aware). I wanna look at a few of the local schools though but figure it's best to wait til next year when she's 3.....
Div - We booked both DSs in to DH and my school the week they were born, but with the intention of that being for secondary, not primary. We could of course have them in for primary, but I favour the idea of public school for primary (and my mortgage prefers that option, too).
There's several schools in our area, but many of them have performed really, really badly on the NAPLANs. One has done really well, and has an alternative style of education based on teaching children to think and learn with assistance from others, but largely self directed - but the school is really, really small and I'm not sure how DS1 would go. He has a very big personality. It's $7K per annum which is manageable, but a lot of money ($100K for the two boys' primary schooling) if it's not actually going to be better for them. That's a lot of tutoring, holidays, books and activities.
And then, how much weight can I put in the NAPLANs? And how will I even know whether I should be following an academic route for them? What if they are kinetic learners? Or sporty? Or arty? Or musical? Or giraffes?
Peanutter - As a teacher, I can say that whilst the naplans can give some indication, they aren't necessarily a true reflection of the school. The school I work at for instance doesn't always look awesome if you look just at naplan results. The fact is, we are a small school, with usually only around 15 kids sitting each test. We also have two special education classes in the school. These kids are entitled to sit the test too. If they sit the test (as often at least one does), you suddenly have 1/15 (sometimes much less, some year levels have less than 10 kids in them) who gets a very low score which then skews the schools results heavily.
We booked DD into several schools the week she was born too .
We are in the same boat as you Nutter and have decided on the 2015 school just this week. The head wants her to start next year but that could mean that she is a full 2 years younger than some if the kids in the class (specially the boys) and we don't feel the need to rush her.
I've read all the NAPLAN results etched but also the demographics on my school etc. the one public one that we considered (we ruled out several for various reasons) has bad NAPLAN results but also has more than 40% migrant population with little or no English spoken at home which I think will skew the NAPLAN a lot.
My thinking for primary school is that it is so much more about being exposed to new experiences, learning how to behave and get along with others and I know that I'm informed enough to know what academic standards she should be meeting and teaching DD how to learn and research and making sure myself that she is reaching her full potential academically.
So while I think NAPLAN results are interesting I know they aren't the be all and end all, you just need to see here how many people choose to exclude their kids, and it's so much about the feel of the school.
I'm the crazy lady who goes to the fetes of schools I'm interested in, and drive across town to walk my dog past during lunch times etc. and if I'm in a playground where a kid is wearing the uniform of a school I'm immediately quizzing the parents. Lucky we have made our decision...I think people were starting to avoid the socially awkward woman who asks way too many questions...
Miss P was born November 2010, so will start Prep in 2016. She will start ELC next year at the school her siblings attend, 9am-3pm Monday to Thursday. Choosing was easy as we already have two kids at the school and have been there for 8 years! I enrolled her when she was a couple of months old as, even with sibling preference, the ELC in particular is in hot demand!
As Miss P is so familiar with the school and knows most of the kids, I am hoping for a smooth transition. She is excited about starting ELC and we often go in to visit. Her brother and sister (and half the kids at school) are also very excited that she'll be coming to 'big girl's school'!
Last edited by nickle730; July 28th, 2013 at 10:28 AM.
: 2016, not 2015.
My DD was born in April 2011 but will start prep in 2016. It's strange to think that she wasn't even conceived when your DS was bor Peanutter! I know where she will be going though as we have decided already for DS. Assuming all goes well DD will be attending the same school. I'm still not 100% convinced as my heart is set on a different school but our hip pockets don't stretch that far ATM. If things change, I wouldn't hesitate to change them over. ATM, they will be attending a local public school in walking distance. It has a great reputation & I do love where we live but the school I really want is a 10 min drive away and private (mid range price for our area) and when I went there, I was ready to sign up on the spot. My only reason for not shoosing that school is the cost. I figure if local public school doesn't work out then I will look to change them earlier but as it stands, the private school will be our choice for high school as the local public high school leaves a lot to be desired. In the meantime, we'll be saving our pennies lol. As for readiness, I'm sure DD will be fine. She's already showing signs of being ahead academically. I'm more worried about DS. I think he will be fine though as he has made significant improvements in just the last 6 months.
Wow so many different starting ages! Ds is the same as you PN, Aug 2010 so starting in 2016. We also would have loved the small private one but with three kids it was out of our price range. We found a public school which runs similar models of learning has chickens, veggie patches and lots of open space. Dd1 is there and loves it. The kids do a subject called investigative learning and get to focus on subjects they love and do research and build projects. When we moved three years ago we intentionally thought about the schools in the area that the kids could go to.
DS2 I am thinking of starting in 2016 rather than 2015 he will be 4 in jan 2014 but I wonder if that little bit too young and also puts a bit of space between DS1 and DS2 at school as well.
DS2 will go to same small local primary that DS1 is enrolled at for 2014.
DD will also start Kindy in 2016. We have just bought a house and it turns out to be 500m from the local primary school which just happens to be a quite good one. We have her name down at 2 private high schools for Year 7 in 2024.
My ds will start prep in 2016, he will still be 4 and turns 5 in march 2016. I think that's ok for Vic..? My brother was the same and started school before he turned 5 (in nsw in the 90s).
Ds will be young, but at 2 he is the size of my 4 year old and if he is going to keep growing at this rate he will be bigger than his 5 year old peers at 4. I want him to blend in in the playground and I have faith I can get him school ready. He is a very active child so the hardest part might be his capacity to sit and listen.
Arcadia dd2 is going next year and will be 4 turning 5 in March we are in Vic too, she is keen to go to school and is already showing signs of being bored with kinder can't imagine keeping her there another year! She hates sitting still too so we are working on it, dd1 is the same and manages most times but she isn't the only one a lot of parents in her class are commenting their kids fidget too.
Starting school in 2016
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