Moving to Point Cook ..... advice on schools and different groups for children needed!!!!

[Guest Caroline87]

Hi everyone,

 

My partner Matt has been working in Hawthorne for the last year (he's a floor layer). My daughter Ava who is 3 and a half and I have just joined him from the UK so its great to finally be a family again ...... we are currently living in Elwood but plan to move to Point Cook the beginning of July.

 

From what I have read Point Cook College seems to have the best reviews . . . as opposed to the other primary schools within the Point Cook area - If people could share their experiences of the different schools within the area I would really appreciate it as we are aware of the strict catchment zones and this will influence where we decide to settle in Point Cook and we only have a few weeks to find somewhere eeeekkkk!!!!

 

I am also thinking of things to keep my daughter occupied with, I have tried to search for children's gymnastic and swimming classes around the area, the nearest gymnastic class I can find is in Williamstown and I have found swimming lessons in Hoppers Crossing - does anyone know of anything that is closer within Point Cook itself as I won't have a car during the week to begin with??

 

Any good playgroups/mother and toddler groups or coffee mornings that people could recommend would also be a great help as I really want to start meeting other people and give Ava the opportunity to make new friends .... Would be really nice for me to make some new friends too ....

 

 

Big thanks to anyone who can spare the time to help,

 

Caroline

[Guest guest48800]

Hello Caroline,

we've not long returned from our visa validation visit, and we centred our research around point cook, altona area as we're also looking at settling there.

if you do a forum search for point cook primary schools / seabrook / carranballac there's some more info re. Schools in the area.

I keep meaning to write a recce report but haven't got my backside in gear yet, so must sort myself out.

i do know that there is a swim school on the main road through from point cook to altona, as we drove past it every day. I'm off to work now but will dig out our info when I get home later and see if I can find the name of it for you. We were also looking for gymnastics for our daughter I found one but can't remember where it was off hand so will check that too.

[Guest guest48800]

Hi Caroline,

 

As promised I've had a look through our notes, here goes;

 

For gymnastics clubs have a look at this site

 

http://www.gymnasticsvictoria.org.au/

 

You can do a search based on postcode and distance, there are clubs in hoppers crossing and werribee offering different types of gym class.

 

The swim school we saw was Paddles Swim School in Altona meadows,

theres also Sweeneys in Altona and Shawns in Hoppers crossing, take a look at this link too

 

http://www.swimaustralia.org.au/noncms/dsp_Membersites.cfm?CAT_ID=9&CAT_PARENT=2&state=vic&the_start=8

 

Hopefully that will work! It should be a link to a list of registered swim schools in Victoria, although doesn't look like paddles is on there, but it's a good place to start :smile:

 

I also looked at dance classes in the area and found point cook performing arts and Brooks Dance school, they're both in point cook

 

http://www.pointcookperformingarts.com/

 

 

http://www.brooksschoolofdance.com/

 

 

 

On the primary school front, most seem to think Seabrook is the best primary in the area, but the zone is very small and they won't entertain you unless you can prove you live in it.

Moving to Melbourne posted a catchment zone map a wee while ago, if you search for point cook school zones it should pop up. Ooh thinking about it, that post might be on the lifeinvictoria forum.

 

Hope I've been able to help! If I think of anything else I'll let you know.

Edited May 16, 2012 by guest48800

[Guest Caroline87]

That has been a great help, thank you very much for all the links!! The gym school in Werribbee looks really good :biggrin: I think I need to look into the public transport situation though in Point Cook as I will be without a car for a while .... I've found a swim class on a Saturday so that's not a problem as matt wanted to take her swimming lessons anyway so that suits us well!

 

Thanks again

[jvm]

Hi Caroline

 

We lived in Point Cook for a few months when we arrived and I wasn't impressed with the area. The have concentrated on building houses and have forgotten that people need to get around (very limited public transport). There is no train station and its a nightmare to get onto and off the freeway at peak times. Schools are also zoned but I can give you a list of the schools and you can contact them and they can tell you the zoned area, its also very difficult to get daycare/kinder places as they don't have enough spaces for all the kids in the are. If you are on Facebook you should check out the Point Cook Residents page, its very interesting. Don't want to put you off but its best to know before you get here.

 

JVM

[Guest jubbsy]

Hi there, we go to werribee swim school every saturday. The facilities are fairly basic but the teachers are all really sweet. Also the no-show policy is very accommodating, much more so than many other places. I have 2 girls, nearly 2 yr old and a 3 1/2 yr old. We go to Jamieson Way playgroup on a monday and Seabrook Playgroup on a Tuesday. Both really friendly, esp as I'm group leader in one group ))

Public transport is rubbish. You will def need a car but if you can choose your house carefully you might get away with it.

If you need any further help/advice etc please feel free to pm me. Also if you would like to meet up, let me know

Sue

[Guest Caroline87]

Hi thanks for the responses,

 

Sue I will definitely be taking you up on your offer to meet up when we arrive (if it still stands in July lol) We were looking for a house close to the town centre but then it was suggested that Seabrook was the best primary school in the area so we then concentrated on looking within that catchment zone (we have found the houses are more dated here tho which wasn't really what we were looking for??) It's so confusing and we really don't want to have to keep on moving around to get into certain 'zones' for schools - would rather get it right first time round if possible :err:....

 

We are aware of public transport being an issue and the freeways but Matt leaves for work early and then finishes early so hopefully he shouldn't have to use the freeway at peak times the only concern is myself getting around and not being isolated. I do drive but i don't have a job and we cant get a second car until I have a job so its a bit of a catch 22 as for most jobs you need a car . . . .

 

I have an early years background and was an EY lecturer at an FE college for 5 years back in the UK but what I would really love to do is child mind/nanny but in my own home but again I need a car to be able to do school drop off and pick up . . . we have had a look at second hand cars but they are so expensive that we think we would be better off buying new??

 

Sue do I need to pre-book at the playgroups and could you advise of the cost? I inquired about a playgroup where we are currently in Elwood but they had no spaces and was very expensive :-( I don't think Ava has been without contact with child this long ever in her life ... I want to get her interacting with other children relatively quickly once we have moved!

 

Cheers,

 

Caroline

[Tea4two]

Hey Caroline

 

I live in Point Cook without a car and it is hard, wish I had rented near the town centre!!! It takes 40 mins from where I live to walk there and my nearest shop is 25-30 mins walk. You think 'oh i'll make the effort' but it does tire lol.

 

Do you mean Family Day Care? If so, please send me a private message and i'll give you some info on how you can easily get started xx

[Guest MichelleNZ]

Hi Caroline,

 

I live in Point Cook too and we only have one car. Have you thought about your husband catching the train to work (you could drop and pick him up from the station) and then you would have a car to use during the day? That's what we do. It does become tiresome, but I much prefer that than not having a car.

 

The best school here at the moment is Seabrook, there are some lovely houses in the Seabrook Zone, some of them are a little bit older, but the older ones do tend to have larger back yards for the kids. The Alamanda School is also opening next year (first term) so the school zones will be changing - just something to be aware of and to double check when you look for a house - don't sign up for the house before checking with the school that after the zone changes that you will still be in the zone. The Alamanda school's principal is the principal who originally set up Seabrook School so by all accounts the new school should be good too. My children currently go to Carranballac and although they are happy there, we will be changing to the new school next year (we live in Alamanda).

 

There are two community centres here which run various things for children (dance classes etc) - one next to Carranballac Jamieson Way school and one in the Point Cook Library complex (if you google point cook library it should give you a link I think). The Point Cook Library one has a lot more things to do I think. The Alamanda School will also have a Kinder attached to it and they are taking enrolmennts for it now - I'm just not sure where - maybe phone the Wyndham Council and they will point you in the right direction.

 

There are three train stations that service Point Cook - Hoppers Crossing, Laverton and Aircraft, the latter two being the busiest and peak times and hardest to get a car park at!! There is also a new station being built in between Laverton and Hoppers called Williams Landing which I think is due to open at the end of the year. The bus service is pretty crap to be honest, but it is there, just not that regular. If you find a house near to the shopping centre, make sure you are not in the Carranballac Boardwalk zone ...... try to get in either the Seabrook or the Point Cook College Zone - that would be my advise :-) There are plenty of houses to rent and they are pretty easy to get out here.

 

Good luck!!!

Edited May 22, 2012 by MichelleNZ

[Guest Caroline87]

Hi Michelle,

 

Matt is a floor layer so he needs the car as he travels around the city with tools and materials (the unit is based in Hawthorn) otherwise that would definitely be an option, my mum and dad do something similar in the UK. I heard yesterday that the principle from Seabrook Primary is moving to the new Alamanda Primary school so I am thinking now that we should focus our house hunting on the Alamanda estate? Are there any areas to avoid? I read a few negative reviews, one from someone who lives on Fongeo drive that they have problems with 'hoons' at night?? She also said that the crime rate is quite high on the Alamanda estate and that they have quite a few break in's which was supported by another person? other people however have said that they love living on the Alamanda estate and have had no experience of crime at all? If you wouldn't mind sharing your experiences on living there it would be hugely appreciated . . . we are heading over to point cook on saturday to do some serious house hunting so any advice to point us in the right direction would be great :-)

 

I have found quite a few houses on the Alamanda estate - some on Fongeo drive?? and one not far on Boathaven road, the others are towards the top end of the estate I think the furthest one is Santorini drive .... not sure however if this will still be within the catchment zone or not for the new primary school? I read from a point cook resident that the zone will be all of the Alamanda estate stretching as far as salt water coast? I have a real estate agent looking into the zones anyway as they have quite a few properties available in the area they are waiting for a response from the council.

 

Think we have come to the conclusion that we will have to just bite the bullet and finance a car ...

 

Cheers,

 

Caroline

[kentkids]

Hi Michelle,

 

Matt is a floor layer so he needs the car as he travels around the city with tools and materials (the unit is based in Hawthorn) otherwise that would definitely be an option, my mum and dad do something similar in the UK. I heard yesterday that the principle from Seabrook Primary is moving to the new Alamanda Primary school so I am thinking now that we should focus our house hunting on the Alamanda estate? Are there any areas to avoid? I read a few negative reviews, one from someone who lives on Fongeo drive that they have problems with 'hoons' at night?? She also said that the crime rate is quite high on the Alamanda estate and that they have quite a few break in's which was supported by another person? other people however have said that they love living on the Alamanda estate and have had no experience of crime at all? If you wouldn't mind sharing your experiences on living there it would be hugely appreciated . . . we are heading over to point cook on saturday to do some serious house hunting so any advice to point us in the right direction would be great :-)

 

I have found quite a few houses on the Alamanda estate - some on Fongeo drive?? and one not far on Boathaven road, the others are towards the top end of the estate I think the furthest one is Santorini drive .... not sure however if this will still be within the catchment zone or not for the new primary school? I read from a point cook resident that the zone will be all of the Alamanda estate stretching as far as salt water coast? I have a real estate agent looking into the zones anyway as they have quite a few properties available in the area they are waiting for a response from the council.

 

Think we have come to the conclusion that we will have to just bite the bullet and finance a car ...

 

Cheers,

 

Caroline

Hi Caroline

we live on Alamanda and haven't had any issues. One of the big pluses of living here is the superb fibre optic Internet

[Guest MichelleNZ]

Hi Caroline, we have been here 6 months now and have never had any problems with hoons or crime of any description. It is incredibly quiet and peaceful here. I walk our dog during the day and my husband at night in the dark and we have never felt unsafe. The houses from Fongeo Drive back probably are even more quiet as most of them are relatively new so it always seems extremely quiet!! I have friends (real life friends lol) who live on Day Dream Drive which is off Fongeo and they have never experienced any problems either. The zone for the Alamanda school is for all of Alamanda and Lincoln Heath Estate (next to Alamanda towards Point Cook Road and out to Saltwater Coast. The other way it stops at about Home Road. Point Cook College have the Zone map on their website (in one of their newsletters) but its incredibly hard to read. If you stick in Alamanda or Lincoln Heath or Saltwater you will be fine. And stay on the Alamanda side of Sneydes Road.

 

There is also work that has been started on a shopping area next to the Alamanda Club, providing a few shops and restuaurants, which will be good. When you come out, pop into the Club - the sales guy (Christian I think his name is) is quite helpful in there.

 

Good luck with you house hunting.

[Midwife99]

Hi,

 

I am hoping to live in point cook or saltwater coast and travel to Sunshine Hospital on shift work - can you tell me driving distance ? and if I would experience issues at off peak times? Any advice on schools for my 10 and 15 year old would be very grateful too.

 

Many Thanks

[Guest Caroline87]

Thanks Michelle that info has been a great help and I feel quite confident that we will settle in Alamanda :-)

[Guest Caroline87]

Hi thanks for the info!! I think we will definitely be settling in Alamanda now :-)

[Guest jubbsy]

Hi Caroline, sorry I haven't replied sooner, not been on the site for a bit!

I go to 2 playgroups, one meentioned in another thread at Jamieson Way childrens centre and the other at Seabrook community centre.The first one is $40 per family per term and the second $45. They are both 2 hrs each. If you go to Playgroup Vic website I think you should be able to find links to the respective enrolments officers. Point Cook library also has a playgroup set-up too. I know at Seabrook there are def places....

We live just out of Alamanda and are very jealous of everyone who lives there lol!!! When we were looking there was nothing quite right although when we look now there's a few that we could live in!! Most annoying.... TBH I haven't seen any hooning within the estates but then with 2 young kids I don't get out alot after dark!! I did see hoonage on my way back from Werribee Cinema once!!

We only have 1 car at the moment and I do the train station run with the girls and my hubby. Because Point Cook Rd is so bad I take him to Hoppers... I wouldn't like to live here without a car but if 2 cars really is not an option then I agree with someone else on here and advise looking nearer the town centre and getting into Point Cook Primary Zone.

 

Sue

[Tea4two]

Is this the Sue I think it is? Alamanda Cafe's best customer ? you get out more than me and I have no kids x x

[Guest jubbsy]

Is this the Sue I think it is? Alamanda Cafe's best customer ? you get out more than me and I have no kids x x

 

Shush you!!!!! And I think we're the Alamanda's second best customers!!! xxx

[Guest Caroline87]

lol thanks for the info Sue, will defo look into it ... no doubt I will probs see you at one of the playgroups in the future :-) (or the Alamanda Cafe lol) I think we will be getting a car so fingers crossed we can find something in Alamanda, I met a lady from Altona Meadows today at a playgroup and she said how nice the Alamanda estate is too!!

[Guest ozmoulsons]

Hi Caroline, we are living in Seabrook at the mo and attend Seabrook Primary and Seabrook Kindergarten and we always walk/scooter/bike to both. My husband walks to Aircraft train station (12-15min walk) and commutes to the CBD, also bus stops about 50m away. We live right on Skeleton Creek, its accessed out our back gate.( Carefree bike riding, duck feeding, 3 parks within a 4yr olds bike reading skills) We love our house and its position but alas have to move back to Brisbane for work, have a look at the link. http://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-vic-seabrook-407770073 . Good luck with your decisions.

[Kirsty M]

Hi Caroline, You've been given a lot of good advice re schools, etc. Everyone seems very excited about the new Alamanda school due to the Principal being a bit of a legend apparently. I've been in Point Cook for 3 years, previously in the Featherbrook estate and now we are in Alamanda. The parks in Alamanda are fantastic for little ones. It's true that peak traffic is horrendous but if you travel off peak it's generally pretty good. Serious money needs to be spent on infra structure out this way but there is a good community spirit and residents care about the area. As for crime I've never experienced any issues here. I do know that there have been numerous break-ins recently but truthfully that goes on everywhere and it's not exactly the Bronx. Take the necessary precautions you would anywhere.

 

My son attended swimming lessons at Paul sadler Swim School in Hoppers Crossing, just a short drive away. Shaun's Swim School is supposed to be quite good too. I think there is Gym Monkey's in Hoppers Crossing and I take my son to a kind of baby gymnasics class at Resilience Gymnastics on Old Geelong Road, which is only 10 minutes away. I've heard good things about Dance Lane recently on the Mums in Point Cook facebook page as someone else was looking for a recommendation for their 3 year old. As for playgroups, there are sessions at Jamison Way Community Centre, the Point Cook Learning Centre by the library and the new Featherbrook Community Centre has started a playgroup on Thursdays. I also think there are activities for 3 year old run out of the community centres as well. They run music classes like Hey De Ho (these are private and you have a fee per term) at the Town Centre and Seabrook Community Centre.

 

The Library also runs a good free program of activities throughout the week as well. Storytime on a Friday is a good one for a 3 year old. To be honest there are loads of activities around the Point Cook/Hoppers Crossing areas. I'm sure you'll enjoy living in Point Cook as there are lots of young families with children. Good luck with the move!

Edited June 6, 2012 by The Pom Queen
Forum rules

[Guest Caroline87]

Thanks Kirsty we are doing lots of inspections this weekend so fingers crossed we get somewhere in Alamanda which is where we really want to be now!! Everyone is so helpful in offering useful 'real' advise I am so glad I wrote this post! I will definitely be looking into the activities above! I've joined the FB groups above and find them really useful :-) I just need to sort out a car!!!

 

Thanks again :-)

[Guest ajr]

Hi Caroline,

 

I live in Point Cook too and we only have one car. Have you thought about your husband catching the train to work (you could drop and pick him up from the station) and then you would have a car to use during the day? That's what we do. It does become tiresome, but I much prefer that than not having a car.

 

The best school here at the moment is Seabrook, there are some lovely houses in the Seabrook Zone, some of them are a little bit older, but the older ones do tend to have larger back yards for the kids. The Alamanda School is also opening next year (first term) so the school zones will be changing - just something to be aware of and to double check when you look for a house - don't sign up for the house before checking with the school that after the zone changes that you will still be in the zone. The Alamanda school's principal is the principal who originally set up Seabrook School so by all accounts the new school should be good too. My children currently go to Carranballac and although they are happy there, we will be changing to the new school next year (we live in Alamanda).

 

There are two community centres here which run various things for children (dance classes etc) - one next to Carranballac Jamieson Way school and one in the Point Cook Library complex (if you google point cook library it should give you a link I think). The Point Cook Library one has a lot more things to do I think. The Alamanda School will also have a Kinder attached to it and they are taking enrolmennts for it now - I'm just not sure where - maybe phone the Wyndham Council and they will point you in the right direction.

 

There are three train stations that service Point Cook - Hoppers Crossing, Laverton and Aircraft, the latter two being the busiest and peak times and hardest to get a car park at!! There is also a new station being built in between Laverton and Hoppers called Williams Landing which I think is due to open at the end of the year. The bus service is pretty crap to be honest, but it is there, just not that regular. If you find a house near to the shopping centre, make sure you are not in the Carranballac Boardwalk zone ...... try to get in either the Seabrook or the Point Cook College Zone - that would be my advise :-) There are plenty of houses to rent and they are pretty easy to get out here.

 

Good luck!!!

 

Hi Michelle,

 

We've talked about the schools a few times. I am now starting to stress as we move in less than 3 months, and we are trying to find a home and half-decent school. Last time I heard from you, you had mentioned that you were planning on staying at Carranballac as you felt the kids were happy. Why the change of heart? I have heard so many different opinions about the school. It doens't sit well with me, not confident that it is the right choice. They seem to be very friendly (when I called) as opposed to Seabrook (extremely short and unhelpful) It seems like the whole of Alamanda is planning on moving to the new school! I guess that leaves Carranballac with half empty classes? It's hard to know what's going on when you're at the other end of the world! Initially we wanted to go for Seabrook but found the rentals too expensive. Then we thought Carranballac but now there seems to be a general consencus to leave. Any thoughts?

 

Oh yes, do you know anything about the new kindy opening there? I need a job! LOL

[kentkids]

Michelle

 

We came over a few months ago and ended up in Alamanda more by luck than design. It is a great estate with good parks for the kids and the added bonus of a great pool and gym at the Alamanda club (foc as included in rent!) our kids go to Carranballac, and initially I was a little concerned - largely due to the hearsay on PIO. They have settled in really well, and are thriving. The school that they came from in the uk was Ofsted rated outstanding, and Carranballac is getting just as much out of them. I have been very impressed with the school and would have no problems recommending it.

[Guest ajr]

Hi Caroline

 

We lived in Point Cook for a few months when we arrived and I wasn't impressed with the area. The have concentrated on building houses and have forgotten that people need to get around (very limited public transport). There is no train station and its a nightmare to get onto and off the freeway at peak times. Schools are also zoned but I can give you a list of the schools and you can contact them and they can tell you the zoned area, its also very difficult to get daycare/kinder places as they don't have enough spaces for all the kids in the are. If you are on Facebook you should check out the Point Cook Residents page, its very interesting. Don't want to put you off but its best to know before you get here.

 

JVM

 

Hi JVM, our family is arriving in point cook at the end of August, and I have just read the facebook Ppoint Cook Residents page, and am quite horrified. Having grown up in South Africa we have lived with violent crime and fearing for your safety almost all our lives. We moved to Belgium and lived in a nice village for four years now...nothing ever happens here! One does get depressed from the 10 months of grey sky a year, so we finally decided to head off to OZ. Now it seems we will be faced with a whole other array of issues!

 

I am quite concerned about these apparently common place occurances, like school kids fighting and swearing on a regular basis in front of the shops. Kids egging people's houses, 'hooning', disrespectful road users....these white tail spider and other insect infestations in the housing estates, alot of theft going on from stealing people's spare wheels and bike helments to break-ins at the local schools....and then don't forget the dad who was gagged and tied up and kidnapped and found 2 days later....

 

I'm starting to have serious reservations that this is the right place to live? Is this really a bad neighbourhood?