Brussels Posted October 22, 2015 Share Posted October 22, 2015 Hello, We will be moving to Sydney in early January and I was really hoping for the children (11 & 9) to be able to start the new school year but as we will be arriving during the summer holidays will the schools even be contactable? I have sent an email to a school in the area we are interested in (the shire, because it looks affordable and on the train route) but they haven't answered. From other threads I have read this seems quite normal if you don't yet have an address in the catchment zone but it's not helpful! We will be trying to rent a place and enrol the kids within 3 weeks of arriving, is it possible or should I simply shrug and relax? Many thanks, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ Posted October 22, 2015 Share Posted October 22, 2015 Yup just wait till you get here. You cant enrol during holidays, the schools are all closed. If you know where you are going to be living give the school a call or go on their website, quite often the catchment areas are on there. If your in the catchment just go to the school the first day of term and ask to enrol, they kids will only miss one or 2 days whilst you sort it out. Also make sure you have everything you need, updated immunisation records, proof of address etc, will make enrolment quick and easy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brussels Posted October 22, 2015 Author Share Posted October 22, 2015 Excellent, thank you, a couple of days doesn't seem so bad. I thought it might be dragged out into a couple of weeks with having to make appointments, fill forms, wait to hear back, order uniforms etc etc Am I correct in thinking that they can't turn us down if we are in the catchment area? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LKC Posted October 22, 2015 Share Posted October 22, 2015 (edited) Hello, We will be moving to Sydney in early January and I was really hoping for the children (11 & 9) to be able to start the new school year but as we will be arriving during the summer holidays will the schools even be contactable? I have sent an email to a school in the area we are interested in (the shire, because it looks affordable and on the train route) but they haven't answered. From other threads I have read this seems quite normal if you don't yet have an address in the catchment zone but it's not helpful! We will be trying to rent a place and enrol the kids within 3 weeks of arriving, is it possible or should I simply shrug and relax? Many thanks, To be honest I would just wait until you get here. You may struggle to find a rental in January, things do tend to slow down a bit from Christmas until Australia day. The schools will be closed so you will have to do that once they re-open a couple of days before the term starts. I presume you mean 'The Shire' in Sydney, school in NSW starts again 27th Jan, but 26th is a public holiday. I assume they will be in the office on the 25th, but I wouldn't put money on it. Realistically a couple of weeks won't matter. I know at our school, the classes aren't sorted out for the first couple of weeks, and they all go back into last years class before being allocated, so missing out on a couple of weeks isn't a biggie. Which suburb are you hoping to move to? We live in The Shire and have been very happy here for almost seven years. ETA: Got the date wrong Edited October 22, 2015 by LKC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LKC Posted October 22, 2015 Share Posted October 22, 2015 Excellent, thank you, a couple of days doesn't seem so bad. I thought it might be dragged out into a couple of weeks with having to make appointments, fill forms, wait to hear back, order uniforms etc etc Am I correct in thinking that they can't turn us down if we are in the catchment area? Yes, if you are in the catchment for a state school they have to find space. Really, the first couple of weeks are spent doing not much at all, so they won't miss out on much! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brussels Posted October 22, 2015 Author Share Posted October 22, 2015 Hello LKC, thanks for your reply. My 11yr old will be in year 6 I think, so I have been looking ahead to secondary schools and planning to move into their catchment areas, figuring if the secondary has a good reputation then it's nearest primary will too, for year 6. The schools that seem quite good, publish their catchment areas and are near a train station seem to be Engadine high and Kirrawee. We tend to have 2 flat, left feet in this family so we don't need a sporty school. If you have any advice that would be wonderful. The area does sound lovely, and I don't mind the distance to the CBD if the train service is good. I was was keen for my 11year old to start at the beginning of term in the hope that she might not be the only new one, and with the usual chaos of new classroom and new teacher she might not stand out so much as the new girl, as everybody would be getting used to something new. She is extremely shy, has needed speech therapy for poor language development, is bullied and currently sees a psychologist. She's very enthusiastic about the move and I want to try and make it as smooth as possible for her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LKC Posted October 22, 2015 Share Posted October 22, 2015 Hello LKC, thanks for your reply. My 11yr old will be in year 6 I think, so I have been looking ahead to secondary schools and planning to move into their catchment areas, figuring if the secondary has a good reputation then it's nearest primary will too, for year 6. The schools that seem quite good, publish their catchment areas and are near a train station seem to be Engadine high and Kirrawee. We tend to have 2 flat, left feet in this family so we don't need a sporty school. If you have any advice that would be wonderful. The area does sound lovely, and I don't mind the distance to the CBD if the train service is good. I was was keen for my 11year old to start at the beginning of term in the hope that she might not be the only new one, and with the usual chaos of new classroom and new teacher she might not stand out so much as the new girl, as everybody would be getting used to something new. She is extremely shy, has needed speech therapy for poor language development, is bullied and currently sees a psychologist. She's very enthusiastic about the move and I want to try and make it as smooth as possible for her. We are in Woronora Heights, so Engadine West catchment for primary - it is a fantastic school. We have two girls there, aged 7 (year 2, 3 next year) and aged 9 (year 4, 5 next year). We are in Heathcote High catchment for high school due to being in Wonnie Heights, but our eldest has Asperger's and would be better at Engadine High with her friends which is a VERY good school, in my opinion, so we will be trying to get her in there. She is in school band and we can get a letter from her psychologist so we should be okay to do an out of area enrollment. If you need any other help/advice let me know. We have been VERY happy here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brussels Posted October 22, 2015 Author Share Posted October 22, 2015 We are in Woronora Heights, so Engadine West catchment for primary - it is a fantastic school. We have two girls there, aged 7 (year 2, 3 next year) and aged 9 (year 4, 5 next year). We are in Heathcote High catchment for high school due to being in Wonnie Heights, but our eldest has Asperger's and would be better at Engadine High with her friends which is a VERY good school, in my opinion, so we will be trying to get her in there. She is in school band and we can get a letter from her psychologist so we should be okay to do an out of area enrollment. If you need any other help/advice let me know. We have been VERY happy here Thanks again, good to know. My daughter was tested at 2yrs for autism but was not diagnosed with it. She had another barrage of tests at 6yrs old which were inconclusive. We are now working with the psychologist to prepare her for the move and will wait and see how it goes before considering finding a psychologist out there, but I might come back you on that one in the future! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northernbird Posted October 22, 2015 Share Posted October 22, 2015 Hello, We will be moving to Sydney in early January and I was really hoping for the children (11 & 9) to be able to start the new school year but as we will be arriving during the summer holidays will the schools even be contactable? I have sent an email to a school in the area we are interested in (the shire, because it looks affordable and on the train route) but they haven't answered. From other threads I have read this seems quite normal if you don't yet have an address in the catchment zone but it's not helpful! We will be trying to rent a place and enrol the kids within 3 weeks of arriving, is it possible or should I simply shrug and relax? Many thanks, The admin staff at schools in WA usually go back a week or so before the kids for this very reason. I would imagine the schools nationwide would be similar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 22, 2015 Share Posted October 22, 2015 It's actually not a bad thing if your children start a week or so into the school year as the class will have settled down, the teacher won't be quite so busy and more time and attention can be given to the newbies. An alternative could be to look at private schools - for similar reasons to yourself that was the route we took - it's not ridiculously expensive like it is in the UK, we paid less than $1000 a term and there was no uniform. A state school could easily cost that with 'voluntary' donations, uniform etc. We were able to register our son from the UK and confirm there was a place though it was 'subject to interview' - really just a school visit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northernbird Posted October 22, 2015 Share Posted October 22, 2015 I'm of the differing view that I would want my child to start with all other new kids on day 1. Start a few weeks in and potentially, depending on child of course, would feel far more self conscious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HelensvaleHoward Posted October 22, 2015 Share Posted October 22, 2015 I'm of the differing view that I would want my child to start with all other new kids on day 1. Start a few weeks in and potentially, depending on child of course, would feel far more self conscious. I agree with you Little groups will have formed and maybe feel like an outsider from the off Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 Not everyone can time their move to fit in with the start of the school year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Que Sera Sera Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 My sons school was full of new starters all year through. It was very British area, plus also had a lot of services kids that moved around a lot. I was able to go in the July holidays on teachers only day and register my son, he started the following day. The only issue that can arise is a lot of schools will insist on a utility bill to confirm residence in the catchment area. A lot will not accept a holiday rental as proof of intention to stay within catchment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sammy1 Posted October 24, 2015 Share Posted October 24, 2015 Excellent, thank you, a couple of days doesn't seem so bad. I thought it might be dragged out into a couple of weeks with having to make appointments, fill forms, wait to hear back, order uniforms etc etc Am I correct in thinking that they can't turn us down if we are in the catchment area? You absolutely can enrol during the summer holidays. All schools are open at least three or four days before the new term starts. It is commonplace for lots of new enrolments on these days. Your children be able to start on the first day with everybody else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted October 24, 2015 Share Posted October 24, 2015 As Sammy said - sure you can enrol as admin is usually back the week before school starts but you will need to have a permanent rental sorted before you can enrol them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AussieMum Posted October 27, 2015 Share Posted October 27, 2015 My sons school was full of new starters all year through. Not everyone can time their move to fit in with the start of the school year. I don't think anyone's saying kids should ONLY start at a new school at the start of the school year. But if the choice is between starting on the first day and starting a week later, then I think the first day is definitely preferable. Starting on the first day means they are included in all the classroom "getting to know you" activities - even in the same school, there's plenty of kids who won't have shared a classroom before or know the teacher and vice versa. School offices open at least a week before the first day (if you ring them once they've shut for the year, usually their answering machine will let you know what their first day back is) and the first official day is always a student-free day. As the wife of a teacher, most teachers are there two or three days before then anyway, setting up their classrooms, etc, as the first official day is often taken up with meetings. It's not like the entire staff turn up half an hour before the students on day 1 and wing it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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