kirra Posted October 22, 2011 Share Posted October 22, 2011 It looks like we will be arriving in QLD during the summer holidays. How do you go about enrolling your kids into school when the schools are closed for the holidays? Is there a central office that is open? Anyone done this? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted October 22, 2011 Share Posted October 22, 2011 You will probably find that there is clerical or even senior staff on site for the week before term starts at least. Dont get too het up about it, if worst comes to worst, just rock up to your local school on the first day of term and enquire then. There is usually quite a bit of movement at the beginning of term. However, try calling from about 20 Jan, you may well find someone there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northernbird Posted October 23, 2011 Share Posted October 23, 2011 It looks like we will be arriving in QLD during the summer holidays. How do you go about enrolling your kids into school when the schools are closed for the holidays? Is there a central office that is open? Anyone done this? Thanks I agree with Quoll, I go back to work the week before the kids do, I know I am in WA but I am sure QLD will be no different. Don't worry about it though, we have families rock up to enrol on the first day and it's not a problem. Enrolment takes about half an hour plus uniform fitting so it's an easy process. Make sure you take all the right documents, birth certificate, immunisation records, proof of address and your visa in your passport and all will be smooth running. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NowPerth Posted October 24, 2011 Share Posted October 24, 2011 Hi. We are due to arrive in Perth on about 7th Dec and I have been worrying about the same thing. I'm hoping that if I'm quick off the mark I might get a couple of school visits in before they shut. The problem is that I've been told that you can't enrol anyway until you are in your own rental. Do you already have accomodation sorted Kirra? To start off with we will be in temporary accomodation for a month. Until we've rented somewhere we won't know which catchment we are in. Does anyone know whether it is possible, or how hard it is, to enrol in a state school outside of your catchment zone? our children are quite close in age and it might cause a problem to put the 2 oldest into the same school. We were wondering whether we might be allowed to send them to different high schools. Is that likely to be possible? Concern about schools is diving me nuts and I spend so much time looking on school websites. It seems such a big decision I don't want to rush it, but we might find ourselves in a situation where we just have to dive in and get on with it or we'll miss the start of the school year. Not just which school, but which year group they will be in, what options the oldest will pick and the cost of 4 complete uniforms in one go! I think I've become unnecessarily obsessed and worried in the last few days. Perhaps I need some wine to wind down ... :confused:. Any words of wisdom gratefully received. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rudi Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 If you know where you are heading, then it's probably worth emailing the local schools before you arrive. If not - follow the advice above :wink: Love Rudi x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kirra Posted October 25, 2011 Author Share Posted October 25, 2011 NowPerth, you are EXACTLY like me. I just want to get there now so I can get a house and then get them enrolled. Its this sequence of events that needs to happen I think you have to just research where you want to live and assume that nice areas are catchments for nice schools. It would be nice to be able to walk around and view schools and make a decision, but, it just isnt going to happen for us. But, its not like the choice will be huge. Im not going to pay for private, so for us its the local state school, or, the local Catholic.Ill research as much as I can online and make the best decision I can Good luck with it ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 Hi. We are due to arrive in Perth on about 7th Dec and I have been worrying about the same thing. I'm hoping that if I'm quick off the mark I might get a couple of school visits in before they shut. The problem is that I've been told that you can't enrol anyway until you are in your own rental. Do you already have accomodation sorted Kirra? To start off with we will be in temporary accomodation for a month. Until we've rented somewhere we won't know which catchment we are in. Does anyone know whether it is possible, or how hard it is, to enrol in a state school outside of your catchment zone? our children are quite close in age and it might cause a problem to put the 2 oldest into the same school. We were wondering whether we might be allowed to send them to different high schools. Is that likely to be possible? Concern about schools is diving me nuts and I spend so much time looking on school websites. It seems such a big decision I don't want to rush it, but we might find ourselves in a situation where we just have to dive in and get on with it or we'll miss the start of the school year. Not just which school, but which year group they will be in, what options the oldest will pick and the cost of 4 complete uniforms in one go! I think I've become unnecessarily obsessed and worried in the last few days. Perhaps I need some wine to wind down ... :confused:. Any words of wisdom gratefully received. Chill, really. Get a rental first in a place that you like in a neighbourhood that appeals to you - the schools will generally fall into place. You wont want to send your kids to a school in a suburb you dont want to live in is the basic rule of thumb and there are other factors which will influence your choice of home - cost, the landlord's preparedness to accept you, distance to work, local facilities etc Dont freak about the beginning of the school year either, get settled first. No one is going to get their knickers in a knot if kids are out of school for a couple of months while you work out where you will be living (only exception to that is with 16 year olds who need to be in school at the beginning of year 11) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cartertucker Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 Im in the same position, moving over end of November....All the advice on here is really good My Sons pretty pleased he has another extra long summer holiday! :wink: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest orlaandjoe Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 Hey there, we are moving to western Australia in dec/Jan and have decided on the school we want to send our son to. I emailed the school and the headmistress wrote back and said that we can come to visit the school the week before they open up after the summer hols and look around. Then if we are happy we can get him started the following week! Hope this helps! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cartertucker Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 Hey there, we are moving to western Australia in dec/Jan and have decided on the school we want to send our son to. I emailed the school and the headmistress wrote back and said that we can come to visit the school the week before they open up after the summer hols and look around. Then if we are happy we can get him started the following week!Hope this helps! Its good that you know the area you are moving too :wink: Have you been before & already decided? :wideeyed: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest orlaandjoe Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 Its good that you know the area you are moving too :wink: Have you been before & already decided? :wideeyed: We know roughly which area but not exactly yet as we have never been before!:biggrin: but we researched all the schools in the area we are going to, and picked our favourite. Luckily the school doesn't have a cachment area so we can pick an area after we arrive and get to have a look around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NowPerth Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 Thank you to everyone for info. It's good to know that other people out there are going through the same thing at the same time. Hey there, we are moving to western Australia in dec/Jan and have decided on the school we want to send our son to. I emailed the school and the headmistress wrote back and said that we can come to visit the school the week before they open up after the summer hols and look around. Then if we are happy we can get him started the following week!Hope this helps! I will start e-mailing some schools. My eldest is the age for starting Y12 but knows he will probably start at Y11. I think I will need to get him started fairly quickly. I am Catholic and have been considering Prendiville as a possibility for him, but he is a typical teenage boy and does not want to be too Catholic at the moment, so I don't know how he'll feel about a Catholic school. Having said that, he is at a Catholic college at the moment and that was his choice. I'm trying to relax but occassionally I feel like my brain might explode :wacko: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobbsy Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 Just to confirm that the offices at the schools here in Queensland do tend to be open for at least part days in the week before the school actually opens. The also tend to start the term midweek but be staffed up for the days before the students are in. If you know where you're going to be, you'll also find that most schools have web sites that give enrollment details, downloadable forms, uniform details, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caroline Baxter Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 Thanks for the thread, we are in the same situation too but in Victoria, we move over in January and have been able to contact a school for my eldest who is 15 but the Primary school is proving more difficult due to the school I want to get hold of has no website:frown:. Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MM2Melb Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 Agree, thanks a lot for the useful thread. We are in a similar position, have found and contacted the school and they said they would keep a place but only on condition we moved into the catchment. We are planning on moving to Melbourne in December, but are unlikely to have a rental sorted before the schools close for Christmas. I hate it being so up in the air! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anne Jacobson Posted October 26, 2011 Share Posted October 26, 2011 Getting advice from local relocation agent is worthwhile Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caroline Baxter Posted October 26, 2011 Share Posted October 26, 2011 Where abouts in Melbourne are you moving to MM2melb? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MM2Melb Posted October 26, 2011 Share Posted October 26, 2011 Where abouts in Melbourne are you moving to MM2melb? We are moving to Carlton North (or parts of East Brunswick/Brunswick literally ruled in or out using a map). Basically the school was the part which we were originally worried about/felt things had to fit around. We felt at the initial stage that we couldn't easily afford a private school so basically picked an area based on a good high school which I felt would really suit my daughter well. As she will be starting high school at the time I got in touch with the school and eventually spoke (by email) to the year 7 co-ordinator who said she "couldn't but would" hold the place as long as we moved into the zone... I haven't been in touch with her since May though so this thread has got me back in gear to do something about it/remind her. What part of Melbourne are you moving to? I think having the high school sorted is the hardest part, hopefully there should be a good primary locally and I think that primary schools are obliged to take children within their catchment... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kirra Posted October 27, 2011 Author Share Posted October 27, 2011 Before I posted this thread I emailed off to the QLD Dept of Education asking what to do over the xmas holidays and here is the (rather generic) repsponse. I think the take away is we are all panicking for no good reason! :biggrin: Thank you for your email dated 14 October 2011 enquiring about the enrolment of your daughter in the Preparatory (Prep) Year at a Brisbane state primary school over the Christmas school holidays. All Queensland children are eligible to attend full-time Prep when they attain the age of 5 years by 30 June in the year they propose to attend Prep. As you are aware, state schools are closed over the Christmas holiday period. Administration staff may be available in the final week of the holidays to advise you on enrolment. Once you have decided on which school you would like to enrol your daughter, I strongly recommend that you contact the school to discuss specific enrolment processes. Contact details for Queensland state schools can be found on the Department of Education and Training's website at http://education.qld.gov.au/directory/schools/index.html. If you are unsure about what schools are located in the geographic area in which you will be living, you may wish to contact the education regional office whose details can also be found at the web address above. Additional information on enrolment in Queensland state schools is available at http://education.qld.gov.au/strategic/eppr/students/smspr027/index.html. I trust this information is of assistance and wish you well with your move back to Brisbane. Regards School Operations Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caroline Baxter Posted October 27, 2011 Share Posted October 27, 2011 We are moving to Carlton North (or parts of East Brunswick/Brunswick literally ruled in or out using a map). Basically the school was the part which we were originally worried about/felt things had to fit around. We felt at the initial stage that we couldn't easily afford a private school so basically picked an area based on a good high school which I felt would really suit my daughter well. As she will be starting high school at the time I got in touch with the school and eventually spoke (by email) to the year 7 co-ordinator who said she "couldn't but would" hold the place as long as we moved into the zone... I haven't been in touch with her since May though so this thread has got me back in gear to do something about it/remind her. What part of Melbourne are you moving to? I think having the high school sorted is the hardest part, hopefully there should be a good primary locally and I think that primary schools are obliged to take children within their catchment... We are moving to Point Cook area, we have a daughter who is 15 and a daughter who is 11. We have been advised to search out a High School and then a Primary school when we get there. We have an idea for the Senior school and are waiting for the forms etc to come through the post via the OH job. Hope it all goes well for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MM2Melb Posted October 27, 2011 Share Posted October 27, 2011 Actually I have just had a dreadful response tonight. Perhaps things will not be so bad for others but this is a.complete spanner in the works for us: Thank you for the email. Unfortunately, I will not be able to enrol your child into PHSC.* I am in a situation where the class sizes are over allotted at this stage. I have a large waiting list of applicants who are also anxiously waiting for a place.* Overall, the news is not good. I can't believe it as this was the one thing we had planned around. :-( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caroline Baxter Posted October 28, 2011 Share Posted October 28, 2011 Oh no!!!!!:sad:that isnt good, so its back to square one then? Let me know how you get on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MM2Melb Posted October 28, 2011 Share Posted October 28, 2011 Thanks. No is terrible. I guess we will look elsewhere, need a school which does French though which narrows down the choices. Although no doubt it is difficult to not know whether you are getting a first choice school, she doesn't seem to have any idea how hard it is to plan a move to the other guide of the world! I think in reality schools might be obliged to accept you within their zone. I have emailed back to clarify but I am definitely not going to try contacting any more schools before we go over as would rather have blind faith than more negative responses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northernbird Posted October 28, 2011 Share Posted October 28, 2011 Thanks. No is terrible. I guess we will look elsewhere, need a school which does French though which narrows down the choices. Although no doubt it is difficult to not know whether you are getting a first choice school, she doesn't seem to have any idea how hard it is to plan a move to the other guide of the world! I think in reality schools might be obliged to accept you within their zone. I have emailed back to clarify but I am definitely not going to try contacting any more schools before we go over as would rather have blind faith than more negative responses. I can't comment on Victoria but here in WA if you are in boundary for a state school they have to offer a place, I can't see Victoria being any different. It is disappointing but try to chill a bit and wait until you get here. You might not like the school once you look around, you might not like the area you have chosen. I know lots of people who had areas set in their mind and when they actually arrived they didn't like it. Keep an open mind until you get here and I am sure it will all fall into place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MM2Melb Posted October 28, 2011 Share Posted October 28, 2011 Think that is really good advice. Hope you are right and boundaries apply like that for vic. Am going to *try* to just chill until we get there/find a house. I do know the area though as I mainly grew up in Melbourne but maybe our fallback option now will be Eltham, completely different bushy suburb (which I have only been to once) but offers the opposite lifestyle, bush and lots of space - more like people's image of Australia... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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