Chanonica

I hope we're not too late to join the fun. 2 adults and 1 child (8yrs)

Well Mummytummy you missed out...on the way home people phoned in to talk about the time they were caught short for a number 2!

I sound like my Mum saying this but what on earth is this rubbish? Yesterday morning at 7am I had my young son in the car driving to Vacation care and the radio hosts were asking for people to call in to tell them how they discovered they were being cheated on my their partner's. The drivel that followed after was too much to bare so I turned over and the talk on the next station is asking parents to phone in with their tips on how to have sex without being caught by the kids. On the way home its people phoning in with boring stories about "is there a Dr in the house moments", today its "name and shame your pet". The words "pissed" "bastard" are allowed on radio. And don't get me started on all the erectile dysfunction adds too! The news readers read advertisements at the end of their reports!? Please tell me of a decent radio station that has thought provoking discussions and debates with good music too?

I know this thread is very old but I am curious what your final decision was Lara24 and if anyone has any recent experience with LJBC as we are very keen? We are also looking at St Stephens near Tapping but having read the recent thread "House Egged" I'm not so sure now about that area. The other school we would like to check out is Currambine Primary School. If anyone has anything positive or negative to say I'd love to hear it please.

Hi Everyone, Just thought I'd better give a quick update as you were all so good to help me out with your replies. I feel I should whisper so I'm not tempting fate but...he has settled. It took a while for him to really feel that he belonged in his class but with routine and constant encouragement he has really come a long way. He still misses his friends back home a lot and writes to them regularly, though I'm not sure if this might need to stop soon to help him move on or if he should continue this as he wants? His teacher has noticed a huge improvement and rewards him with praise and class awards. I got the impression a few times that he thought this was not his "real" school and was waiting for us to pack it all in and head back to the UK. We had tears the other day when it was his best friends birthday and all he wanted was to see him open his presents. He often says he wishes his old friends would sneak up behind him in the school playground as a surprise and they could all play together. So its still early days yet with him feeling homesick and not having a very close friend still, but he is back to working hard in class and his confidence and outgoing nature has returned. A few things I think may have helped were our family days out together. He could see what a beautiful place it is here, the beaches, parks, playgrounds, the weather and there is so much going on for families too. If only all our loved ones just moved over here too!! Thank you all once more for your advice and guidance, it really helped me x

Well today he says he's had a better day but can't seem to explain why. Maybe because we talked the hind legs off him all weekend about school and he feels a bit lighter having shared some thoughts with us. I'm sorry for worrying anyone who is yet to make the move, I know its teething problems for just right now and once it gets sorted it will be sorted for good. Also, this could have happened if we changed school within our small town in Scotland so really please don't let my experience trouble you. I think if he'd been assigned a buddy this would've been easier for him - so please ask that your kids get a buddy as it really is a nicer welcome for them. I'll leave it here for now and once things change, hopefully for the best, I'll update Thank you all again for letting me "talk" this one out with you.

Once again I am so grateful to see replies, thank you. I haven't slept much at all last night but this morning after I'd dropped him at his class I went directly to the office. I spoke to the principle about moving him to Year 1 class, I explained my worries as matter of fact as possible giving examples of alarming behaviour my son had shown in class on Friday (I'm sorry I can't write that here now just to protect him in case later someone recognises me) it was agreed that it was a distressing sign from a child who is struggling to cope and it needs to be looked into further. I was told to sit tight this week and they'l have a chat amongst the teachers but to see if he is happier after the holidays...I'm not entirely comfortable with this as I'd prefer for him to start term 4 in a new class. I get the impression its a lot of work to arrange a transfer of classrooms for one child but if he is still distressed today/ tomorrow I'll take him out of school until they find a suitable class for him. Its literally like watching my lovely confident son change into a different child right before my eyes. I've started to look at other schools in the area, should nothing improve here first. Thank you all again for your thoughts and advice.

Thank you so much for your replies. To be honest, I was surprised there was no buddy system in place when my son started, as he started in the middle of a term so I had assumed this would be normal practice. (My son had been a buddy for a new comer in his old school so this is where I jumped to conclusions). He has been left to his own devices which has not worked very well for him as he annoyed some older children by asking if he could play with them but they'd said no, he couldn't recognise which kids in the playground were from his class at the start and then got in trouble for asking in the middle of class if the person beside him would play with him at lunch time. I feel very sorry for him knowing how much he loves making new friends and how easily he usually manages it. He also said he is not understanding a lot of what's being done in class and has come home with classwork to be done at home as a result. I spoke to the teacher and she said its because he is not listening. We've told him its important he listens in class otherwise he'll get left behind in the lesson and tomorrow he is going to sit to eat lunch beside a boy he likes so as not to loose sight of him in the playground. On day FOUR of my son being there, his teacher pulled me aside and said "we need to have a chat, he is just not getting the routine at all". I thought it was very soon given he is not 7 until November and has never been to school here before. On day 5 (the day we were to have the chat) my son suffered a head injury in the playground and told his teacher who told him to just sit down and he'll be fine. Two hours later he suffered a nose bleed and she told him to get a tissue. When I collected him at 3pm I noticed the blood in his nose and he said he's been crying when he hit his head but the yard teacher told him to run to class as the bell was ringing. I had a very firm word with his teacher as to why I was not phoned and she just kept saying she was sorry she didn't think anything about it. I went straight to the Dr's to get the all clear with him. (missing the chat the teacher wanted to have about him not following routine) My husband went to reception to ask what the normal procedure is when a child reports a head injury and they said its taken very seriously, the child is brought to the school medical room and a report is written up and a parent is phoned. The headmaster came out then to say "it must've been a break down in communication with our son" !! All that weekend we wondered had we chosen the wrong school as there had been no real care shown to our son so far...nothing really has changed much... Its a sickening feeling to think we have caused this upset by wanting to live in Australia and we've just kept feeling we've done it all wrong Just to add: Perhaps its the teacher that is the problem and not the school? I'm thinking out loud now. So maybe things will improve in the new year with a new teacher? Maybe its that he is in a mixed year class - there are year 1 and year 2's in the class and he is year 1? Perhaps its better for him to be in a year 1 class?

How long did it take for your children to settle into their new school? Our 7 year old has come from a very good school in Scotland with lots of lovely friends where he was a great student and loved school so much. He is now 6 weeks into his new school and telling us he likes it, however his behaviour is showing otherwise. I've spoken to his teacher who says he is disruptive in class, daydreams an awful lot and turns up late to class after the lunch bell. She said she is going to have to become very strict with him now as its passed the 2 week settling in period. This is very unusual for my son who thrives himself on being first in line for class, enjoys partaking in class according to his previous teachers and generally loves to learn. He has not made any friends, though tells us he doesn't mind playing alone - he is such a sociable boy and loves playing with everyone so this is ringing alarm bells for me now. I get the impression he is trying hard to please us by telling us he is happy as he's seen how much work and commitment its taken to get us here but I'm very worried now that we've chosen the wrong school for him. Today we spoke with him about it being ok to miss friends and family from the UK as we do also, he said he misses them, and all he really likes about this new school is the play areas. Is it still early days? Do we persist with this school and continue to discipline this bad behaviour or is it time to take a step in another direction? I'd love to hear any advice from those who've experienced similar please as we're very worried now. Thank you.

I had the exact same experience as Walkabout. We were here two weeks and then enrolled my son into the school, this is his second week at school (been here almost a month now)and he loves it so much. We also had a short list of areas we liked and schools I was very keen on visiting. Just like Walkabout, the school I was favouring most on paper came out worst in reality.I know how annoying it is when people say this, but its true, it really is all in the feeling you get for a place. Its a really difficult decision though to choose a school so take your time would be my advice.

Thanks again, we truly appreciate it

We've been here 3 weeks now and like you we had a few ideas of where we wanted to be but honestly, until you get here you just cannot tell. I became addicted to checking rentals and properties for sale in suburbs I thought would be perfect for us, but when you drive around you get a feeling for a place and its not always good. Two estate agents told us to avoid Butler and one told us there were pockets of Quinns Rocks to avoid. We drove around Butler and it looks lovely, we even viewed a property there that was gorgeous and affordable across from a park but decided it was not for us. Also a word of warning, the photos of properties to rent can be quite deceptive as we've found out the hard way. Often a photo has been used from their archive,when you show up its clear the photos were 3-5years old or they use a picture of the house when it was advertised for sale, not after its been rented out for many years. But, its a renters market now so be pushy on what you want. We were at a viewing and spotted stains on the carpet and the curtains were clearly old and falling to pieces..the agent said you can put in your application "we will rent this property on the condition the carpets and curtains are replaced". Needless to say, we didn't bother we just accepted another house that didn't need any work doing to it for the same price. So my advice would be wait until you get here and see for yourself

Thank you all for your replies, we finally arrived here last Sunday and it is bitter cold! I'm so glad I brought my collection of tights and slipper socks...I'm fully clothed wearing my dressing gown right now. Haha Caboodles, it really is warmer outside than inside. Hubby and son were calling me to sit outside with them, I thought they were mad but it was lovely. Its funny seeing on Facebook our friends in Scotland dressed the same as us (jeans,boots, jumpers and coats) but they're in Summer! Does it suddenly turn warm coming into Spring or is it really gradual right up to Summer?

Thanks so much for your replies, I don't feel so daft asking it now. We land end of July so our suitcases are more geared towards the spring that's ahead of us than the winter we land in. We've lived in Scotland the last 5 years so I've a serious collection of woolly tights..we'll probably think we've walked into a sauna when we get off the plane while everyone else is wrapped up warm haha.

Bizarre question I know, but I don't want to waste suitcase space bringing all my thick woolly ones if they're not needed.

Are these very specific pencils and pens --I was hoping to buy stationary over here cheaper and bring them over...maybe not? Can all the school books / workbooks be bought in one shop or is there a lot of hopping to and fro to be done? Sorry I'm only answering your question with more questions.

Thanks again for your reply. Its really great having someone to speak to who's been there and done that. Are you looking at moving suburbs and schools, or thinking that Australia is not for you? Have your parents been out long before you - that must be lovely having family out there. I didn't realise you had to have secured a rental before speaking to the school. We were going to do things the other way round, choose the school first and then take what rental was available. Hmmm.that makes things a bit trickier to choose a house. I'm glad you told me that, thanks. Does your DH work closer to home now? Has the move been good for you as a family? Do you mind my asking are a stay at home mum or working? I was SAHM for 5 years until my boy started school, since last year I've had a wonderful part time job in Accounts. I'm curious if you've been looking for work yourself and has it been easy, how are your kids enjoying childcare, is there any difference in the work you did in the UK to that in OZ - or if you're a SAHM is it more expensive and a bigger struggle to live on one income there, or is it easier to just be out in the parks with more free activities than paying for indoor play all the time?

I've just spotted I said we were looking at Southern suburbs, I've changed it, I'd meant Northern. I can't tell which way is up any more my head is swimming since the visa came through haha. I'm relieved to hear your 7 year old has only 5 spellings a week and a book to read. My 6 year old gets 25 spellings, 2 reading books and is now coming home with multiplication homework (repeated addition its called) every week along with a project to do, this week is photograph a creature in its habitat. We are in Scotland. We spend far too much time on homework despite him being in school until 3pm. Its too much for a little child I think. So if that's a rough idea as to how different the homework is I'm looking forward to an easier life already. When did you move to Australia? Had you contacted the school you wanted your children to attend before leaving the UK? Did you have a short list and choose your favourite? Can I ask why you're not happy where you are now? How long after you landed did your children start school? We are looking at Butler / Clarkson but when we get out there we might hate it...its all trial and error - and costly! Thanks for answering my questions, its a real help to me.

Thank you for your reply. Did you only find out about the book list when your children started at school or is there a general one for all children in WA? I don't suppose there is any point in bringing over school trousers from UK with us is there? Do the children wear trainers or school shoes there? Is there any difference in the homework that is given out in OZ to UK? Is it handed out on a Monday to be completed by Friday, or is there new bits home every day? It's lovely to hear that your children have settled in great. I hope my boy does too. Its such a huge pressure to choose the right school for them isn't it? Are you North or South of the River? We're looking at North.

We had our 189 visa granted on Wednesday and have just now started to breathe normally again. My son is 6 and in Primary 2, we've not told him just yet that we're leaving as we'd prefer for him to stay oblivious to our whirlwind of organising aka panicking. What notice period did you give to the school your children were leaving and was this written or verbal? What documents or references did you request, or wish you'd had asked for now you're in Oz? Is there anything else I should consider before telling the school we're going? (Other than telling my son first of course) Also, what did you find easier for your kids settling into their Oz school, to start a few weeks before or immediately after a mid term break? All advise greatly appreciated.

I take it your hubby is the main visa applicant - What is his profession? I'd imagine admin work is very difficult to get into especially as part time work because everyone would like that job and hours. Does your visa limit you to staying in Perth - could you look elsewhere if all else fails perhaps? Do rentals only accept tenants that have work???

Thanks Gar374 for that info, I'll make sure he has lots to drink.

Thanks Swimwiththedolphins - that's the info we received too, also for our 189 (exciting times!!!!) Our medicals are on April 10th, when are yours? Its that bit there "no info given" that has me a bit baffled. My boy is 6 years old and I really don't know what to expect for him. Just questions on his medical history perhaps?

On the topic of Medicals (sorry to butt in) can anyone tell me what checks are involved? Is it blood tests and xray's? Is blood taken from kids or just adults? Thanks for any info.