Need Help Choosing a Public Primary School in Brisbane city

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  [Deactivated] on 22/01/2018 - 19:04

  -5

  what's wrong with the closest one to you house?
  this is how your parents got you into a school, so why don't you do the same?

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    wuds on 22/01/2018 - 19:09

    I've not schooled here anyway, So i do not know what the system here and how it operates. People say international students like mine struggles at some schools if the environment is not multi cultural ? No idea whether its true or not.

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      fossilfuel on 22/01/2018 - 19:19

      +1

      A multicultural environment will expose your child to more cultures but it does not predict how well he will do in school. Multiculturalism should not be a large factor in choosing a school.

      If your child's english isn't that strong, there will be learning and support teachers that will provide intensive lessons to help improve his english. A child raised overseas until 3 years old will blend in fine in primary school. Many children raised overseas until 10-12 years old do excellent in Australian schools.

      Go to school open days. Meet the principal and teachers. Asking questions is the only way to understand know how the system works.

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  fossilfuel on 22/01/2018 - 19:35

  +3

  Does the primary school or marks obtain in primary school as any effect on selecting a high school ?

  I did a quick wiki search. Primary school grades are important if you want to send your son to a selective school where there students are selected based on academic merit. Any extra-curricular activities will boost your son's chances of getting into one of these schools. There's also interviews when seeking a placement at these schools.

  All my friends say that i need to select the high school carefully as it is the most important than the primary school.

  Who your son learns with in the classroom with will definitely affect his academic results, so selecting a good high school will put your son in a better learning environment. However, for him to do well, he needs to be motivated to do well and only he can change that.

  They say that i need to prepare the kid for sports and music in addition to school. How does all these relate to high school?

  Participating in any extra-curricular activities will make your son into a well rounded person. It'll provide him with skills that are essential in the workforce. e.g playing sport will improve teamwork and communication skills. playing an instrument will improve his fine motor skills and an understanding of how music works. debating will improve his communication and reasoning skills.

  I highly recommend that your son participates in some extracurricular activities. Not too many such that he's overloaded and not too few such that he has plenty of spare time at home. He must be interested and motivated in those activities.

  Doing extra-curricular activities will show to people that your son is open to new experiences and eager to learn. Schools love kids that are well rounded.

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    wuds on 22/01/2018 - 19:43

    Does these selective schools teach a different curriculum compared to other schools ? not sure how these are different to the usual high schools.

    I understand it is totally the child's responsibility to learn what ever he wants. But as parents we have a responsibility of showing the better path.

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      fossilfuel on 22/01/2018 - 20:59

      +1

      Same curriculum with enrichment activities. Sometimes they do extension work in years 7-10 when they've finished teaching the syllabus before the term ends. e.g they may learn advanced algebra in year 7. Year 11-12 should be same across the state. The environment is better for study as most students are academically motivated and are well behaved. i.e don't cause too much trouble in class compared to mainstream class.

      The best thing a parent can do at the moment is expose your son to as many activities as possible. See what he likes doing e.g reading, soccer, guitar, chess etc and help him develop those skills. Bilingualism is a very valuable asset when applying for jobs so keep on developing his language skills. Regularly monitor his progress with school work and if he is stuck with school work, show process you used to get the answer rather than giving the answer. e.g maths with working out, new english words by pronouncing the syllables etc.

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  donga100 on 22/01/2018 - 20:14

  To be honest, there is not a lot of difference in the quality of teaching or facilities between different public schools. The reason for Ironside, Indooroopilly and Macgregor being the highest rated primary schools (even better than most private schools) is because of the type of students who go there. I think you are on the right path by wanting to send your child there as it is more important for them to be surrounded by peers who will push them academically and lead by example. See the ratings based on test results.

  • 

    donga100 on 22/01/2018 - 20:16

    +1

    By the way, it may just be a coincidence but those public schools with higher achieving students tend to have more students of multicultural heritage.

  • 

    wuds on 22/01/2018 - 20:53

    exactly my point at the moment. But, I do not really know what the community around Ironside would be. I guess it would be mostly constituted by the community of UQ students and staff.

    My only worry is i need to move into an apartment (2 bed most likely) where we will be restricted basically to the walls of the building. It's true that you cannot have everything at the same time.

    I've heard most of the population in Macgregor would be chinese descent.

    I lived in sydney previously and seen how chinese students are pushed in to education. (Not being a racist).

    What i feel is children needs to have their own relax times to absorb what they are learning rather than running a race. Not 100% sure what we are heading towards though.

    Thanks a lot for your comment

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      tonyjzx on 30/01/2018 - 16:39

      I kind of question whether different secondary schools have better quality of education. I would say they do but this is irrelevant to the OP for the next few years at least.

      Primary schools are largely uniform. You arent likely to see much better outcomes from one to another. In fact I would probably argue that this is the case up to about year 10.

      I personally would not bother about bullying or multiculturalism in primary school. I mean these are sub 10yr old kids.

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  oscargamer on 22/01/2018 - 21:30

  -4

  will you celebrate Australia Day on the 26th?

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    wuds on 23/01/2018 - 01:34

    how does it relate to this ?

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  diabolic on 22/01/2018 - 23:02

  +2

  The schools in Forest Lake are very good, and they are multicultural. The largest primary school in Forest Lake is Grand Avenue, where 42% of the students have a language background other than English. It's a great school, with good facilities, teachers, and NAPLAN results.

  • 

    wuds on 23/01/2018 - 01:37

    +1

    One of my friend has taken his kid out of Forest lake state school and put into Grand Avenue ?

    I was only worried that it didn't had good ranking on those online websites.

    Do you know more about Grand Avenue SS, if so please pass on.

    If I can make my mind to put my son into this school, it will sort out most of my problems (Rent affordability, quality of life, closer to work ect. )

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      diabolic on 23/01/2018 - 09:45

      There are lots of details in the myschool link in my previous post.

      Comparing aggregated test results (in those rankings sites) is not a great way to judge the quality of a school. There are so many factors (school size, socio-economic and ethnic diversity, etc) that have an impact on the scores, that are nothing to do with the quality of teaching (which should be fairly consistent across state schools).

      You should also consider what facilities and extra-curricular activities a school provides. Things like play areas, library, music and sports. Generally, larger schools with active P&C groups will do better.

      You want the best for your son, and - especially at primary level - quality of life, and having time to spend with your child, will be at least as important as choosing the right school. Good luck.

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        wuds on 23/01/2018 - 10:26

        I am bit confused with the details available online. The school webpage doesn't have good details about the facilities and extra curricular activities they provide. I heard all these activities are user payable and not sure how much parents spend on them.

        by the looks Ironside has very limited space with swimming pool and other sports grounds.

        Grand avenue on the other hand is spread over a big area, not sure what the facilities looks like. I guess they do not have a pool ( not sure how important it is)

        I already talked to Grand avenue enrollment officer who said i need to wait until August for school tours. I cannot wait that long as i need to move out next month from my current place.

        Do you have any info on things like play areas, library, music and sports in these schools.

        Do you live in the area and know which nationalities live around grand avenue? I see lots of Indian families living in this area but not sure whether their children are attending this school.

        would you be able to help between on Ironside and Grand Avenue ?

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        diabolic on 23/01/2018 - 15:20

        +1

        I don't know much about Ironside other than it's in St Lucia, near the University of Queensland. This would explain the higher than average diversity and attainment figures - many of the parents will be working or studying at the university. However, they will only accept children who live in the catchment area, and the cost of living there will be much higher. It's a very nice suburb though.

        For Grand Avenue, there is information on the school's web site that gives some information on the facilities, activities, etc. A more detailed (printed) information pack for children going into the Prep year will have more details, you would need to contact the school for this. Particular highlights (for me) are the excellent library and the air conditioned classrooms (many schools do not have air conditioning).

        I have no details of which nationalities attend the school, but the school will reflect the diversity of the local area.

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  LadyWolf on 23/01/2018 - 09:26

  +2

  I don’t know that it matters too much which primary school, or high school your child attends. I honestly believe the key to a successful education is parental and family involvement. Be interested, involved, and engaged in your child’s learning, and the rewards are endless. An open line of communication with the school is so important. Let your son’s teacher/teachers know that you are onboard, and willing to provide support in any way. Share your concerns in regards to cultural and language differences, and more often that not, teachers are willing to do all they can.
  Wishing you the best of luck!

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    wuds on 23/01/2018 - 10:14

    +1

    I am very much willing to support my child on his education journey as much as i can.

    I have achieved many great things with my education and i still worry that my parents could have showed me a different path. I have selected this path due to lack of information on programs i selected during Uni. Therefore, i think parents have a great deal of taking decisions that the children would not suffer later.

    That's why I am trying select him a good school and with my support he will be able to do well.

    I still do not understand this competition in a developed country like this. I come from a third world country where we had severe competition among schools based on the facilities they have. I think the schools here have equal facilities and well funded by the government. No idea why the competition is for.

    The only bad thing happening right now is people try to follow the trend blindly.

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  Magus on 25/01/2018 - 20:55

  Both my kids went to Forest Lake Primary for a while. Their experiences were very different.
  My son experienced a good environment, and there were a mix of cultures represented in his class. My daughter was severely bullied from Gr1, could not wait to change schools.
  Then went to Greenbank primary.Both were much happier.

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    wuds on 29/01/2018 - 01:30

    I've heard a similar story from a friend and they had also exchanged from Forest Lake SS to Grand Avenue.

    My only issue is NAPLAN average is not so good in Grand Avenue