Tell us what you think about one of the selected policy issues or nominate a topic of your own. This blogspot provides an opportunity for parents and other community members to make comment and ask questions. You are very welcome to respond to the postings of other parents.
Back to School Costs
Most students will be returning to school this week. Many parents are well aware that this can be an expensive time. Tell us what it has cost your family to get the kids off to school.
Costs of getting your child back to Senior High School? Well, first there is the Senior High School Uniform - blouses, skirt, tie, shoes, socks, sports uniform, tracksuit, wind cheater.- not much change out of $350.00! But that is not all. Now comes the books and other equipment required for these senior years and you guessed it, not much change out of $200.00. Then, of course, are those other expenses that we, who choose to send our children to non-government schools, incur - fees, fees and more fees! But, because I love my children and refuse to allow any of them to travel on school buses because of the lack of seat belts - I incur a petrol bill each week, each term for each year. Strange isn't it how the governments have legislated about seat belts (at least in NSW) since 1963. 40 odd years and we find that our most precious resource is made to use school buses that have no restraints. Anyway, back to the cost of sending my child to school - I can afford it so there is not much of a ripple here, but I wonder how some of our other parents are going? How can they afford these costs?
A comment on Primary school costs: Dress - $59 School Socks (with logo) - $50 for six pairs School Bag - $35 Sports Polo - $25 Shorts - $25 tracksuit - $90 Sneakers - $40 - $90 School Shoes - $40 - $90 School Hat - $15 Sloppy Joe - $25
That's between $400 and $450 for a kindergarten child and come Easter time parents will be required to buy Winter uniforms. By Year 1, you may be able to recycle some of the gear and therefore save on some of the costs - but only as long as the uniform doesn't change, or it hasn't been lost or the child hasn't grown!
I have come across some parents (and education bureaucrats) would like to see the $50 Back to School Allowance scraped - but I would argue that even a small contribution to help parents offset the costs of starting school each year is probably welcomed in many, many households across NSW.
2 comments:
Costs of getting your child back to Senior High School? Well, first there is the Senior High School Uniform - blouses, skirt, tie, shoes, socks, sports uniform, tracksuit, wind cheater.- not much change out of $350.00! But that is not all. Now comes the books and other equipment required for these senior years and you guessed it, not much change out of $200.00. Then, of course, are those other expenses that we, who choose to send our children to non-government schools, incur - fees, fees and more fees! But, because I love my children and refuse to allow any of them to travel on school buses because of the lack of seat belts - I incur a petrol bill each week, each term for each year. Strange isn't it how the governments have legislated about seat belts (at least in NSW) since 1963. 40 odd years and we find that our most precious resource is made to use school buses that have no restraints. Anyway, back to the cost of sending my child to school - I can afford it so there is not much of a ripple here, but I wonder how some of our other parents are going? How can they afford these costs?
A comment on Primary school costs:
Dress - $59
School Socks (with logo) - $50 for six pairs
School Bag - $35
Sports Polo - $25
Shorts - $25
tracksuit - $90
Sneakers - $40 - $90
School Shoes - $40 - $90
School Hat - $15
Sloppy Joe - $25
That's between $400 and $450 for a kindergarten child and come Easter time parents will be required to buy Winter uniforms. By Year 1, you may be able to recycle some of the gear and therefore save on some of the costs - but only as long as the uniform doesn't change, or it hasn't been lost or the child hasn't grown!
I have come across some parents (and education bureaucrats) would like to see the $50 Back to School Allowance scraped - but I would argue that even a small contribution to help parents offset the costs of starting school each year is probably welcomed in many, many households across NSW.
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