Adelaide, SA

Brisbane, QLD

Melbourne, VIC

Perth, WA

Sydney, NSW

Sheffield, UK

Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]
Fishpond Books Australia - Amazon Books - Bookdepository UK

Welcome to Diamond Aussie Forums. We hope you enjoy your visit.


You're currently viewing our forum as a guest.

This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use.
If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile, sending personal messages, and voting in polls.

Registration is simple, fast, and completely free.

Be aware that we dislike Spam postings, and the IP of any Spam sender is sent on to various Spam databases.

Join our community!


If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features:

Username:   Password:
Add Reply
Uniform Savings
Topic Started: Nov 19 2009, 10:08:19 AM (1,322 Views)
Melibeam
Member Avatar
Most Exceptional Lady

Zac is going to Ormiston College in January and I am a bit stressed with Jason not working, about the costs of books, uniform, fees etc. I am not worrying about the fees too much, as hopefully in January I will be increasing my hours and fingers crossed Jason will have a new job soon :crossfingers:

Anyway yesterday I thought I would go along and put some uniform on lay by for him, but when I got there I had to ask in the office where the uniform shop was and was given a map to follow, and then the lady pointed out the uniform shop and also the Recycled Shop for second hand uniform, which I did not know was there, so was very pleased.

Anyway I go in there first to see what they had, and wow, its amazingly well stocked. I got him perfect school bag for $20 instead of $75, hat $25 instead of $95 etc.

I spent $200 and have kitted him out in almost perfect condition uniform. I got two shirts, two pairs shorts, tie, socks (which looked unworn and were 50c each pair, instead of $9), sports shorts and top, swimmers and rashie, house sports shirt and the hat and bag.

I worked out this lot would have cost me over $600 if I had gone to the new uniform shop.

I do love a bargain. Its great with a 10 year old boy too, he could not care less where the uniform comes from :lol:
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Hevs
Member Avatar
Miraculous Mamma Mod

Well done :thumbsup:

The other thing I do is keep an eye in the local op shop and put a saved search on both Ebay and Oztion, that way if something comes up you'll be emailed. I just tell my kids that a client gave it to me, or I just wash it and sling it in with their other stuff and they don't even notice! :whistle:

Mel, the health care card give you something called an EMA (Education matenance allowence) not sure how it would work at private scool, but our fees were halved using this...
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Anne
Member Avatar
Wonderful Winsome Wench

Hevs
Nov 19 2009, 10:14:05 AM


Mel, the health care card give you something called an EMA (Education matenance allowence) not sure how it would work at private scool, but our fees were halved using this...
Ditto and I got $150 cheque towards school uniform :thumbsup:
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Melibeam
Member Avatar
Most Exceptional Lady

I am not sure I will get that, do you get it every year? Or is it just for kids starting secondary school.

Zac is going into grade 6 next year, so not sure if I will get it. Do you just get it sent or do you have to apply? I have never got it before :no:
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Anne
Member Avatar
Wonderful Winsome Wench

Melibeam
Nov 19 2009, 10:36:11 AM
I am not sure I will get that, do you get it every year? Or is it just for kids starting secondary school.

Zac is going into grade 6 next year, so not sure if I will get it. Do you just get it sent or do you have to apply? I have never got it before :no:
The school should have the forms you need to fill in. Just fill the form in (very simple) hand it back to the school and within a few weeks you get some money. New forms each year regardless of age.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Hevs
Member Avatar
Miraculous Mamma Mod

Yep what Anne said. Just givve them a call and ask them for the EMA forms, its a matter of name address and HCC number...
Every year, every child while you have the card, you get way more for secondary kids too...
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
moneypen20
Member Avatar
Bond's Beaut Bombshell

Our high school has changed the fees form to read resources so you can claim it back on tax every year. I have a large section of secondhand uniform for sale in the shop but you'd be amazed (possibly not) at some of the crap some people think I should buy back. I often get told that some people are so poor they are grateful for anything, to which I respond with well I've been stoney broke and believe me, I would sooner die than advertise the fact by giving my children crappy, stained, torn clothing to wear. Some people are feral.

I have parents moan about good quality sun smart polos new for $40, how private schools justify the prices they pay for the same thing from probably the same supplier defeats me.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Hevs
Member Avatar
Miraculous Mamma Mod

Blinki Nialls new secondary have brought out a whole new uniform...so no second hand stuff for like? ever? Grrrrr, thats hacked me off! Just saw it in the paper!
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Anne
Member Avatar
Wonderful Winsome Wench

Hevs
Nov 19 2009, 11:40:52 AM
Blinki Nialls new secondary have brought out a whole new uniform...so no second hand stuff for like? ever? Grrrrr, thats hacked me off! Just saw it in the paper!
That's a bugger. I've just handed over all Alex old school uniform and soccer academy kit to a friend, but your post reminded me how I have NEVER benefitted from second hand stuff for Alex because he has always been the biggest kid we know even if not the oldest. As a youngster in the UK I handed over very many hundreds of pounds worth of good clothes, coats and shoes to a friend once Alex had grown out of them. Saved the mum an absolute fortune. Now I didn't actually expect anything in return but it did occur to me (as her wardrobe supplier was leaving the country for sunnier climes) that it would have been nice once in a blue moon to have offered a little something in return. She never bought a winter coat, soccer boots, school uniform or various other items for her son until he reached the grand old age of 11, when we moved to Australia. That's a serious saving without no payout at all :irked:
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Lynnj
Member Avatar


How much for uniform Mel??????? Thats daylight robbery.

Our school are in the process of finalising a new uniform, has to go through school council and be approved by the p&c, I fully intend to shoot the whole idea down in flames when it comes to P&C although I'm sure nobody will listen. When it does go through there will be a years transition period from old to new, but it's still a nighmare for those with multiple kids who are used to hand me downs (yeah my kids)! I buy their school polos from school $37 each, they are fab, my boys have had 3 each for the year and all are in perfect nick now after nearly a whole school year with the exception of Indies which are paint stained, Matt and Dom will probably get a new one each for next year but the ones they have now will still be fine. I buy shorts from Kmart/BigW/Best n Less or whoever has the best deals on, there are no school hats (which I disagree with). There are heaps of other uniform items they could have but with 3 kids in uniform I can't justify paying $48 each for a sweatchirt they hardly ever wear, $10 from big W does just as well. So long as they are in school colours it's ok with the school.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
ABCDiamond
Member Avatar


Lynnj
Nov 19 2009, 12:09:47 PM
How much for uniform Mel??????? Thats daylight robbery.

Some of the higher rated private schools in the area, do insist on a really top price uniform, to try to keep the quality of the school high in people sights.

Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
ABCDiamond
Member Avatar


Is that Education Maintenance Allowance thing all over the country, or just Victoria ?
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Anne
Member Avatar
Wonderful Winsome Wench

I'm in WA and get uniform assistance and public school fees assistance. Don't know what it was called though. Only had it at the beginning of this year and Alex has left school now so....
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Melibeam
Member Avatar
Most Exceptional Lady

The uniform is expensive, but nothing less than I expected.

The prices for new stuff below. I actually saved a fortune by buying second hand, and all the stuff in the shop was in good condition. I would not have bought anything that looked very worn or dirty :no: Luckily Zac does not need a blazer as its optional in Grade 6, but is compulsory in Grade 8.

The only stuff left to get for him is a sports hat and a sports bag :thumbsup: , and a belt to keep his shorts up, as I got really big size stuff for him :lol:

Shorts $35.85
Shirts $49.15
Tie $24.00
Hat $94.85
Sports Shirt $42.90
Sports Shorts $32.00
Swimmers $19.80
Rash Shirt $38.85
Backpack $75.00
Sports Bag $38.80
Socks $9.65
House Shirt $32.65
Blazer $194.70-$212.85 depending on size
Edited by Melibeam, Nov 19 2009, 03:50:29 PM.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Bridiej
Member Avatar
Chattermonster Extraordinaire!

Think yourselves lucky, when I went to boarding school the uniform all came from Harrods (even the PE knickers!) and no-one thought to tell my parents there was a perfectly good second hand shop at school so they spent an absolute fortune on new uniform... :ooer:
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Melibeam
Member Avatar
Most Exceptional Lady

I went to a boarding school too, and never gave a second thought to the amount my parents must have spent on my uniforms :scared:

I remember getting my uniform in a big department store in Limerick called Cannocks (no longer there now) and then going home and my Mum complaining about having to sew name tags onto everything, including socks and undies :lol:
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Bridiej
Member Avatar
Chattermonster Extraordinaire!

Oh yes, I remember the name tags..... in the end we had the iron on ones!!!

My mum did impress an American friend recently by bragging she had an account at Harrods :lol:
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
moneypen20
Member Avatar
Bond's Beaut Bombshell

Melibeam
Nov 19 2009, 03:48:00 PM
The uniform is expensive, but nothing less than I expected.

The prices for new stuff below. I actually saved a fortune by buying second hand, and all the stuff in the shop was in good condition. I would not have bought anything that looked very worn or dirty :no: Luckily Zac does not need a blazer as its optional in Grade 6, but is compulsory in Grade 8.

The only stuff left to get for him is a sports hat and a sports bag :thumbsup: , and a belt to keep his shorts up, as I got really big size stuff for him :lol:

Shorts $35.85
Shirts $49.15
Tie $24.00
Hat $94.85
Sports Shirt $42.90
Sports Shorts $32.00
Swimmers $19.80
Rash Shirt $38.85
Backpack $75.00
Sports Bag $38.80
Socks $9.65
House Shirt $32.65
Blazer $194.70-$212.85 depending on size
Nearly 100 bucks for a hat :hammer-head: That's a mistake, right?

We would never change the whole uniform, there would be a riot, mainly from me :brickwall: Occasionally there is a reason to change a material or a slight design on an item, but it has to go to the P&C and gets discussed to death and even if it goes through, I would have to run down the stock of that item before ordering the new thing and it wouldn't have to be bought by everyone, just anyone needing that item from then on.

My problem at the moment is that I need to change the material of our sports shorts and change the length slightly, however most people have stopped buying the current style because of the material and length and I can't change it until I've sold the current stock. Catch 22 :blink:
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Melibeam
Member Avatar
Most Exceptional Lady

No mistake in the hat price :no:

Thats why I was so excited to get him a second hand one for $25.

Just checked the uniform brochure again, and Fur Felt Hat $94.85, and Felt Hat $66.00 but the cheaper hats that I tried on Zac in the second hand shop did not fit him well, so just as well I did get him the more expensive hat second hand for such a good price - and it looks in unworn condition :thumbsup:

The hats do look good quality though, compared to Holly's straw hat at Carmel College which costs $75 and gets squashed and misshapen really quickly :no:
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
rjs
Member Avatar
Richly Joyful Sylph

Am gobsmacked at the hat price :blink:
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Melibeam
Member Avatar
Most Exceptional Lady

Picture of the nearly $100 hat the boy on the right is wearing :scared:

http://www.ormiston.qld.edu.au/
Edited by Melibeam, Nov 19 2009, 09:38:58 PM.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Lynnj
Member Avatar


I'm sure I'm a seriously bad role model and a complete rebel but................

Those hates are really really hideous and I could never insist that my kids wear one.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
moneypen20
Member Avatar
Bond's Beaut Bombshell

Lynnj
Nov 19 2009, 10:27:38 PM
I'm sure I'm a seriously bad role model and a complete rebel but................

Those hates are really really hideous and I could never insist that my kids wear one.
Call me incredibly shallow but I seriously could not put my kids through having to wear that for four or five years :blushing: I guess it depends on the quality of the other schools in the area though :confused: Facilities looked good when we were up there for a cheer comp, I'll give you that :yes: In general, why do private schools have such dreadful uniforms? Does it give the kids extra confidence :confused:
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
ABCDiamond
Member Avatar


My 13 year old reckons the Ormiston uniform is good, but says hers is better :lol:

http://www.faithlutheran.qld.edu.au

I just looked at the Sheldon College price list http://www.sheldoncollege.com.au
Hat $75
Blaser $240
Sport Shirts $38.50
Sport Shorts $24.50

and
Quote:
 
TEAM SPORTS
Shorts :
- AFL $24.00
- Soccer $33.00
- Basketball $52.50
- Touch $33.00
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Melibeam
Member Avatar
Most Exceptional Lady

Lol at Lynn and MP.

There are lots of kids around here who go to Ormiston College, in fact most kids in our road are there, so the uniform is something they all wear, so dont stand out. Most of the private schools around here have similar hats with their uniforms.

I agree they look awful, but I have no worries about making Zac wear it, he would stand out more if he did not wear it when he is there :yes:
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Bridiej
Member Avatar
Chattermonster Extraordinaire!

moneypen20
Nov 19 2009, 10:54:24 PM
In general, why do private schools have such dreadful uniforms? Does it give the kids extra confidence :confused:
it is strange, we had to wear these horrible cloak things whenever we left the school - talk about having a target on your back! :blushing: :lol:
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Melibeam
Member Avatar
Most Exceptional Lady

I had to wear a maroon beret when I was at school :scared:
Edited by Melibeam, Nov 20 2009, 11:09:19 AM.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Lynnj
Member Avatar


Bridiej
Nov 20 2009, 11:02:00 AM
moneypen20
Nov 19 2009, 10:54:24 PM
In general, why do private schools have such dreadful uniforms? Does it give the kids extra confidence :confused:
it is strange, we had to wear these horrible cloak things whenever we left the school - talk about having a target on your back! :blushing: :lol:
Bridie were you at Hogwarts????
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
ohippy
Member Avatar
Original Opulent Optimist

our boarders had red cloaks !! We just had red kilts and a red duffle coat !!
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
moneypen20
Member Avatar
Bond's Beaut Bombshell

We had Grey wool capes with red lining, my sister hated it and refused to wear it so it was passed to me when I got to the school. That year they decided to do away with it and let the kids wear what coats they wanted. My sister was spitting feathers :lol:
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous)
Go to Next Page
« Previous Topic · ** PIFFLE AND PISH ** · Next Topic »
Add Reply


Phone Card Choice Work From Home
Quicklens Australia Contact Lenses Travel Insurance - Columbus Direct

atc atc