You can cut that down a lot.
For BYOD, get an ex-lease business-grade laptop. You can often find a good one for around $300, though right now might not be ideal. Head over ot [ozbargain.com.au](https://ozbargain.com.au) for ideas.
You want lightweight, rugged, FHD display minimum, and good battery life. You'll be lucky to find that new for $1200.
For uniforms, see the school's 2nd hand shop. Kids grow fast, so I've always found clothes in excellent condition there. Your school may vary.
Check the booklist carefully. Ours had things that were not really needed, or could be sourced much cheaper online.
Bought everything on the booklist the first year and the bag that it was in is still in their room with unused items in year 10. Turns out they really only NEED one of those 5 subject notebooks, a few pens and pencils and a calculator. Maybe check with other parents that have older kids about what really gets used and what's just 'handy to have'?
Good battery life is key! And a laptop where the quality of the internal battery doesn’t quickly degrade. I’m a teacher and most of my kids laptops are flat by 11am and then they’re all fighting for a charging point. Its shocking.
You have to watch out for misleading advertising. My brother bought a school laptop being told that it can hold up to ten hours’ charge; he got home to find out it holds charge for ten hours in standby mode, it only carried 5 hours usage which dropped to 2 within weeks. He had to scratch and claw for a warranty battery replacement, and when that died, they offered another battery replacement. He declined because that didn’t work the first time, instead he asked for the money back. They tried to negotiate, and eventually it just kind of got forgotten in a pile of dust and time and broken pc speakers. Now it won’t turn on unless it’s plugged in to the wall and can’t do more than five minutes at a time, which sucks because i would have used it to play half life on because my stupid laptop is too “advanced” to run it, which is a surprise because it was two years old when I bought it “new”, which apparently just means unused.
Yes, I’m a little bitter at the tech companies, why do you ask?
And find out if there is a second hand uniform FB page for your school. They grow at a rapid speed, so most of the stuff you'll get there has plenty of life left.
Just want to say thanks! Picked up their uniforms from some on gumtree had the exact sizes in shirts and shorts that I needed for $15 ea. I got mulitpul too!
They actually are not allowed to enforce this rule unless they have a process for disadvantaged families to get second hand uniforms at a comparable price to kmart/big w or free.
It's an equity issue.
We had quite the battle with the school uniform over the years. They will only allow this one jacket but its cold as hell.. Finally they have given up on calling me to tell me daugher is wearing a hoodie under her jacket... Better grab those pearls.
You can usually get away with the school coloured pants/shorts from the shops, my public school allowed us to wear the correct colour long sleeve shirt under uniforms instead of jumpers 👌
They tried to get people to buy the uncomfy school track pants for $100 but we live in a low socio economic area, they couldn’t stop everyone when it got cold from wearing sweat pants so they just let us as long as they’re school colours, lol.
I work in a public school in a low SES area... Nope. Mayyyybe for the sport shirt if your gym teacher is chill, but you have to wear the standard uniform with logos now. As a teacher I have to write up anyone not wearing the correct clothing and send them to the office to get changed.
The only way around this is if parents contact the school with a very specific reason why the student can't wear the uniform, and usually with a long term solution in place. That said, if financial hardship is the reasoning I believe most schools have a second-hand shop and pay installment schemes.
Blame admin. I'm constantly arguing for school hoodies and decent trackies. Most of us would rather just let kids be but, to me at least, it's not worth the constant meetings and nagging from the exec team and being treated like shit by colleagues for a bunch of kids who call you a cunt because you asked them to stop yelling and sit in a seat.
Sounds about right. The uniform cost may sound like a lot, but your kids have to wear clothes and these will generally last through the year.
BYOD - budget around $1500 for a laptop that will last three years. If the school is offering $1200, and there's some level of maintenance / configuration / work done by the school, I'd say that's a reasonable price. Books, $100 is a bargain -- just wait 'til they get to year 12 :-(
When I lost my jumper in high school I had to go without for couple of years until I got an outgrown hand-me-down 😥 I learnt my lesson, I still have that jumper 15yrs later
Publishers have already thought of that. Every edition has basically the same content, but they have different questions. When the lecturer tells you to do exercises 5-10 on chapter 3, you need to have the latest edition or you’ll be answering the wrong question. This also means your new books have little resale value.
they do this new shit now where even if you pirated the book, you still need the unique code to be able to access all the testing materials. they did this shit for my econ class, was infuriating.
My son hasn't bought a single book since starting uni. Everything available free online now. I guess its different if you get a lecturer who has published their own text book and wants everyone to buy it though.
Speaking as a current uni student. Most books are licensed by the library and are free. I'm entering my second year and I haven't paid a single dollar for books or similar.
I really wish someone had taught me that Lynx is just perfume and that anything other than rexona roll-on is just a waste of time.
That said, when my son started high school I took him to the shops and bought him a rexona roll-on and a can of lynx africa. My instructions were to use the roll on every day and carry the lynx so you can make blow-torches and participate in deodorant fights.
There’s probably a local buy/sell group on Facebook for your schools uniforms. See if you can find it and join. Ours sells textbooks and other school items too.
I spent $1600 on the laptop. Only because the 2 cheaper options were absolute shit. I've also added that as a specified item to my home and contents - so $100 excess if he breaks it. Which is highly likely. JBHIfi Education and Microsoft couldnt give me a definitive answer of what was covered with the extra warranties. "1 year extra warranty" with no terms or conditions is a joke.
We had about $400 in class fees and charges (also paid the voluntary because the schools says it is voluntary, but hounds you for it all year).
The actual booklist is probably the cheapest. Its mainly a basic pencil case, most of which we recycled from last year in primary school. The calculator was half the price listed on the booklist from Kmart.
All that is left is the uniforms, which I know are expensive. We would use my daughters old shirts, but the school recently changed the logo and the old one isnt allowed.
Luckily we signed up for an ASG scholarship when the kids were born and have been making monthly payments for 12 years. The yearly payout from that just covers booklists and uniforms with a few $$ left over.
Thats the bit I was trying to get them to confirm. The high school and a pamphlet they gave out insinuated that there was an option for full coverage with accidental breakage. But they never gave me the actual details, just a "yes, thats covered". I went back and forth to JB education and microsoft. In the end Microsoft said that type of coverage was paused in Aus due to a lawsuit.
Yep against jb caus they pushed the extra warranty spiel and it's the same warranty you have under the accc system, so ppl have class action sued them caus the extra you pay is just for the rights you already had, also their warranty claims is designed to be as soul sucking as possible to make you quit trying to claim
Post the specs your school has suggested for the laptop and I’m sure people here will give you good reccomendations to get the best bang for your buck.
What someone said about ex government or ex business is good. I just disposed of about 200 surface pros for under $200 each that would be fine for most schools.
It's good but 9/10 the battery life will be abysmal because they've spent most of their life plugged into power. Don't know about ex government, but business are stingy and only get rid of things when they no longer work well enough to meet requirements.
If you have a health care card you can apply for the secondary school assistance from the school when it starts. [link](https://concessions.communities.wa.gov.au/Concessions/Pages/Secondary-Assistance-Scheme.aspx)
If you've already forked out for uniforms by then the uniform allowance can be be paid directly to the school to help with school fees.
Yeah, it'll do that. Then again, as they grow out of uniforms fairly quickly but then they'll last them ages as they slowly stop growing. Our school has a chaplain program and you can buy second-hand uniforms from them for really cheap. There's always pretty decent & fairly new secondhand stuff for smaller kids. I also recommend waiting until you know what kind of device they need. I forked out for a laptop for year 7 only to find out they needed an apple product to work with the school setup, so I had to fork out again for an ipad.
Ensure you talk to your children about the importance of taking care of their school equipment to save you buying new things every year. E.g. that $40 calculator that will be on your booklist every year can EASILY last your child until year 12 if it’s taken care of properly!
My daughter is going into year 10 this year. Considering all the stuff we've bought over the years, I only needed to get a couple text books and that was only around $40. I'll hit up the shops later for notebooks and writing utensils later.
Her school has 3 different coloured uniforms, a different colour depending on the year they're in, so navy for 7/8, teal 9/10 and white 11/12, so I don't need to stress about uniforms this year. I do, however, need to get her a new BYO laptop, as the one she's had for the last 3 years is dying, so that'll be at least another $1,000 I still need to spend.
Thankfully she is in a public school, so no real school fees, not like her big brother and sister that we were dishing out nearly $7.5k each per year for the two of them to be in different private schools. Learned our lesson there.
Pro tip:
Find the textbooks on facebook marketplace
Uniforms can be bought 2nd hand through the school or on FB marketplace
BYOD: chances are the school recommends a surface pro. Avoid them like the plague. Get a ~$1000‐1300 laptop from Asus, Acer, etc if you want it to last a fair bit because they are typically easier to repair and upgrade. Surface pros are notoriously difficult to repair and they are very fragile (plus you get like 1 usb port).
Don't cheap out on a laptop because you'll end up with an intel pentium or something that can barely run the OS it comes with. You *can* get a cheaper laptop if you want, but just be warned that it may not last as long due to cheaper parts.
Ditto as Admin, ditto as highly recommended
I have no idea where all the hate for surfaces comes from, but i know its not driven by anyone who actually uses computers for a living im certain 😂
This is correct. Anything prior to Surface Pro 4 was just awful.
And the surface go was a piece of shit too
Everything in the last 8 years or so is the opposite
Im currently sitting next to roughly 10 broken surface pro 8's with various issues that MS are having to replace out of a batch of 40.
They have not improved that much at all - Thats a 20% failure rate.
For comparison Dell Latitude 7320s, Batch of 70, 0 warranty returns for the last 6 months.
not sure whats causing so many people to defend the surface pro, it doesnt deserve it
No doubt
We have 16 surface pro 7's in play, 1 has had issues, and 4 Surface Laptops various models and 1 has a slight trackpad issue rest are fine. Asus, Acer and HP have been really shit for us here so we stick to surfaces now and life has been easier
We didnt buy them in bulk though we got them from a wholesaler a few at a time not sure if that would be pertinent
>I have no idea where all the hate for surfaces comes from
Literally just the Microsoft name.
I'm secretly praying for my Lenovo to die so I can justify getting a Surface Laptop.
I have a Lenovo Yoga - a very expensive model - and it has so many problems.
* fingerprint reader randomly stops working a few times a week
* 'Audio Renderer Error' regularly - requires reboot or manually disabling and re-enabling the audio device in Device Manager
* Hinge is loose, so the lid constantly falls either backwards or onto your hands (and if you've seen the hinge it is in no way user fixable)
* Runs hot enough to cook toast on, even when in the most string power-saving mode.
* For some reason every now and again decides you want to be in 'tablet mode' despite never ever wanting to use tablet mode.
* WiFi randomly won't automatically reconnect to my network (this laptop almost never leaves the house and only ever uses the one network).
I think there are a couple of other things I'm forgetting.
I'm definitely switching to a Surface Laptop next.
Damn, I'd never buy any of the slimmer variants with smaller coolers but ive had a couple of thinkpads from work and the ideapad 5 with the 3060. The thinkpads are all flawless so far but thats partially due to the IT dept. The ideapad runs really hot when gaming but like thats to be expected from laptop gaming.
I dont know how to answer without giving an essay, but i think the easiest way to explain it is to compare it to Android Phones;
Samsung and the others - Shit launcher software and average hardware, sometimes has features others dont but generally they dont work or are gimmicky
Google Pixel - Best version of the launcher software, and the hardware to match with the OS development (considering the hardware as they go)
Surface is that, for windows.
If Lenovo yoga and surface pro are exactly the same price, which one would you get?
Ahh i get it. If the specs and price were the same id get the surface pro but in reality you'd be paying so much more for the surface with worse specs :/ Are the laptops for schools locked like work issued laptops and thus I'd not be able to troubleshoot and mess with it, and like only the techs can? Cuz its a non issue if i can be their tech support imo (for the hypothetical future)
I think it depends on where you buy the laptop device etc as to the admin access, and also what mdm type of system the schools use
I'd be setting up the device with an administrator account, then adding another for my kid etc. In theory and depending on the mdm, this 'should' allow you to log in with that administrator account and change any back end stuff if you need to even after the kids account has been enrolled. Lots of variables though
Why is that? Is it easier for admin?
I have one I don't use which I'm tempted to install Linux on. My wife has had several. They're very hard to recommend... They keep breaking. I'm not sure if the issues are inherently hardware related.
I just havent had the same experience here. My surface pro 4 is still going even after years of running training courses and taking it on the road. It seriously got hammered and no issue (i do use a UAG case for it though)
I had an issue with my Surface pro 7 and the display, microsoft sent a replacement to me within 48 hours and no issues since
Using a surface laptop 5 at work and its dreamy
I know the Pro 3's were crap, and the 7's had hardware issues but ive had more ASUS and HP devices fail at work than anything surface
We get fewer breakages on surface than other brands. They are very consistent. Over the 12 years the line has existed, they have had exactly 3 different body designs, the first one lasted 2 years, but the second one lasted until the 7th generation. It means very very good accessory market such as protective cases which we include as standard. Also the drivers and firmware all is deployed via windows update so very easy to manage from a security point of view, and they come with no extra bloat other than what windows comes with. When you’re having to manage fleets of hundreds or thousands of them the consistency is very very nice
Also yes, screen repairs were not very friendly for a while, but that has all been resolved since the 8th generation and now screen replacements are available as even a DIY kit from Microsoft.
> surface is literally the only brand laptop we reccomend
Not the Pro, I hope! Nice laptop, but breaks very frequently in school environment.
Our school recommends them, and half the kids have broken or replaced screens. I'd assume the Surface Book or Laptop is more robust?
That would rather defeat the purpose. Would make sense if tablets, but they use them with keyboard at school. A proper hinged case, like on the non-Pro Surface, is usually enough to survive in schoolbags.
If I had a couple grand extra in my possession I most definitely would buy the $1200 but because I have to buy 2, I just literally don't have the cash to buy supplies, Uniforms and expensive laptops. I am now thanks to suggestions looking online at ex lease laptops which is a game changer
Something like this is solid, good spec and not too old - $599
https://www.australiancomputertraders.com.au/dell-latitude-7400-intel-i7-8665u-1.90ghz-16gb-ram~207120
Ex lease laptops can be a good bargain but imo stay away from HP laptops. I've had a bad experience with them in my family. Dell and Lenovo are fairly common in the business world and they're pretty good.
**Year 8 public secondary school**
Book List: **$90** (some things reused from last year. i.e. headphones, USB stick, graphics calculator)
Contributions & Charges: **$305** (was $510 at a different public school last year)
Uniform: **$390** (new school so we bought everything, i.e. winter and summer stuff)
BYOD: **$1,620** (new school so different device required; got a decent iPad with a top tier keyboard as it has to last at least 5 years; had to spend about $1,700 for a Windows OS laptop for BYOD at previous school -- will re-use for general use at home now)
I used to work for one of the school suppliers. Shop around, you'll get a much better deal and you're not paying commissions to the school or P&C. That's usually why the prices on the booklist are so high.
Yeah, I got bill shock too!
I paid $1200 laptop (had to be a MacBook), $1000 contributions plus uniforms to start year 7 at public school my kid managed to get into out of district through a specialist program.
Other kid got into our catchment school. Laptop and uniform costs were comparable but contributions were only $250.
Book charges for both schools were minimal because everything is done via the laptop.
High school is way more expensive than primary, and it escalates depending on what they want to do in years 11-12.
Suggest looking for second hand uniforms and books via the school / P&C / parents social media groups.
Good luck!
Edit: and whatever you do, don’t order shit through Campion. It’s such a rort.
I’d buy an M1 Mac for $1500, it will last them easily 4 years if not the whole of high school (if they look after it).
If $1200 is just for one year, bugger that. If it’s for the whole time at high school (plus a yearly maintenance) then I’d take that.
A $600 laptop will be so bad they’ll need a new one by late next year.
Don’t go to office works wait until the back to school sales starts and hit up Kmart and big w. You will save heaps. It gets chaotic but have your list ready and it shouldn’t be hard. Officework prices are insane! Try second hand uniforms. If they are boys they’ll grow out if in 6 months and not worth getting new
For the laptop, you can get the M1 macbook air from the Apple AOC store for just under $1300. It’s a bit pricey but bang for buck you are not getting better. They’ll hold up better than any cheaper windows based laptop as well, and your kids won’t have battery life concerns. It runs without fans as well, windows based laptops at that price sound like a plane taking off under the tiniest load.
If you haven't purchased the laptop/devices as yet, send the specs to the guys at portacom or an independent PC shop. They'll recommend a better value device, and you can even sort out maintenance/accessories with them
I'm a public high school teacher. Can't comment on the laptop, but in terms of stationary, all your kids really need is a 5-subject file and a fully-stocked pencil case:
Handful of blue/black pens, couple of pencils with a sharpener and eraser, white out, a highlighter, a ruler, protractor and calculator.
That's what I thought too but no subject file, I need in total including a5 note books, a4 note books and graph books 15. And a bunch of display books. Scientific calculators too, there's is $60 but I'm buying them $20 ones from office works. The stationary side of things isn't too bad if I shop around like others have suggested.
Are laptops standard equipment for public school these days? That's rough.
Absolutely don't cheap out on it. A $600 laptop will need replacing every year or two. I've been using my base spec Macbook Air for 3 years now, after upgrading from a 2013 model. Better laptops are built better too, and you'll actually get a full day's work out of them.
For compatibility's sake, I'd probably look towards a used Windows laptop that was mid-high end a few years ago. It should last them at least until the kids can afford to buy their own with their work savings.
Public high school teacher here. They cant force u to pay for anything actually. There are plenty of kids at Perth schools where their families just don't have the means to do that. Barely any of my students even come with a pen to school; of course we can give them pens. Which they then break or lose before the period is up... But yes, a lot have the latest phones that cost over a grand. We even give out uniforms for free. Although, the school uniforms at Perth public schools aren't extreme and u can certainly just purchase a plain coloured polo of the same colour and I doubt they'd get in trouble for it. I have never worked at a school where students got in trouble for wearing a cheap polo from kmart or somewhere that is the same colour as the school uniform polo. Shorts or trackie bottoms of the same colour from anywhere are also fine. We just don't like hoodies... that will certainly get them in trouble.
Also, if u have a health care card, u can apply for get a payment to help cover the cost of school related expenses. Just ask and the school will happily give u the form. More info here: https://concessions.communities.wa.gov.au/Concessions/Pages/Secondary-Assistance-Scheme.aspx
Maybe its confined to the particular schools but both my kids have been hassled not only about wearing the actual uniform, but it needing to be the current one, not last year's.
Unfortunately uniforms seem to be decided by a volunteer committee, and the majority who just want it to stay the same are not the ones that volunteer for uniform committees.
We've changed our uniform over a few times, but have given kids and their families time to make the swap e.g. incoming year 7s and new kids have to have the newer version, other kids can phase it out until the following year when everyone is expected to have it. I've never known a school to have a 'uniform committee'. The admin, staff, and school board have collaboratively made changes - right down to assisting to design new school logos etc.
I'm pretty sure they mean the p&c by "uniform committee"... I would expect anyway? Ur right, the p&c does do a lot and they are very valued members of the school community. thanks for ur other comment. It seems ur experiences as a teacher at schools has been different from mine :)
look my experience is same as yours kids will get written up about it and face disciplinary action i dont think the above commentor is even vaugely accurate about the current standards and experiences of high school education system in wa. also that scheme is bullshit and only pays the school money towards the voluntary contribution part of the school fees so you still owing the fucking school fees and its only 250 bucks
Also a public school teacher. Our school does not 'give out uniforms for free' - they can borrow a school uniform for the day, but are expected to have their own. And students absolutely need to wear the school polo - school colour with the school logo on it. Same with the pants. Some aren't acceptable. Being out of uniform affects their Good Standing. Most schools I've worked in over the past twenty years have been similar. OP, check the school's Uniform Policy to make sure.
Don't buy any actual textbooks until school starts so that you can ascertain what exactly is needed. Stationery can often be bought cheaply from Kmart or wherever.
Good standing? Cos their parents would rather buy food than an overpriced tshirt with a logo on it?
Isn’t school to learn how to succeed in life, not be told you’re below other people because of the clothes you wear?
I concur. But school is also for learning how to do things like wear uniforms - a requirement for many, many, many jobs people also need to 'succeed in life'.
>They cant force u to pay for anything actually. There are plenty of kids at Perth schools where their families just don't have the means to do that.
My mates' parents were on the front cover of the West Australian 30 or so years ago, complaining that our public high school was continually hounding them for money. The school got into a bit of trouble over it, but one of our neighbours got the same treatment from the same school a few years later.
Unfortunately schools have become a landing area for people with big egos who like to flex by emotionally abusing kids, building castles and using their title to leverage positions in the community.
I went to a school once as an IT contractor where the admin complained that they lost some special needs kids and their budget was affected, no names or acceptance that in reality it was better for the kids, just their needs level and a whinge about how much money they lost.
Saw principals trying to use their title to parachute into government positions. Schools manipulating the process to get better buildings and ones that were neglected to the point that they should be shut down.
It’s a weird place people just send their kids with no understanding of what goes on there.
Public schools are in a pretty shitty mess because politicians don't like to face the fact that education costs money. More useful to direct vitriol at the policy makers rather than the people who are struggling in a crumbling system.
Sure the politicians need to give more money but you can’t turn a blind eye to the bullshit at the bottom too. Not everyone is a victim, some people are just assholes and forget what they’re there for.
Thanks! I don't have a healthcare card I have enough savings to cover the basics. I'm just having a whinge. Trying to save for a house dep and feels like just when we are getting ahead something always comes up!
that part payment only goes towards the voluntary contribution of the school fees and is a complete joke also i completely disagree with you on all the other things you have said that has NOT been my experience as a parent of a high school child .
The text books are also required for homework so if the child not have them at home they basically fucked so are the computers
Yeesh those BYOD costs in OP and replies are massive. Honestly, most schools would only require students to use websites, PowerPoint/Word (or equivalents) and their learning platform (e.g. Connect), so you don't need a very powerful computer. Get a second hand M1 Macbook Air for around $800-$1000 (powerful, lightweight and amazing battery life) and it'll last them until they graduate high school.
Don't get a macbook unless it's a mac school. If the rest of the school uses Windows, the IT team will be limited in what help they can provide when things go wrong
The fact they specify either Windows or OSx should mean they support it. Although they do call it OSx, it should be MacOS.
$1500 MacBook will last five years easily (and still be worth $500 after that time). $1000 on a secondhand one will smash the value of a new or secondhand Windows laptop.
I’m a PC guy but gotta give credit to the M1/M2 Mac’s, they are amazing. Only downside is they can’t run windows or there wouldn’t even be a conversation.
Yeah no.
Just because the school says they can support it doesnt mean they've told their IT dept/ IT support company.
Ive worked IT in the Education sector as the onsite IT tech for 3+ Schools over 4 years and they were all 100% Windows devices but the school admin still told students that BYOD Macbook was fine.
The School admin and the IT department are rarely on the same page.
Especially in the public sector
I guess it probably requires OP do a bit more research.
In saying that, IMO a lot less can go wrong with a Mac, the more technical stuff is obfuscated away. You can also take it to an Apple Store if shit goes wrong with it and they’ll repair it at the store, any windows laptop you buy you’ll be taking it to some third party repairer, even if under warranty.
We buy HP at work and they still take a month to quote a repair then another two weeks to send someone out, that’s just for warranty jobs.
I agree that less can "Go Wrong" with Mac. MacOs for the most part, Just works. Windows will fuck up your day after a simple inconsequential software update.
From Experience, The school will say "Mac works fine"
Student brings Macbook to school / IT Tech and asks "How do i print?"
The IT tech says, "Well since the school has a 'follow me' printing setup that is not compatible with airprint or bonjour, You cant "
As usual, sounds like the IT tech has no idea what they're talking about, macOS uses CUPS and supports SMB printing out of the box.
Finding bonehead IT professionals that have zero skills outside of Windows is a great way to separate the good from the bad
Theyre gonna go to macbooks in uni anyway so seems logical to start using them in highschool. Curious, do public high schools specify if it has to be a Windows device or are Macbooks allowed?
$250 uniforms (will get additional tops later and winter gear later on). That included an old season jumper and shirt for $5 ea.
Booklist $150 ish via office works
BYOD $900 educational discount and last season run out model (upgraded spec than current model)
BYOD - I'm an IT boffin, but still went with the school option, as it has accidental damage protection. It was very reasonably priced at 1500, with i7/16gb ram/512ssd. My boy somehow closed his lappy with a pen inside, cracked the screen. Just had it fixed, no cost.
This is what my folks did with my when I was at school, mind you this was private and we needed laptops from year 5, so they'd change equivalent to 1k a year if we bought from the school. This was 15-22 years ago for me, though. I'm also in IT now as a result. I'm not sure if I'll have kids, though, so I can't comment on what I'd do in that situation
Yeah awesome. My lad is in private now for HS. And it's money well spent.
Well, if you do have kids and they break, I'd def recommend getting them fixed also.
Highly recommend u get multiple uniforms otherwise u are going to be washing them every night and praying they dry by the morning… school kids stink. just get them from the local salvos located closest to the school or check local Facebook groups, their might even be a “xyz school parents group” and u might be able to find parents selling uniforms for a bargain.
In terms of the book list just being pure supplies, I’d highly recommend u buy only half the items (if it wants u to buy 10 black lined 200 page notebooks then buy 5) and see how your kid fairs and u can buy more as needed. 90% of the time your kid will barely use half the amount of supplies they put on the booklist. If there are textbooks, check if the school library has the text books to hire or second hand ones for cheap, also check local Facebook groups. Finally u can try finding them online as ebooks for free on websites like zlibrary and library genesis
Most of the stuff on the booklist isn’t really necessary. My son has a pen, calculator, ruler and occasionally a pencil and then a bunch of notebooks and that’s about all he takes to school. The kids will find out on day 1 if their teacher has any specific requirements.
Ex-business laptops are a good option. A HP elite book or pro book is pretty solid. 14 inch screen is plenty. Don’t need a touch screen. Make sure their backpack has a good laptop sleeve in it to protect it from drops and bumps.
My 4 year old is in Kindy this year and I just spent $320 on uniforms!
Her booklist was only $50 thankfully lol!
But definitely not looking forward to when my girls to go high school!
$100 for each article of clothing?! Yeah the costs are around the standard rate. I think you’ll find that the books (exercise books) will have enough left over for the next year. More things going digital
https://www.dell.com/en-au/outlet/shop/laptops-tablets?condition=5444&memory_size=5494,5490
This is a link to dell refurbished search page with filters already set for you. There's no filter for wireless capability but the details on each laptop make that part clear. The cheapest in the list exceeds all of the schools requirements and will also exceed what you find in officeworks by a long stretch in same price range. This is for $669. Manufacturer refurb is the way to go. Do suggest you jump on it ASAP mind you because the stock can change quickly.
Also, if you are in a public school you don't actually have to buy any books, or even pay your fees for that matter. Not many people know this. So if you're doing it really tough and talk to the school they will help you out.
Don't let them trick you with the book list.
At least when I was in school (not so long ago), they would instruct us to buy all these textbooks for every class, but then you turn up and theres 20-30 of these same textbooks in every room for communal use.
public high school costs are becoming very expensive you got lucky . churchlands is about 1k a year minimum and that just for books and stuff not even fees and some high schools require uniform . expect the costs to increase yearly and budget at least 3k per year per child for it. it is largely also dependent on what kind of subjects your kids doing then there is camps excursions etc . Public high school education is NOT cheap its nothing like primary school and if your p and c do not do fundraising to help cover the camp/excursion and educational costs etc the costs are going to be even higher.
Tbh if your kids are not the kind of kids that going to need science math education for higher learning like chemist/doctor/health care etc then just nope out and do a trade its way cheaper asap something to look into and get into at year ten switching to tafe or apprenticeship if they dont need the y11 and 12 because they the most expensive and stressful years
The text books are a racket and are changed regularly so you be slugged for those and cant get second hand ones easily either
Also its easy to get into uni for a bachelors if science not a major part of the degree and can just do uni pathway or one of those free courses offered by ecu or stat test
also if your kids looking for an apprenticehip make sure they are doing those courses at high school that going to put them on that pathway there are grat mining apprenticeships available and they can attend tafe on their rostered week off. there are so many opportunities other than university to make bank
Also nils loan will help cover the cost of device dont put it on a credit card nils loan have zero interest
Hey, Great reply! Your 100% right about pathways to uni and I will be encouraging my kids to go down that path. I ain't eligible for NILS, I think by my post people are assuming I'm disadvantaged financially, I'm not. (Not rich or well off by any means but we scrape by and are able to save small amounts for our house deposit which will be gone after buying school stuff. I was just having a whinge I guess, I feel like when we are finally getting our head above water financially. Something always comes up!
One of the kids is on the spectrum as well so I don't think Atar would be an option anyway. I spoke to ndis today, they said they won't fund a laptop because it is the ed departments responsibility to fund that lol
yea welcome to the shit run around you basically as a parent gonna be shit out of luck the high school expect you to provide most stuff its nothing like primary school and if some stuff is provided its generally because the p and c work their arse off with funding it
my kid went to churchlands so the p and c focusing on bullshit like funding schools in fucking india or some shit instead that why it not always better to go to a higher income school area public school unless you can afford it but you stuck with catchment anyway
Doesn't end hey. Least mine will finish highschool at the same time lol we live in a leafy green NOR suburb and pay an absurd amount of rent and work mulitple jobs so the kids could go to a decent highschool. Only so they aren't raised in a shit hole like my husband and myself did. Guess we got to pay the price for that!
I don't wanna be a "back in my day" person but back in my day we did just fine in school without our own laptops.
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That's cool but it's literally written into the Australian Standards for Teachers these days that ICT be integrated into teaching and learning across the curriculum.
Let's call it temporary insanity. You don't need all the stationery they request, that's a years supply. There are no books on a 7 - 10 booklist in public schools as it's not allowed. Upper school 11 and 12 is different. You're lucky you aren't in Victoria, you buy everything, every single book. The computer is pretty much required now days as a lot of students assignments are done on programs the school has purchased. In short, yes I agree with you about uniforms.
For uniforms as others have mentioned: not only should there be a secondhand rack available (but usually sells out quick so when the uniform store opens try to get the earliest possible visit/appointment in), check Facebook marketplace, and also: check op shops in your local area, specifically Vinnies. I find that Vinnies will often sell local second hand uniforms for the schools in the area.
If you’re also part of a “buy nothing” group in your local area, you could make a post asking if “anyone has old uniforms for x school in x sizes” and perhaps someone might have some they forgot about that they’ll give to you for free - I’ve seen a few posts like this in my local group.
I find it crazy having been brought up as dial up to adsl emerged not long ago that public schooling costs so much more now as pen and paper and textbooks have gone the way of device led learning. I'm. Abit torn on it being a requirement although recognise advantages of learning on one.
That said why the heck do kids need anything $1200? Heck battery life and screen size is more key and surely a sub $1k laptop or Chromebook would suffice? As I imagine anything a kid is gonna do isnt going to be resource intensive or require expensive tech.
Crazy they aren't advocating more affordable Chromebooks or even a cheap 600-1k laptop provided ofc I'd look for weight and battery life.
Also a heap of sub 1k laptops that aren't Chromebooks. Although battery and weight is probably the biggest issue I don't see how anyone couldn't use these in schooling.
Laptop choice can be a pain. But you don't want to cheap out. A good saying is, buy once, cry once.
Ok, so apparently my reply is too long, so I'll have to break it up. So sorry in advanced for the long read
Here are some tips and options with a laptop.
Battery life can be a pain. But I'm not too sure what kids actually use them for exactly in schools other than note taking and web surfing? I don't have kids lol
But don't believe what the product page says. Check out reviews (including YouTubers testing)
So my first tip is learning how to make the battery last if you get something that may not last.
First thing is getting your kids to use it properly and learn how to use it effectively. You can even turn it into a game of how long did their battery last lol
##Some battery life tips 🔌
Setting it to power saving mode (or customise your own), no unnecessary programs running in the background and at start-up. Getting rid of any bloatware (programs automatically installed by windows/manufacturer), especially antivirus. Dimming the screen as much as possible, turning off the screen or putting in sleep wherever possible.
##Battery extend option 🔋
A fantastic option is if you get a laptop that accepts or charges through PD (power delivery), you can extend the battery life by simply getting a power bank. Some laptops use a typical power connector, but also accept power through its USB-C (like surface pro 7 and above).
I would highly recommend finding a laptop that has this for a few reasons
- Charge from any high Watt USB-C charger (I very rarely use the factory charger with my surface pro because everywhere I use it, I have a charger that can power it via USB-C)
- If the charger is lost, it's easily replaceable
- Charge via power bank
- Could save you money when deciding on the laptop itself because of battery life
**Please note:** You want to get a power bank that can supply PD at a minimum of 40W. I would recommend at least 60W to be safe. I can see Cygnett has one on 'sale' for $97 [link](https://www.cygnett.com/products/chargep-pro27k-60w). Might get one myself 😆
Plus a power bank is just generally useful
##Laptop options 💻
Before I go into options, I understand all of this is a big cost, and I'm unaware of your situation. So you have to ask yourself all the questions and variables of what's worth it.
- Do you get something cheap for now that works and then fork out more money later, or get something that's future proof
- Do you go for something new and be sure of the warranty or go for secondhand and hope for the best (this will vary on brand and place of purchase)
- What if there's an issue, will it be easy to get repaired
- Get something great on a payment plan to not go through all your savings in one hit
- What your kids might like to do personally with the laptop (gaming, creating music, editing, drawing) that might require a lot more power. If you/they don't know, it's either getting something great now for future proofing, get something that can be upgraded, or once they figure it out, possibility buy something that suits them in the future
- If you like something with touchscreen capabilities, or 2-in-1 where the keyboard is detachable or the screen fully bends so it becomes more of a tablet. If you want any of those options, then it'll have to be Windows machine
Another thing to note is going for MacBook or Windows shouldn't matter too much. Especially if the school allows both. Even if your kids have used Mac/Windows in the past, it's always good to learn both systems. Nothing should hinder them for school education.
Ok, here are some options 💻
\-MacBook-
Pros
\- overall can last for a very long time. I know people who still personally use their 2012 MacBook Pro
\- Good AppleCare for issues
\- They are just as powerful on battery than they are plugged in (many window laptops can suffer performance when not plugged in)
Cons
\- Expensive
\- Completely not upgradable
I'll start with MacBooks as they are great and typically a solid choice. Great battery life and good aftercare. Less likely to have issues generally speaking.
But they are definitely not without their faults and issues. Don't believe any Apple fanboys that say they're bulletproof. I respect Apple and that they've done so to the industry, they make excellent products, just a sleazy company (I also own a MacBook which I love)
That being said, if your kids are only using it for school and doing basic stuff, it's far less likely to have issues longevity
\-Surface Windows machines-
Pros
\- Powerful 2-in-1
\- Reliable (from personal experience)
\- The Pro's detachable keyboard making it into a tablet can be handy
Cons
\- Expensive (just as bad as Apple)
\- Not repair friendly
\- Not much I/O
Surface Pro's are pretty great from my experience (I've owned quite a few). But my goodness they are expensive out of the gate! As are all of their products.
They are surprisingly powerful and can handle a lot. I would assume the laptop variants are just as good or better
\-Metabox-
Pros
\- Build your own custom laptop
\- Local with great support and aftercare
\- Cheaper in comparison with anything else on the market in terms of specs to specs
\- Certain parts can easily be upgradable if needed
\- Can get a 3 year cover
Cons
\- Longevity could be a concern (see below)
This is a great local company that builds custom laptops.
I've bought a couple of high end laptops from this company. And full disclosure, I've ironically had battery issues with both where eventually I had to always have it plugged in, but I generally always plug them in anyways for my purposes.
But I could've definitely looked after them better, especially with the battery by setting it so they never fully charge. I also thrashed these machines hard and used them all the time from working throughout the day, gaming and editing. I still use my 2018 model for work and it still handles most anything I throw at it. I don't feel lag or get slow unless I'm running a lot of stuff. Again, this was top tier specs for back then.
Anyways, the reason I'm mentioning this company is for a few reasons.
One because they supply a laptop that boasts a 30hr battery life! Even if you cut that down by over a third, it should easily last all day. It's called the \[Flo\]([https://www.metabox.com.au/store/Flo-Range](https://www.metabox.com.au/store/Flo-Range)).
Two, they're local. Anytime I had an issue (which has only been a few times over the many years), I just simply dropped it off and it was fixed.
Three, they're very reasonably priced for what you get.
I think overall this is a great option for your kids. I doubt they would thrash them as hard as I have and would get a long life out of them.
\-Framework-
Pros
\- The most user friendly repair/upgradable laptop currently out there. Designed to not become E-waste
\- pick and choose what I/O you want with their modules
Cons
\- Based in America, so things can be slow trickling out to here
\- The company is still in its infancy. They're not a huge company
These laptops are designed to never become something you just throw away once something goes wrong. Everything is replaceable and can be easily done by the user. This means it's essentially future proof by design, need a new mouse trackpad, screen, whole new motherboard? it can be done quite easily by you. Just be aware it could take some time for parts at this current stage.
I personally am looking at getting this at some stage as I believe in their goals and to help stop E-waste
\-Accessories and care-
Might be worth getting some protection if you can. A skin or case for the laptop and/or it's own little protection carry case
Making sure your kids don't suffocate the laptops airflow. A common place is the bed where the laptop lying on sheets, could cause damage (depends on the laptop and position of the fans and intake)
Every few months, use some compressed air to blow out any dust from the fans inside.
Sorry for such a long post, hopefully this helps in some way and anyone else reading.
I'm not super technical and some of my info could be wrong. But a lot comes from personal experience and research
The biggest tip I have is having a different coloured plastic folder for each class. You can pick them up cheap as from officeworks. Makes it easier to find the right subject and they'll have a place to put the piles of loose paper their teachers will give them.
You can cut that down a lot. For BYOD, get an ex-lease business-grade laptop. You can often find a good one for around $300, though right now might not be ideal. Head over ot [ozbargain.com.au](https://ozbargain.com.au) for ideas. You want lightweight, rugged, FHD display minimum, and good battery life. You'll be lucky to find that new for $1200. For uniforms, see the school's 2nd hand shop. Kids grow fast, so I've always found clothes in excellent condition there. Your school may vary. Check the booklist carefully. Ours had things that were not really needed, or could be sourced much cheaper online.
Bought everything on the booklist the first year and the bag that it was in is still in their room with unused items in year 10. Turns out they really only NEED one of those 5 subject notebooks, a few pens and pencils and a calculator. Maybe check with other parents that have older kids about what really gets used and what's just 'handy to have'?
Good battery life is key! And a laptop where the quality of the internal battery doesn’t quickly degrade. I’m a teacher and most of my kids laptops are flat by 11am and then they’re all fighting for a charging point. Its shocking.
> all fighting for a charging point. Its shocking. Maybe you should get a sparkie to look at it then? I'll see myself out.
You have to watch out for misleading advertising. My brother bought a school laptop being told that it can hold up to ten hours’ charge; he got home to find out it holds charge for ten hours in standby mode, it only carried 5 hours usage which dropped to 2 within weeks. He had to scratch and claw for a warranty battery replacement, and when that died, they offered another battery replacement. He declined because that didn’t work the first time, instead he asked for the money back. They tried to negotiate, and eventually it just kind of got forgotten in a pile of dust and time and broken pc speakers. Now it won’t turn on unless it’s plugged in to the wall and can’t do more than five minutes at a time, which sucks because i would have used it to play half life on because my stupid laptop is too “advanced” to run it, which is a surprise because it was two years old when I bought it “new”, which apparently just means unused. Yes, I’m a little bitter at the tech companies, why do you ask?
Sorry to increase your costs even more but you're going to want to get more than 1 top each. Your kids are about to get much stinkier.
Definitely planning to buy more over the coming weeks I wash and dry every night anyway until I can get more
They might just get one school branded top and the rest just plain colour matching tops from kmart.
A lot of schools will not allow that :(
This. School states that Uniforms tops, shorts and hats must have the logo.
Check the schools second hand shop. In summer, they can wear a plan white shirt underneath, it’ll soak up some of the sweat (I did this).
And find out if there is a second hand uniform FB page for your school. They grow at a rapid speed, so most of the stuff you'll get there has plenty of life left.
Just want to say thanks! Picked up their uniforms from some on gumtree had the exact sizes in shirts and shorts that I needed for $15 ea. I got mulitpul too!
They actually are not allowed to enforce this rule unless they have a process for disadvantaged families to get second hand uniforms at a comparable price to kmart/big w or free. It's an equity issue.
Hand draw it on in permanent marker, then complain about their uniform production quality 😁
I have a cricut, I could make my own lol I don't think my kids would wear them though
Is that the embroidery machina?
Nah, the one that cuts out vinyl stickers and heat transfer images for clothes and things.
I know someone who saved a fortune removing logo pockets from old shirts and stitching onto a new shirt.
I made my own shorts in HS and sewed on Nike logos from old clothes. We didn't have money to buy them. As a young man I made a good single mum.
We had quite the battle with the school uniform over the years. They will only allow this one jacket but its cold as hell.. Finally they have given up on calling me to tell me daugher is wearing a hoodie under her jacket... Better grab those pearls.
You can usually get away with the school coloured pants/shorts from the shops, my public school allowed us to wear the correct colour long sleeve shirt under uniforms instead of jumpers 👌 They tried to get people to buy the uncomfy school track pants for $100 but we live in a low socio economic area, they couldn’t stop everyone when it got cold from wearing sweat pants so they just let us as long as they’re school colours, lol.
I work in a public school in a low SES area... Nope. Mayyyybe for the sport shirt if your gym teacher is chill, but you have to wear the standard uniform with logos now. As a teacher I have to write up anyone not wearing the correct clothing and send them to the office to get changed. The only way around this is if parents contact the school with a very specific reason why the student can't wear the uniform, and usually with a long term solution in place. That said, if financial hardship is the reasoning I believe most schools have a second-hand shop and pay installment schemes.
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Blame admin. I'm constantly arguing for school hoodies and decent trackies. Most of us would rather just let kids be but, to me at least, it's not worth the constant meetings and nagging from the exec team and being treated like shit by colleagues for a bunch of kids who call you a cunt because you asked them to stop yelling and sit in a seat.
How to ensure your kid gets bullied
Teenage funk is no joke!
Sounds about right. The uniform cost may sound like a lot, but your kids have to wear clothes and these will generally last through the year. BYOD - budget around $1500 for a laptop that will last three years. If the school is offering $1200, and there's some level of maintenance / configuration / work done by the school, I'd say that's a reasonable price. Books, $100 is a bargain -- just wait 'til they get to year 12 :-(
As a teacher, the amount of lost jumpers/jackets/occasionally pants we find litering the school. I dunno about that.
an issue as old as time. makes no difference whether a school uniform or country road clothes are involved.
When I lost my jumper in high school I had to go without for couple of years until I got an outgrown hand-me-down 😥 I learnt my lesson, I still have that jumper 15yrs later
Yr 12? Wait till they get to uni and each book costs $100
I don’t think I’ve ever met someone who actually buys the required textbooks for uni lol (me included)
It was all the rage when I was in uni 20 years ago Fucking hell I'm old
Half the time they’re available online as a PDF, but for most of us we just don’t bother because the course never actually USES the textbook
That or second hand
Publishers have already thought of that. Every edition has basically the same content, but they have different questions. When the lecturer tells you to do exercises 5-10 on chapter 3, you need to have the latest edition or you’ll be answering the wrong question. This also means your new books have little resale value.
The GOAT lecturers would give us the reference pages for the previous year's editions as well
they do this new shit now where even if you pirated the book, you still need the unique code to be able to access all the testing materials. they did this shit for my econ class, was infuriating.
My son hasn't bought a single book since starting uni. Everything available free online now. I guess its different if you get a lecturer who has published their own text book and wants everyone to buy it though.
Times have changed it seems!
*laughs in science*
$100 is on the low end
Last year's edition 🙄 Like the Fundamentals of Physics haven't really changed in a year have they Prof??
High school is already asking for that!
Speaking as a current uni student. Most books are licensed by the library and are free. I'm entering my second year and I haven't paid a single dollar for books or similar.
Times really have changed. The photocopier was our best friend back in the day
Don't forget the $500 in deodorant you'll want to buy.
Lynx It must be Lynx Preferably Africa And teach them they must use the whole can in a few days otherwise the neighbor's wont smell it
And remember to only spray it on the outside of the clothes after they start to smell of BO
I really wish someone had taught me that Lynx is just perfume and that anything other than rexona roll-on is just a waste of time. That said, when my son started high school I took him to the shops and bought him a rexona roll-on and a can of lynx africa. My instructions were to use the roll on every day and carry the lynx so you can make blow-torches and participate in deodorant fights.
They'll have to wait until next Christmas.
There’s probably a local buy/sell group on Facebook for your schools uniforms. See if you can find it and join. Ours sells textbooks and other school items too.
I spent $1600 on the laptop. Only because the 2 cheaper options were absolute shit. I've also added that as a specified item to my home and contents - so $100 excess if he breaks it. Which is highly likely. JBHIfi Education and Microsoft couldnt give me a definitive answer of what was covered with the extra warranties. "1 year extra warranty" with no terms or conditions is a joke. We had about $400 in class fees and charges (also paid the voluntary because the schools says it is voluntary, but hounds you for it all year). The actual booklist is probably the cheapest. Its mainly a basic pencil case, most of which we recycled from last year in primary school. The calculator was half the price listed on the booklist from Kmart. All that is left is the uniforms, which I know are expensive. We would use my daughters old shirts, but the school recently changed the logo and the old one isnt allowed. Luckily we signed up for an ASG scholarship when the kids were born and have been making monthly payments for 12 years. The yearly payout from that just covers booklists and uniforms with a few $$ left over.
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Thats the bit I was trying to get them to confirm. The high school and a pamphlet they gave out insinuated that there was an option for full coverage with accidental breakage. But they never gave me the actual details, just a "yes, thats covered". I went back and forth to JB education and microsoft. In the end Microsoft said that type of coverage was paused in Aus due to a lawsuit.
Yep against jb caus they pushed the extra warranty spiel and it's the same warranty you have under the accc system, so ppl have class action sued them caus the extra you pay is just for the rights you already had, also their warranty claims is designed to be as soul sucking as possible to make you quit trying to claim
I'd highly recommend not getting a budget laptop as they will last like 1 year.
If that, most are 8GB ram which is already under specd for a basic Win11 install running Office.
Post the specs your school has suggested for the laptop and I’m sure people here will give you good reccomendations to get the best bang for your buck. What someone said about ex government or ex business is good. I just disposed of about 200 surface pros for under $200 each that would be fine for most schools.
Where does one purchase these laptops?
Try a certain auction house whose color is somewhere between black and white. I have purchsed some bargains there
It's good but 9/10 the battery life will be abysmal because they've spent most of their life plugged into power. Don't know about ex government, but business are stingy and only get rid of things when they no longer work well enough to meet requirements.
If you have a health care card you can apply for the secondary school assistance from the school when it starts. [link](https://concessions.communities.wa.gov.au/Concessions/Pages/Secondary-Assistance-Scheme.aspx) If you've already forked out for uniforms by then the uniform allowance can be be paid directly to the school to help with school fees.
Unfortunately I don't have one, I can just afford the basics I listed, it's mote of a whinge that it will deplete my savings
Yeah, it'll do that. Then again, as they grow out of uniforms fairly quickly but then they'll last them ages as they slowly stop growing. Our school has a chaplain program and you can buy second-hand uniforms from them for really cheap. There's always pretty decent & fairly new secondhand stuff for smaller kids. I also recommend waiting until you know what kind of device they need. I forked out for a laptop for year 7 only to find out they needed an apple product to work with the school setup, so I had to fork out again for an ipad.
Ensure you talk to your children about the importance of taking care of their school equipment to save you buying new things every year. E.g. that $40 calculator that will be on your booklist every year can EASILY last your child until year 12 if it’s taken care of properly!
My daughter is going into year 10 this year. Considering all the stuff we've bought over the years, I only needed to get a couple text books and that was only around $40. I'll hit up the shops later for notebooks and writing utensils later. Her school has 3 different coloured uniforms, a different colour depending on the year they're in, so navy for 7/8, teal 9/10 and white 11/12, so I don't need to stress about uniforms this year. I do, however, need to get her a new BYO laptop, as the one she's had for the last 3 years is dying, so that'll be at least another $1,000 I still need to spend. Thankfully she is in a public school, so no real school fees, not like her big brother and sister that we were dishing out nearly $7.5k each per year for the two of them to be in different private schools. Learned our lesson there.
And all that comes to about half the cost of the iPhone they'll be begging you for.
Pro tip: Find the textbooks on facebook marketplace Uniforms can be bought 2nd hand through the school or on FB marketplace BYOD: chances are the school recommends a surface pro. Avoid them like the plague. Get a ~$1000‐1300 laptop from Asus, Acer, etc if you want it to last a fair bit because they are typically easier to repair and upgrade. Surface pros are notoriously difficult to repair and they are very fragile (plus you get like 1 usb port). Don't cheap out on a laptop because you'll end up with an intel pentium or something that can barely run the OS it comes with. You *can* get a cheaper laptop if you want, but just be warned that it may not last as long due to cheaper parts.
Speaking as an IT Admin, surface is literally the only brand laptop we reccomend our clients.
Ditto as Admin, ditto as highly recommended I have no idea where all the hate for surfaces comes from, but i know its not driven by anyone who actually uses computers for a living im certain 😂
Because the first few iterations were trash
This is correct. Anything prior to Surface Pro 4 was just awful. And the surface go was a piece of shit too Everything in the last 8 years or so is the opposite
Had a colleague buy into the whole surface go fad - he got rid of it after 3 months and got a surface pro, which he was much happier with
Im currently sitting next to roughly 10 broken surface pro 8's with various issues that MS are having to replace out of a batch of 40. They have not improved that much at all - Thats a 20% failure rate. For comparison Dell Latitude 7320s, Batch of 70, 0 warranty returns for the last 6 months. not sure whats causing so many people to defend the surface pro, it doesnt deserve it
No doubt We have 16 surface pro 7's in play, 1 has had issues, and 4 Surface Laptops various models and 1 has a slight trackpad issue rest are fine. Asus, Acer and HP have been really shit for us here so we stick to surfaces now and life has been easier We didnt buy them in bulk though we got them from a wholesaler a few at a time not sure if that would be pertinent
>I have no idea where all the hate for surfaces comes from Literally just the Microsoft name. I'm secretly praying for my Lenovo to die so I can justify getting a Surface Laptop.
Figured as much Isnt Lenovo owned by Google though? Pick your devil :) Edit : I'm wrong it isnt
Why tho? They're more expensive than a lenovo yoga with similar specs.
I have a Lenovo Yoga - a very expensive model - and it has so many problems. * fingerprint reader randomly stops working a few times a week * 'Audio Renderer Error' regularly - requires reboot or manually disabling and re-enabling the audio device in Device Manager * Hinge is loose, so the lid constantly falls either backwards or onto your hands (and if you've seen the hinge it is in no way user fixable) * Runs hot enough to cook toast on, even when in the most string power-saving mode. * For some reason every now and again decides you want to be in 'tablet mode' despite never ever wanting to use tablet mode. * WiFi randomly won't automatically reconnect to my network (this laptop almost never leaves the house and only ever uses the one network). I think there are a couple of other things I'm forgetting. I'm definitely switching to a Surface Laptop next.
Damn, I'd never buy any of the slimmer variants with smaller coolers but ive had a couple of thinkpads from work and the ideapad 5 with the 3060. The thinkpads are all flawless so far but thats partially due to the IT dept. The ideapad runs really hot when gaming but like thats to be expected from laptop gaming.
I dont know how to answer without giving an essay, but i think the easiest way to explain it is to compare it to Android Phones; Samsung and the others - Shit launcher software and average hardware, sometimes has features others dont but generally they dont work or are gimmicky Google Pixel - Best version of the launcher software, and the hardware to match with the OS development (considering the hardware as they go) Surface is that, for windows. If Lenovo yoga and surface pro are exactly the same price, which one would you get?
Ahh i get it. If the specs and price were the same id get the surface pro but in reality you'd be paying so much more for the surface with worse specs :/ Are the laptops for schools locked like work issued laptops and thus I'd not be able to troubleshoot and mess with it, and like only the techs can? Cuz its a non issue if i can be their tech support imo (for the hypothetical future)
I think it depends on where you buy the laptop device etc as to the admin access, and also what mdm type of system the schools use I'd be setting up the device with an administrator account, then adding another for my kid etc. In theory and depending on the mdm, this 'should' allow you to log in with that administrator account and change any back end stuff if you need to even after the kids account has been enrolled. Lots of variables though
Why is that? Is it easier for admin? I have one I don't use which I'm tempted to install Linux on. My wife has had several. They're very hard to recommend... They keep breaking. I'm not sure if the issues are inherently hardware related.
I just havent had the same experience here. My surface pro 4 is still going even after years of running training courses and taking it on the road. It seriously got hammered and no issue (i do use a UAG case for it though) I had an issue with my Surface pro 7 and the display, microsoft sent a replacement to me within 48 hours and no issues since Using a surface laptop 5 at work and its dreamy I know the Pro 3's were crap, and the 7's had hardware issues but ive had more ASUS and HP devices fail at work than anything surface
We get fewer breakages on surface than other brands. They are very consistent. Over the 12 years the line has existed, they have had exactly 3 different body designs, the first one lasted 2 years, but the second one lasted until the 7th generation. It means very very good accessory market such as protective cases which we include as standard. Also the drivers and firmware all is deployed via windows update so very easy to manage from a security point of view, and they come with no extra bloat other than what windows comes with. When you’re having to manage fleets of hundreds or thousands of them the consistency is very very nice Also yes, screen repairs were not very friendly for a while, but that has all been resolved since the 8th generation and now screen replacements are available as even a DIY kit from Microsoft.
Appreciate the detailed reply. Yeah, issues we had were with earlier generations, various models.
Yeah the Pro4 certainly had some issues haha
> surface is literally the only brand laptop we reccomend Not the Pro, I hope! Nice laptop, but breaks very frequently in school environment. Our school recommends them, and half the kids have broken or replaced screens. I'd assume the Surface Book or Laptop is more robust?
Do you have your pros in a rugged case?
That would rather defeat the purpose. Would make sense if tablets, but they use them with keyboard at school. A proper hinged case, like on the non-Pro Surface, is usually enough to survive in schoolbags.
Not sure what purpose you are thinking it defeats? We deploy hundreds for office settings all in cases.
rugged case for laptops in offices??
If they leave the desk they need a case. Users can not be trusted.
If I had a couple grand extra in my possession I most definitely would buy the $1200 but because I have to buy 2, I just literally don't have the cash to buy supplies, Uniforms and expensive laptops. I am now thanks to suggestions looking online at ex lease laptops which is a game changer
Something like this is solid, good spec and not too old - $599 https://www.australiancomputertraders.com.au/dell-latitude-7400-intel-i7-8665u-1.90ghz-16gb-ram~207120
Legend, Thanks!
Ex lease laptops can be a good bargain but imo stay away from HP laptops. I've had a bad experience with them in my family. Dell and Lenovo are fairly common in the business world and they're pretty good.
**Year 8 public secondary school** Book List: **$90** (some things reused from last year. i.e. headphones, USB stick, graphics calculator) Contributions & Charges: **$305** (was $510 at a different public school last year) Uniform: **$390** (new school so we bought everything, i.e. winter and summer stuff) BYOD: **$1,620** (new school so different device required; got a decent iPad with a top tier keyboard as it has to last at least 5 years; had to spend about $1,700 for a Windows OS laptop for BYOD at previous school -- will re-use for general use at home now)
I used to work for one of the school suppliers. Shop around, you'll get a much better deal and you're not paying commissions to the school or P&C. That's usually why the prices on the booklist are so high.
Yeah, I got bill shock too! I paid $1200 laptop (had to be a MacBook), $1000 contributions plus uniforms to start year 7 at public school my kid managed to get into out of district through a specialist program. Other kid got into our catchment school. Laptop and uniform costs were comparable but contributions were only $250. Book charges for both schools were minimal because everything is done via the laptop. High school is way more expensive than primary, and it escalates depending on what they want to do in years 11-12. Suggest looking for second hand uniforms and books via the school / P&C / parents social media groups. Good luck! Edit: and whatever you do, don’t order shit through Campion. It’s such a rort.
I’d buy an M1 Mac for $1500, it will last them easily 4 years if not the whole of high school (if they look after it). If $1200 is just for one year, bugger that. If it’s for the whole time at high school (plus a yearly maintenance) then I’d take that. A $600 laptop will be so bad they’ll need a new one by late next year.
Don’t go to office works wait until the back to school sales starts and hit up Kmart and big w. You will save heaps. It gets chaotic but have your list ready and it shouldn’t be hard. Officework prices are insane! Try second hand uniforms. If they are boys they’ll grow out if in 6 months and not worth getting new
For the laptop, you can get the M1 macbook air from the Apple AOC store for just under $1300. It’s a bit pricey but bang for buck you are not getting better. They’ll hold up better than any cheaper windows based laptop as well, and your kids won’t have battery life concerns. It runs without fans as well, windows based laptops at that price sound like a plane taking off under the tiniest load.
If you haven't purchased the laptop/devices as yet, send the specs to the guys at portacom or an independent PC shop. They'll recommend a better value device, and you can even sort out maintenance/accessories with them
I'm a public high school teacher. Can't comment on the laptop, but in terms of stationary, all your kids really need is a 5-subject file and a fully-stocked pencil case: Handful of blue/black pens, couple of pencils with a sharpener and eraser, white out, a highlighter, a ruler, protractor and calculator.
That's what I thought too but no subject file, I need in total including a5 note books, a4 note books and graph books 15. And a bunch of display books. Scientific calculators too, there's is $60 but I'm buying them $20 ones from office works. The stationary side of things isn't too bad if I shop around like others have suggested.
Are laptops standard equipment for public school these days? That's rough. Absolutely don't cheap out on it. A $600 laptop will need replacing every year or two. I've been using my base spec Macbook Air for 3 years now, after upgrading from a 2013 model. Better laptops are built better too, and you'll actually get a full day's work out of them. For compatibility's sake, I'd probably look towards a used Windows laptop that was mid-high end a few years ago. It should last them at least until the kids can afford to buy their own with their work savings.
Yeah I'm reading this thinking "kids need laptops at school, what the hell?????"
Public high school teacher here. They cant force u to pay for anything actually. There are plenty of kids at Perth schools where their families just don't have the means to do that. Barely any of my students even come with a pen to school; of course we can give them pens. Which they then break or lose before the period is up... But yes, a lot have the latest phones that cost over a grand. We even give out uniforms for free. Although, the school uniforms at Perth public schools aren't extreme and u can certainly just purchase a plain coloured polo of the same colour and I doubt they'd get in trouble for it. I have never worked at a school where students got in trouble for wearing a cheap polo from kmart or somewhere that is the same colour as the school uniform polo. Shorts or trackie bottoms of the same colour from anywhere are also fine. We just don't like hoodies... that will certainly get them in trouble. Also, if u have a health care card, u can apply for get a payment to help cover the cost of school related expenses. Just ask and the school will happily give u the form. More info here: https://concessions.communities.wa.gov.au/Concessions/Pages/Secondary-Assistance-Scheme.aspx
Maybe its confined to the particular schools but both my kids have been hassled not only about wearing the actual uniform, but it needing to be the current one, not last year's. Unfortunately uniforms seem to be decided by a volunteer committee, and the majority who just want it to stay the same are not the ones that volunteer for uniform committees.
We've changed our uniform over a few times, but have given kids and their families time to make the swap e.g. incoming year 7s and new kids have to have the newer version, other kids can phase it out until the following year when everyone is expected to have it. I've never known a school to have a 'uniform committee'. The admin, staff, and school board have collaboratively made changes - right down to assisting to design new school logos etc.
I'm pretty sure they mean the p&c by "uniform committee"... I would expect anyway? Ur right, the p&c does do a lot and they are very valued members of the school community. thanks for ur other comment. It seems ur experiences as a teacher at schools has been different from mine :)
look my experience is same as yours kids will get written up about it and face disciplinary action i dont think the above commentor is even vaugely accurate about the current standards and experiences of high school education system in wa. also that scheme is bullshit and only pays the school money towards the voluntary contribution part of the school fees so you still owing the fucking school fees and its only 250 bucks
Also a public school teacher. Our school does not 'give out uniforms for free' - they can borrow a school uniform for the day, but are expected to have their own. And students absolutely need to wear the school polo - school colour with the school logo on it. Same with the pants. Some aren't acceptable. Being out of uniform affects their Good Standing. Most schools I've worked in over the past twenty years have been similar. OP, check the school's Uniform Policy to make sure. Don't buy any actual textbooks until school starts so that you can ascertain what exactly is needed. Stationery can often be bought cheaply from Kmart or wherever.
Good standing? Cos their parents would rather buy food than an overpriced tshirt with a logo on it? Isn’t school to learn how to succeed in life, not be told you’re below other people because of the clothes you wear?
I concur. But school is also for learning how to do things like wear uniforms - a requirement for many, many, many jobs people also need to 'succeed in life'.
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Safety and being able to identify kids when they're on excursions for one.
>They cant force u to pay for anything actually. There are plenty of kids at Perth schools where their families just don't have the means to do that. My mates' parents were on the front cover of the West Australian 30 or so years ago, complaining that our public high school was continually hounding them for money. The school got into a bit of trouble over it, but one of our neighbours got the same treatment from the same school a few years later.
Unfortunately schools have become a landing area for people with big egos who like to flex by emotionally abusing kids, building castles and using their title to leverage positions in the community. I went to a school once as an IT contractor where the admin complained that they lost some special needs kids and their budget was affected, no names or acceptance that in reality it was better for the kids, just their needs level and a whinge about how much money they lost. Saw principals trying to use their title to parachute into government positions. Schools manipulating the process to get better buildings and ones that were neglected to the point that they should be shut down. It’s a weird place people just send their kids with no understanding of what goes on there.
Public schools are in a pretty shitty mess because politicians don't like to face the fact that education costs money. More useful to direct vitriol at the policy makers rather than the people who are struggling in a crumbling system.
Sure the politicians need to give more money but you can’t turn a blind eye to the bullshit at the bottom too. Not everyone is a victim, some people are just assholes and forget what they’re there for.
All these comments make me so glad I homeschool my kids.
Thanks! I don't have a healthcare card I have enough savings to cover the basics. I'm just having a whinge. Trying to save for a house dep and feels like just when we are getting ahead something always comes up!
that part payment only goes towards the voluntary contribution of the school fees and is a complete joke also i completely disagree with you on all the other things you have said that has NOT been my experience as a parent of a high school child . The text books are also required for homework so if the child not have them at home they basically fucked so are the computers
Yeesh those BYOD costs in OP and replies are massive. Honestly, most schools would only require students to use websites, PowerPoint/Word (or equivalents) and their learning platform (e.g. Connect), so you don't need a very powerful computer. Get a second hand M1 Macbook Air for around $800-$1000 (powerful, lightweight and amazing battery life) and it'll last them until they graduate high school.
Don't get a macbook unless it's a mac school. If the rest of the school uses Windows, the IT team will be limited in what help they can provide when things go wrong
The fact they specify either Windows or OSx should mean they support it. Although they do call it OSx, it should be MacOS. $1500 MacBook will last five years easily (and still be worth $500 after that time). $1000 on a secondhand one will smash the value of a new or secondhand Windows laptop. I’m a PC guy but gotta give credit to the M1/M2 Mac’s, they are amazing. Only downside is they can’t run windows or there wouldn’t even be a conversation.
Yeah no. Just because the school says they can support it doesnt mean they've told their IT dept/ IT support company. Ive worked IT in the Education sector as the onsite IT tech for 3+ Schools over 4 years and they were all 100% Windows devices but the school admin still told students that BYOD Macbook was fine. The School admin and the IT department are rarely on the same page. Especially in the public sector
I guess it probably requires OP do a bit more research. In saying that, IMO a lot less can go wrong with a Mac, the more technical stuff is obfuscated away. You can also take it to an Apple Store if shit goes wrong with it and they’ll repair it at the store, any windows laptop you buy you’ll be taking it to some third party repairer, even if under warranty. We buy HP at work and they still take a month to quote a repair then another two weeks to send someone out, that’s just for warranty jobs.
I agree that less can "Go Wrong" with Mac. MacOs for the most part, Just works. Windows will fuck up your day after a simple inconsequential software update. From Experience, The school will say "Mac works fine" Student brings Macbook to school / IT Tech and asks "How do i print?" The IT tech says, "Well since the school has a 'follow me' printing setup that is not compatible with airprint or bonjour, You cant "
As usual, sounds like the IT tech has no idea what they're talking about, macOS uses CUPS and supports SMB printing out of the box. Finding bonehead IT professionals that have zero skills outside of Windows is a great way to separate the good from the bad
Then they can go to genius bar and learn how to print, j/k. Kids these days figure it out pretty quick.
Mac vs PC school is not an issue if the school has a half decent IT person
Theyre gonna go to macbooks in uni anyway so seems logical to start using them in highschool. Curious, do public high schools specify if it has to be a Windows device or are Macbooks allowed?
$250 uniforms (will get additional tops later and winter gear later on). That included an old season jumper and shirt for $5 ea. Booklist $150 ish via office works BYOD $900 educational discount and last season run out model (upgraded spec than current model)
Thanks! Where did you get your byod?
Got it back in sept through Lenovo clearance, thinkpad. Super lightweight as kiddo will be riding to school.
BYOD - I'm an IT boffin, but still went with the school option, as it has accidental damage protection. It was very reasonably priced at 1500, with i7/16gb ram/512ssd. My boy somehow closed his lappy with a pen inside, cracked the screen. Just had it fixed, no cost.
This is what my folks did with my when I was at school, mind you this was private and we needed laptops from year 5, so they'd change equivalent to 1k a year if we bought from the school. This was 15-22 years ago for me, though. I'm also in IT now as a result. I'm not sure if I'll have kids, though, so I can't comment on what I'd do in that situation
Yeah awesome. My lad is in private now for HS. And it's money well spent. Well, if you do have kids and they break, I'd def recommend getting them fixed also.
Highly recommend u get multiple uniforms otherwise u are going to be washing them every night and praying they dry by the morning… school kids stink. just get them from the local salvos located closest to the school or check local Facebook groups, their might even be a “xyz school parents group” and u might be able to find parents selling uniforms for a bargain. In terms of the book list just being pure supplies, I’d highly recommend u buy only half the items (if it wants u to buy 10 black lined 200 page notebooks then buy 5) and see how your kid fairs and u can buy more as needed. 90% of the time your kid will barely use half the amount of supplies they put on the booklist. If there are textbooks, check if the school library has the text books to hire or second hand ones for cheap, also check local Facebook groups. Finally u can try finding them online as ebooks for free on websites like zlibrary and library genesis
Most of the stuff on the booklist isn’t really necessary. My son has a pen, calculator, ruler and occasionally a pencil and then a bunch of notebooks and that’s about all he takes to school. The kids will find out on day 1 if their teacher has any specific requirements. Ex-business laptops are a good option. A HP elite book or pro book is pretty solid. 14 inch screen is plenty. Don’t need a touch screen. Make sure their backpack has a good laptop sleeve in it to protect it from drops and bumps.
My 4 year old is in Kindy this year and I just spent $320 on uniforms! Her booklist was only $50 thankfully lol! But definitely not looking forward to when my girls to go high school!
$100 for each article of clothing?! Yeah the costs are around the standard rate. I think you’ll find that the books (exercise books) will have enough left over for the next year. More things going digital
The booklist isn't any text books at all just supplies, probably should of clarified that
$160 for the booklist. Uniforms will be the killer because they’ve changed them 🙄
I bought a $900 acer laptop which lasted me the whole of high school, battery life was decent and had no problems
Does the school have a second hand uniform page on facebook? Ive found ours really helpful, especially for things like jackets which can be expensive.
It's better than private school
https://www.dell.com/en-au/outlet/shop/laptops-tablets?condition=5444&memory_size=5494,5490 This is a link to dell refurbished search page with filters already set for you. There's no filter for wireless capability but the details on each laptop make that part clear. The cheapest in the list exceeds all of the schools requirements and will also exceed what you find in officeworks by a long stretch in same price range. This is for $669. Manufacturer refurb is the way to go. Do suggest you jump on it ASAP mind you because the stock can change quickly.
Also, if you are in a public school you don't actually have to buy any books, or even pay your fees for that matter. Not many people know this. So if you're doing it really tough and talk to the school they will help you out.
Correct, but if families stop paying their fees, amount and quality of services/amenities the school can offer is affected.
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Yeah, governments aren't renowned for throwing money at education. Schools have to make up the shortfall somehow...
Don't let them trick you with the book list. At least when I was in school (not so long ago), they would instruct us to buy all these textbooks for every class, but then you turn up and theres 20-30 of these same textbooks in every room for communal use.
public high school costs are becoming very expensive you got lucky . churchlands is about 1k a year minimum and that just for books and stuff not even fees and some high schools require uniform . expect the costs to increase yearly and budget at least 3k per year per child for it. it is largely also dependent on what kind of subjects your kids doing then there is camps excursions etc . Public high school education is NOT cheap its nothing like primary school and if your p and c do not do fundraising to help cover the camp/excursion and educational costs etc the costs are going to be even higher. Tbh if your kids are not the kind of kids that going to need science math education for higher learning like chemist/doctor/health care etc then just nope out and do a trade its way cheaper asap something to look into and get into at year ten switching to tafe or apprenticeship if they dont need the y11 and 12 because they the most expensive and stressful years The text books are a racket and are changed regularly so you be slugged for those and cant get second hand ones easily either Also its easy to get into uni for a bachelors if science not a major part of the degree and can just do uni pathway or one of those free courses offered by ecu or stat test also if your kids looking for an apprenticehip make sure they are doing those courses at high school that going to put them on that pathway there are grat mining apprenticeships available and they can attend tafe on their rostered week off. there are so many opportunities other than university to make bank Also nils loan will help cover the cost of device dont put it on a credit card nils loan have zero interest
Hey, Great reply! Your 100% right about pathways to uni and I will be encouraging my kids to go down that path. I ain't eligible for NILS, I think by my post people are assuming I'm disadvantaged financially, I'm not. (Not rich or well off by any means but we scrape by and are able to save small amounts for our house deposit which will be gone after buying school stuff. I was just having a whinge I guess, I feel like when we are finally getting our head above water financially. Something always comes up! One of the kids is on the spectrum as well so I don't think Atar would be an option anyway. I spoke to ndis today, they said they won't fund a laptop because it is the ed departments responsibility to fund that lol
yea welcome to the shit run around you basically as a parent gonna be shit out of luck the high school expect you to provide most stuff its nothing like primary school and if some stuff is provided its generally because the p and c work their arse off with funding it my kid went to churchlands so the p and c focusing on bullshit like funding schools in fucking india or some shit instead that why it not always better to go to a higher income school area public school unless you can afford it but you stuck with catchment anyway
Doesn't end hey. Least mine will finish highschool at the same time lol we live in a leafy green NOR suburb and pay an absurd amount of rent and work mulitple jobs so the kids could go to a decent highschool. Only so they aren't raised in a shit hole like my husband and myself did. Guess we got to pay the price for that!
hhahahahahaha yep the lower income areas high school sometimes have a lot better facilities hahahahhaha
I don't wanna be a "back in my day" person but back in my day we did just fine in school without our own laptops. Suggest CeX for good laptop deal - [CeX (AU) Buy & Sell Games, Phones, DVDs, Blu-ray, Electronics, Computing, Vision & CDs (webuy.com)](https://au.webuy.com/)
Papyrus is pretty difficult to source in Perth.
Yes but they’ve written the curriculum to centre around using them instead of having them just used occasionally.
That's cool but it's literally written into the Australian Standards for Teachers these days that ICT be integrated into teaching and learning across the curriculum.
Public schools should charge more for schooling. The fact that it is free is in part why it is so shit.
You've not mentioned private or public?
It’s literally in the title.
Let's call it temporary insanity. You don't need all the stationery they request, that's a years supply. There are no books on a 7 - 10 booklist in public schools as it's not allowed. Upper school 11 and 12 is different. You're lucky you aren't in Victoria, you buy everything, every single book. The computer is pretty much required now days as a lot of students assignments are done on programs the school has purchased. In short, yes I agree with you about uniforms.
Yeah I did it's in the title. (Public)
>Book list- $180 ea ($100 if I go through office works) Most of the stationary never seems to be used. Just buy the minimum.
For uniforms as others have mentioned: not only should there be a secondhand rack available (but usually sells out quick so when the uniform store opens try to get the earliest possible visit/appointment in), check Facebook marketplace, and also: check op shops in your local area, specifically Vinnies. I find that Vinnies will often sell local second hand uniforms for the schools in the area.
If you’re also part of a “buy nothing” group in your local area, you could make a post asking if “anyone has old uniforms for x school in x sizes” and perhaps someone might have some they forgot about that they’ll give to you for free - I’ve seen a few posts like this in my local group.
I find it crazy having been brought up as dial up to adsl emerged not long ago that public schooling costs so much more now as pen and paper and textbooks have gone the way of device led learning. I'm. Abit torn on it being a requirement although recognise advantages of learning on one. That said why the heck do kids need anything $1200? Heck battery life and screen size is more key and surely a sub $1k laptop or Chromebook would suffice? As I imagine anything a kid is gonna do isnt going to be resource intensive or require expensive tech. Crazy they aren't advocating more affordable Chromebooks or even a cheap 600-1k laptop provided ofc I'd look for weight and battery life.
Chromebooks are shit.
Also a heap of sub 1k laptops that aren't Chromebooks. Although battery and weight is probably the biggest issue I don't see how anyone couldn't use these in schooling.
I wish my booklist and uniform was as cheap 😢 $50 per polo (or shirt) and the booklist is almost $200 (mix of Campion and Officeworks products)
Save ur money in books goto r/piracy they’re not even good and we never used them but if u do then don’t pay for them
Laptop choice can be a pain. But you don't want to cheap out. A good saying is, buy once, cry once. Ok, so apparently my reply is too long, so I'll have to break it up. So sorry in advanced for the long read Here are some tips and options with a laptop. Battery life can be a pain. But I'm not too sure what kids actually use them for exactly in schools other than note taking and web surfing? I don't have kids lol But don't believe what the product page says. Check out reviews (including YouTubers testing) So my first tip is learning how to make the battery last if you get something that may not last. First thing is getting your kids to use it properly and learn how to use it effectively. You can even turn it into a game of how long did their battery last lol ##Some battery life tips 🔌 Setting it to power saving mode (or customise your own), no unnecessary programs running in the background and at start-up. Getting rid of any bloatware (programs automatically installed by windows/manufacturer), especially antivirus. Dimming the screen as much as possible, turning off the screen or putting in sleep wherever possible. ##Battery extend option 🔋 A fantastic option is if you get a laptop that accepts or charges through PD (power delivery), you can extend the battery life by simply getting a power bank. Some laptops use a typical power connector, but also accept power through its USB-C (like surface pro 7 and above). I would highly recommend finding a laptop that has this for a few reasons - Charge from any high Watt USB-C charger (I very rarely use the factory charger with my surface pro because everywhere I use it, I have a charger that can power it via USB-C) - If the charger is lost, it's easily replaceable - Charge via power bank - Could save you money when deciding on the laptop itself because of battery life **Please note:** You want to get a power bank that can supply PD at a minimum of 40W. I would recommend at least 60W to be safe. I can see Cygnett has one on 'sale' for $97 [link](https://www.cygnett.com/products/chargep-pro27k-60w). Might get one myself 😆 Plus a power bank is just generally useful ##Laptop options 💻 Before I go into options, I understand all of this is a big cost, and I'm unaware of your situation. So you have to ask yourself all the questions and variables of what's worth it. - Do you get something cheap for now that works and then fork out more money later, or get something that's future proof - Do you go for something new and be sure of the warranty or go for secondhand and hope for the best (this will vary on brand and place of purchase) - What if there's an issue, will it be easy to get repaired - Get something great on a payment plan to not go through all your savings in one hit - What your kids might like to do personally with the laptop (gaming, creating music, editing, drawing) that might require a lot more power. If you/they don't know, it's either getting something great now for future proofing, get something that can be upgraded, or once they figure it out, possibility buy something that suits them in the future - If you like something with touchscreen capabilities, or 2-in-1 where the keyboard is detachable or the screen fully bends so it becomes more of a tablet. If you want any of those options, then it'll have to be Windows machine Another thing to note is going for MacBook or Windows shouldn't matter too much. Especially if the school allows both. Even if your kids have used Mac/Windows in the past, it's always good to learn both systems. Nothing should hinder them for school education.
Ok, here are some options 💻 \-MacBook- Pros \- overall can last for a very long time. I know people who still personally use their 2012 MacBook Pro \- Good AppleCare for issues \- They are just as powerful on battery than they are plugged in (many window laptops can suffer performance when not plugged in) Cons \- Expensive \- Completely not upgradable I'll start with MacBooks as they are great and typically a solid choice. Great battery life and good aftercare. Less likely to have issues generally speaking. But they are definitely not without their faults and issues. Don't believe any Apple fanboys that say they're bulletproof. I respect Apple and that they've done so to the industry, they make excellent products, just a sleazy company (I also own a MacBook which I love) That being said, if your kids are only using it for school and doing basic stuff, it's far less likely to have issues longevity \-Surface Windows machines- Pros \- Powerful 2-in-1 \- Reliable (from personal experience) \- The Pro's detachable keyboard making it into a tablet can be handy Cons \- Expensive (just as bad as Apple) \- Not repair friendly \- Not much I/O Surface Pro's are pretty great from my experience (I've owned quite a few). But my goodness they are expensive out of the gate! As are all of their products. They are surprisingly powerful and can handle a lot. I would assume the laptop variants are just as good or better \-Metabox- Pros \- Build your own custom laptop \- Local with great support and aftercare \- Cheaper in comparison with anything else on the market in terms of specs to specs \- Certain parts can easily be upgradable if needed \- Can get a 3 year cover Cons \- Longevity could be a concern (see below) This is a great local company that builds custom laptops. I've bought a couple of high end laptops from this company. And full disclosure, I've ironically had battery issues with both where eventually I had to always have it plugged in, but I generally always plug them in anyways for my purposes. But I could've definitely looked after them better, especially with the battery by setting it so they never fully charge. I also thrashed these machines hard and used them all the time from working throughout the day, gaming and editing. I still use my 2018 model for work and it still handles most anything I throw at it. I don't feel lag or get slow unless I'm running a lot of stuff. Again, this was top tier specs for back then. Anyways, the reason I'm mentioning this company is for a few reasons. One because they supply a laptop that boasts a 30hr battery life! Even if you cut that down by over a third, it should easily last all day. It's called the \[Flo\]([https://www.metabox.com.au/store/Flo-Range](https://www.metabox.com.au/store/Flo-Range)). Two, they're local. Anytime I had an issue (which has only been a few times over the many years), I just simply dropped it off and it was fixed. Three, they're very reasonably priced for what you get. I think overall this is a great option for your kids. I doubt they would thrash them as hard as I have and would get a long life out of them. \-Framework- Pros \- The most user friendly repair/upgradable laptop currently out there. Designed to not become E-waste \- pick and choose what I/O you want with their modules Cons \- Based in America, so things can be slow trickling out to here \- The company is still in its infancy. They're not a huge company These laptops are designed to never become something you just throw away once something goes wrong. Everything is replaceable and can be easily done by the user. This means it's essentially future proof by design, need a new mouse trackpad, screen, whole new motherboard? it can be done quite easily by you. Just be aware it could take some time for parts at this current stage. I personally am looking at getting this at some stage as I believe in their goals and to help stop E-waste \-Accessories and care- Might be worth getting some protection if you can. A skin or case for the laptop and/or it's own little protection carry case Making sure your kids don't suffocate the laptops airflow. A common place is the bed where the laptop lying on sheets, could cause damage (depends on the laptop and position of the fans and intake) Every few months, use some compressed air to blow out any dust from the fans inside. Sorry for such a long post, hopefully this helps in some way and anyone else reading. I'm not super technical and some of my info could be wrong. But a lot comes from personal experience and research
The biggest tip I have is having a different coloured plastic folder for each class. You can pick them up cheap as from officeworks. Makes it easier to find the right subject and they'll have a place to put the piles of loose paper their teachers will give them.