8 wks in & information for teachers

[gin]

Hi, we have been here 8 weeks now and things are going good for us. My husband started applying for work after the first week and actually secured a job by week 4. He mainly looked for work the the newpapers the West Australian - main job advertisement days are wednesday and Saturday so make sure you get this paper on these days. We found that a lot of people who promise to call you back don't and don't answer when you call them back so do be prepared for this. We lost count of the number of people that do this. He is now working as a concrete line operator, but he is still getting used to being home and finished most days for around 1pm! He worked away in England and slept in his car in the week so it really is total opposite to what he is used to!
TEACHERS
Make sure you apply for your WACOT number prior to moving over as this will mean that you can teach in independent and catholic schools almost straight away. WACOT just stands for Western australian college of teaching. Be prepared that you will need a lot of paperwork for this including your university end of course transcript and even copies of your placements reports from Uni! I had thrown mine out and had to contact my university and beg them to find them quickly for me! Have your teaching CV ready and updated before you arrive. When you arrive you need to apply for your working with children check - forms can be obtained from post office but it is a little bit of a catch 22 situation with these as an employer needs to sign them for you but obviously when you arrive you don't have an employer. I got around the situation by registering with a relief teaching agency as soon as I arrived and got them to sign the form which made things much easier. Apparently you can teach in a school without one for up to 5 days and then they have to sign the form for you but there seems to be confusion surrounding this as every school I have spoken to said they would not let me teach until they have seen it! So you are definetely best to get this asap. Once we got here I got a list of all the private schools and catholic schools in my area using the private schools directory online and I sent a cover letter, my CV, a copy of my reference from previous employer and a copy of my WACOT card and working with children check to 16 different schools in the area to register my interest in relief teaching. Out of these 16 schools, only 3 sent me a reply to say I was on their relief register and I have only had relief work at one of these 3 schools so it would appear that they have good supply of relief teachers on the registers at each school.
Teaching in a government/public school is different from above and you actually need to fill out an application to teach in a WA government school - you can obtain these online. To teach in a public school you need an education ID number or e number as it is referred to and you can't teach in a government school until you have one. Once you fill in application - the dept of education will or should contact you to tell you that you need to complete the entry and orientation course run by the dept - this is a 2 day course that you must attend in order to get your e number. They run every month around the 15th of each month. Once you attend the course you are issued with a temporary education number that is valid for 1 term. You then have to source your own supply by taking your resume to a number of public schools in your area - the requirement is that you must get at least 10 days relief in a public schol 5 of these days must be in same school. Each day you do relief - deputy has to sign a form you are given to basically just say you were competent et etc. Once you have completed the 10 days then you can get proper education ID number and are ok to teach in any public school. I am now getting a little worried as took my CV to 22 pubic schools in my area over one week ago and not had one call! but dept of education have said that if you dont get 10 days relief in specified time they will extend this for you. Also in public schools there is more demand for relief in high schools - and for relief work only primary teachers are able to provide cover in high school so this is always an option. There is quite a lot to do to be able to teach once you get over here but if you apply for all the documents as soon as you arrive such as licence, medicare, activate bank it makes it easier as to get working with children check you need to have a lot of different id.
We applied for a 3 bed apartment to rent in currambine and have been approved. this is north of the river and a little bit out of the way but we found you got a lot more for your money in these area. we have got brand new 3 bed 2 bath apartment with shared outdoor pool and spa for $390 per week - also have to pay bond of $1560. However they are still being finished at the moment so we will continue to stay with family until they are ready. Time has absolutely flown since we came out you have so much to do that you don't have time to get homesick! Ido miss people from home but not actualy home itself - although this will probably change. my sister had a baby 3 days after we left to which was hard but she is talking about coming over at xmas. My dad was very upset at first but seems to be fine now. My friend has booked to come over in April for a week of her honeymoon so thats one visitor to look forward to next year! Feel free to ask me any questions - I will try my best to answer them for you! Will continue to keepyou update
gina

[amaslam]

Thanks Gina, good info. I got a little breathless reading because it felt like a huge run-on sentence. ENTER key is your friend

Sounds like a normal new person to AU experience, you'll get a chance to catch up when the LONG December days hit and you'll be like "It's Christmas, yet here I am on a beach and the SUN won't go down till 9 PM". Feels a bit like being a Martian.

But the good part is, you get to stay while all the holidaymakers have to leave and you know what weather they're going back to

Originally Posted by gin

Hi, we have been here 8 weeks now and things are going good for us. My husband started applying for work after the first week and actually secured a job by week 4. He mainly looked for work the the newpapers the West Australian - main job advertisement days are wednesday and Saturday so make sure you get this paper on these days. We found that a lot of people who promise to call you back don't and don't answer when you call them back so do be prepared for this. We lost count of the number of people that do this. He is now working as a concrete line operator, but he is still getting used to being home and finished most days for around 1pm! He worked away in England and slept in his car in the week so it really is total opposite to what he is used to!
TEACHERS
Make sure you apply for your WACOT number prior to moving over as this will mean that you can teach in independent and catholic schools almost straight away. WACOT just stands for Western australian college of teaching. Be prepared that you will need a lot of paperwork for this including your university end of course transcript and even copies of your placements reports from Uni! I had thrown mine out and had to contact my university and beg them to find them quickly for me! Have your teaching CV ready and updated before you arrive. When you arrive you need to apply for your working with children check - forms can be obtained from post office but it is a little bit of a catch 22 situation with these as an employer needs to sign them for you but obviously when you arrive you don't have an employer. I got around the situation by registering with a relief teaching agency as soon as I arrived and got them to sign the form which made things much easier. Apparently you can teach in a school without one for up to 5 days and then they have to sign the form for you but there seems to be confusion surrounding this as every school I have spoken to said they would not let me teach until they have seen it! So you are definetely best to get this asap. Once we got here I got a list of all the private schools and catholic schools in my area using the private schools directory online and I sent a cover letter, my CV, a copy of my reference from previous employer and a copy of my WACOT card and working with children check to 16 different schools in the area to register my interest in relief teaching. Out of these 16 schools, only 3 sent me a reply to say I was on their relief register and I have only had relief work at one of these 3 schools so it would appear that they have good supply of relief teachers on the registers at each school.
Teaching in a government/public school is different from above and you actually need to fill out an application to teach in a WA government school - you can obtain these online. To teach in a public school you need an education ID number or e number as it is referred to and you can't teach in a government school until you have one. Once you fill in application - the dept of education will or should contact you to tell you that you need to complete the entry and orientation course run by the dept - this is a 2 day course that you must attend in order to get your e number. They run every month around the 15th of each month. Once you attend the course you are issued with a temporary education number that is valid for 1 term. You then have to source your own supply by taking your resume to a number of public schools in your area - the requirement is that you must get at least 10 days relief in a public schol 5 of these days must be in same school. Each day you do relief - deputy has to sign a form you are given to basically just say you were competent et etc. Once you have completed the 10 days then you can get proper education ID number and are ok to teach in any public school. I am now getting a little worried as took my CV to 22 pubic schools in my area over one week ago and not had one call! but dept of education have said that if you dont get 10 days relief in specified time they will extend this for you. Also in public schools there is more demand for relief in high schools - and for relief work only primary teachers are able to provide cover in high school so this is always an option. There is quite a lot to do to be able to teach once you get over here but if you apply for all the documents as soon as you arrive such as licence, medicare, activate bank it makes it easier as to get working with children check you need to have a lot of different id.
We applied for a 3 bed apartment to rent in currambine and have been approved. this is north of the river and a little bit out of the way but we found you got a lot more for your money in these area. we have got brand new 3 bed 2 bath apartment with shared outdoor pool and spa for $390 per week - also have to pay bond of $1560. However they are still being finished at the moment so we will continue to stay with family until they are ready. Time has absolutely flown since we came out you have so much to do that you don't have time to get homesick! Ido miss people from home but not actualy home itself - although this will probably change. my sister had a baby 3 days after we left to which was hard but she is talking about coming over at xmas. My dad was very upset at first but seems to be fine now. My friend has booked to come over in April for a week of her honeymoon so thats one visitor to look forward to next year! Feel free to ask me any questions - I will try my best to answer them for you! Will continue to keepyou update
gina

[anj1976]

hi gin

thanks for sharing. sounds like one task :P

[ahmedbilalawan]

Originally Posted by amaslam

Thanks Gina, good info. I got a little breathless reading because it felt like a huge run-on sentence. ENTER key is your friend

Sounds like a normal new person to AU experience, you'll get a chance to catch up when the LONG December days hit and you'll be like "It's Christmas, yet here I am on a beach and the SUN won't go down till 9 PM". Feels a bit like being a Martian.

But the good part is, you get to stay while all the holidaymakers have to leave and you know what weather they're going back to

Hi

You are an interesting and heart living person. I enjoy your comments. Really very witty. I like it.... Keep your spirit alive like this.

Take care.
Bye