tigerlily

yep 10.30 suits me hopefully it will suit everyone else too!

great! any suggestions on where to meet? If we stick to the unley area then i can recommend cafe mondiali

How about sunday the 12th for some brunch then? We could meet near you martha since you wont be driving? Anyone else free that morning? Allie x

yep i'll def be there looking forward to seeing you again helen and to meeting you katie!

what about nightfill at the big supermarkets? I haven't done it myself but have heard people talking about it as a good option if you have kids of school age. i think it pays around $22 an hour so might be worth a shot even if it is just a few shifts? I hope your hubby gets better soon

yep cafe palazzo sounds good looking forward to seeing everyone! Allie

hi katie sounds great - my app will be over by 11 i think so any time after 11.30 will give me plenty of time to drive up

hi guys would love to meet up with you all again (and meet you and your little one Katie!) but since im still working full time I can only do weekends or Tuesday 31st as Im off that day for an app in the morning anyway. Allie x

another Glaswegian here! and i used to live in dumbarton too so it really is a small world always up for a coffee and a chat - and once the baby is born i will def be up for some drinks!

congratulations katie!!!!

hi helen that sounds great looking forward to meeting you all there!

Hi Thanks for replying, it would be great to meet up with you all! A weekend meet up sounds great Helen, just let me know what date/time suits. Ali

I bought the zumba exercise dvds that are advertised on tv a couple of months ago and so far have used them twice! It is the box that comes with 9 workouts, a dance nation cd and two toning sticks. There is also a little book about healthy diet, etc. i think it might be time to get rid of them since i dont seem to have the motivation to use them! I stupidly paid the full price (i think it was around $120) but will sell for $50. i am also going to list it on gumtree. Any interest then pm me

Hi I'm not sure if this is in the right area or not! I would love to find a reputable pug breeder (ideally one that has very stringent checks on prospective owners and not just some puppy farm where the dogs are treated badly) I have tried the usual google, etc but no luck so far. Does anyone happen to know of one in SA? The only ones I can find are interstate and i have no real way of knowing how they treat the dogs. Thanks TL

Hi I am expecting my first baby at the end of july. Very exciting times but all my friends here are child-free and I would really like to meet up with some new mums and mum to be. I'm still working full time at the mo but if anyone fancies meeting for a weekend coffee and a chat then that would be great!

yep that looks about right I would add that your salary goes up a step after each 200 days that you teach (and most of your uk experience is taken into account when deciding your salary banding) The job situation is pretty bleak to be honest. Unless you teach physics or maths then there is massive competition for jobs (especially at primary level) Permanent positions are very difficult to secure but there are contract positions advertised quite frequently. TRT is pretty good but you def need to get to know some schools first. Once you have done a few days for a school they will be more likely to put you at the top of their list and offer you more days. The pay for TRT in the DECs system uses your salary banding and pays a per day fee in accordance with this. In the catholic system you are paid a flat fee (it was around $250 when i did it) which is capped at band 3 or 4. This can make a massive difference to your daily rate (DECS paid me $340 per day at my salary scale) The teaching agencies take a huge cut of anything that you may get paid and from memory they paid only $180 per day (and they didnt deduct tax from it so it meant that you owed money at the end of the tax year). I ended up doing a total of 3 days for the agency and then just went around the local schools and met up with the person in charge of trt. That seemed much more effective than just calling or sending in my cv. The schools in the rougher areas are always happy to add another person to their list and i didnt notice any big difference in behaviour issues. There are a few schools that I would NEVER go back to though! I slogged away at trt for 6 months before i got a short term contract. This then led to a year contract at the same school and I love where i teach at the mo. If you need any help or advice then feel free to pm me. Sorry for the long reply - just wanted to give a good idea of payscales!

I know what you mean exactly. There are lots of lovely people out there but it can be sooo hard to meet them! Keep plodding on and eventually the friendships do start to happen, although I have been here for 18 months and could honestly say that I have 2 good friends and a whole lot of acquaintances. I count myself lucky to have met so many people but thank my lucky stars for my 2 good friends most of all - they are the ones who are there when i need them!

this is such a lovely idea! im def up for it and i know my friends would be too

yep we are going again this year was fab last year so we wouldnt miss it! Take a big picnic and lots of friends and its a great day out - also a good excuse to get dressed up!

lol that is good