minkyme29

I highly recommend Wade Training, great trainers and they make studying fun in a very supportive environment. I did my Cert III in Aged Care, took 8 weeks (intensive incl two weeks work placement) graduated back in 2013. Secured work at my placement but due to personal reasons had to leave after 10 months. Currently looking to get back into the industry.

Hi Kooky Thanks for your response. I'm pleased to be able to give you an update. At the end of last term we attended the Aberfoyle Park high school Dance show at the Hopgood theatre....one word...BRILLIANT! We were open mouthed it was so good. It was clear that many of the soloists were ballet trained, (extra curricular outside of school) but even so we were impressed with the formatting and choreography as well as the ability of the performers. The dance teacher is clearly something special and her work combined with the passion of some truly great dancers made for a very entertaining evening. Now for the exciting bit...we found out on Friday that DD has been offered a place at APHS for 2015 onwards. She was over the moon! So exciting times ahead! And thanks for your support. We're passionate about supporting her particularly because she has a learning issue that makes academia stressful for her. For now dance is what enable her to shine and who wouldn't want that for their child? Thanks again for your best wishes Bye for now :-)

Thank you LC, I really appreciate your assistance. As mentioned my DD and I took a tour yesterday and we were generally impressed with the facilities. She does receive learning support at HC R-12 and having looked through the forms I am concerned that she may not be offered a place because of that. I'm hoping that recognition of her dance abilities in conjunction with better more specialized performing arts facilities at APHS might swing it though? Another consideration is transport, the Principal mentioned that there are several school buses servicing the local area but am unsure about a service running from HC to APHS. There is so much to think about! I agree that perhaps talking with the counsellor might be worthwhile also...I'm training as one atm so am quite good at encouraging my girls to use that facility at school too. Also the Principal Liz Mead suggested I make direct contact email with the dance teacher to see what she can offer my DD. They have confirmed that she won't do classical ballet, which is understandable given that it is highly technical but I'd like to think she'll be doing some other than just Hip Hop! (No offence to hip hop dancers, I like it but DD isn't keen). Thanks again for your help

hi all We currently live out of the zone in HC but have a child going into year 8 in 2015 who has been identified as gifted in Dance. According to their website APHS offers extensive areas of study in Performing arts and having visited today, on the face of it their facilities are probably more impressive than at her current school (HC R-12), BUT we would like to hear your experiences of the school in general and also with any specific experiences of the balance of education for budding dancers or actors alike. She does attend extra curricular dance lessons but we would love her to attend a school that offers regular opportunities for growth in these areas also. (And just to say private education is currently out of the question due to financial limitations). Experiences please? Thank you :-) PS I should probably add that we're passionate about helping her pursue dance because she has a specific learning disorder that makes many other areas of her education extremely challenging and she currently generally dislikes school.

My daughter has CAPD (Central Auditory Processing Disorder) too, although it was initially thought that she simply had hearing difficulties and we got her fitted with grommets to correct that and then sought a private CAPD test which came out positive. She is receiving some assistance at HC R-12 school, is this where your son goes? If not I'd be interested to know which school please? My daughter is in yr 4 and is struggling with her spelling in particular, she's a bright girl but has a very creative artistic mind and CAPD so gets easily frustrated with the focus on academic subjects alone.

. Hi all WhirligigWorkshop, my little business is now taking orders for handmade bunting/party flags. Bunting flags (also known as party flags) are perfect for decorating a party venue, adding a design accent to a room or for wrapping as a unique gift. Handmade with attention to detail, our bunting is designed to be used time and time again & can be handed down through your family as an heirloom to be enjoyed for years to come. Each standard sized bunting set is 3 metres long with double-sided flags that measure approximately 18cm by 23cm (7” by 9”). Check out our Facebook page and get in touch if you have a request. Christmas bunting coming very soon. Make sure you head on over and 'like' us on FB to be in the running for a soon to be announced generous giveaway! http://www.facebook.com/pages/WhirligigWorkshop/106921646028472?sk=wall Thanks for looking, if you like us on FB please post a message on our wall so we know who you are! Otherwise you can contact me via PIA pm. Odette

Thanks for your help. What duration was your daughter's lesson please?

Hi guys Not sure if I've posted this in the correct forum but here goes. My daughter is passionate about horses and wants to start horse/pony riding lessons and I was wondering if anybody has experience of local stables, prices, etc etc. My limited understanding is that it's an extremely expensive hobby but I know how keen she is to pursue it so want to try and find an affordable option, if it exists that is! We live in Hallett Cove so somewhere local to us would be ideal - anybody got experience of the Trott Park stables? Cheers Odette

Hi Ellie What an awful time you're having...I hope your hubby's health improves soon. I recently noticed that ATEC had a free Cert III in Aged Care advertised on their website but not sure if it;s still relevant. Maybe try the link and call them if you can't find it. They also advertise in the local papers sometimes. http://www.atec.asn.au Good luck with everything.

I would agree that you should go for it! Babies of that age are very portable and not in a proper routine. It would be a slow relaxing kind of holiday and this will be important as it's likely that you will probably be feeling somewhat sleep deprived. Daytime rests will be essential and what better place to snooze than on an houseboat. However I can also relate to the whole colic scenario - maybe a houseboat holiday near Renmark or the like so that docs and chemists are on hand if necessary? Good luck with the rest of your pregnancy.

Have to agree with Bex - there is nothing like the experience of reading a proper book, I will never give them up no matter how much space i could free up with a kindle or similar. Have a huge collection of books, and love them all.

Congratulations Jo and family, that's brilliant news! Enjoy your celebrations.

Have to say that I am a huge fan of the good ole huntsman...they tend to feast on the nastier critters like red backs or white tips (who are often found in our place). And they do no harm, just cos their big doesn't mean their nasty. But then I am a spider fan - OH used to keep tarantulas, hissing cockroaches etc so I've learned to love creepy crawlies. Currently have two huntsman living in our place, one huge and one small (the apprentice) and a very persistent wolf spider named Harry who loves nothing more than hiding out in my 4 year old's bedroom My kids are pretty amazing when it comes to spiders.

I would also recommend drying everything in the shade as clothes do become card-board like and faded in the harsh Aussie sun. Napisan is good too or you can add an equal quantity of washing grade bicarbonate of soda (think it's called washing soda and is located in the laundry product aisle in most supermarkets) to your regular concentrated powder which makes it last longer and adds extra softness to your clothes. Also another tip - try not to leave washing out overnight but if you do always shake it before you fold as white tip spiders may have quickly made a home in your washing. A good shake is all it takes to send the little critters packing. Hope this helps.

Forgive me if I am repeating stuff that's already been mentioned. We were recently granted our 887 visa, having been here for three years on the 475's predecessor, the 495. My OH met the work criteria by working 30 hours in a permanent sales job and the remaining 5+ hours per week from his proper occupation of lecturing BUT these uni hours were contracted over two semesters (totaling 26 weeks per year) which meant we had huge gaps in between his contracts - hence the reason it took us until we'd been here for almost three years before we could apply. It was complicated to evidence but we were granted the visa despite the fragmented nature of his work. So it is ok to accumulate the working hours as long as you only evidence weeks of 35 hours or more. Remember, Australian employment is very much contract based and many, many people will have to work this way so I think DIAC are understanding of this. Good luck for when you apply.

It is hideously horrible out there but didn't stop me from walking Danny our greyhound after kindy drop off - thank goodness we both had waterproof coats! I'd forgotten how dark it gets here when the heavy rains come and hope this isn't an early winter setting in. Amazing to think that March 2008 (just two months after our arrival in Adelaide) was when we had the heatwave of 15 consecutive days of over 36 degrees. Well it is the land of extremes so we'd better just like it or lump it I reckon. That aside I do hope we see that wall to wall sunshine again soon

Thanks again...wishing all the 887 wannabes all the very best. If we can get it, given that we met the criteria in a rather unconventional way, then anyone who has applied or who is applying should be reassured that they'll be ok. Julie - surely it's nearly time for you to apply?

Well what a surprise! Chris phoned them this morning to be told we'd been granted it overnight! In our eagerness to phone straight after kindy drop off we didn't even check our email before phoning but nice to be told by them directly. And I guess it makes them feel great too so bonus all round! So we are now PERMANENT residents of Australia! OMG I can't believe it - it feels so amazing and I'm still crying with relief. Been a long road, some 8 years in total (5 reccying/planning/applying and 3 years here) but we've done what we have always dreamed about. Thanks to all of you for your support and to anyone who's still waiting - good luck! Got lots to do now - centrelink here we come but think we need to start planning a major party too! WOO HOOOOOOOOOO!

Thanks Zoe and Zoot, it's lovely to have your best wishes and support. Chris will be phoning tomorrow (I originally meant Thursday) so will hopefully be able to post an update then. Our circumstances are unusual and that's why we've been somewhat worried. Chris met the work criteria by working two part time jobs spread out over a prelonged period due to the nature of the contracts (one permanent and ongoing/continual and the other casual/sessional teaching at Unisa). We had many conversations with DIAC about this and they assured us that it would all be ok but still this waiting game can only play on one's mind and create doubts. Will keep you all posted. Have a great evening

Thanks Zoe. Chris is working a lot of extra hours this week so the earliest opportunity for him to phone DIAC is 9am tomorrow morning. Our status remains unchanged on the online system. He spoke to them two weeks ago at which point they thought it had been overlooked and told us they'd email the department on our behalf but that he should phone back in two weeks if we hadn't heard anything - so tomorrow will hopefully provide some answers. Did your online status change or did they simply grant the visa without updating it?

Zoe and family Many congratulations! That's brilliant to hear! I do hope we hear something soon, no change to our status and no contact been made from any CO, haven't a clue what's happening and thoroughly cheesed off but still keeping the faith! Enjoy your celebrations Odette

Wow Sambeg, that's great to hear - so pleased for you! Thanks for updating us and we hope you enjoy your celebrations!

We do too - it's just such a pain in the rear end all this waiting isn't it? Guessing you still haven't heard? We'll be phoning again next week if they haven't assigned us a case officer by then - having been overlooked, it's all a bit worrying really. Sick of living in limbo land now. Keep us posted everyone...

Don't know about any up your way but you could check out this link. Hope it helps. Metro Mutt Dog Friendly Parks in Adelaide

Got my husband to ring DIAC this morning and sure enough we have NO case officer and have been over looked! They reckon it might be sorted within 3 -4 weeks and have said any overlooked cases are often fast tracked. Thanks to all of you for your help and advice, let's hope we get it sorted asap now.