So we have decided to settle in Port Moody after finding a good rental,close to some good local schools and transit.Only thing is schools are closed for the summer in this district (coquitlam) and don't open till the 27th August, is it that I have to wait till that time to register?
It was confusing because initially I headed down to the Vancouver school board,which is apparently open throughout the summer holidays for registration, but was told I need to go to the school board in my district which was coquitalm- which, when i checked the website says I need to go to the school. So I guess different school districts operate diferently- how strange.
Would love to hear if any one has gone through the school registration process and their experiences.(my daughter would be in grade 5)
In my opinion, late august seems late to register for september 2012 term, but then I am a bit scarred from the UK system of long waiting lists.
Cheers!

In North Vancouver you have to go to the school board to register. The board office is closed for part of July and most of August, and if you arrive while it is closed you have to wait until it opens at the end of August.

It is nerve wracking - we arrived in July 2010 and I was able to register them, but told we might not know until after school started which school they had got in to! As it turned out I called our first choice the week before school started and we were on their list so we knew we were in that one.

Our friends in Port Moody have one of their boys in a similar grade. I'm seeing them this weekend so if i remember i'll ask about the process.

They've lived there for a few years now.

I like Port Moody. Pain for commuting downtown but a nice area.

We arrived mid summer when the schools were closed. We went to the local school to register junior the week before term stared - the last week in August. This was in Surrey.

Thanks guys. El Rico, I look forward to your reply.
We love the area, and looking at Aspenwood Elementary school (which is in the catchment area) or Heritage elementary school.

Good luck! Yes each school district has it's own rules. Hopefully your schools are not oversubscribed

Nobody cares much here. All the schools are as much the same as another. Basically, most blokes go into the resource extraction business and girls either work as waitresses or if they are proper middle class and they go into higher education, they go into some extension of family rearing, like teaching or nursing. It doesn't really matter what school they go to, they are going to be what they are going to be. Its not like the UK.

It is quite interesting that they pay a much higher salary for zoo keepers than they do school teachers.

I think its actually much easier when it comes to school than in the UK. We registered our 5 year old at the Alberta Board of Education on Wednesday, went to check the school out on Friday and he was able to start on Monday. And this was half way through the term too. I guess it all depends on individual school. Good luck