When Father Christmas can't bring an iPad

Those busy elves can only manage limited iPad production before this Christmas comes around. We recommend that you have a contingency plan in case Santa doesn't drop a new iPad down your own chimney... 
Here is an updated list of options for providing your child's iPad, in time for the Year 4 school year:

1. Hire through the school

St Catherine's offers 32GB iPad Airs for hire on a term-by-term basis. Hire fees are processed through your school fee account. All the details are on the School iPad Hire Agreement Form on the Parent Portal > 1 to 1. Hire Agreement Forms will be due in towards the end of term, so we can have the iPad ready for you to pick up from school the week before Term 1 begins next year. 

Hiring is not the most cost effective option long term but families choose to hire for a number of reasons:

• If the iPad is only required for a year or two as their child will not be enrolled at St. Catherine's until the end of Year 6
• To make it easier to enforce strict rules about content, for example "No, you may NOT install any game apps - that's a SCHOOL iPad!"
• To give their child a trial, let's-see-how-well-you-take-care-of-this-one period before investing in their own device
• We only have an iPad mini available at home and the school 1 to 1 program requires the larger 9.7" screen
• If, for any reason, funds to cover in full an outright purchase are hard to find at this point in time.

2. Purchase through the CompNow portal

CompNow is Brisbane Catholic Education's "preferred supplier" of iPads. This year, for the first time, we have been able to arrange education pricing for parents. Orders are online via the CompNow Purchase Portal and iPads will be delivered to school for parents to pick up. We'll advise you as to pickup location, date and time once they arrive. Online orders are due by October 30 for pick up  from school before the end of Term 4, 2015. But here's a heads up - there will be a second CompNow shipment so if you are happy to collect the iPad in the week before school starts in 2016 to pick up the iPad, you will be able to order after the October 30 deadline. I've not been advised as to whether CompNow's pricing will be held at the current price for a later shipment. The CompNow portal also offers optional accessories like screen protectors, cases and earphones. For children we don't recommend Apple's "in-ear" buds available on this portal. Please be aware that the school book list specifies "over ear" headphones. CompNow also discounts AppleCare+ warranty cover as an optional extra. You'll find more detail about what AppleCare+ covers on the Apple Website.

3. Purchase through another retailer

You are free to purchase the iPad at any retailer you like. You may have an affiliation with a particular iPad reseller, a family member who works at a particular store, gift vouchers, accrued store points or special rewards that you wish to take advantage of. The choice is yours. Just beware of advertised specials that come close to special "green tier" education pricing available through CompNow - often only limited stocks are available. For example, I saw the iPad Air 32GB advertised through a major retailer at a "special runout price" of $579 recently. When I phoned the store I found that they were sold out - there were only ever two iPads available at this price. You'd have to be extremely quick or very lucky. If you do take this option and your friendly retail sales rep offers to set the iPad up for you, please take along a copy of St Catherine's iPad Setup Guide. This will save time at school reconfiguring settings to match the school's policy and guidelines.

4. Purchase through the Apple Store***

***Breaking news - and you heard it here first!

The Apple Store at Carindale is only a stone's throw away from most of us and they are poised to offer us a purchase portal similar to CompNow's. Now I'm not holding my breath (I've previously had my hopes dashed by similar promises) but very soon, they tell me, you will be able to rock up to the Carindale Apple Store and say, "I need to buy an iPad for the St. Catherine's Wishart 1 to 1 program". That's the [secret passcode] for "please give me special education pricing". I'm told the AppleStore prices will match CompNow's deal. The added benefit of a face-to-face instore purchase is that the capable and friendly folk at the AppleStore will help you set the iPad up. Not quite as fun as coming along to our wonderful iPad Setup Evening at school on October 27th, but it may take the stress out of the equation if you're that way inclined. We strongly recommend taking along a copy of the St Catherine's iPad Setup Guide so your AppleStore assistant knows the school's preferences for iPad settings. This may save some time-consuming reconfiguring at school once Year 4 begins.

5. RE-allocate one you already own

You may prefer to replace a family-owned iPad with a brand new one and allocate the older one to your Year 4 child. A few things to keep in mind:

• The iPad must be available exclusively to your child during school terms. Use by other, particularly older, family members can leave distracting or inappropriate material lurking on the iPad for your Year 4 child to find. When teachers do their "spot checks" any browser history or running apps are assumed to be your Year 4 child's and they will wear the consequences for inappropriate use.
• The battery must last a full school day on one recharge. No charging facilities will be provided at school.
• The camera and all external switches and buttons must be in good working order.
• These days the minimum capacity for comfort is 32GB. Families with 16GB iPads report difficulties maintaining sufficient free space for optimum performance. 
• Cracked screens can slice skin. Various outlets at shopping centres will replace iPad screens for around $120.