LAST-minute preparations are being made by North West parents before the start of the schooling year tomorrow.

Mount Isa’s Karen Pye is one of hundreds of mums in the region busily stocking pencils cases, organising backpacks and gearing up for another year of filling lunchboxes.

Ms Pye has four children at St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School and a step-daughter, who has recently moved to Mount Isa and will be attending high school this year. 

She said the key for getting the kids ready for back to school was budgeting and preparation before the first day.

For many parents, it’s a time that can hit the finances, with the cost of necessary items continuing to rise for students – along with school fees.

But Ms Pye has taken a smart approach to help keep costs down.

“To save money I took what they brought home last year and only got what they needed this year,” she said. 

Ms Pye said it was important to prepare the kids for a return to school by getting them back into a routine and organising a drop-off schedule for their first day back.  

“I am getting the kids back into a school routine,” she said. 

“I have all of their books ready to go and I have their bags packed.

“St Joseph’s is also opened at 8.10am to give parents just a little bit of extra time to get books and everything else ready.”