Green Bay High School

Homestay & Accommodation

Home Away From Home

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Homestay & Accommodation

Your 'Kiwi' Home away from Home

Queenstown
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International students at Green Bay High School have the following options for accommodation when studying in New Zealand.
Homestay

By far the most popular option is Homestay. Most of our International students live with a host family. Living with a family helps students to learn about the New Zealand way of life, improve their English Language skills and experience a new culture. Students will have their own fully furnished room and the host family will provide three nutritional meals a day. At Green Bay High school we understand the importance of a happy and successful Homestay experience for students. Many of our families have been hosting students for years and most live within walking distance, or a short bus ride from the school. We have a dedicated Homestay Coordinator who carefully and regularly interviews, inspects and Police Vet checks all new Homestay families to ensure that a high standard of student care and well being are maintained.

Designated Caregiver

This can be a close friend or family member that the student’s family has chosen to take care of their child while they are in New Zealand. The parents take full responsibility and accept the decisions made by their DCG about the day to day requirements of the child. Even though the parents have chosen this family, the school will still visit the home and Police background checks will be carried out on the caregiver.

Parents

Some parents accompany their children to New Zealand. If students are living with a parent, the parent has full responsibility for the student outside of school hours.

Travel & Permission

International students may wish to take advantage of opportunities to travel while they are in New Zealand. The school takes its responsibility for students seriously so we have tight travel guidelines. Trips range in price from $220.00 for a weekend trip to Rotorua to $2,000.00 for a full South Island trip for 15 days. Our international staff can discuss travel options with students when they are in New Zealand and help them make the most of their New Zealand experience.

Under the provisions of the Code of Practice for the "Pastoral Care of International Students” Green Bay High School has an obligation to ensure that leave is only granted where it can be assured that the student will be supervised by approved adults and will be living in accommodation that meets the appropriate standard. All leave must be applied for at least two weeks in advance and must include signed permission from parents/caregivers and a completed request to travel form. Leave will not be granted where the agent of a student who is acting as a guardian denies permission. Links to the Code of Practice translated in a number of languages are accessible in the section below.

Students should not be applying for leave for personal travel during school time, unless there is a compelling reason to do so. This could include the visit of parents, an event organized through agents or where they are doing so as part of the activities of a host family, or accompanying an approved school trip.

All travel must be through an approved organization or with a homestay family. If leave is taken without approval or when approval has been denied by the school, this will be regarded as a serious breach of discipline and could involve disciplinary procedures. All students must hold comprehensive insurance while they are in NZ. Details regarding Insurance can be found on the enrolment process page.

Green Bay High School works with a number of excellent tour companies who are specialists in taking high school groups on supervised tours around New Zealand.

Become a Host Family!

A Rewarding Experience

Green Bay High School is always happy to hear from warm and welcoming families where students will feel at home and part of the family. It is important that English is spoken in the home and that your family is willing to spend time with the student, integrating them into life in NZ. Hosting an International Student can be a rewarding and enriching experience for the whole family.

We have around 50 International Students from a number of different countries. Some are here on short term English and cultural experiences who are looking for a home for only a few weeks and others are studying long term and could live with the same family for a year or longer. Our International Students range in age from 13 to 18 years old. Each one of them needs someone to care for them while they are here.

We try to match students to families with similar interests; the information you provide to us in the application form helps us in this process. If you decide to welcome an International Student into your home, we will provide all the support you require to make this experience a positive one for everyone. We know hosting students isn’t cheap, so we pay our families a fee of $300 per week for hosting a student for us.

Selection of host families

Our host families are all different in size and make up, including single parents, families, couples and retirees. We welcome applications from anyone in the local area who speaks English in the home, has a clean, tidy home and a spare furnished bedroom, and has a desire to share their culture with an international student. Before accepting a host family we are required to police vet anyone 18 or over in the house and visit the house to do an inspection. We must also visit the house during the year to ensure that it is still a suitable place for a student. To become a host family, please download or print a copy of the application form, complete it, and email it to our Homestay Coordinator, Kinstry Smythe.

Matching host families and students

When we get new student applications, we look at the interests of the students and host families and try to ensure a good match of personalities and hobbies. Our Homestay Coordinator chooses the family she thinks is most suitable and asks if they would like to host the student, sending them the student profile, enrolment dates and an introduction letter from the student. When the family has confirmed they would like to host the student, the school contacts the student or their agent and provides them with the details of the host family. Often host families and students contact each other before the student arrives in New Zealand to start getting to know each other through email, phone or social media.

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Contact

Green Bay High School
143 - 161 Godley Road, Green Bay
Auckland 0643
New Zealand

Tel +64 9 817 8173
Absences Ext. 234 or press ‘1’ (one)
Email [email protected]

For contact details of individual staff, including Year level deans, please navigate to our staff directory

Kōtuitui Community

Green Bay High School is proudly part of the Kōtuitui community of learning, a learning network of 12 West Auckland schools. Learn more about the community on the Kotuitui website.
Kotuitui Community of Learning
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