Welcome to the North Shore International Academy (NSIA) Home stay Programme, we hope that you enjoy your stay with your home stay family! All of our home stay providers have been carefully selected to suit the needs of our students and may vary in size. We choose your home stay family that best suits your needs and requirements.
Your home stay family will provide you with:
• A safe, clean and comfortable home.
• A chance to speak English.
• A bedroom with a suitable bed, wardrobe and chest of drawers.
• A desk and lamp so that you can study.
• Clean, warm bedding and fresh linen.
• Access to bathroom.
• Access to laundry facilities.
• A key for free access to the house.
• At least two meals a day.
• Basic toiletries such as soap and toilet paper.
• Power and local telephone call.
STUDENT RESPONSIBILITIES
• Always inform your home stay family of where you are going and
the approximate time that you will be home. If you are going to be
late, please ring to tell them.
• Always carry your home stay family’s contact details with you at all times.
• Respect and abide by your home stay family’s household rules.
• Keep your bedroom tidy.
• Respect the use of shared resources, such as the bathroom and telephones.
• Contribute and participate in family activities and jobs around the house.
• Offer to help around the house, for example, helping to set the dinner table and washing the dishes after a meal.
• Socialize and interact with your home stay family.
HOME STAY PAYMENT
The home stay payment is $220-$230 per week. This is to be paid
every fortnight to your home stay family. NSIA may manage the home stay
fees of students under 18 years old as requested by the student’s
parents, however, students over 18 years old will manage their own fees
and pay their home stay family directly.
HOUSEHOLD RULES
Your home stay family will have a set of rules which you must abide
by. If you don’t understand these, please ask them to write them down
for you.
HOUSEHOLD CHORES
Please ensure that you keep your bedroom tidy and leave any other
areas of the house tidy. All members of New Zealand households tend to
help out around the house so please offer to help out with household
chores, such as washing dishes and helping to prepare dinner.
ELECTRICAL GOODS
Before you plug any electrical goods in, please check their
voltage. New Zealand electricity is 230 Volts and therefore may be
different from your country. If they are different you will need to
purchase and use a transformer.
FOOD AND MEALS
The food in New Zealand may be different from what you are used to
in your home country. New Zealand food usually consists of meat,
vegetables and potatoes, some families may eat rice and pasta. It may
take you a little while to adjust to the different types of food, ensure
that you inform your home stay family if there is any food that you are
unable to eat and also of your likes and dislikes.
Breakfast is
quite informal and consists of cereal, toast, a cup of tea/coffee or
glass of juice. Your home stay family may want you to get your own
breakfast in the mornings. Lunch may consist of a sandwich, fruit and
or a muesli bar. Dinner is the main meal of the day and is usually a
time when the family sits down to talk about their day; this is a good
chance for you to practice your speaking skills. Please offer to help
out with clearing the dishes from the table at the end of the meal or
helping to wash or dry the dishes. If you know that you are going to be
away for a meal, please let you home stay family know in advance.
WASHING AND LAUNDRY
Usually your home stay family will wash your clothes, however if you
choose to do your own please ask them to show you how to use the
washing machine and also where to hang out your clothes to dry. Please
do not dry clothes in your room.
SHOWERS AND BATHROOMS
New Zealand showering and bathing may be different to what you are
used to. Water is heated by a hot water cylinder and is therefore
limited to a certain amount. Please ensure that you limit your showers
to a maximum of 10 minutes only. Please keep the bathroom tidy and
clean up any mess that you make. Female students must dispose of
sanitary towels in the rubbish bin. Please do not flush them down the
toilet otherwise it will become blocked.
TELEPHONES AND INTERNET ACCESS
If you want to use the telephone, only use it to make local calls,
you must not make toll calls on your home stay family’s telephone. If
you want to ring your home country, you can purchase an International
Calling card from Post Offices or Stationery shops. If you have a
computer and would like to use the Internet, ask your home stay family
first if you are able to make arrangements to get connected to the
Internet. You must then pay for any costs involved in setting this up,
such as connection and installation fees.
BANK ACCOUNTS
If you would like to open a bank account in New Zealand, there are
certain accounts available that are designed to cater for the specific
needs of International Students. If you require help organising this,
please ask our Home stay Coordinator.
SMOKING
Unless your household allows smoking inside the house, you must
smoke outside at all times and there is no smoking allowed in your
bedroom at any time due to the risk of fire. Please note that it is
illegal to smoke in New Zealand if you under the age of 18.
CURFEWS
A curfew is the latest time that you must be home by. NSIA recommends the following curfews to its home stay families:
UNDER 18 YEAR OLDS
Sunday – Thursday 9pm Friday - Saturday 11pm
Sunday – Thursday 11pm Friday - Saturday 12pm
EMERGENCY SITUATIONS
If you become sick or have an accident, your home stay family will take you to their GP or an Accident and Emergency Clinic. You must have medical insurance whilst you stay in New Zealand to cover the costs of any medical treatment that you may require. If you do not have medical insurance, please contact NSIA’s Home stay Coordinator who can arrange insurance on your behalf.
PROBLEMS/DISPUTES
If a problem arises with your home stay family, first try talking to them about it. If you feel uncomfortable talking with them, please contact the Home stay Coordinator, or a student service officer, so that they can try and resolve the problem. We want you to feel happy and comfortable with your home stay family, so please come and talk to us if you have any worries or concerns.
CHANGING HOME STAYS
If you are unhappy with your home stay family, you can request to change to another one; you must however give two weeks’ notice. If you want to move out immediately, the home stay family will still be paid for those last two weeks. If your home stay family requests that you move out, they must also give you two weeks notice.
ATTENDANCE
If you are unable to attend classes due to sickness, please get your home stay family to ring up the school and inform us of your absence. Please note that if your attendance falls below 85%, it will affect your immigration status and you may have to go back to your home country.
ALCOHOL AND DRUGS
In New Zealand, drinking under the age of 18 years is illegal. If the school is informed by your home stay family that you are drinking when underage or taking illegal substances we reserve the right to expel you from the school which will affect your immigration status.
HOLIDAYS
You may wish to take a holiday especially over the Christmas period. We do not expect you to pay the home stay fee but request you to pay $100 - $150 per week.
Finally, I hope that you enjoy your time with your home stay family and that your experience of New Zealand is a happy and safe one. Please do not hesitate to contact me with any worries or questions that you may have – I will be happy to help.
Home stay Coordinator
Grace GAO
North Shore International Academy
100 Symonds St, Grafton, Auckland
Phone: 09-442 3456 - 226
Fax: 09- 441 6089
NSIA 24 hour emergency contact: 021-900 706