- Why Kristin?
- Our Schools
- Admissions
- Community
- International
- Support Kristin
Frequently Asked Questions
In New Zealand the school year is broken into four terms, with a long summer holiday over December and January.
2024 Term Dates
Term 1: 30 January - 12 April
Term 2: 6 May - 5 July
Term 3: 29 July - 27 September
Term 4: 14 October - 5 December
Term Dates 2025
Term 1: 28 January - 4 April
Term 2: 28 April - 27 June
Term 3: 21 July - 19 September
Term 4: 6 October - 4 December
In New Zealand, the Education Review Office (ERO) assesses schools on their teaching every few years. To read Kristin’s ERO Report click here>>
For details on Kristin School's Academic Success click here >>
This website gives you a bit of information on what life is like in Auckland:
Most of our families are within a 10 minute drive or walk to school. We do have families that live further out but are on a bus route to Kristin.
Students can expect to be treated with kindness and respect. They are offered their own room and access to a bathroom. The room should have natural light and contain a bed, bedding, desk, and lamp. Also somewhere to put away clothes and store things. Students should have three meals a day and access to drinks and snacks. Host families will support your student with travel to school, sports and airport transportation. They will also support your student with laundry.
New Zealand has a diverse culture and our homestay families represent this diversity. All our host families will be English Speaking but may have alternative ethnic or cultural backgrounds.
After a family has submitted their application to be considered for our host family programme the homestay coordinator will assess their suitability and follow up with two reference checks. Following this, the Homestay Coordinator will conduct a thorough home visit and interview prospective homestay parents. This interview usually takes about one and half hours and includes a tour of the home and student room. Homestay parents will then complete a police vetting process and two copies of ID will be sighted and recorded. After this process is clear, a decision is made to accept or reject the homestay application.
The homestay coordinator is usually in touch with homestay parents fortnightly over email (when homestay fees are paid), and home visits are undertaken twice per school year as per the Code of Practice. Home visits are currently done in February and September. The students in homestay also complete questionnaires and have interviews with our International Team each term. Pastoral support is available on a drop in basis throughout the school day. We also have a 24 hour emergency phone number.
If you have an Agent you are welcome to contact them and have them handle all of your concerns, and you are welcome to keep in touch with your student regularly. Some homestay families are happy to create a group chat to include the students’ parents, whereas other homestay families would prefer all communication to go through the school.
Every family has different rules so it helps to communicate with your homestay parents what their expectations are. Students need to let their host family know where they are at all times and keep their phone charged so they can be contacted. Students are expected to come home after-school for dinner each night unless other plans have been agreed.
Students should ask their host family about times the shower will be available for your use. Some people prefer to shower in the morning and others in the evening. A lot of New Zealand houses are on tank water so expect to conserve water by taking shorter showers. Students should expect to help around the house, especially at meal times. It is usual for families to take turns washing the dishes. You will need to keep your bedroom tidy and clean up after yourself in shared living spaces.
It varies within families and their culture. Students can expect three meals a day. Breakfast is often cereal, toast and toppings. Lunch is generally a sandwich with some snacks and fruit. Dinner is often meat, with vegetables. Some families have rice every day and other families prefer potatoes. Access to extra snacks and drinks is also a requirement. Some families expect their students to help themselves to breakfast and lunch and other families prefer to make it for their students.
Yes. Most banks allow international students to open a bank account but it needs to be done in person. There are often waitlists for appointments so we suggest you make an appointment for your student well in advance of their arrival. They will need to bring proof of ID, proof of enrollment at school and proof of address. If school has assisted with homestay we can write a letter as proof of your homestay address.