Host Families Needed

OPPORTUNITY FOR STUDENTS TO EXPERIENCE ANOTHER CULTURE, MAKE NEW FRIENDS AND IMPROVE THEIR LANGUAGE STUDIES AT HOME

In January 2017, we will be receiving exchange students from Germany, Japan and the USA. Our new arrivals will live with a host family and attend a local school for 3, 5 or 10 months. As we plan for their arrival, we are keen to hear from suitable families who might be interested to host a student.

Host families come in all shapes and sizes, backgrounds and ages. To this end, we would be grateful if you would place a notice in your newsletter or mention it on your website. You can download two variations of the newsletter notice here in Word format or as a pdf document.

Hosting an exchange student can be a truly rewarding experience. It allows a family to experience a foreign culture first hand, be exposed to a new language and pass on a bit of our own culture. They might even make a friend for life!

All students have at least basic levels of English, would attend a school in your local area and live the life of a local. Below is a sample of students who will be arriving.

Sophia is a 15 year old student from Germany who is looking forward to living in New Zealand and improving his English and experiencing a new culture. She describes herself as creative, spontaneous, self-reliant and ambitious. She enjoys basketball and singing and her favourite subjects are history, art and social studies. Sophia helps her family by putting out the garbage, hoovering and cleaning the bathroom.

17 year old American student Andrew enjoys reading, playing the drums and listening to music. He is looking forward to living in New Zealand and immersing himself into the culture and meeting new people. He would like to explore the wonderful nature New Zealand has to offer and learn how to play rugby. Andrew describes himself as private yet outgoing and has 5 siblings back at home.

15 year old Anna is a Japanese student who loves to swim, she currently swims for 3 hours nearly every day to help with her speed. Anna is looking forward to learning about a new culture and hopes to shear a sheep. She would like to have the opportunity to introduce the Japanese culture to her new friends and Host family. Her parents describe her as cheerful and kind.

Elias is a 17 year old student from Sweden. He can speak some French and Italian and has been studying English for 9 years. Elias loves being outdoors, sailing, long boarding, climbing and running. He is the youngest of 3 siblings and is looking forward to living in New Zealand and immersing himself into the culture and experiencing new things. Elias describes himself as a happy, caring and curious person who likes to think he has a great sense of humour.

The Stuart family were thrilled to have Danish student Simon stay with them for 8 months. As commented by host mum Victoria, "it has been a fantastic experience. Simon has been an awesome role model to our two young children, he has been like an older brother to them." Victoria continues, "the experience has benefited us too, as it has allowed us to have greater free time and flexibility as a family. I was very impressed with Simon, as within the first couple of days he was here, he asked what should his chores be?"

"Just give it a go, the benefits will surprise you. I highly recommend it", mentions Australian Host Dad Andrew, from the Stuart family. "Not only do your children benefit, but the benefits exist for the parents too." Host Dad, Andrew continues, "We are so lucky to have Simon come stay with us. He is a fantastic student, easy going and not very demanding. He has fitted into the Australian way of life so easy. He even obtained his Bronze Medallion. We are so proud of Simon."

The Stuart family talk about their hosting experience further and discuss the ups and downs of hosting, why they hosted and the benefits of being a volunteer host parent. Please check out their video here. You can also watch a selection of videos of the Cain family from our host family testimonials page on our website.

Student Exchange Australia New Zealand is a not-for-profit organisation that is registered with all state and territory Departments of Education around Australia and with the Ministry of Education in NZ. We are the first and only secondary exchange organisation in Australia and New Zealand to be certified to ISO 9001 (Quality Management System) and we ensure the highest standards of care and support to our participants. You can find out more about our organisation by visiting www.studentexchange.org.nz

If your students, families or language teachers have any questions about hosting an exchange student or would like to view profiles of students arriving from other countries, they can respond to this email, call our office on 0800 440 079 or visit our website. Our staff members will be happy to discuss which student might be best suited to their family. No obligation.

Please note that the purpose of this email is to find families to host international exchange students. Thank you in advance for your assistance.

Yours sincerely,

Sandra HardersHosting Coordinator