Homestay hosts sought for international students
Welcoming homestay hosts who can provide a room, full board and a “Kiwi experience” are being sought for NorthTec International students.
Hosts are paid $230 per week for providing the student’s own fully-furnished bedroom, three meals a day and internet access.
Homestay students are mainly from China, mostly 17-18 year-old boys with a few female or older students. They plan to study at NorthTec for two to three years on average, but mostly only stay in homestay for the first six to 12 months.
Transport support is provided by NorthTec International within suburban Whangarei to and from the Raumanga campus, but students still need their homestay’s help with rides to any after school activities or their weekend social life.
Homestay hosts are expected to provide all meals daily with students preparing their own breakfast and lunch if preferred.
Under the NZQA Education (Pastoral Care of International Students) Code of Practice 2016, all international students under the age of 18 must live in approved homestays with fully police vetted and checked hosts.
NorthTec also recommends that all international students begin their stay in New Zealand with local people who can help them adjust to the local culture, practise their English, introduce them to the local area and provide them with some guidance.
To apply to become a homestay host, contact NorthTec International on 09-470 3605, or via homestay@northtec.ac.nz.
Worst Xmas ever?
There's a a lot of planning that goes into Christmas day and sometimes things just don't go to plan. But it can be a good thing - a family mishap or hilarious memory that you can laugh about in Christmases to come.
Whether you burnt the dinner or were stranded at an airport...
Share your Christmas mishaps below!
NO SANDMINING BREAM BAY/RUAKAKA - Please Sign Petition
The locals and community are summarizing all the feedback.
They are currently summarizing the ideas and then we will organize strategic actions etc.
In the meantime,
1. Keep inviting people to the page
2. Encourage signatures (online petition)
3. Print the updated sign and ask shops businesses / work / clubs etc to display.
TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE
#ruakaka #waipu #Takhiwai #langsbeach #whangarei #Onertreepoint #whangareiheads #reotahi #paruabay #mcleodbeach #onerahi #tamaterau #uretiti
www.endangeredspecies.org.nz...
No Sandmining Bream Bay/Ruakākā
Help protect our precious coastlines by signing the petition to stop destructive sand mining in Bream Bay, which includes Waipu Cove, Langs Beach and Ruakākā.
Sand mining destroys sea floors, erodes coastal protections, and threatens the habitats of critically endangered species like the tara iti - our most endangered bird with less that 40 left.
Why is this so urgent?
McCallum Bros Ltd (MBL), an Auckland-based mining company, is planning to extract 9 million cubic meters of sand from the seabed in Bream Bay over the next 35 years. Their proposal includes dredging up to five nights a week, for six hours at a time, with all the sand being sold to Auckland's construction industry.
This operation is expected to generate $270 million in revenue, or approximately $7.7 million annually, for MBL. Meanwhile, Bream Bay will see no benefits—only lasting harm. The dredging will cause irreversible damage to marine life, fish populations, and surf breaks, devastating the local ecosystem.
MBL is seeking consent for this project through the fast-track process, which excludes public consultation. This means we have no say in whether they can take our sand, destroy marine habitats, and damage our seabed.
The proposal will be presented to the government in mid-January 2025. We are at a critical moment.
Take action now — sign and share this petition to protect Bream Bay.
www.endangeredspecies.org.nz...