Hostel life can be quite different to what many of our students are used to, but in general, our students love the independence it brings, the freedom to self-manage, and the friendships that can be made and developed.
Routines are an important part of hostel life - whether it's getting up on time in the mornings for breakfast, or getting your room ready for daily checks, getting to school on time, checking in and out for leave / sport after school, being on time for dinner and prep etc.
Most of our students take part in organised sport or other activities after school, and on days when they're free, they'll either organise a healthy pursuit like mountain biking, bike jumps or a run, or use some of their leave entitlements to go to town or New World - as students get older and earn the right to more independence and freedom, their leave rights grow accordingly.
Younger students help out in the dining room to tidy up after tea and supper, and in their devices before bedtime to make sure they get a good night's sleep. Prep (homework / study) is an important part of hostel life, and helps to ensure that hostel students are on top of things academically and making the most of their opportunities at school, as well as fostering some self-discipline. There's still plenty of free time in the evenings to get involved in touch, basketball, pool, playing on the bikes or just hanging out with friends for supper or in the common rooms.
Our five-day boarders (usually about 80-85% of our boarders are weektime only, and are typically from the likes of the Ida Valley, Maniototo, Roxburgh, Millers Flat etc.) are often surprised at how quickly the week flies by - they arrive back at the hostel on Monday morning and in no time at all it's Friday afternoon and they're off home again - often to work on the farm - to catch up with family and get some rest and relaxation in. Seven-day boarders have the weekend to look forward to some more relaxed routines and a day or afternoon trip to do something fun in the likes of Queenstown or Wanaka.
