Boarding Life in Redwood House

Life in Redwood House

Redwood House caters for up to 110 students from Year 9 through to Year 13 and aims to be a home away from home. An environment where boarders are safe, happy, supported, and enjoy being present in. Students at Redwood House are proud to be the heart of St Patrick's College Silverstream and are an integral part of our community.

A Sense of Belonging

Being a boarder is all about belonging to a place you can be proud of, building memories, and forming life-long, meaningful friendships. Redwood House provides the opportunity for this to happen.

Spirituality

All boarders are offered opportunities to develop in their personal relationship with God as men of faith. All boarders attend Sunday Mass as a spiritual start to the week, grounding Redwood House in prayer and unity. This is followed by a unique hostel Chapel session each weekday evening after dinner in our beautiful college chapel.

Academic Studies

Boarders consistently perform better academically than the rest of the day school, actively pursuing a 90-100% pass rate and achieving personal excellence across a range of areas. Academic achievements are fostered by a supervised study environment every Monday to Thursday evening, supported by a range of teaching staff who are also part of our supervision team.

House Activities

Redwood House holds fortnightly activities that range in mode, from sports, cultural events, board games, movie nights, talent shows, and more. These activities are a great way for the boarders to build connections between them.

Sports, Culture, and Leadership

We encourage all boarders to be involved in the life of the College. A large number of boarders end up representing the College in top sports teams, in Kapa Haka, or the Poly group, and in top leadership positions within the College.

Catering

Boarders have access to 6 meals a day: breakfast, morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner, and supper. Catering is provided by Kāpura, a locally based catering company that provides the college with nutritious, tasty food.

Holidays and Weekends

Domestic Students: All boarders are welcome to stay during the weekends. Redwood House is closed during term breaks and long weekends where public holidays fall. We advise in advance of any key dates that the boarding school will be closed to allow for arrangements to be made.

International Students: During term breaks, if the hostel closes we will arrange a Holiday Homestay.  

Support Services

Redwood House has a strong relationship with the Silverstream Doctors, directly across the road from the college. Alongside the support within the school, all boarders have access to this service as needed. College counseling services are also readily available as requested. If a student requires any medication, this is stored, recorded, and administered by boarding school staff.

All laundry is done onsite.

Homestay Family

St Patrick's College Silverstream facilitates the process of finding a suitable homestay family for any International Student. Host Families are carefully chosen so students are close to school and have easy access to public transport, local shops and amenities.

Homestay families provide three meals a day and provide a caring home where students are part of their family life.  Host families provide support and care for them while they are in New Zealand.  Students often form life long friendships with their host families 

Before a student departs their home country, details of their host family will be sent to them. Students are greeted at the airport when they arrive in New Zealand. 

Our International Department staff provide care and support for all International Students and their homestay families.

Find Out More

For more information on accommodation options please contact the Director of International Students, Mrs Maria Tough, at [email protected]. 

Parents and Designated Caregivers 

Our International Department are also responsible for ensuring students who are staying with their parents or privately arranged caregivers, have living conditions that comply with the Code of Practice requirements.