St Mary's College, Ponsonby. Auckland

St Mary's College has been located in spacious park like grounds on a hill overlooking Auckland's Waitemata Harbour and the central business district of the city for over 140 years. This heritage is reflected in the buildings of various architectural styles, which blend to create an environment of tranquillity and grace. The original St Mary's Chapel stands near the entrance to the College as a testament to the history of the College, and is used regularly by students today.

St Mary's College offers a wonderful environment for your daughter to learn, grow and realise her potential. The College provides a high quality academic education with extensive co-curricular opportunities, and aims to instil in young women a strong sense of self-esteem and confidence. St Mary's College has enjoyed a long tradition of academic excellence with graduates moving on to further their studies across the wide variety of disciplines.

Students attend St Mary's College from all parts of Auckland and several overseas countries. Most overseas studentschoose to live with homestay famileswho have daughters at St Mary's and are withineasy reach of the school.

Subjects:

Accounting, Art History, Art, Biology, Business Studies, Chemistry, Chinese, Classical Studies, Computing Information, Drama, Economics, Electronics and Control Technology, English, ESOL, Fabric Technology, French, Geography, Graphics, History, ELTS,Information and Communication Technology, Japanese, Latin, Maths, Music, Photography, Physical Education and Health, Physics, Religious Education, Social Studies, Te Reo Maori, Technology, Tourism and Travel.

Curriculum:

St Mary's College provides a challenging curriculum based on the New Zealand Curriculum Framework. In addition Religious Education is taught at each level. St Mary's offers a rich and diverse range of learning experiences including an extensive range of subjects to provide for the various interests and needs of our students. At all levels girls are extended academically and specialist support is available for students with learning difficulties.

Students are prepared for all appropriate national examinations and certifications. The high performance and significant success of St Mary's encourages self-motivation, independent learning, initiative, creativity and perseverance. It provides the opportunity to excel and it promotes personal responsibility and pride in performance. Students are well prepared to face a changing and challenging world.

At Year 9 and 10

The girls are placed largely on their academic ability in to one of four broad bands of classes. All girls must take a set of core subjects: Religious Education, English/ESOL, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, Technology, Physical Education, Art, Music, Drama and a Language.

At Year 11 to 13

The College provides a range of courses, which will allow the girls to follow a specialised and individual curriculum, and prepares them for tertiary education, employment and life.

In Year 11 girls study Religious Education, English/ESOL, Mathematics, Science, and three other subjects.
In Year 12 girls study Religious Education, English/ESOL and five other subjects.
In Year 13 girls study Religious Education, and five other subjects.

Pastoral Care:

St Mary's College draws deeply on Christian values and the spirit of Mercy. A focus on Pastoral Care supports the development, growth and wholeness of each student. Students are encouraged to strive for high standards to achieve their goals with an emphasis placed on learning self-discipline, reliability, responsibility and independent learning.

The progress and well-being of each student is followed by the Principal, DeputyPrincipals, Deans and Class Teachers with the support of a Guidance Counsellor, Careers Advisor, ESOL Teacher and Ancillary Staff.

St Mary's College has agreed to observe and be bound by the Code of Practice for the Pastoral Care of International Students published by the Ministry of Education. Copies of the Code are available on request from St Mary's College or from the New Zealand Ministry of Education website at www.minedu.govt.nz/goto/international

Fees For International Students:

Tuition Fees
The tuition fees are payable in advance and cover four terms (one year). The fees cover all tuition and text books. It does not cover stationery, public examination fees (Years 11,12, 13) or college uniform. Current tuition fees are approx NZ$15,500.

Uniform
Uniform costs are approximately $450 to $500 depending on choice and year level. Second hand uniforms may also be purchasedfrom the school.

Homestay
Homestay costs $220 per week. For 46 weeks this amounts to $10,120.00. In addition there is a one-off placement fee of $300. A holding fee of $50 per week is payable when the student is absent for holiday periods. Homestays provide three meals daily, and laundry.

Health Insurance
This is available at approx $470 per year. You may wish to arrange your own but you must be able to show evidence that you do have full health insurance.

How to apply:

There are two parts to enrolling at our College:
1. being accepted by the College
2. getting your student visa

1. Your acceptance by St Mary's College depends on the information we get about you - your work habits, your school reports, your behaviour, the subjects you wish to study, the vacancies we have at your class level, your age, when you want to start and what career you want to follow.

We also need to have received the tuition fees for the year, your homestay payments for the year and the placement fee, and proof of your medical insurance.

2. To get your student visa you must apply to the New Zealand Immigration Service. They will require an Offer of Place from St Mary's College, a receipt from the College for your fees, and our guarantee of accommodation for you.

Information

Enrolment application forms and information on how to apply are supplied with the College Prospectus. These are available on line or by request from the College office; telephone: 64 9 376 6568 fax: 64 9 376 0206 or email: [email protected]