To
read or print the Host Family Registration Form click
here.
OUR HISTORY
Minerva Homestay was founded 15 years ago by our general manager, Rosalie Hodson, a qualified ESL teacher with ten years’ prior experience as a host mother, and it was while she was a host mother that she began finding good homes for the less fortunate friends of her own students. Minerva Homestay tries to eliminate problems encountered with other agencies, such as:
• Lack of support from
the agency when problems occur;
• Host families left to collect payment from students;
• Non payment or late payment of fees by students or the agency;
• Student rooms empty for long periods;
• Incompatibility due to inadequate screening.
ABOUT US
• Minerva Homestay
is recommended by Concordia University, McGill University, Vanier College,
HEC, the YMCA, the Marguerite Bourgeois School Commission, and a number of ESL schools, airlines
and pilot schools.
• Our students come to Montreal to study for 3-12 months. They
are mature (early twenties), from good families, and trustworthy. We
have never had any problems with physical or sexual abuse, drugs, alcohol,
or theft.
• We have a steady flow of students all year round, not just in
the summer months unlike most private schools.
• We do not accept students under the age of 18, so you are not
obliged to assume any legal responsibility.
• We have our own airport pickup service. Our Transportation Manager
is Simon Severin, and he can be reached at 514-464-4653 (cell) or 450-443-4653 (home). If
a student calls you to tell you that he or she has missed the flight
or is otherwise delayed, please relay the information immediately to
Simon.
• We collect fees from students before they arrive. The fees are
placed in a trust account. Host families are paid every 28 days from
the trust account, beginning on the student’s first day.
• Post-dated cheques are issued every Monday. Please do not deposit
the cheque before it is due. If you have a problem and need your cheque
a little earlier, give us a call.
ABOUT
YOU
• We select host families
carefully, based on education, empathy, standard of living and mother
tongue, which must be English or French. Homes should be comfortable,
clean, in a safe area, and within 30 minutes of the student’s
school by bus and/or metro.
• For all family members over the age of 18, we require a police
certificate based on name and date of birth.
• Students and hosts have 2 weeks to decide if they are happy.
If we have to move a student within this time, the balance of the monthly
payment must be returned. In the case of a cancellation before arrival,
all advance payments must be returned.
• After the 2-week probation period, we require 30 days' notice
from students if they wish to leave before the end of their contractual
period and the same from you if you want us to re-locate the student.
• If your family profile changes, or if you take a student from
another organization, you must inform us.
• We do not allow two students with the same mother tongue to
stay in the same home. If this occurs without our permission, we will
remove our student. (An exception is made if the students are a couple,
or siblings, and have applied for a shared room or home.)
• Host families are not allowed to deal directly with our students
after the student’s contractual period ends. If this occurs, we
will not work with the host family again. (This practice is known as
“poaching”.)
YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES
Host families receive a copy of the student's application form when the student’s reservation has been confirmed. Keep this carefully as it includes the student’s emergency contact information.
The student's choice of Meal Plan is indicated at the end of the form and also on your monthly cheque. If you are not sure, please call or email.
We will also let you know their exact time of arrival. If we don’t, please get in touch! We need you to be home to greet them!
Hosts should be prepared to spend a lot of time with students during the first 48 hours to “settle them in” and show them around the city. You are responsible for ensuring that students know how to get to school and return home safely. This could involve accompanying them on the first day, or doing a “dummy run” the day before.
If you have a cell phone, please lend it to the student for the first few days if possible so that if they get lost they can call for help. This will greatly lessen the student’s worst fears : getting lost when they don’t know the language well and cannot follow or understand directions.
Please provide the student with a key, unless there is someone at home 24/7.
You must be willing to spend time with students and help them learn their language of study. We expect families to be home most evenings for help with homework and conversation. Students are to be treated like a family member and included in your activities.
Please do not hesitate to call us for advice or support.
Homestay Plans
Homestay (with varying meal plans) requires you to spend time with your student and include the student in your activities like a family member.
We have two categories of homestay: regular and deluxe. To be eligible for the more expensive deluxe program, the students’ room must have an adjacent bathroom (not shared) or an upstairs suite with bath (not a basement.)
Students must have their own bedroom. The room must be comfortably furnished with a single or double bed, chest of drawers, closet, chair, desk-lamp, wastepaper basket, and a desk or table to work on. Host families supply all sheets and bedding. Clean sheets are usually handed out every two weeks, unless an incident makes that necessary earlier.
In the age of email and laptops, host families are strongly advised to have a wireless internet connection with a password so that the student’s access to the internet does not interfere with your own. This involves a one-time purchase of a wireless modem at a cost of around $40-70, depending on coverage area needed. Note: if your portable phone is not DECT 6.0 compatible, it could interfere with the router signal.
Students are allowed to use the laundry facilities at no extra charge, and the telephone for local calls. Please make sure they have a telephone card for long distance calls. We are not responsible for long distance charges incurred by students.
Soap, shampoo and personal products are provided by the student.
Meals are a host family responsibility:
• Breakfast can be a help-yourself deal that includes cereal,
toast, juice and fruit during the week, and a cooked breakfast if the
student wishes on weekends.
• Lunch is a picnic lunch with a sandwich or leftovers, fruit,
muffin or yogurt and a drink.
• The evening meal should be a hot, well-balanced meal that is
acceptable to the student and takes cultural differences into consideration
(e.g. we do not give pork, ham, or bacon to Muslims or Jews!)
Homestay vs Room Rental
The Room Rental Plan is designed for more independent students who want to do their own cooking and shopping and who may be on a tight budget. Unlike homestay plans, the host family is not required to spend time with the student or be home in the evenings. The host family supplies only the furnished room and bedding. The student is responsible for purchasing food, laundry soap, etc., makes his or her own meals, and must be given access to the kitchen in order to cook. Students must also be allowed reasonable access to the telephone for local calls and to the internet. A small charge may be levied for the use of laundry facilities. NB: This program is not often requested.
Minerva Homestay is currently interviewing English and French families to host international students. If you can meet the following criteria, please fill out the Host Family Registration Form and send it to Minerva Homestay.
· English or French mother tongue (no accent) or balanced bilingual
· Able to offer a separate bedroom in the home with a desk
· Able to provide 3 meals per day (breakfast, packed lunch, hot dinner)
· Provide conversation, friendship and moral support
· Offer a non-smoking environment
· Live on the island of Montreal, less than 30 minutes from downtown
· Remuneration according to program: Homestay, B&B or room rental
Upon receipt of your application, we will call you to arrange for an interview at your home. For further information, call us at (450) 462-7870, or send an email to Rosalie Miller-Hodson.