Host & Welcome Committee Program

Each year at Post Oak brings change. New and transitioning students alike prepare themselves for a classroom of new faces, yet-to-be discovered materials, and opportunities for continued growth and development. This is a time mixed with excitement and anticipation, too, as both students and parents step into an unfamiliar next cycle.

Post Oak’s Host & Welcome Committee Program is one way that we connect new and transitioning families with families who are already well acquainted with the school. The role of our current families is to provide a warm welcome, to share their experiences and knowledge, and to show kindness and compassion to fellow Post Oakers. 

There are two ways to get involved.

Host Families

Host families sign up to be matched with an incoming family that is new to Post Oak. The match is typically made in May of each year. Hosts reach out to this family, make themselves available at least twice over the summer months as students prepare for the first day of school, and offer to answer questions throughout the school year. Hosts are encouraged, but not required, to further engage with their matched family. See our suggestions and ideas (below)!

• Two summer check-ins: Connect two times over the summer months—in June and August—for a video or phone call. The topic of conversation can be driven by the families, and could include questions and follow up from the most recent issue(s) of Post Oak’s summer newsletter.
• Year-long communication: Availability to remain in touch should the new family have questions throughout the school year.

Here are a few additional ideas:

• Student pen pals: Consider having the students exchange letters over the summer break.
• Care package: Consider sending the adopted family a care package over the summer. This could include homemade treats and a note, for example.
• Parent volunteering together: Host and adopted family parents might participate in a POPA work day or other volunteer opportunity together.
• Community service project: Both families might consider a community service project where each party collects canned food and makes a joint donation to Houston Food Bank or they clean up trash at the local park on a nice day.

Welcome Committee

Welcome Committee members are always at the ready to greet and welcome families whose student begins or transitions after the fall school year starts in August. As families relocate to Houston and enter our community, or as students transition between levels, they, too, benefit from connection with current classroom families. The welcome committee works together to provide a personalized greeting for the incoming family, offers time to connect via a phone or video call, meets in-person, and invites the incoming family to join or participate in school-related activities that match their interests (Dads Club, POPA, etc.). The welcome committee will also confirm that each incoming family gets matched with a host family.

Both roles are a one-year commitment to help incoming families feel at home at Post Oak. 

Interested in participating? Sign up below!

If you have any questions or would like to connect with us about this program, please contact the Admissions team.

Interested in other volunteering opportunities? Sign up here or let us know by contacting Development Director Christina Kopanidis-Cantu.