July 11, 2014 - The Post Oak School

i n t h i s i s s u e : H O U S T O N M O N T E S S O R I I N S T I T U T E • M OV I N G U P C E R E M O N Y • S C E N E S F R O M S U M M E R S C H O O L
The
VO LU M E X V I V, N U M B E R 19
A bi-weekly publication of
The Post Oak School
POST
S U M M E R E DI T IO N
J U LY 11, 2 014
Available online at
www.postoakschool.org
A LU M N I U PDAT E S
Eighth grade Moving Up Ceremony – Look inside for more photos.
It’s summer and that means it’s time to catch up on all the latest
news from Post Oak Alumni. Some are headed off to college,
others are beginning new careers, traveling, or pursuing their
hobbies and passions.
To all former Post Oak students, whether you graduated, or attended only in
your early years, you’re our alumni and we’ d love to hear from you! If you don’t
see your friends, ask them to connect on our website at www.postoakschool.org/
postoak/alumni.asp or contact [email protected].
CLASS OF 1982
Daniel Marchione
Daniel Marchione is the Head of School at the Trinity
School of Midland. He received his Masters of Education
from Endicott College in Beverly Massachusetts in 2004. He
became a lifelong learner because of Post Oak and his experience inspired him to pursue a career in the education field.
Aside from Watermelon Day at the end of school, Daniel’s facontinued on page 2
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J U LY 11, 2014
J ULY 11, 2014
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vorite memory is meeting George Bush
Senior on his middle school D.C trip.
from the University of Texas’s Geology
program and has now turned his attention to learning the business side of the
oil and gas industry.
Kirby McCool
Brittany Fondren
Kirby McCool is currently living in
Houston where she dedicates most of
her time and energy towards her two
children. Kirby started at Post Oak
when she was only 18 months and
continued here through the 8th grade.
Because of her experience she has incorporated Montessori values into the lives
of her own children.
I’m still working at Cornerstone, which
is going well. I have started writing
grant requests in addition to my other
responsibilities. I have not traveled
recently but there may be some trips
coming up in my future, possibly to
Germany and the Czech Republic. I’m
also looking into going to grad school
for my Masters in Public Health. I have
not performed or published anything,
although I did write and record a song
for fun.
Alumni Updates
continued from page 1
Amelinda Hendrickx (‘01) surrounded by Post Oak friends and family at her wedding
CLASS OF 2001
CLASS OF 1995
Amelinda (Melanson) Hendrickx
Masoud Darvishi
Masoud Darvishi graduated from the
South Texas College of Law in 2008
after completing his undergrad at the
University of Texas. He is currently
practicing law at a firm here in Houston. He has recently taken an interest in
cycling and has dedicated time towards
developing that hobby.
CLASS OF 1997
Caroline Sharp
Caroline continues to branch out into
multiple areas of endeavor. She has
acted on stage, in a web series, and is a
member of the Screen Actors Guild. She
is recording audio books, and has gotten
involved in the graphic novel world.
Philip Storey
I just finished an intern year in internal
medicine at Kaiser San Francisco and
am starting ophthalmology residency at
USC in Los Angeles.
Caroline Sharp, ‘97
CLASS OF 1999
Justin Boyar
Justin Boyar lives in Panama, and is currently working for an international commercial real estate company as a senior
consultant. He’s fluent in Spanish, and
spends much of his time traveling in
South America to Guyana and Columbia for work.
Amelinda is still working as a mechanical engineer at Aagard in Alexandria,
MN. Following her wedding last
September, she and her husband, Jake
Hendrickx, moved to a country house
on 14 acres of river front property outside of Fergus Falls, MN. Her growing
expertise with gardening has led to more
and more food preservation, from jams
and jellies to sauce and salsa, and canned
vegetables. She and Jake have also
become very active in the rental house
business, acquiring 5 houses in less than
2 years, renovating them and renting
them out. She is also involved in all the
usual parenting duties for Jake’s four
children, who spend every other week
with Jake and Amelinda.
Abbie Kamin
Abbie recently graduated from the
American University Washington
College of Law in May. She is back in
Houston, and has been studying for her
upcoming Bar Exam as well as doing
I suppose the most noteworthy thing
that happened recently was I crashed my
bike and broke my collar bone which
required surgery, although I’m not sure
if that is the best thing to include in the
alumni newsletter!
Post Oak alumni and friends pal around at the 50th Anniversary Jubilee in October
some exciting work for the Wendy Davis
for Texas Governor campaign.
this city for over 20 years; it truly is our
home away from home.
CLASS OF 2002
CLASS OF 2003
Nick Hetherington
Sam Boyar
I am still with the Longhorn Network
and was recently promoted to Associate Producer. We are excited for the
upcoming football season with the new
coaching regime; we will start coverage
from the first football practice August
4th. I am currently in San Miguel de
Allende with my family taking an 8-day
vacation. My family has been coming to
Sam Boyar is pursuing an energyfocused MBA at the Rice University
Jones Graduate School of Business. Sam
is interning this summer at ConocoPhillips, where he is evaluating global
company assets in the Investment Appraisal group. Sam spent more than two
years in the oil patches of East Texas
as a well-site geologist after graduating
I also ran the Houston marathon in
January and have signed up to run it
again next year.
William Wawro
After graduating from Syracuse University in 2011, William Wawro moved to
Los Angeles where he is now working as
a post-production editor. His impressive
work speaks volumes about his ability
to diligently work until the product is
finished. Some of his projects include
acting as lead editor on Fullscreen’s
cover of Ne-Yo’s “So Sick” by Max
Schnieder and Sam Tsui as well as editing the music video for “Still in Love”
by Devon James.
continued on page 4
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J U LY 11, 2014
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City this summer. Becky has long been
pursuing her passion in figure skating
and is thankful to Post Oak middle
school for being so cooperative with her
figure skating schedule. She is confident
that it helped her to get where she is today. Becky will be the skating performer
acting as Elsa for Disney on Ice’s “Frozen.” She is the first person to play this
character. The tour begins in September
with performing dates in Houston on
April 15-20, 2015.
Alumni Updates
continued from page 3
CLASS OF 2004
Will Duin
Will Duin is living in Charleston, South
Carolina. He recently bought a new
house, and likes to spend his time fishing. His favorite memory of Post Oak is
playing sports with Coach Tucker. He
believes that Montessori goes into much
further detail by working more one on
one with students.
CLASS OF 2006
Jennie Kamin
The latest update I have is that I recently moved to Los Angeles from New
Orleans in further pursuit of a career
in acting/filmmaking. As a result of
tax incentives, Louisiana is home to a
booming film economy. This last year, I
worked on some great projects, including “Artists Die Best in Black” with
Malcolm McDowell.
Post Oak alumna Becky Bereswill as Elsa in Disney on Ice’s “Frozen”
our interests and to take ownership over
our work. For much of Lower and Upper Elementary, my teachers encouraged
me to write and direct my own material
and include my class in the production
of my story. It’s not surprising that I
know of a few other POS alums, in my
middle school class alone who are currently working in the film industry.
Christina Moser
Jennie Kamin, ‘04
My Post Oak education definitely
contributed to the shaping of my desire
to pursue a career in both a creative field
and one that excites me. In my experience, our teachers created environments
where we were encouraged to explore
For the last two years I’ve been living in
Austin, Texas and working as a graphic
designer. My first job after graduating college was as a production artist
at an ad agency, but for the last year or
so I have been working on my own as
a freelance graphic designer. This past
winter, some friends and I started a
drawing collective called Weeekly as a
creative outlet, and every week each of
us creates an image to post to Instagram
(@weeekly) by the end of the week. My
next adventure will be picking up and
moving to Ithaca, New York this August, where I’ll be ready to take on new
challenges and experiences.
Bethany Sharp
Bethany graduated from Boston University last year, and is now working
as a graphic artist for Simple Truth in
Chicago, IL. She also sings with an a
capella group, which includes writing
and arranging music, as well as performing in various concerts and competitions. Bethany treasures her memories
from Blackwood and believes Post Oak
fostered her independence. She says, “In
a Montessori School, a student has to
choose what work to do and use time
management to get everything done.”
CLASS OF 2005
Allison Bereswill
Allison Bereswill received a Master’s
degree in Accounting at Southern
Methodist University. She is working as
a CPA, and is thankful to the Montessori number chains.
Rebecca Bereswill
Becky is attending the University of
Michigan and is interning in New York
Michael Harvey
I hope all is well at Post Oak. I recently
graduated from Notre Dame in May,
and I started work for JPMorgan Chase
as a Commercial Banking Credit
Analyst on June 18. I will be in Chicago
this summer for credit training, but
will be returning to Houston to start
work full-time.
Stephanie Styles
Stephanie just graduated summa cum
laude from The University of Michigan with a B.F.A. in Musical Theatre.
Over the past semester, she performed
in concerts at Jazz at Lincoln Center
in NYC and at the Kennedy Center in
Washington, DC. She filmed her first
feature film “The Submarine Kid” in
April in L.A. and her voice can be heard
in several national radio commercials
for AT&T. She is currently residing in
NYC and is going to be playing Patty
Simcox in “Grease” at The MUNY
(The Municipal Theatre Association)
in St. Louis this summer.
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Chris Wawro
Chris Wawro graduated from St. Edwards University in Austin earlier this
year. He is now attending the University
of Texas at Austin to pursue a Master’s
degree in Accounting.
CLASS OF 2007
Joe Anthony Martinez
Joe Anthony Martinez is a junior at
Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. He is spending a semester in
Washington DC, and is learning about
international politics. He has a unified
double major in psychology and biology. Joe Anthony has the long term goal
of becoming a research scientist and
professor. His Post Oak trip to DC and
visit to the National Archives inspired
his semester learning experience in DC.
He believes that Post Oak helped him
to fully understand the importance
of education.
CLASS OF 2008
Tom Harvey
Last semester I studied here in Washington, D.C. while interning in the
personal office of Chairman Michael
McCaul. This summer, I am interning
with the House Committee on Foreign
Affairs here in Washington, D.C. I
will be returning to Notre Dame next
semester where I am studying Political Science and Peace Studies before I
head off to London next spring to study
abroad again.
Lou Posada
I am currently a sophomore at the
University of Texas at Austin studying
Tom Harvey (‘08) spoke at the Bearkats
Celebration Banquet in May
Chemical Engineering with a focus in
Cell and Tissue Engineering. I recently
finished a microgravity research project with NASA this past January. The
team I was a part of looked at how
water freezes in zero gravity in order to
design and implement a supplemental
heat rejection system that is water based
for the next generation of spacecraft.
This summer I am taking a couple of
classes at the University of Houston
and have done some shadowing with a
pulmonologist at M.D. Anderson. In
early August I plan on heading back to
Austin to start working in a research
lab at UT. My long term goal is to go to
graduate school, either to study medicine or continuing with cell and tissue
engineering or both by applying to an
M.D./PhD program. This fall I plan on
applying to be part of a bike team here
at UT that rides from Austin, Texas
to Anchorage, Alaska to raise money
for cancer research. Post Oak helped
me foster an appreciation for the “big
picture”. As Montessori students we are
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J U LY 11, 2014
able to make connections between what
we learn in class and how that applies to
the real world and use what we learn to
make the world a better place.
new people in college, and living in a
place where it will snow in the winter!
One of my favorite memories is the time
we would spend getting ready for Cinco
de Mayo, and how every year the dances
would get a little more advanced. Post
Oak really taught me how to use my
time wisely and get everything done,
while still being able to spend time on
my interests and hobbies.
Nikhil Schneider
Nikhil is a rising junior at University
of Houston where he is majoring in
Environmental Science and continues to
participate in the Honors College. He is
working for the UH Outdoor Program
and plans to take more of leadership role
there next year, leading bicycle rides and
climbing events. He rode the MS150
this past Spring for the first time since
being a part of the Post Oak Pedalers.
Nikhil is spending the summer in the
Austin area, living with his uncle and
learning to make Indian food with
his grandmother. He is employed as a
lifeguard through the local recreational
center and is connecting with friends
from POS as well as his former childhood school, Community Montessori
School (some of whom he had not seen
since he was 9 years old). Nikhil has
been enjoying rediscovering his former
hometown as a young adult and appreciating all of the outdoor activities
that Austin has to offer (especially
rock climbing).
CLASS OF 2009
Joshua Brenner
In fall of 2014, I’ll be starting my sophomore year as a biology/plan II double
major at UT Austin. I’ve been writing
for the school humor publication, the
Texas Travesty, and working in an RNA
sequencing lab in my spare time. So far
I’ve really enjoyed myself!
J ULY 11, 2014
Daniel Sanders
Avery (‘10) and Elise (‘11) Peters have been volunteering at Post Oak this summer
Natalie Wade
Currently I am going to Colorado College and majoring in chemistry with
a global health minor. I hope to be a
doctor! I love hiking and spending time
with my friends, and next summer I
plan to study abroad in Spain.
CLASS OF 2010
Karis Barker
Karis will be a freshman at UC Irvine
in the fall where she will be studying
Biological sciences. She recently graduated Magna Cum Laude from Episcopal
High School. She is focused on acclimating to college, and feels that the
independence, punctuality, and time
management skills she attained from
Post Oak will undoubtedly help her in
that process.
Amelia Eskridge
Amelia will be attending SMU in the
fall. She was also admitted to Trinity,
Elon, Lafayette, Pepperdine, Rhodes,
and Santa Clara. She chose SMU to join
the Lyle School of Engineering, which
offers a program under which she will
also finish with an MBA. Time permitting, she’d like to minor in Spanish and
Voice, two passions she has had since her
days at Post Oak. She has had Spanish
classes every year since Infant Community, and singing has been a big part
of her high school life. She was selected
a soprano in the All-State Choir as a
sophomore, junior, and senior, and was
in many musical theater performances,
including both The Sound of Music and
Shrek as a senior.
Avery Peters
I recently graduated Summa Cum
Laude from Episcopal High School, and
I’m excited to be attending the University of Richmond in the fall. I am still
unsure what I will be majoring in, but
I am leaning towards Political Science
or International Studies. This past year
I was a member of National Honor Society, a member of the Student Senate,
and a Students of Service (S.O.S) project
leader. I am looking forward to meeting
Daniel graduated from St. Thomas
High School in May. He is working for
a builder of large apartment complexes
and will begin school at Texas State
University in San Marcos in August.
John Henry Styles
John Henry Styles is excited to be attending Stanford University in the fall,
and is planning on studying Environmental Engineering. He was recently
selected in the 36th round of the MLB
draft by the Washington Nationals.
Besides playing baseball, he really enjoys
traveling, and is planning on making the
most of his last full summer in Houston. He believes that Post Oak inspired
the work ethic that has carried him up
to this point.
Allison Wawro
I am beginning my first year at the
University of California Santa Barbara
in the fall, and I am planning to study
physics. In the short term I am excited
about getting through my freshman year
of college, but in the long term I aim to
get a PhD in physics. I have Post Oak
to thank for my love of physics. Post
Oak, unlike other traditional schools,
never snuffs out a child’s innate desire
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to learn. Because of this, I love knowing
how and why things happen in our
universe... physics allows you to explore
and learn from the world around you,
which, to me, is the heart of every
Montessori classroom.
CLASS OF 2011
Benjamin Brenner
Benjamin is entering his senior year at
Carnegie Vanguard High school. He
is in Debate and Engineering club, and
is planning to apply to Rice, Harvey
Mudd, Colorodo School of Mines,
Northwestern, and University of Texas.
He is spending the summer working in
a research laboratory at Baylor College
of Medicine.
Rachael Levy
Rachael is a rising senior at Kinkaid.
She is a member of the Spanish Honor
Society, and won an award at the end of
her junior year for her work in her Spanish class. Rachael participated in the
ISAS Arts Festival in Houston and won
an award for the sculptures she created
as part of her independent study. She
recently started her second internship
with a city planner in Houston, a career
path she finds interesting.
Amy Pascoe
Amy Pascoe will begin her senior year
at Kinkaid this fall. She is a member
of the Community Service Council at
Kinkaid, and will be chairing their 2015
Special Olympics Bocce Ball Tournament with her fellow Post Oak alum,
Elise Peters.
Emily Paul
Emily Paul, a rising senior at Kinkaid,
discovered a passion for medicine while
in high school. She co-founded the
Health and Fitness Club at Kinkaid
and has had the opportunity to shadow
several surgeons in the Houston area.
Post Oak taught her to not let her age
prevent her from pursuing her dreams
and to think outside the box. She is
particularly excited about welcoming an
exchange student from Finland who will
be staying with her for a year.
Elise Peters
Elise Peters is a rising senior at Kinkaid
where she is a member of the French
Honor Society and Dance Company.
She ranked nationally amongst top
5 rankings in the National French
Contest. She also attended the VASE
art competition for printmaking, where
she placed in the highest regional division with a perfect score. She received a
Gold Key in printmaking at the regional
Scholastic Art Competition. Although
her hobbies include dance and visual
arts, she is currently focused on college
applications, focusing mainly on schools
in the northeast. Elise feels as though
Post Oak really helped her to become a
leader within and outside of the classroom. She will be co-chairing Kinkaid’s
2015 Special Olympics Bocce Ball Tournament with her fellow Post Oak alum,
Amy Pascoe.
Thomas Rasor
Thomas Rasor is a rising senior at
Episcopal High School. He plays
volleyball and is a member of ETV, a
moviemaking club at EHS. His interests
continued on page 8
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include moviemaking and economics.
He believes Post Oak has helped him
today with time management and how
to face obstacles. His favorite Post Oak
memory is his trip to Blackwood, an experience that taught his class to become
a strong team.
Megan Routbort
Megan is a rising senior at St. John’s
School. Next year, she will serve as editor-in-chief of her school’s award-winning newspaper, The Review. She looks
forward to pursuing her passion for the
written word and serving her school
community in this position. Megan has
also continued studying the flute and
was selected as a part of the TPSMEA
All-State Band. Despite the trials of a
hectic city life as a student, her love for
nature still plays an all-important role
in her life as she attempts to visit all 397
national park sites.
Devina Schneider
Devina is currently at Denali National
Park working on adding a switchback
to a hiking trail. She was invited to participate with the Denali Crew for one
month through the Student Conservation Association (SCA). She is camping
and working hard through an especially
rainy season.
As a junior, Devina ran cross-country in
the fall for EHS and was the Southwest
Preparatory Conference (SPC) first
place winner. In track and field during
the spring, she won 1st place in the 1600
meter race and 3200 race at the end-ofthe season SPC event as well. Devina
was offered a Scholastic gold key writing
award for a poem that she submitted.
J U LY 11, 2014
CLASS OF 2012
Samantha Pulaski
Samantha Pulaski will be a junior at
Episcopal High School this fall where
she is involved in both dance and community service. She is interested in sailing so that she can one day sail around
the Caribbean. She loves to travel and
recently went to New Zealand. She attributes her time at Post Oak to fostering her leadership qualities, maturity,
and passion for participating in community service.
CLASS OF 2013
Grace Kaplow
Grace Kaplow will begin her sophomore year at St. Agnes in the fall. She
is grateful for the way she learned to
actively study and absorb information
at Post Oak, which helped her to make
the Honor Roll (by receiving all A’s) her
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over the world. Natalia and Julián enjoyed experiencing the unique Brazilian
culture and it was an experience of
a life time. Julián plays soccer for his
high school.
Jahnavi Schneider
This past year I won 3rd place in the
cross country SPC (championship
meet), and received the best sportsmanship award in the sport. I was awarded
with Best in Show for a self-portrait in
the fall semester school art show, silver
key award in the Scholastic Art Competition, second place in the University of
Houston Art Competition, and volunteered with the Students Conservation Association group throughout the
school year. Over the summer I will be
traveling to Washington State to work
with the same program and am working
at a vet’s office as a technician. I look
forward to the upcoming cross country
season and school year.
J ULY 11, 2014
and will begin his second year at Texas
A&M in August.
Chloe Wood
I am now settled in the Bay Area and
have officially switched fields! In July
I’m starting as an Associate at Jump Associates, an innovation consultancy that
helps companies create new products or
enter new markets. This is my dream job
at my dream company so I’m excited to
get started! •
Matthew Sanders
Julián Salgado (‘13), playing soccer in
Brazil during his World Cup visit
first year of high school. She is going to
camp this summer, and will continue
her ice skating.
Matthew just returned from a trip to
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil where he attended
soccer camp and was fortunate to see
several World Cup games. He plays soccer for Awty International School and
the Houston Express. He will begin his
sophomore year at Awty in the fall.
OTHER ALUMNI
Carson Parenti
Payal Chana
Carson Parenti will be a 10th grader at
Westchester this fall, and will be attending summer camp this summer. Carson
is working hard to attain his goal of becoming a National Merit Scholar while
in high school. He wants to someday get
a job in the sciences, especially physics.
His favorite memory of Post Oak was
his Middle School trip to Washington
D.C. He believes Post Oak taught him
to be more open to learning which
allowed for more opportunities
and experiences.
Payal and her husband, Manny, are
celebrating the recent birth of their
daughter, Dia Chana. Dia was born on
June 12, 2014. In addition to being an
alumna, Payal is also a Post Oak parent.
Her son,
is in Primary.
Natalia and Julián Salgado
Natalia and Julián Salgado are rising
sophomores at Bellaire High School
where they will continue their PreAP and AP courses. The two of them
just returned from Brazil where they
attended two World Cup matches,
Argentina vs. Bosnia and Belgium vs.
Russia. During the two weeks in Brazil,
Julián had the opportunity to train and
play soccer with other players from all
Sara Llansa on a recent visit to Post Oak
Will and Sam Geer
Exciting news in the Geer household!
Will Geer just graduated from the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music and Sam Geer (‘02)
recently got engaged!
Sara Llansa
I will be starting a new position in July
with Emerge-HISD (Houston Independent School District). Emerge is a
program that prepares talented HISD
students from under-served communities to successfully attend and graduate from Ivy League and other top tier
universities. I will be an Academic
Program Manager, meaning that I will
be responsible for running the Emerge
program at a few HISD schools. I am
very excited about this new position and
feel that it will benefit me greatly!
Ben Sanders
Payal Chana’s new arrival, Dia
After graduating from St. Thomas High
School, Ben spent the summer working
in Warsaw, Poland. While there, he traveled to Germany, France, and Holland.
He is currently working in construction
Chloe Wood on a recent visit to Post Oak
Do you have an
alumni story to share?
Jessica Jackson is Post Oak’s
Alumni Relations and Development Coordinator. Email [email protected] with news,
updated contact information, or
for volunteer opportunities.
You can also update your contact
information online at www.postoakschool.org/postoak/alumni.asp
PAGE 10
J U LY 11, 2014
New Roles & New Faces in Faculty
This fall, we will welcome the following faculty and administrators to Post
Oak. Join us on Tuesday, August 19th
for a welcome reception at the school.
Details will be emailed to you later in
the summer.
HIGH SCHOOL
Jamie Lee will be joining the high school
faculty this fall, working alongside James
Quillin in the history and social sciences
disciplines. Jamie previously worked on
the high school planning during the
2011-2012 school year before a relocation
for her husband’s job took her away from
Houston. This year, following her return
to Houston, Jamie played a role with the
high school during J-Term, working with
Dr. Quillin and traveling with him and
twelve students to Jamaica for service
work and anthropological study.
Dr. Lee’s credentials are an outstanding match for our growing high school
program. She earned an MA and PhD in
sociology from the University of Texas
at Austin. Beyond her academic preparation, Dr. Lee has leadership experience
in both business and social action. For
five years she was president of a successful software company, and as a graduate
student, founded a non-profit organization to help Central American women by
providing technological training. She is
fluent in Spanish and is also the mother
of two girls who are elementary students
at Post Oak.
Benjamin Preston will also join the high
school faculty this fall, teaching mathematics along with Mr. Grisbee as well as
an upper level economics course.
A native New Zealander, Mr. Preston
comes to Post Oak with twenty years’
experience in global investment banking,
working in Australia, South Africa, and
England. He is also a Montessori parent;
his two sons attend St. Stephen’s Episcopal School here in Houston. Mr. Preston
has a Master of Teaching degree from
Rice University and carries himself with
the strong authenticity that high school
students are looking for in their teachers.
This summer, James Quillin began a
new role as Upper Level Coordinator
at the high school. In this role, James is
responsible for the development of the
upper level (grades 11 and 12) curriculum. As a part of this role, he serves as
IB Diploma Program Coordinator. We
are excited about this growth in the high
school program. The final two years of
the high school program are full of culminating work, consolidating ideas, and
direct preparations for college and beyond. We know that support of students
during this time is vital and creating this
position within the high school division
is appropriate to help students meet their
goals. James brings the needed attention,
support, and expertise to coordinate the
curriculum of students final two years at
Post Oak. He will continue to work as a
part of the high school faculty, teaching
the upper level history class and coordinating the Theory of Knowledge course.
In the meantime, we continue to interview candidates to fill two positions for
the fall. Our staffing plan for the high
school calls for the addition of a college
counselor this year, and we are in the
process of interviewing candidates. We
are also looking to hire a visual arts
instructor to succeed Richard Williams,
who worked with us very successfully for
the past two years.
MIDDLE SCHOOL
Jami Sweeney’s appointment as middle
school director has been affirmed. In
addition to his duties as director, he will
also teach science in the middle school.
Mr. Sweeney relocated to Houston last
year to join Post Oak as the school’s
librarian. He brings a rich background
to his new position. In addition to AMI
Montessori training and teaching experience at both primary and elementary
levels, he has a BS in cell biology and
M.Ed.’s in special education and early
childhood special education. He has
taught middle school and high school
science, and coached soccer and volleyball at a college preparatory school. In addition, Mr. Sweeney has administrative
experience, serving as the head of school
at a Montessori charter school. His two
older children are students at TCU, his
youngest is an elementary student here at
Post Oak.
Courtney Vance is joining Post Oak to
teach language arts and humanities. Ms.
Vance has an MFA in creative writing
from UT Austin and a BA in comparative studies from Stanford. She has published work in numerous magazines and
journals, served as the fiction editor of a
literary magazine, and received recognition for her writing. As an instructor she
has worked with gifted students as well
as with high school and middle school
second-language learners. Ms. Vance
and other middle school faculty have
J ULY 11, 2014
been busy at work already, making plans
for the upcoming year.
PRIMARY
There will be two new assistants joining
Dinah Chetrit’s team in primary home
environment this year. Katherine Guani
Nava will be one of them. Ms. Nava’s
education includes a BS in international
trade from Universidad de la Salle Bajio
in her native Mexico, and an M.Ed. in
curriculum and instruction from the
University of Houston. Ms. Nava has
experience working with children as a
CCE teacher and as an au pair. Fluent
in both Spanish and English, she brings
great enthusiasm to her work as she
launches her career as a teacher.
In the meantime, we are interviewing
candidates for a second new assistant to
join the team in primary home environment. We will miss Norma Paulin,
who worked at Post Oak as a primary
assistant for more than twenty years, as
well as Maurien Caron who was with us
just last year.
SPECIALIST
Finally, Ninfa Bridges will join us as a
Spanish specialist. She has a bachelor’s
degree in middle grades education from
Escuela Normal Superior de la Laguna
in Durango, Mexico and a bachelor’s
degree in primary education from National Pedagogic University in Coahuila,
Mexico. In addition, she has AMS
Montessori training for both lower and
upper elementary. She brings more than
twenty years’ experience as a Montessori classroom teacher and as a Spanish
instructor in California and Texas.
We welcome a very talented group of
staff to the Post Oak faculty. •
PAGE 11
News from High School
Rising juniors
and
have been in New York for three weeks at Columbia
University’s Summer High School Program.
sent us this update:
“The program is going great! It really gave us a feel of
what college life would be like and it would be living
in a dorm etc. The campus is really beautiful and the
weather is not that bad either, for us at least as we are used to warmer and more
humid weather. The program ends tomorrow and I’ll be taking a lot of new
knowledge with me back to Houston which I think should also help with my
econ class. I have learned a lot and I’m excited to jump into IB this year.”
Bearkats
Sign-up Day
Thursday, September 4 in the gym
Future Bearkats (Intramurals, grades 4–6):
practice Thurs. & Fri., from 3:30–4:30 p.m.
Bearkats (grades 6–8):
mandatory practice Mon., Tues., & Wed. from 3:30–4:30 p.m.
Join us for the upcoming
New Parent
Welcome Coffee
Friday, August 29, 2014
8:45 a.m. in the gym
PAGE 12
J U LY 11, 2014
Houston Montessori Institute Having a Successful Summer
J ULY 11, 2014
PAGE 13
Post Oak Eighth Graders Move Up!
by Larry Quade, HMI Director of Training
The Houston Montessori Institute, a
branch of the Post Oak School, is in
the second summer of the first AMI
Primary training course. Trainees
represent six nations as well as the
United States, and three states in
addition to Texas. Classes are held at
the Post Oak High School in
the Museum District. Five of the
trainees are working concurrently on
a Master’s degree from Loyola
University Maryland.
Trainers Larry Quade and Mirani
Smith are presenting language and
math for Primary children. At the end
of this session the majority of academic
presentations will be finished. During
the upcoming school year the trainees
will practice-teach in Montessori
schools and complete their many
assignments. June 2015 will see the
completion of training, Association
Montessori Internatioinale (AMI)administered examinations, and the
awarding of the international diplomas.
Thereafter, another class of AMI
Montessori teachers will move out
across the globe in service to the
world’s children.
An unseen and unsung host of
supporters contribute to the success
of Montessori training at HMI. Many
of them work within the Post Oak
School, and many work outside. The
success of the HMI mission rests upon
a broad foundation. •
1102 AUTREY STREET
HOUSTON, TEXAS 77006
281.822.8028
[email protected]
The Houston Montessori Institute is currently in
session and we invite you to visit us two ways:
Come in for our
Come in to
OPEN HOUSE
JULY 22
5:30 P.M.
OBSERVE
FIRST-HAND
(by appointment)
We invite you to join us for our upcoming Open House
event, where we will be sharing details about the next
AMI Primary Training Course which starts June 29, 2015.
Appointments for observation can also be made at any
time by contacting [email protected].
Moving Up
Ceremony
video
For a link to the full video,
email [email protected]
PAGE 14
J U LY 11, 2014
Independence Day Celebration
J ULY 11, 2014
PAGE 15
Scenes from Summer at Post Oak
THE POST OAK FUND
TOGETHER
WE CAN!
Post Oak’s environment, professional development, facilities, technology enhancements – all are supported by your gift to the annual fund. It
takes everyone working together to
maintain the level of excellence you
expect from Post Oak.
Be one of the first to make your
annual fund contribution! And
thanks to those who have already
donated!
•
Post Oak Fund month
starts October 1.
Donations for the
2014-15 school year can
now be made online.
Volunteers are needed!
Come hear about how you can help at
the school and at events! The Volunteer
Coffee will be held at the home of Post
Oak Gala Co-Chair Whitney Walsh.
Please call the front desk for directions.
Friday, Sept. 5 at 8:45 a.m.
PAGE 16
J U LY 11, 2014
C A L E N DA R
A U G U S T 1 7 –2 3
Tue
8/19
New teacher welcome
reception
4:00–5:00 p.m.
HS begins for returning
students
Wed
8/20
8:30–11:00 a.m.
HS back to school luncheon
(all students)
11:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m.
Thu
8/21
Fri
8/22
HS begins full day
HS parent orientation, 7 p.m.
PRI walk through, 9–11 a.m.
YCC walk through
see orientation schedule
AU G U S T 2 4 –3 0
Mon–Wed
8/25–27
Mon–Fri
8/25–29
Mon
8/25
TUTORING &
BABYSITTING
SCHOOL YEAR
INFORMATION
Megan Routbort is a Post
Oak alumna and rising senior
at St. John’s. She can mentor
students in all subjects,
including Spanish, as well
as teach prep courses for
ISEE and CTP-4. Megan has
extensive experience as a
babysitter and has worked
with kids ages 3-13 as a camp
counselor at Main Street
Theater. She is CPR and
AED certified. Megan can be
reached at 713-408-9068 or
[email protected]
In just a few weeks, we will
send out a mailing with your
new school calendar.
At the beginning of August,
you will also receive an
email with links to forms,
the handbook, ASEP and
other items for the new
school year.
To find out the school
start date for your
child(ren), see the guide on
the Post Oak homepage,
left menu options.
YCC & PRI orientation
(see orientation schedule)
HS Odyssey Trip
PHE begins
Orientation for gr. 1, 4, 7, and
EL & MS new to Post Oak
8:30 a.m.–noon
EL & MS Before- & AfterCare begins
Tue
8/26
All EL & MS students
Wed
8/27
EL & MS begin full day
Wed–Fri
8/27–29
MS Retreat at Artesian Lakes
Thu
8/28
All YCC & PRI attend
Fri
8/29
N OT I C E B OA R D
8:30 a.m.–noon
POST OAK
COMMUNICATIONS
SURVEY
Watch your email next
week for a short Post Oak
communications survey
that will be sent to all
current Post Oak families.
Your response is helpful
and appreciated!
Show Your Spirit! The Post Oak
School’s logos are available at
Lands’ End for embroidery or
printing on your purchases. If
you would like to show your Post
Oak spirit by wearing clothing
with either the school logo or the
Bearkats logo, contact Lands’ End
School Division directly at 1-800469-2222 or online at landsend.
com. Post Oak’s preferred school
number is 900115890.
ABOU T TH E POST
New Parent Welcome Coffee
8:45 a.m.
Room Parent meeting, 10 a.m.
The Post is distributed via email every other Friday of the regular school year.
You can receive a printed copy from your oldest child, or view the PDF version online.
Submit letters, articles, or photos in electronic form by 5:00 p.m. on the Tuesday before publication
to Communications Coordinator Elisa Schmidt ([email protected]). If publication is on a
Thursday due to school closure on Friday, then the deadline is 5:00 p.m. on the preceding Monday.
THE POST OAK SCHOOL was founded in 1963 and accredited by both the Association Montessori
Internationale (AMI) and the Independent Schools Association of the Southwest (ISAS)
4600 Bissonnet, Bellaire, Texas 77401 • Telephone: 713-661-6688 • Fax: 713-661-4959 • www.postoakschool.org