Post-Arrival Orientation

Overview

The NH22 Post-Arrival Orientation should be an in-person event provided state, territorial, tribal, and local recommendations and requirements are followed, however if a team would rather have a virtual orientation due to concerns related to local conditions the materials provided can be adapted for a virtual event.

A new Post-Arrival Orientation PowerPoint Presentation, built on the Student Learning Journey and AFS educational goals, will be available on this page by early September. It will contain optional activities for Host Families. Please feel free to combine activities from the NH22 PowerPoint Presentation with those found in previous materials as long as the overall goals of the orientation continue to be met.  

Orientation Planning

This Orientation is usually held approximately 6-8 weeks after the Arrival Orientation. All students, including late arrivals, should have arrived and received an arrival Orientation in advance of the Post Arrival Orientation event taking place. The Post Arrival Orientation provides a good opportunity for volunteers to evaluate the relationship between the student and the host family.  

Important Note: If volunteers are planning to have a hosted student stay overnight with them for an orientation or other team event, or for any other reason, it is important that the volunteer be screened as an Event Family or Host Family. Such an overnight stay cannot be considered a prudent parent stay.  If a team will be using Event Families for a particular event, please start the process of completing Event Family screening well in advance of the event so AFS has time to complete the screening process before the event. Please refer to the Event Family Stays page in Help & Learning for more information.

Orientation Content

The Post-Arrival Orientation delves deeper into the Cultural Realm as students have already had the opportunity to experience some of the host culture. It is an ideal opportunity for deeper conversations about what the students have learned about themselves, their home and host cultures, and what challenges they may be facing.  

All of the resources you need to conduct a Post-Arrival orientation are listed below;

• NH22-23 Post Arrival Orientation Slides for Students
• NH22-23 Post Arrival Orientation Slides for Host Parents
• Optional Supplement - Is This an Emergency? (These slides can be added to either a hosted student Arrival or Post Arrival Orientation to help with expectation setting in the host family home).

Additional Activities:

• Post-Arrival Orientation "Comparing Values" Activity (listed in Leader Guide)
• Post-Arrival Checking-In Survey for Students
• Post-Arrival Orientation Optional Survey for Host Siblings (optional) 
• Risky Scenarios #1-4 (listed in 2018 Leader Guide below)
• Cultural Values – Statements and Explanations
• “Your Body, Your Safety” pamphlet - a required resource for students at/around Post-Arrival Orientation about recognizing and reporting sexual misconduct (Printer settings for the pamphlet: color or grayscale (color preferred), landscape mode, print on two sides, flip on short edge)
• “Emotional Passport”- a tool to help guide participants in identifying and utilizing self-care strategies. This can be used as a group guided activity or one-on-one. Keep in mind, the concept of “self-care” could be unfamiliar to some hosted participants.
• Additional Activities Booklet
  

Note: The "Your Body, Your Safety" pamphlet is recommended, but not required for Post-Arrival. However, it is a required resource and should be distributed to each student at/soon after the Post-Arrival Orientation.

The pamphlet does relate to the topic talked about in Risky Scenario #2. However, if the pamphlet is not distributed or referenced in the Post-Arrival Orientation, it doesn’t impact the activity or discussion.

Previous Materials for reference:

• 2021-22 Post Arrival Orientation PPT- In Person (contains activities for Host Parents)
• 2021-22 Post Arrival Orientation PPT- Virtual (contains activities for Host Parents)
• 2018 Post-Arrival Orientation Leader Guide 
• 2018 Post-Arrival Orientation PowerPoint

Please remember to log your orientation in Global Link- thank you!