Ditching the Paper Newsletter

{raising my hand}

The importance of communication is huge.
If we want parents to work with us, we must communicate what is going on in the classroom.  Newsletters help us do just that.

In the past, I always created a newsletter on the computer, printed it out and send it home.  I also send the pdf in an email to parents.

It seemed to work at time.  Parents knew what was going on in the classroom.

Then, the last couple of years, this seemed to change.

I was hearing more and more parents saying, 'oh, I didn't read that' or 'i didn't know today was picture day'.

It wasn't for lack of trying.  I had sent the info home on paper and in pdf form in a email.
 

They just weren't opening it.  They weren't opening the backpack and finding the paper nor were they opening the pdf newsletter in their email.

It dawned on me why this might be...

Our society now is busiest it has ever been.  No one can keep up.  If I want our classroom information to be read by parents- I had to make it as quick and easy as possible.  So, I thought about how I like to receive info. It definitely wasn't in paragraph form.  Nor, was it in a pdf that I had to open on my phone.  So, I crafted an email that I myself would read easily.

Here's what I now do instead:
I put everything in email form.  I don't attach a pdf of the newsletter.  I just bullet point everything. This makes our news easy to scan.  I also bold and underline the stuff I do not want them to miss.

Yes, it's working.

This year, I relied on this type of newsletter and thus far and I have not had any uninformed parents.  It's been awesome.  But, I am aware that sometimes, we as teachers, run into a parent that just isn't going to engage no matter what we do.  But, hey... at least I tried!

Bonus... this bullet-pointed newsletter is much easier for me to write up.  Plus, I don't feel like it is a waste of time because it is actually getting read!
 

What types of things I include:

• Upcoming Events: this is the first thing on my bullet-point newsletter.  I want to make sure my families are seeing these events (if nothing else)

• New/On-Going Points of Importance: things like conference sign up, items we need in the classroom or reminders (like making sure the kids have gloves)

• Current Theme: I layout our current theme and I bullet point some of the books we will read, activities we will do and center changes.

• Ask your child...: Many parents mention how getting information about the school day is hard to do.  So, include an 'Ask your child' section with a question they can ask their child to spark conversations about the day. For example, 'Ask your child about the gingerbread cookie experiment we did.'

• At Home: Here is a great place to bullet point 2-3 things that parents can help their child with at home.  It many be academic or simple self help skills.

Do you use newsletters?  Have you found simplicity is the way to go?

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