The very first thing I always include in my newsletter is a list of important dates and announcements. Here are 5 things to include in your classroom newsletter. So, now that we know how to write our newsletter, let’s dive into what to include. Hope that helps!” What Should You Include in Your Parent Newsletter Let me know if you have a hard time finding the details, and I’d be happy to resend it. I sent it out in the last newsletter, but I know it can be hard to keep track of things sometimes. “Hi! Parent teacher conferences are on the 14th. If a parent emails and asks for info that you’ve already shared, go with something like this. Instead of making a parent feel bad and risk creating unnecessary bad feelings, we can instead be kind and helpful. They might have a few kids, a full time job, and an inbox full of emails. Shaming them is the worst way to encourage them to be involved in their child’s education. Truly, I do! As teachers, we are working super hard and we have enough on our plates. This does not sit well with me as both a teacher and a mom. Many of the teachers were telling the teacher to ignore the email and not even respond, passive aggressively resend the original email with FYI, or send the info but lecture the parent about reading the newsletter. A teacher was frustrated that a parent emailed asking for information that was sent out in the last newsletter. I recently saw a conversation in a teacher facebook group. Lastly, teachers are busy, but so are parents. No one likes to be CCed on an email that is clearly only about 1 or 2 people. Also, if there’s an issue with just one or two students, email them separately. Then, offer suggestions of acceptable options. For example, instead of lamenting that students have been bringing in cookies and cake and candy for snack, you can instead kindly remind parents what the school snack policy is. As much as you might want to get your annoyance across, it’s much more effective to keep things positive. Sometimes frustrating things come up in the classroom that you need to address in your newsletter. This means I never (well, rarely) forget anything important. I copy it each week, remove the old info, and add the new. I personally use a template that I created in a googledoc. This makes it easier for parents to find the information they need. I’ve also found it’s extremely helpful to use a consistent format. If you emphasize every other sentence, it stops helping. This helps those parents who skim it (eh hem- me) see what is most important. It’s great to also make it easier for parents by bolding, underlining, or highlighting important part of your newsletter. Before you start writing, think about what’s most important and focus on that. No parent wants to read a 25 paragraph newsletter. It’s great to give details, but it’s best to keep things as short and sweet as possible. Keep It Briefįirst, parents are busy, just like you. Here are five things to keep in mind when creating your class newsletter. If it’s not helpful to parents, there’s no point. A weekly newsletter should be a helpful tool for parents. Things to Remember About a Classroom Newsletterīefore we get into what to include in your parent newsletter, here are a few things to keep in mind. Here are the top things I recommend including in newsletters to parents. Or, if you just want to keep your students’ parents in the loop, you might be trying to figure out what to say. If you’re required to send home a weekly newsletter to update parents on your classroom, you might be wondering what to include.
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