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Your classroom newsletter connects you to parents and students.
Find the style that works for you–and get a free editable template!
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What Are Classroom Newsletters?
A classroom newsletter is a tool to keep parents and students informed on what is happening and what is coming up.
It is a collection of the most important news in your classroom.
What are you discussing?
Are there important events coming up?
What student deserves a spotlight or shout-out for the week?
Classroom newsletters are a fun way to highlight what is essential in your class (and clue in parents and students).
Why You Should Have a Classroom Newsletter
As a teacher, you need both parent and student involvement to succeed.
How do you get that?
Effective communication!
Sure, you can send an email or a text, but that will likely only connect with parents (and, let’s face it, it’s a bit lackluster).
Include the same information as a newsletter with bold shapes and bright paper.
Now your info is impossible to miss (and a lot more fun).
What to Cover in a Classroom Newsletter
Here are some ideas for what to include in your classroom newsletter:
- What the kids are learning
- Student of the week
- Student spotlight
- Funny or inspiring quotes
- Schedules
- Upcoming events or field trips
- Volunteer requests
- Reminders
- Items you’d like parents to collect or save for an upcoming project
- News about class pets
Weekly Versus Monthly Newsletters
You have the option to send home a newsletter weekly or monthly.
Each type of classroom newsletter has its advantages.
A weekly newsletter will contain less information.
It is also easier for parents and students to manage.
If you send home a newsletter monthly (and that newsletter is mysteriously misplaced), that family is clueless for a whole month.
A monthly newsletter is less for you to prep.
Instead of having to compose a newsletter each week, you only have to do 10 per year.
That sounds manageable, right?
Monthly newsletters will need to be high-level overviews of the month.
You will likely not have the time and space to highlight every student in your class if that is something you want to do.
Team Versus Individual Classroom Newsletters
You have the option to compose a classroom newsletter or if you are a part of a team of teachers per grade, a team newsletter.
If you go for the team newsletter, you can spread the newsletter duty among the team members.
That’s less work for everyone.
You are likely having the same events and covering the same material, so the newsletter could work for multiple classes.
An individual classroom newsletter allows you to highlight your particular students and make the newsletter more personal.
It also may help establish rapport with your families.
Free Editable Classroom Newsletter Templates
Classroom newsletters are super easy to compose with these free editable templates (available in the Mama Teaches Freebie Library).
The six templates are all different.
You can choose what you’d like to cover in your newsletter, from student-of-the-week to upcoming events to great quotes.
Print the template on color paper for added pizzazz.
Ideas for Classroom Newsletters
Designing a classroom newsletter doesn’t have to be time-consuming.
With an editable template and an action plan, this vital communication tool will be a cinch to create and manage.