Yesterday, a principal who heard me speak at the USA Conference in Wichita, Kansas, emailed me. She asked asked if I had samples of some the newsletters I share with my parents, students, or teachers.
As you’re starting out another school year, one way to showcase the positive happenings in your building is by consistently sharing the great learning and events from your building with others. So I thought I’d share my response in this post so that you can also see samples from my school.
Weekly Updates to Parents
First, here’s a sample of a newsletter from our last week of school before summer break.
I send out a weekly email with teachers called SHS School Matters, and I use Mailchimp as a place to launch emails and collect email addresses so that parents can subscribe via our school website. It takes a little work to set up a Mailchimp account, but it’s free for up to 2,000 sends a day.
Student Newsletter for Parents
Also, when I send a parent email each week via Mailchimp, I include links to the Bulldog Bulletin that students help generate as well. This past year I collaborated with one of my technology teachers and his Desktop Office class on compiling information and photos for each week’s publication. I still edited, proofed, and added content.
Parents give me a lot of feedback on how much they appreciate these weekly posts. Here’s a copy of one of our Bulldog Bulletin newsletters:
Kudos Emails
My friend from Kansas also asked if I do newsletters to teachers. I don’t currently create a teacher newsletter, but that’s a great idea. However, I sometimes create emails called Kudos. If you want to see an example click here.
Bragging on your teachers is another way to highlight best practices and remind everyone they are on a great team.
Conclusion
I’m so encouraged when I hear from other leaders that any of my suggestions may be helpful in the way you serve your students. Spreading the good news from your school is just another way to cultivate the positive culture you want teachers and students to enjoy and celebrate throughout a school year.
Now It’s Your Turn
If you have newsletter samples of your own to share, leave comments below, email me, or touch base via Twitter @williamdp. Let’s keeping sharing, learning, and growing!
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