Hey Science Friends,
I have been working on newsletter templates since the summer and have been using them for a lot of different reasons for parent communication this year already. I did not know how much time it would really save me by having a template to organize my thoughts but it really has.
These have been a huge time saver for me.
The biggest reason they have saved time for me is because before I had a simple template, I would spend a lot of time formatting and decorating the newsletter. Now my time is spent on the content of the newsletter. Another reason this has been so helpful for me is because the space it limited and because of that my message is more focused on the content rather than the fluff.
Until now, I have not had a reason to use page two of the newsletter. That is simply because I have not sent any Science news home this year and I had a little more to say. I can easily print this and copy on the back of page one for a two sided letter. If I want to send these as attachments I can send both of them as well. What my experience has taught me is that if I need more space than a front and back newsletter provides, then I need to probably communicate...more often.
I want the message short, simple and to the point because I want the reader to read it and act on it!
The editable weekly newsletter templates are each the same format and have been changed using seasonal graphics because I didn't want to get lost in learning what I could and could not do within multiple different templates because that would defeat the purpose. The purpose is direct and to the point, frequent communication with the families that I serve. When I was goal setting this summer, more frequent and relevant parent communication was on the top of my goal list. And the main reason I didn't do enough of it last year was largely due to feeling like I did not have enough...time. I had to simplify the process so that communicating with parents was less time consuming for me and the template did just that. The seasonal graphics just made me want to send newsletters...more. All in all, this has helped me work towards reaching my goal of more frequent communication and bought me some time to focus on something else!
So, if you are like me and need to take a bite out of parent communication just click on the images above. Until then, have fun investigating!