Not only am I checking in to see if anyone reads this blog (hi mom! hi best friends!) but also to ask a question. Many of us send emails or newsletters out--it's a great way to keep parents informed but sometimes I feel that as the school year goes on those emails don't get read at all. So what do you do to make sure the parents are actually reading the emails and newsletters? Have you had that "Bueller" moments where it's like...did you get my email?
Now, I completely understand that parents have busy lives and the email quickly gets archived or is ignored because of so much going on in life. Some of my parents have multiple kids and can't keep up with the emails--their inboxes are inundated. I try to really send information packed emails and communicate that with parents at the beginning of the year. I'm all about quick and efficient emails but I don't want to email so often that parents dismiss the content completely because they might miss something important.
One trick I have learned is within the contents of the email I write to parents to place a star, or smiley face, or write down a random fact about themselves inside their child's planner (another one of our communication tools) for some simple reward for their child. I also tell my students that their parents need to read their email--because after all, aren't persistent 11 year olds a really good shot at making sure something gets done? YES. They are! They never let me forget the extra two minutes of recess I owe them. Every minute counts. Back to the reward...The rewards range from a sweet treat to a homework pass to whatever I fancy--but there is a reward of some kind. And it works! I love the results that I get and I genuinely feel that my parents are in the loop--which is always a good thing--and they know that the lines of communication are open!
Here's an example of one of my emails:
(please forgive any and all typos and grammatical errors--I am so far from perfect and need all the help I can get ha!)
So what is it that you do? I have a back and forth planner that parents initial with homework assignments and behavior records. Do you email? Does anyone use google forms? I am so curious and want to hear what my friends are doing! Is paper the way to go? Emails? Super techy and teachy people that use fancy apps, is there anything out there? Let me know!
-Beth
For context my parents have been divorced for 10 months https://divorceonlineutah.com/utah-divorce-waiting-period/ and I'm 15. My mom wants to change the pick up time to 4 pm. She picks me up at 8:00 pm on Sunday night. My mom has custody since I go to the school where she lives. I see my dad Friday-Sunday he picks me up from my moms at 4:0m on Friday . This year he gets Christmas and summer and all the other USA holidays my mom gets. My mom recently wants to change the time to 8 to 4 because since we live in IL my mom doesn't want to drive in the snow and dark.(her car left us in the streets last time she picked me up) | did get upset cause that's 4 hours l'm missing with my dad and we got into a argument about the time issue. I texted my dad and he started changing my words.| texted him "What do I do on Sunday" and he replied back with "So you don't want to be here is that what you saying In that case I will understand " now both parents are mad at me? Should I listen to my mom or tell her to pick me up at 8?
ReplyDeleteThe excitement of venturing into new messages sometimes can be a voyage without any important questions placed alongside it- like how long does it take to how long does it take to write a 10,000 word dissertation ? Answer: definitely varies yet most students discover that careful planning, researching, and drafting carefully make the process much easier and turn this intimidating task into achievable goals.
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