Should your newsletter focus on events or policies? Are you going to create and publish the newsletter on your own? Do you plan on building a team to publish the newsletter? How big do you want your newsletter to be? How many people do you want to reach with your newsletter? What should the newsletter be called?
If your school is either very large or very active, you may want to publish more often or publish larger papers, less frequently. If you are unsure of how often to publish, you may try publishing monthly to begin with. You probably won’t need to publish any editions over the summer months if your school isn’t active during them.
You’ll likely want to include some sections or content for the students in the community. Your main readers are likely to be the parents and adults in the community. Your newsletter should also keep staff informed, describing current events at the school. You might also want to include content that supports your local community.
It’s important to remember that not everyone might be able to receive digital newsletters. You will likely want to print out physical copies as well. Physical copies will either need to be delivered or placed in a public space that allows for people to easily pick up a copy. Digital copies will likely be the most cost effective option and will allow you to reach a large number of readers.
Adobe InDesign, Corel Draw, and QuarkXpress are all professional publishing software. Scribus is open-source desktop publishing software. You can make a newsletter using Microsoft Word or OpenOffice Some people find Google Docs to be a good solution, as it allows many people to collaborate on-line.
Most publishing software will include a number of templates for you to choose from. You can try searching on-line for free school newsletter templates. Templates allow you to easily add your own information or update old information. A good template will have spaces for both your articles and photos to go with them. You might want to make templates for specific months. For example, you might have a template for February that has a heart theme because of Valentine’s day. For text areas, it’s a good idea to have predefined spaces for your title, headings, and the main body of text.
Place the school name at the top of the front page. Add in a footer with page number, date, edition, or other information you might want to include. Putting your school logo somewhere on the front page can be a good idea. Include clip-art to give your newsletter an appealing and interesting look. You might want to have dedicated pages for certain content. For example, you could put contact information for school staff on the last page of your newsletter. You’ll likely want to decide the basic layout for articles and pages. A simple two column layout can be a good way to start.
A calendar of the year and upcoming events. Current news. Upcoming activities or programs. Birthdays. Community news. Changes in school policy.
An opinion piece on the quality of cafeteria food might be nice. However, it’s probably a better idea to include a lunch schedule instead. Detailing the repair process of a restroom might be too much information. It might be better to focus on things like how long the renovation took or how much it cost. Updates on school policies should always be included. You might want to highlight student achievements in your newsletter. It can be a good idea to have small articles that introduce new staff members.
Asking students to write articles can be a good way to let them express a student’s viewpoint and get in some writing practice. Having staff write articles can result in more detailed or informative pieces. For example, asking a math teacher to write about the new high-level math course would be a good idea. You might have students form a club around creating and publishing the newsletter. Asking for help with printing, publishing, or distributing might be necessary. You can check with local school staff, send a request for volunteers, or check with local businesses.
You’ll likely want to create a list of people who want to subscribe to your newsletter. Try leaving it near the entrances to your school or local businesses. Bring some copies to your nearby library to put out for people to take. Leaving some copies on the front desk of the main office can be a good idea. If you have the budget, your school may mail printed copies to the community. Give the paper to students to take home. Some have found that giving the newsletter to younger children increases the chances of it getting home. [10] X Research source
You can use group emails to send out your newsletter. You might post new editions on your school’s homepage. Use your school’s social media accounts to let people know about new editions of your paper. You could build a dedicated website or blog to post new editions of your newsletter.
Keep track of how many paper copies are taken by readers. This can tell you if you need to print more or less copies in the future. Counting how many copies are taken from different locations will tell you where the best places are to distribute the paper. For digital versions, you can track how many people download the paper and from where. This can help you learn if people are finding the paper on your school’s homepage or from social media. You might include reader surveys that would allow for constructive feedback.
