School newsletter ideas – a complete guide for teachers

School newsletters have always been an essential part of communication between students, school, and parents. Besides being informative, school newsletters should also include entertaining and interactive sessions for students such as club details, various articles, artwork, fundraising events, and so on. Moreover, newsletters can be useful in case you want to establish a career in online teaching, they can bring value to your students and be a good marketing move. Nothing new ‘till here. But right now comes the most difficult part: how to design a school newsletter that’s both catchy and interesting? This could be quite an overwhelming task, especially if you haven’t done this before, but don’t worry. We are here to give you a helping hand. Today’s article will give you insights about school newsletter ideas and will also offer you some free school newsletter templates that could give you a starting point. 

Ready to create a school newsletter that people will actually want to read and will bring your community together? Great! Fasten your seatbelts, and get ready to start. Sooo…

What is a newsletter for school?

“In a nutshell, a newsletter for school is an effective medium of informing students and parents about various school activities and events. “

But it’s also a platform that allows both teachers and students to write their thoughts and share their ideas and views regarding different school subjects. Usually, they are sent weekly, bi-weekly or monthly, depending on the school’s decision and type of information being reported.

School newsletters help both students and parents organize their time to keep up with anything school-related. Awards, performances, schedule changes, updates, events, policies, news, articles, community happenings…everything that seems important and enjoyable should be included here. Keep in mind that you’re creating a school newsletter for more types of readers (students, parents, teachers), so make sure to add content for all the categories. But more on this subject later. Now let’s see…

…What is the purpose of a school newsletter

When you’re thinking of a school newsletter’s purpose, you should always have 3 main verbs in your mind: inform, remind and connect.

1. Inform

First and foremost, a school newsletter should provide essential information to both students and parents. Write about school activities such as trips, meetings, volunteer opportunities, school clubs, and so on. You should also educate both students and parents about internet safety for kids. Don’t forget to also include precise dates of upcoming events so families can plan accordingly.

2. Remind

We live in a busy world filled with lots of activities and things to do and we easily forget about our own schedules. A school newsletter comes in just handy to remind students (and parents, when necessary) about future classroom activities or events. 

3. Connect

Create a school newsletter that fosters a strong connection between the classroom and the home. Write about specific happenings around your school and classrooms. Short notes or updates about recent activities or lessons are also great school newsletter ideas, and they also help parents connect to their children’s classroom. Go the extra mile and ask for feedback from parents regarding what they would like to read in the newsletter. This way, you’re building a trusting relationship between parents and teachers and further strengthen parental involvement in school programs.

What should be included in a school newsletter?

Let’s put it bluntly from the start. There’s nothing worse or more boring than receiving the same old newsletter week after week (after week…). We’ve all been there and know how bad it is. But unfortunately, this is what most of the schools end up delivering, because it seems easier and requires less preparation and strategy. In the long run, you might lose all your readers and you don’t want that to happen.

Keeping your readers engaged requires variation and innovation! 

Mixing things up from week to week is the perfect way to ensure readers stay on their toes when it comes to discovering your content. That’s why you should always think of diverse school newsletter ideas. 

So, here’s what should be included in a school newsletter: 

1. Current and upcoming school events
2. Mini interviews
3. Self-help articles
4. The kindness corner
5. Other interesting topics 

Let’s dig in: 

1. Current and Upcoming Events & Activities

This has to be one of the main subjects of your school newsletter. It’s crucial to let everyone know about current or upcoming school events and activities. This way, families can organize their programs not to miss any important occasion. Write about your school’s field trips, visits to the museum or school parties. Insert all the important details that could help students and parents. You can also mention if there’s any school championships or clubs and how students can enroll. Creating awareness of the things happening around school can teach students that school is much more than education, is also personal development and companionship.

2. Mini Interviews

When thinking of school newsletter ideas, please consider inserting short interviews with teachers and students. Ask them to answer you some questions based on a topic and publish their responses in your publication. You could focus on different school subjects such as “what makes a great student/teacher”, “what subject do you enjoy most?” or “what have you read recently?” But you can also take courage and approach personal issues like “what are your weaknesses?” or ”what makes you unique?”. Take them a picture and post it next to their interview for a greater relevance.

3. Self-help articles

These kinds of articles are the most popular. Students love to discover interesting tips and tricks that help them make the most of the college’s years. And they also learn how to develop both personally and professionally. I remember that this was my favorite section of the school’s newsletter because there was always something new to find out. Approach evergreen topics such as “how to cope with bullying”, “how to find balance between studying and relaxing”, or even “how to overcome your fears”. Such great school newsletter ideas, right?

4. The Kindness Corner

Think outside the box and insert a kindness corner in your school newsletter. Report each act of kindness given by students to encourage them to create a healthier and happier school community. Things like sharing the meal, organizing fundraising for poor kids, or tutoring a colleague are worth writing. Usually, teachers and parents try to convince students to get good grades and study hard. We agree, this is the meaning of education after all, but we should also make sure that our students are also becoming great adults, not only smart kids. So, the next time you’re thinking of useful school newsletter ideas, please do take the kindness corner section into consideration.

5. Other interesting topics 

There are many sections that you can include in your school newsletter, but for a more entertaining experience, it’s good if you mix them up month by month. For instance, you can think of inserting a section with jobs or scholarships opportunities for students. You can also include a special section called “in the spotlight” where you present both teachers and students that deserve to be appreciated by the entire school. Give credits for the best jokers, best-dressed girls/boys of the school, top teachers of the month, top students of the week, and so on. 

Go the extra mile and come up with interactive activities for students such as puzzles, riddles, quizzes, crosswords, and games. You can easily do this with the help of SurveyMonkey. We’ve tested them with good results. Their interface is intuitive and friendly. Here’s the final result:

Make this section even more entertaining by offering cool prizes for the first 5 or 10 readers with correct answers. The prizes can consist of tickets to a drama play, football match, and music recital. 

School newsletter examples

There’s a lot to cover when it comes to school newsletter ideas. Now that you know so much about this subject, you might think you’re ready to create your own school newsletter. But before getting to the most exciting part of this article, we firstly need to see how schools like Cambridge create a fun and interesting school newsletter to facilitate communication between schools all around the world. 

Let’s explore some school newsletter examples where you can get some free inspiration from:

Cambridge Assessment International Education Outlook – Issue 33

This is a school newsletter example intended especially for teachers. It has an attractive design that is easily noticeable from the start. Everybody knows that a newsletter that is visually appealing is far more likely to be read than a daunting text-based alternative. Besides its layout, a professional newsletter should grab the attention of the readers and hold their interest by means of its on-point content. 

This example over here definitely knows how to communicate something valuable: topics such as “self-regulated learning – the idea of students taking a proactive and self-reflective approach to their own learning”, “what represents teacher research” or “the power of school self-evaluation” will always be useful for teachers all over the world, because they all fight together for a better education system. So, next time you’re thinking of school newsletter ideas, make sure to insert a special section addressed to teachers.

Cambridge Assessment International Education Outlook – Issue 34

The second school newsletter example from Cambridge makes a good impression from the front cover because it features a stunning design. It keeps the same layout as the one before, but the intent is focused on the entire school, not just on teachers. Remember that appealing design should be crucial. The formatting, structure, fonts, and the use of photos and colors can have a powerful impact on readers’ choice if they’re going to read an issue or not. This example from here surely looks catchy and makes you want to read it and discover more. 

Besides general topics such as upcoming events or school activities, this school newsletter from Cambridge approaches current worldwide topics like “supporting schools during Coronavirus” or “tips for teachers who taught remotely”. These kinds of topics will always be successful, because people are eager to learn how others are handling some situations and like to see different perspectives.

Cambridge School of Bucharest – Issue 1, February 2018

The Cambridge School of Bucharest issue is far more different than the previous ones. It features a more simplest layout and less content, yet qualitative. You can notice from the start that it’s a primary school newsletter because it approaches topics for younger students. The newsletter is really well-structured and the text is broken up into bite-size chunks. This way, the information is more clear and cut-and-dried. People won’t feel like they’re reading a neverending story. 

This school newsletter is composed of short articles written by children. They write about personal experiences or interesting facts happening in school. It’s a really great idea to encourage children to write, because who knows, maybe they’ll enjoy it so much and become future journalists. Teachers should invest in their students’ future from a young age. But what makes this newsletter even more wonderful, is that there’s an entire section dedicated to interviews. The children asked teachers a few questions, and then they shared the answers with everyone. Such a section helps students bond with teachers, because they find out personal things about their educators and will cherish them more.

Still, the ending of this publication has really won our hearts. It’s filled with different games for children, it gives you hints of what’s going to happen in the next school newsletter, and it also presents the (little) editorial team. There’s nothing more special for the kids than to see their names written here in the contribution section. What an inspiring school newsletter, right? Make sure to insert some of these school newsletter ideas in your next publication, because it will surely bring you more readers.

How do you create a school newsletter in Flipsnack?

We’re finally here! You have assimilated many useful pieces of information, and now it’s time to prove that you can create a school newsletter like a pro. Why do we feel that there’s something that doesn’t make you happy with our statement? Maybe because you’re still feeling a bit lost and not very talented at design? Don’t worry, we’re here to help you till the end and already thought of easing your job even more. We’re presenting you Flipsnack, the greatest and simplest tool that will help you create any school newsletter you want. Whether you’re notifying students of practice tests that are about to occur or letting teachers know about upcoming meetings, Flipsnack is the best tool for the job! All you have to do is to create an account, pick a suitable template (more on this a bit later) and let creativity do the rest! See how easy you can design a newsletter that will stand out in the crowd. 

Tips & tricks to design a school newsletter with Flipsnack’s Design Studio:

1. Choose your template based on your audience
2. Formatting is everything
3. Content is king
4. Think visually
5. The distribution situation

Let’s discuss them more widely:

1. Choose your template based on your audience

After creating your Flipsnack account, you have to select a school newsletter template suitable for your audience. If it’s for primary school, you should opt for a more colorful one and full of photos. If it’s for universities, then you should choose something that looks more professional and elegant. No matter what you’re looking for, we have plenty of various school newsletter templates for all the occasions.

2. Formatting is everything

Before thinking about school newsletter ideas and visuals to insert in your publication, you should keep in mind a few aspects regarding formatting. First and foremost, it should be in sync with the grade it represents. If it’s a lower grade, then you should make it as colorful and vivid as possible. Choose funky fonts, write only short sentences and try to keep it as succinct as you can. It should have a maximum of 4 pages, filled mostly with images, and not text. Don’t forget to also provide a link to the school website where both children and parents can get more information.

However, if it’s addressed to parents and faculty, then you should definitely go for a more professional and serious look. Use only a few colors (neutral, preferably) and stick to only 2, maximum 3 fonts. It can contain 6-8 pages, depending on how much information you want to insert. Focus on choosing the right images for your content and also try to keep a balance between these two. In case you’re short of ideas, look through our list of school newsletter samples.

3. Content is king

Our Design Studio gives you full control over your templates and allows you to make any changes you want. The front cover is always the most important one, so pay huuuge attention when designing it. Start by placing the school name at the top of the front page. Add in a footer with page number, date, edition, or other important information you might want to include. Then put your school’s logo in the right or left corner of the front page. You should think then about catchy headlines and stunning photos that deserve the spotlight. 

Once the front cover is done, it’s time to start focusing on the entire content of your publication. With so many school newsletter ideas, it’s almost impossible not to create something extraordinary. Start by writing an entire section about the school’s current or upcoming events and activities. This is highly important and should be found in every school newsletter. Then you can mix up the sections month by month. For instance, for this particular issue you’re creating right now, you could insert an interview with a teacher. Next month, you should opt for a personal school experience of a student.

Don’t forget to also include a self-help articles section where students share useful information that could also help their colleagues. You can end your school newsletter with entertaining and fun games. On the back cover, you can give thanks to the editorial team and add your school’s website and social media buttons, so that people also find you there.

4. Think visually

A text-heavy school newsletter will definitely discourage regular readings from both parents and students. We know what we’re saying. No one wants to flick through pages filled only with boring writing. If you want to increase engagement, you should take into consideration the visual part of your newsletter. Images, images, images!

Consider adding a representative image to every article of your news. After all, they speak a thousand words, right? That also means it’s less time spent writing to you. As a great school newsletter idea, you could also think of having an entire visual section, such as a spotlight on a certain topic, or a behind-the-scenes look at the school play. Make sure to always (but always!) insert high-quality images. You want to look professional after all, right?

Go the extra mile and also add videos and GIFs in your school newsletter. You can totally do this with our amazing Design Studio. Maybe there was a special party in your school or another special occasion and somebody filmed it. Insert that video in your publication. Students will totally love this.

5. The distribution situation

Flipsnack gives you the opportunity to share your school newsletter both online and offline. When you’re done designing your masterpiece, it’s time to choose a distribution method. If your school believes firmly in the power of the printed world, then please make sure to choose high-quality paper for a more pleasant experience. Physical copies should be delivered or placed in a public space where everyone can easily pick them up. 

If you, however, have the possibility to share your school newsletter ideas online via email or social media, then make sure to also insert your school’s official website and social media buttons. This way, both parents and students can access any type of information from anywhere and with the help of any smart device. But the best thing about digital newsletters is that they are cost-effective and help you to reach a large number of readers

School newsletter templates to get you inspired

We promised that we will stick with you till the end, so here we are, ready to help you with one more major thing. Our talented designers have created these professional and versatile school newsletter templates to help you build a newsletter that everyone will enjoy and find useful. They are all free, fully customizable and ready to be used by you. Don’t worry, just follow our steps, take into account our school newsletter ideas and take some courage!

Back To School Newsletter Template

School has just started and we know it’s no easy job to work in this field these days. Since the whole pandemic situation, it’s pretty difficult to be a teacher and to move completely to online learning. You have to prepare your lessons, organize activities with your students and also keep them updated and informed about worldwide and school happenings. Put all these ideas into a school newsletter template like this one from here. 

You already know that Flipsnack allows you to make any change you want. Insert your own sections. Choose from our list with school newsletter ideas. Be directly on point and write back to school articles such as “how to make new friends”, “impressions about the first day of school” and so on. Go about and beyond with a special section dedicated to the new children. Upload photos with each of them and a short characteristic description. Download this school newsletter sample and then take it to print. Distribute it to the entire school.

Printable Elementary School Newsletter Template

If you’re a teacher, then you know that it’s kind of hard to keep both students and parents informed about everything going on in your school. But it doesn’t have to be a daunting task anymore. Gather all your school’s information, updates, activities and so on, and insert them into a school newsletter template. This one from here works perfectly for any type of classroom. Besides being appealing, the design is also vivid and bright and it makes you want to grab it fast and discover what’s inside. Personalize it with your own content right away. 

Write about school interviews, the student of the month, and any other useful things for the entire school. Remember that formatting is everything, so try to keep the same font and style throughout the whole newsletter. Add photos or videos from extracurricular activities using our drag and drop editor. Customize it online and let your imagination fly. Share your school newsletter ideas with the entire school community and post it on social media, so that others can inspire from your example. 

Primary School Newsletter Template

We said already that a school newsletter connects the school with the home. Keep things organized in your school with the help of this newsletter template from Flipsnack. This example from here is suitable especially for primary classes because it features happy and vivid colors and it contains little content. 

Customize this primary school newsletter template as you wish in just a few minutes. Remember all the ideas we’ve written before and insert the ones you find the most interesting for your school. Insert a kindness corner, write your school’s activities and updates and even include some fun games for kids. Make it very detailed because parents will want to know everything about their kids’ school updates. Keep it as bright as possible and save it when you’re done. You can print it anytime you want and then share it with both parents and children.

High School Newsletter Template

Since we’ve designed a school newsletter for primary kids, we thought it would be a great idea to also create an editable high school newsletter template. Things are a bit different, because you’re creating content for teenagers and you have to update your ideas to their age and style. Take this sample and customize it with your school’s logo and colors. Write up-to-date articles such as “how to cope with bullying”, “how to be an exemplar student”, and so on. Keep your class informed with school’s events and news, and also ask them to come up with school newsletter ideas for the next issues. 

Remember to also think visually when designing your publication. Pay attention to formatting, colors, fonts, and so on. Download and print your school newsletter and make sure everyone has access to it. You can always choose to share it online via email, so people can read it anytime they want, on any devices. 

Preschool Newsletter Template

Everyone knows that teaching little children is one of the most difficult jobs to do. They are full of energy and they get bored easily, that’s why you have to keep them entertained every second. If you want to come up with something new for them, you should try creating monthly newsletters. We will help you with this preschool newsletter template from here. Our amazing Design Studio allows you to customize it to the fullest. 

Since it’s a preschool newsletter, make sure to fill it with many photos. Write as less text as possible, because the little kiddos are only at the beginning of their reading process. You could insert school updates or events that are useful for their parents. Instead, insert many games and drawing activities to keep the kids entertained and happy. Download your school newsletter and print it. Distribute it then to every child and let them enjoy it!

Primary School Parents Newsletter Template

Looking for some primary school newsletter ideas? Search no more, here’s an amazing template that can totally inspire you. If you’re teaching primary students, then it’s perfect for you. But don’t worry, this template is versatile and it can be updated easily to every kind of educational stage. When we’re referring to primary school, we should have in mind three things: colors, less text and games. Create content sections suitable for their age. Write articles about friendship, learning tips, and so on. Interview some of them and publish their answers. Post photos with them from trips and activities and also add some fun games to entertain them as much as possible. 

And since this newsletter addresses the parents, as well, make sure to insert  children’s achievements and details of upcoming events. The vibrant colors and our cute illustrations will bring a smile to the parents’ faces. Download and print this primary school newsletter template and share it with both parents and children.

Primary School Newsletter

Here it is, our final school newsletter template from this list. We’ll promise you we’ll come up with some more in the foreseeable future. Till then, please enjoy the existing ones. 

Through this school newsletter, you can keep children and parents on board with all the school related activities. Facilitate the communication process by inserting all school’s updates, events, changes, and so on. With an orange and blue cover, it’s the perfect layout to start a primary school newsletter. The colors are very suitable for children this age. Start with a word from the principal and maybe end it with some cool activities that parents can do while at home with the little ones. In between, you can also add some fun interviews, drawing games, or riddles. It’s all about entertainment! Download, print and distribute these school newsletter ideas with everyone in the school.

As a conclusion

Besides keeping people informed and connected, school newsletters can strengthen your school brand if done correctly. They are also an effective and unique form of storytelling, so make sure you publish good and valuable content.

We hope that today’s article gave you a glimpse of what’s a school newsletter and its purposes. With a little bit of courage, ambition, and this list of school newsletter ideas, you can create your own school’s publication that people will actually read.

So, if you’re a teacher, make sure to bookmark this article. Don’t keep all these pieces of information only for yourself, share this article with other teachers or students, it might be helpful to them, as well.