E.Bartko-M5: Activity 2 - 5 BIG IDEAS by Emily Bartko

What is Back-to-School night?

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Back-to-School Night is an event before the school year starts when students and family members get to meet their teacher, see their classroom, and get a tour of the school.

Be sure to invite students and their families

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This is often a school-wide event, but to make this more personalized and welcoming, you can invite students and their families. An easy way to do this is to send an email to inform caregivers that you are their child's teacher and when the event is. This will help set the tone for the school year!

Ensure that the event is organized

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To make a good use of everyone's time, ensure that the event is organized. To do this, you can have stations that each student and family will go to. The first station can be to sign-in on the log and say hello to the teacher. The second station can be to find your desk, view the automatic slideshow, and collect the informational handouts. The third station can be to put away any school supplies they brought with them. The fourth station can be a photo station that students can take in their new classroom!

This will allow students and their family members to meet their teacher, see their classroom, and receive any important information.

What is the purpose of a caregiver survey?

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A caregiver survey is a great way to initiate communication with caregivers and receive their feedback regarding their child's learning, needs, and strengths.

Caregiver Involvement

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This gives caregivers a voice and allows them to be more involved in the learning environment.

"Tell us about yourself"

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One survey method is to have caregivers assess their needs and also establish how they can contribute to school life. It is important for teachers to learn about caregiver needs for their child's learning journey to gauge the needed support inside and outside the classroom. To get caregivers involved in the school, they can tell you their strengths, like painting, gardening, coaching, etc. The teacher can then invite them to help coach sports, set up and maintain a gardening club, paint a school mural, etc.

Family Communication

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To maintain consistent communication with families, teachers can send home printed newsletters. To discuss important information, upcoming events, and connect with caregivers, these newsletters can be sent home on Monday every week.

What is included in a weekly newsletter?

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Information about upcoming events, activities, meetings, tests, and assignments.
Gentle reminders regarding events taking place that month.
Acknowledging student achievements.
Updates and reminders of rules and expectations.
Links to family surveys.
Tips and other helpful information.

Important things to keep in mind

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When creating a weekly newsletter it is important to:

Use headings
Make information easily accessible
Be brief and to the point
Include photos and graphics
Create different versions for families who speak various languages
Invite parents to answer questions, sign, and return to the teacher by the end of the week.

Ease of communication through telephone

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Many caregivers own a mobile phone, so communicating with them through phone calls are an easy and accessible way to keep them updated and involved in their child's learning journey.

Google Voice

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It is not appropriate or encouraged for teachers to give their personal phone number to caregivers. You can invite caregivers to download Google Voice which is a free service linked to your personal phone number. This way, caregivers can call the teacher, and vice versa.

Positive Phone Calls Home

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An easy way to stay in constant communication with caregivers is to contact them once every two weeks with a positive message about their child. Caregivers will feel more involved, reinforce their child's effort, and celebrate their child's achievement!

Class Events

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Hosting events is an easy way to involve and engage family members in their child's education. It is important to host a variety of events at various times. This ensures that students and caregivers can attend events they are interested in as well as have time for.

Family Night

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An easy and fun way to get caregivers, students, and other family members involved together is to host a variety of events after school.

Some ideas are:

Movie night: show a fun movie and invite families to bring blankets and snacks.
Art night: host a directed drawing and invite families to join and show their artistic abilities.

"Don't stop moving"

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Another easy and fun way to get caregivers and students involved together is to host a fitness club once a week after school. You can teach yoga or coach a game of kickball and allow families to play together!

Information

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(Morgan, 2017, p. 12)

Information

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(Morgan, 2017, p. 9)

Information

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(Morgan, 2017, p. 3)

Information

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(Morgan, 2017, p. 2)

Information

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(Morgan, 2017, p. 16)