Reading the school newsletter

Two original fictional non-fiction texts for reading practice.

Text A: a school office reflection

We once put every item into a long Friday attachment. Parents told us they opened it on a phone between other tasks and could not easily find the detail they needed. A reminder about tomorrow's bus was somewhere below last week's concert report. We had included the information, but inclusion was not the same as making it usable.

The revised newsletter begins with dated actions and links to fuller items. Families can choose the year groups relevant to them. That has reduced some repeated questions, though we do not assume that a quiet inbox proves everybody understands. We still ask families where an instruction was unclear.

Readers also use the newsletter in ways we had not expected. Some grandparents want the concert account without receiving every deadline. A few families keep a printed copy by the door. We now offer a plain printable version rather than treating printing as an out-of-date habit. One format was convenient for the office, but it was never one pattern of reading for all households.

Text B: a parent’s account

I need the deadline at the top as much as anyone, but a newsletter made entirely of actions would give me a strange picture of school. I would know what to pay, sign or remember, while the ordinary life of the place disappeared. The report about a class changing its mind during a project may matter more to my understanding than another polished photograph of the finished result.

I usually read on a phone, then forward particular items to my partner. Links help, provided they identify their subject clearly and do not require a fresh search through the website. I also print some details for my father, who collects the children on Tuesdays. A digital message often ends up doing work on paper.

Families cannot all respond the moment a message arrives. An action list needs reasonable notice, and an urgent correction should be sent clearly rather than quietly substituted in an old link. I want the newsletter to help us manage arrangements, but also to help us recognise the school our children attend.

Compare what the two writers say about how families use school newsletters. Make it clear which text you are using.