If you are a Queensland teacher by now you will be in the full swing of teacher mode.

In the first two weeks it is really important to make contact with all of your parents or carers. I am not suggesting that you sit down with them and have a chat or call every single one but some sort of contact would be nice.

How you go about contacting parents really depends on what year level you are teaching and just how many parents you need to contact.

Contacting home early has at least two benefits. Firstly your first contact will be a positive one and for some parents this is a nice change from the previous year. Secondly it gives you an opportunity to outline your expectations of their children and your style of teaching.

Here are 5 ways to contact parents that don’t take much time.

1. Hold  a come and meet the teacher morning, afternoon or evening.

• Probably more suited to primary classes where there is generally only one teacher.

2. Send home a letter introducing yourself and outlining your expectations.

• Use a mail merge to make sure each letter is addressed to each individual parent, giving it a personal touch. (Click here for a how to video)
• These links may give you a template that is useful for introducing yourself.
  • Back to School Teacher Introduction Letter-780353
  • Meet the Teacher Letter

3. Send a text message to parents.

• This can be really quick if you have a sms system already in use in your school.
• Short and sweet, to the point means parents don’t have to spend heaps of time on your message.

4. Send an introductory email. 

• Set up a class contact list in your email so that you can send out email communication throughout the year. (Don’t forget to use BCC!!!)
• This also opens email up as a avenue for communication which can save you many hours of phone calls throughout the year.
• Below is an example of the email that I sent last year.

5. Send an introductory video. Click here to see an example.

• A video makes it feel like they are really meeting you.
• It also shows off your tech skills 🙂

Wishing all my colleagues a positive start to the new school year. If you have other suggestions for contacting parents in the first 2 weeks please comment below or leave a post on our facebook page.