July 2020 - Miss Clark's Spoonful

An Easy Guide to DIGITAL Classroom Newsletters & CLICKABLE PDFs!

I'm going to be honest...

I am much more of a paper person than a digital person. There. I said it.

Colored ink, bright card stock, it's all so much fun!

However, I have an exception to my "paper over digital" preference... and that exception is CLASS NEWSLETTERS.

Sending home newsletters is so important! Your class families get to read all about what is going on in your classroom, and they're informed about upcoming events. All great stuff!

Here's the thing. More often than not, paper newsletters and related forms end up buried on the bottom of backpacks, stuffed in the back of desks, or crumpled under the seat on the bus... never to be seen again.

I have the perfect solution for you! Send your newsletters home DIGITALLY using clickable PDFs.



Along with the information actually getting to your class families, here are a few of the reasons why I LOVE clickable PDFs!

  • They're super user-friendly, and easy to create.
  • You can email them as an attachment, upload to Google Classroom, and a bunch of other platforms!
  • You can include many different resources in ONE spot.

Let's dive into it! Here is how you can create PDFs that have "clickable" links.

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I use PowerPoint to create most of my resources, including my newsletters!

First, find the text that you want to link to the other website or document.

Tip: It's helpful to change the color in order to make it more noticeable. Simply highlight the text, and change to whichever bright color you like! Then, click OK.

Digital Classroom Newsletter

After you've changed the color of your text, you'll want to save your document as a PDF. Click File, and drop down to Save As.

Digital Classroom Newsletter

Name the document whatever you would like, and save it to a place on your computer where it will be easy to find! Then, next to File Format, choose PDF.

Saving PowerPoint as PDF

Now, you're ready to open your document as a PDF and embed your link!

Head over to your Google Drive, and find the document you want to link to from your PDF. 

In this case, I want to attach a link to a "Getting to Know Your Child" Back to School form that's located in my Google Drive.

In the upper right-hand corner, click on the three vertical dots. Then, drop down to Share.

Getting to Know Your Child Form

In order to be able to add the link to your PDF, you'll need to look under Get Link. So anyone you send the PDF is able to open the link, you'll want to change the sharing permissions from "Restricted" to "Anyone with the link."

In order to do this, click "Change to anyone with the link."

Google Drive Sharable Link

Now's the time to copy and paste it into your PDF!

Click Copy link from the document in your Google Drive.

Google Drive Shareable Link

I use Adobe Acrobat in order to edit PDFs.

Open your saved PDF from your computer, and it will look something like this. Find the text that you want to add a link to, and highlight it.

The text that you've highlighted will be where the link is embedded into.

Editable PDF

RIGHT CLICK, and choose Create Link...

Insert Hyperlink into PDF

Before you paste in your link to the document from your Google Drive, you can choose how the text will look on the PDF.

If you'd like to leave it how it looks (no border around your text), make sure that Invisible Rectangle is selected next to Link Type. I recommend this!

Then, click Next.

Insert Hyperlink into PDF

Now, paste the link from your Google Drive!

Click OK.

Insert Hyperlink into PDF

You've embedded the link right into your PDF. Now, when you hover over the text you want to link to your Google Drive, you'll be able to click on it, and it'll lead you right there!

Insert Hyperlink into PDF

Presto! You're ready to SAVE your PDF, and send it out. The best part is, you can send it as an email attachment, upload it to Google Classroom, your Google Drive, or whichever platform works best for you, your students, and their families!

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If you're interested, check out my last blog post about things I include in each & every newsletter to efficiently maximize home/school communication.


Editable Classroom Newsletter

Do you have any awesome digital teaching tips? I'd love to hear about them!

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How To Create The Ultimate Classroom Newsletter

The start of a new school year is exciting for so many reasons. Above all, your classroom is refreshed and ready to welcome a new bunch of eager learners. You have incredible lessons planned, and before you know it, things will be up and running. There will be so much to share with your class families at home!

kindergarten newsletter


Why Classroom Newsletters?

Communicating with class families is essential when it comes to building a strong home/school connection. Newsletters are a way to give parents a peek at all of the wonderful things that are going on in your classroom. Families love to know what's happening in their child's classroom, and how they can support at home.


The nuts and bolts of class newsletters:
Content that makes families feel connected to their child's learning and the larger school community.


Not sure where to start? Find your answers here by including THESE 5 THINGS!


editable classroom newsletter template


1. HOW OFTEN AND WHEN?

Before you put together all of your amazing information, decide on how often you'll send your newsletter out (weekly? every two weeks? monthly?) and when you'll send them out. The best you can, make it consistent!

I send out a weekly newsletter to my class families, via email. I send the newsletter on the Friday morning before the week ahead. For example, I'd send my newsletter for the week of September 21st - 25th on Friday, September 18th.

Now, real talk friends... are there some weeks where I get the newsletter for the week ahead emailed on Saturday or Sunday? Of course, YES! Life happens. For the most part though, I really try to hold myself accountable to that Friday morning.

I've found that this is a perfect balance between families having enough time to review what's coming in the week ahead, and for me to have enough foresight to relay accurate information about what I'm actually going to be teaching.

Decide what works best for you and your class!

2. YOUR INFORMATION

It's super helpful for your name, grade level/room number, and contact info to be smack dab at the top of your newsletter! This is especially helpful for families who have more than one child at school. 

You can never be too clear about who you are, what expectations you have for your class, and how families can be in touch with you.

3. CURRICULUM INFORMATION

When I first started teaching, I was SO eager to let families know what their children were learning in school. I still am, but I've changed the way I present this information. Way back when, I'd write PARAGRAPHS about what was going on in the classroom. These paragraphs often included teacher jargon like balanced literacy, scope & sequence... yada yada. You get the idea.

Here's the thing. Parents have super busy lives and oftentimes, they weren't interested in didn't have time for reading my long-winded, thesis-quality paragraphs.

Things to remember when highlighting what your students are learning:

  • Big ideas in each subject area
  • Simplicity
  • Less is more
  • Avoid teacher lingo 

Reading these efficient highlights about the magical things that are going on in your classroom will keep families on track, and give some background info for the awesome work their children are bringing home.

4. REMINDERS


teacher memes


If you're anything like me, your life is filled with strategically-placed sticky notes with "don't forget's" and "remember to's." Having a dedicated place in your class newsletter for reminders about daily classroom life, school policies, special classes... you name it, is a must.

As the classroom teacher, you're covering your bases and making expectations clear. You stay on track, class families stay on track... everybody wins!

5. UPCOMING IMPORTANT DAYS

Including a place in your newsletter for future events allows you to give your class families a peek at what's ahead.

Parents will be thankful for this addition, so they can add these dates to their own calendars, request time off work for to chaperone that field trip, or book the babysitter for that mid-week day off school.

In my newsletters, I try to highlight upcoming events or special dates from the next month or two. This way, I know that I'm giving plenty of notice without looking too far ahead.

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You can download these FREE Editable August and September Newsletters if you're interested.
(They're part of the Free Resource Library!)

You can grab the editable newsletters for the ENTIRE YEAR right here.

Weekly/Monthly & Color/Black & White formats are included! Just type in your classroom happenings, and send 'em home to your families! Be sure to install the fonts KG Miss Kindergarten and KG Red Hands to edit the text.


Hopefully these newsletter templates help you kick off the year on a strong note with parent communication.

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If you'd like to learn a little bit more about how I love to build a strong home/school connection from the get-go, head on over to this blog post to read about how I begin establish these positive connections before the school year even starts!

meet the teacher letter


What are your best tips for effectively communicating class news? Would you add anything to the newsletter must-haves? I'd love for you to comment and let me know what's worked best for you and your class!

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