I'm wondering what types of communication you use with parents. How often do you send home newsletters?
We have a weekly homework sheet with a section for messages and important dates etc. A school-wide newsletter is sent home every week and each class writes a paragraph for that. I also have a class webpage where I put photos of class activities, news and upcoming events etc. We also write a weekly class blog attached to the webpage. Plus, I communicate individually with parents as needed (I see a lot of them in the morning when they drop their children off - great for more relaxed, 'informal' chats) and all parents have my school email address.
I send a weekly class newsletter every Monday. It includes objectives for the week, spelling words as well as any updates, reminders. I communicate by e-mail with parents a lot-sending a note of something ingenious they said in class or sending them field trip pics, etc.
I have Friday Folders with any important school info and flyers. Students take these home on Friday and return with parent signature on Monday. I also do a weekly update on Fridays through email.
This year I started sending home a daily email instead of a weekly newsletter. At the top, I include all the weekly academic items and reminders (letters/words of the week, book orders, field trips, etc.) and then the body of the message is what we did that day. These emails take me about 5 minutes and the feedback has been very positive. Parents tell me they like having talking points on a daily/nightly basis to encourage discussion about school with their child. I love it because email is easier than making a newsletter with cutesy clip art... I detest cutesy clip art...
Our school's newsletter goes home the beginning of each month...I send home a weekly newsletter on Fridays...plus I update my website weekly...I write notes in agendas daily if needed
