Hi, I'm Jodi Hyland. I am in my fourth year of teaching.
I'm currently teaching a Year 4-5 class at Ross Park Primary School.
Before coming to Alice Springs
I taught in a small school in western Queensland.
I think it's really important in a classroom
to have open and honest communication with parents.
I've spent a lot of effort, especially at the start of the year,
getting the kids into the habit of doing diary sheets.
I send home diary sheets every week.
Every day I write in it for every child
and their parents will write in it of an evening
so I know that they have seen the comment that I've written.
For example, it can be something as simple as,
"Enjoying maths extension work. Got a new book,"
and you can see here the parents have written back every day.
Sometimes it's more about a behaviour event that's taken place.
One child in particular in my class
we've recently put on to a special behaviour plan.
She's just going through a few problems at the moment
and I've emailed mum.
We have a very quick communication turnaround time.
We email every day to say, you know,
"It was a great day today. This is what we've changed."
I'm using a sticker chart for that child,
so she's working towards a reward at the end of the week,
and day two, it's going really well, which is really good.
I've had a lot of positive feedback from parents.
They like to know what their child gets up to.
They like to know what they're working on in class.
A lot of parents will then take that information
and do some extra work at home
or they know that there's a problem that needs to be addressed.
I think there's a real benefit for students
because they know that mum and the teacher are going to talk,
so, you know, "I'm not going to get away with anything at school.
"I know that Mum's able to go home
"and know that I need help with my reading
"or I need help with my multiplication,"
and they've gotten used to...
If they've done the wrong thing, they know I'll write it in there.
They know that mum's going to talk to them about it.
I've found the diary sheets really beneficial
when it comes to reporting time.
I've already established a relationship with the parents
that we speak regularly, we know what's going on,
and so when it does come to reporting times
I feel I can be a lot more honest with the parents
because they know I'm just in it for their child's well-being.
Having open communication with parents,
especially one-on-one communication,
it makes everyone feel like we're a part of a team
and we're there for the child.