The Weekly Newsletter Videos was an idea that grew out of a conversation I overheard in the staff room regarding parent engagement and a separate conversation I had with a student in my third grade class. Many teachers and my principal at the time discussed the effectiveness of different communication systems (email, newsletters, Remind, etc.) and if any parents were actually reading the messages that were being distributed by the school. At the time I was a second year teacher and began to think about the ways in which our students and their families accessed information at home and if we as educators were using the right medium to deliver the message. 

I decided to speak to one of my students at the time and ask them their opinion. Through this conversation, they brought up a great point that much of the information they liked was through digital sources and sites like YouTube, provided substantial ways they could access information and entertainment at the same time. Almost instantaneously, I asked my student if they would be interested in working on a new project with me and wouldn't mind being the first student to read and record a newsletter to be delivered to their parents in a weekly email. They agreed and the rest is history.