I get so many emails from school it makes my brain ache

"With three kids, it's an endless stream. So this year I'm going to handle them differently," writes Aussie mum of three Karen.

Ping! Ping! Ping! Ping! Four back-to-back emails arrive in my inbox, all from different teachers. 

It’s a sign that the summer holidays are well and truly over. 

With three kids in school, the sudden school communication is nothing short of overwhelming.

The mental load it places on my husband and I is exhausting. The only bonus is that having twins means I get slightly less messages than if they were all in different years!

We get messages from their teachers, the head of year, the head of the section of school they’re in, plus messages from specialist teachers about sport, or extra-curricular activities, messages about upcoming trips and special events, and messages from the principal…

While I really appreciate being kept in the loop (I honestly do!), it’s a lot to deal with.

Especially when you’re juggling work and kids and your life is already full.

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Image: Supplied

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Old skool communication

I think back to when I was in education. My parents had very little communication from my school other than the odd letter which arrived screwed up in the bottom of my bag. If my parents needed to contact my teacher, they sent me with a handwritten note. 

My parents weren’t involved in my school life like I am now. In primary school there were occasional events where parents were invited but, by the time I moved to high school, all of that stopped. The only time they even came to my high school was for the annual parent-teacher interviews. 

I’m really thankful that there are so many opportunities for me to stay connected with my kids’ school. Our school does a wonderful job of fostering a strong sense of community and it makes me all warm and fuzzy inside.

The trade-off is being part of the school community involves a lot of admin. 

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Managing school admin

My husband and I divide and conquer our household tasks. As I work part-time from home and I’m the one who goes along to the special assemblies, cross country, athletics carnivals etc., picking up the school admin fell on my shoulders as I spend more time there and need to stay in touch with what is going on. 

But this year - I hold my hands up. I don’t want to keep up with every message anymore. When the stream of messages began coming through the week before school started, it made my brain ache. This year, I’m determined not to sink under the endless stream of communication. 

Instead, I’ve decided that this is the year the rest of the household takes more of an interest in the school calendars and special events. I can’t keep it all in my brain any longer. 

Our school provides iPads for the older kids to take home, and this is the first year that all three of my kids will have one. This means that emails about activities and events get sent to the kids as well as to me.  While I’m still going to read emails (Again, I really do appreciate knowing what is going on!), I want to shift some of the ownership of actioning the emails to my kids. 

If they need to remember they can’t have tuck shop on interschool sport days, it’s up to them to remind me they need a packed lunch. 

If they need to wear their sport uniform on an extra day because of an event, they should know about it! If they have an event coming up where they need a costume, they need to let me know in plenty of time so they can be involved in organising it. 

My diary is in a central place in the house, and I’m going to be expecting them to drop notes in there for me about what time they’re racing in swim carnival or if they’re going to be on stage to perform during assembly and want me to come along to watch. 

My husband is taking ownership of specific projects – things like school photos (marking the days they’re being taken in my diary, organising payment, organising the extra sibling photos), and school trips (printing off packing lists, marking dates, organising any payments) …

This year, I am determined to not drown in the stream of email admin!

Originally published as I get so many emails from school it makes my brain ache