It's a school newsletter, but not as you know it.
A new trend is sweeping through Victorian schools, aimed at streamlining and modernising how they communicate with families — and TeamCast is the service behind it.
Elwood on Air
School newsletters have taken to the airwaves.
Elwood Primary in Melbourne's southeast is one of more than 30 early adopters of a trend centred on streamlining and modernising how schools communicate with families.
Principal Nicole Richards told the Herald Sun that traditional newsletters were often skimmed or missed altogether — and that a radical change was needed to keep parents informed, now and into the future.
“Podcasting offered a way to bring the newsletter to life — adding warmth, personality and voice. Kids' voices more than mine as the principal.”
Elwood Primary has produced five podcasts across almost six months, embedding them as a regular part of its communication strategy. The episodes are short, focused, and designed to fit easily into busy family schedules — meeting families, as Richards puts it, where they already are: on their phones, in the car, or at home.
Crucially, the students lead. “The podcasts are a collaborative effort involving first and foremost our students, giving them an authentic voice,” Richards said. “They come to us with the ideas, the features, the interviews and the focus.”
School leadership and teachers support the students where required, with TeamCast bringing everything together — studio, production and distribution.
And it isn't only announcements and dates. Every episode closes with a music piece performed by students. “It's a great way to share different talents and abilities of our kids,” Richards said, “and they are so proud.”
St Mary's Hampton, and the family from Singapore.
St Mary's Primary School in Hampton has also made the move to podcasts, with its Year 6 students set to take over the microphones. Early episodes focused on how educators support children to learn — including one made specifically for new Prep families about what to expect in the first days of school.
“A family relocating from Singapore listened to an episode about our approach to learning and then enrolled their children. That showed us how powerful this format can be.”
Beyond the paper savings.
Fewer emails lost to spam and less paper waste were the easy wins. The educational benefits turned out to be the real story.
Digital media & communication skills
Students are introduced to real production tools and learn to structure, record and deliver a message to an audience that actually listens.
Pride and connection to school
Hearing their own voice representing their school builds a sense of ownership that a newsletter never could.
Student voice and leadership
Students bring the ideas, the features, the interviews and the focus. Staff support rather than direct.
Newsletters, gone.
It has been so successful that Elwood Primary has parted ways with newsletters altogether. Engagement rates are high and families listen regularly.
A combination of both.
St Mary's runs podcasts alongside its written communication — with overwhelming community support for the program.
Is this the future of school communication?
Both principals think so — because it reflects how people now actually consume information.
“It is personal, accessible, and engaging. We see it as a powerful addition to — and evolution of — traditional school communication.”
“It's personal, easy to access and it helps families feel connected.”
Quotes and reporting from “It's a school newsletter, but not as you know it” by Rebecca Borg, Herald Sun, 23 February 2026. Photographs by Ian Currie. Reproduced in part with attribution — read the full article at heraldsun.com.au.
Retire the newsletter. Give it a voice instead.
We'll show you exactly how Elwood and St Mary's did it — and what it would look like at your school.