Monthly Mentions Newsletter – November 2019

As the end of the quarter approaches, your teachers will need to go through the ReportCard input process.  This means an administrator will allow input, the teachers will enter grades into the ReportCards and then the administrator will close input.  From there, you can either print the ReportCards or permission them to be viewed by parents online. Opening up teacher input for 1st Quarter ReportCards will require:

• Changing input for 1st mid-quarter from ‘Allow Input’ to ‘Input Complete’ in ‘ReportCard Input Controls’
• Changing input for 1st quarter ReportCards from ‘Not Yet’ to ‘Allow Input’ in ‘ReportCard Input Controls’
• Having teachers go through the 1st quarter ReportCard input process
• Closing the input process by changing ‘allow input’ to ‘input complete’

If your school is printing report cards, keep in mind that you can allow your parents to view them online.  This option will save your school time, money and the environment.  If a parent signature is needed to verify that they have seen the report cards, then you can create a WildCard field where parents can enter in their initials and the date electronically, letting you know they have viewed the report card. Here are the steps to allow viewing online:

1. Go to ‘Grades’ then ‘Parent View Controls’
2. In the ReportCard column, choose which grade levels will need their ReportCards viewable online and change those grade levels from ‘NO’ to ‘YES’.
3. Click ‘Submit’

You will need to make sure that input has been set to ‘Input Complete’ in ‘ReportCard Input Controls’.  Click here to read more about setting up a WidlCard field for a virtual signature!

Review Your ReportCards! One very important step in creating report cards is to make sure everything has been set up correctly. This requires looking over a report card to double check:

• Course names
• Subcategories
• Grade scales/marking codes
• Formatting
• Printing

As the end of the trimester approaches, your teachers will need to go through the ReportCard input process.  This means an administrator will allow input, the teachers will enter grades into the ReportCards and then the administrator will close input.  From there, you can either print the ReportCards or permission them to be viewed by parents online. Opening up teacher input for 1st Trimester ReportCards will require:

• Changing input for 1st mid-trimester from ‘Allow Input’ to ‘Input Complete’ in ‘ReportCard Input Controls’
• Changing input for 1st trimester ReportCards from ‘Not Yet’ to ‘Allow Input’ in ‘ReportCard Input Controls’
• Having teachers go through the 1st trimester ReportCard input process
• Closing the input process by changing ‘allow input’ to ‘input complete’

If your school is printing report cards, keep in mind that you can allow your parents to view them online.  This option will save your school time, money, and the environment.  If a parent signature is needed to verify that they have seen the report cards, then you can create a WildCard field where parents can enter in their initials and the date electronically, letting you know they have viewed the report card. Here are the steps to allow viewing online:

1. Go to ‘Grades’ then ‘Parent View Controls’
2. In the ReportCard column, choose which grade levels will need their ReportCards viewable online and change those grade levels from ‘NO’ to ‘YES’.
3. Click ‘Submit’

You will need to make sure that input has been set to ‘Input Complete’ in ‘ReportCard Input Controls’.   Click here to read more about setting up a WidlCard field for a virtual signature!

Review Your ReportCards! One very important step in creating report cards is to make sure everything has been set up correctly. This requires looking over a report card to double check:

• Course names
• Subcategories
• Grade scales/marking codes
• Formatting
• Printing

Have you checked the FDimages lately? We are adding new images all the time – such as ‘You are the Best’, ‘You Can Do It’ and a thumbs up! If you want to have an FDimage added of your school’s logo, just send us the image and we will add it to the list of options.  The FDimage feature allows users to attach an image from a selection of images to any message they send. We have added an FAQ and a blue question mark to this feature, which allows you to see thumbnail views of all the FDimages available. Click here to read this FAQ and see all of the images that are available! To see a thumbnail of each image available, click the blue question mark to the right of the FDimage drop down. Here are the steps to add an FDimage to your FDmail message:

1. Click ‘Compose’
2. Choose the recipient or recipients
3. Type in the subject and body of your message
4. Underneath the message body are the Options; look for the drop down for FDimage
5. In the drop down, select one of the image names
6. Click ‘Send’

In the Cafeteria section of FastDirect, the ‘Display Today’s Orders’ sheet may have a ‘CASH ONLY’ flag next to some students’ orders.  This is how the system lets you know that the family has reached their maximum credit allowance.

Click here to read the FAQ that explains the ‘Cash Only’ flag.

Click here to watch the Cash Only video tutorial as an MP4! or watch it in Youtube!

Did you know that the events a teacher creates in her GradeBook are automatically fed to a student’s assignment calendar?  Assignment Calendars are one of the easiest ways to help strengthen the communication between school and home. Your grade book events are posted automatically, thus requiring no extra work from you! If a teacher creates events before they occur, the students and parents can be better informed and prepared. Here are some advantages to creating events before they occur:

• Gives students and parents a ‘heads-up’ for the days and weeks ahead
• Planning your lessons for the week goes hand-in-hand with creating the GradeBook events
• Attaching files and links to future events can help students and parents prepare for upcoming assignments, tests etc.

The assignments calendar can be found on a student and parent’s Home screen underneath their FDmail messages.  There will be a black and white grid showing you all the viewing options available for the child’s grades.  One of the columns is labeled ‘Assignment Calendar’.  Click the ‘View’  button and a new window/tab will appear displaying a month’s worth of dates.  The month can be changed so that the parent or student can see a different range of dates.

For parents, viewing a student’s attendance has never been easier! Along with the other viewable reports (grade book, report cards, missing assignments), you can also view your child’s attendance calendar!

Here are the steps for parents to view their child’s attendance calendar:

1. Log into your parent account
2. On the Home screen, scroll down to the options to view your child’s report cards or grade book grades
3. In the column for Attendance Report, click the ‘View’ button

• Can I have a specific group of students always appear in the Extended Care Log for Timer?
• How does the system calculate the average grade?
• How do I add a link to my bulletin board?
• How do I set up the Unexcused feature for attendance?

Helpful FAQs from November 2018:

• How can I exclude (hide) a student’s name from my grade book?
• How can I create a staff directory?
• What is File Manager?
•  On the grade scale viewable in GradeBook, what is the meaning of click %?

Helpful FAQs from November 2017:

• Moving a student from one course to another
• Retire an inactive staff account
• Adding grade book events to Bulletin Board and Calendar
• Homeroom teachers can change students from Absent to Tardy

Watch this video tutorial to find out how to make batch receipts, charges, and send out finance messaging to multiple families:

• Click here to watch the video tutorial as an MP4!
• Click here to watch the video tutorial in YouTube!