Messaging Families
The Messages tool allows you to send important updates, newsletters, or notifications directly to parents from your admin dashboard. Use this for weather closures, reminders, or general announcements.
Sending a Message
- Navigate to Messages in the admin sidebar.
- In the Compose Message section, select your Recipient:
- All Parents: Sends the message to every registered family account in your system. Use sparingly for major announcements.
- Sessions: Sends a broadcast message to all parents who have booked a specific session.
- Filter by Date: You can refine this by clicking the "Filter Dates" button next to a session. This allows you to select specific dates (e.g., just the Saturday group) rather than emailing everyone booked for the entire term.
- Individual Parents: Select a specific parent from the dropdown list for private correspondence.
- Enter a Subject line. This will be the subject of the email and the title of the notification.
- Type your Message.
- Click Send Message.
[!NOTE]
Emails will be sent from your Business Email address (configured in Settings > Business Profile), allowing parents to reply directly to your business.
Delivery Methods
When you send a message, the system attempts to deliver it in two ways:
- Email: An email is sent immediately to the parent's registered email address.
- Platform Notification: The message appears in the "Notifications" bell icon on the parent's dashboard when they log in.
Best Practices
- Urgent Updates: For same-day cancellations (e.g., snow days), sending a message here is efficient because it triggers an immediate email.
- Privacy: Messages sent to "All Parents" are BCC'd; parents cannot see each other's email addresses.
- History: You can see a log of recent communications (if configured) or simply rest assured that a "Message sent successfully" banner confirms delivery.