Newsletters
Q1. How can I create a newsletter template?
A. Navigate to Parent Communication > Newsletter > Create New Newsletter. Use the drag-and-drop editor to design your newsletter. You can save it as a template, draft, or share it directly with parents.
Q2. How can I share newsletters with parents?
A. After creating a newsletter, click "Send Newsletter" to share it directly. If saved as a template, go to Parent Communication > Newsletter, click the three dots next to the newsletter, and select Send to Parents.
Q3. Can I bring my school branding into newsletters?
A. Yes, you can add your school logo and branding while creating newsletters.
Q4. Can I schedule newsletters?
A. No, newsletters cannot be scheduled to be sent at a later time.
Q5. Can I upload an existing newsletter into Illumine?
A. No, uploading external newsletters is not supported. You must create newsletters using the Illumine editor.
Notes & Concerns
Q1. Can parents share concerns with any staff member?
A. Yes, parents can go to Connect > Concerns in the Parent App to share concerns. The school can configure which staff members are eligible by visiting Settings > Other Settings > Concern Escalation Roles.
Q2. Is there a way to resolve concerns?
A. Yes. Staff can mark a concern as resolved by clicking "Mark Done" under Connect > Students > Concern, provided they have the necessary Resolve permission (configured via Settings > Access Control).
Q3. Who can view concerns shared by parents?
A. By default, the staff member and the Super Admin can view concerns. Visibility can be customized via Settings > Other Settings > Concern Visibility Roles.
Q4. Can parents send a note to teachers at any time?
A. Yes, parents can send notes anytime via Connect > Staff Notes in the Parent App.
Q5. What is the difference between a Note and a Concern?
A.
Concern: Urgent issues that need attention (e.g., incidents).
Note: General information or instructions (e.g., dietary preferences).
Daily Reports
Q1. Can I automatically share the daily report with parents every day?
A. Yes, go to Settings > Attendance and enable "Auto-send daily activity report post student check-out".
Q2. Can I customize activity data in the daily report?
A. You can customize data shown on the web view via Configure Column, but the emailed report includes all posted activities for that day.
Q3. Can I share a daily report from a previous day?
A. Yes. Go to Parent Communication > Daily Reports > Send Report, select the date, and click Send.
Q4. Do staff members receive a copy of the daily report?
A. No, only parents receive the daily report via email.
Q5. Are daily reports shared via email and app?
A. No, daily reports are shared only via email and not on the Parent App.
Parent Communication – Activity Posts
Q1. Can I create a new activity type?
A. Yes. Go to Settings > Activity Posts > Create New Activity, name it, choose a color, and upload an icon.
Q2. Can I change the time of an activity post?
A. Yes. Activity time can be edited (not the date) if the user has the Edit permission in Access Control.
Q3. Can I keep drafts of activities?
A. Yes. Enable "Enable Draft Mode" under Settings > Activity Posts. Then use the "Save as Draft" button while posting.
Q4. Can I enable comments on certain activities?
A. Yes. You can turn on "Enable Comments" while posting or make it default via Settings > Activity Posts for that activity type.
Q5. Can I ensure important activities get posted only after approval?
A. Yes. Disable "Post without approval" under Access Control. To bypass approval for specific activities, check "Does not require approval" under Settings > Activity Posts.
Q6. How can I remove activities I don’t need?
A. Set activities to Inactive in Settings > Activity Posts to hide them from the posting interface.
Q7. Can I notify parents about activity posts?
A. Yes, parents are notified by default via the Parent App.
Q8. Can I post without sending notifications?
A. Yes. Go to Settings > Activity Posts, select the activity, and toggle "Notify Parent" to Disabled.
Q9. Can I share an activity with all parents in one go?
A. Yes. Select all students while posting. Teachers must have access to all classrooms to do this.
Q10. Can I create posts for upcoming events?
A. Yes. Use the Announcement activity or create a custom activity for the event.
Q11. Can I edit the announcement email subject?
A. No, the subject line for announcement emails cannot be edited.
Q12. Can I schedule activity posts?
A. No. Activity posts cannot be scheduled. You can only post immediately or save as a draft.
Q13. How many photos or videos can I upload per activity post?
A. You can upload up to 50 photos and 5 videos per activity post.
Scheduled Activities – FAQ
1. What are scheduled activities?
Scheduled activities are posts that you can set to be published automatically at a specific future date and time. You can schedule an activity up to 30 days in advance.
For example, if you'd like to post an announcement about an upcoming event like a PTM, you can schedule it beforehand and it will be sent out automatically at the specified time.
2. What is the minimum and maximum time I can schedule an activity for?
Minimum: 5 minutes in advance
Maximum: 30 days in advance
3. Does a scheduled activity require approval?
Yes, if the person scheduling the activity does not have permission to post without approval, the following workflow applies:
The activity can be reviewed and approved by an admin before the scheduled time.
If it is approved in advance, it will be posted as scheduled.
If it is not approved by the scheduled time, it will move to the Unapproved Activities section. The admin can then manually approve and send it to parents.
4. Will a scheduled activity get posted without approval?
No, if the user scheduling the activity does not have auto-approval permission, the post will not be sent to parents automatically. Instead, it will appear under the Unapproved Activities section and will need to be approved manually by an admin.
5. Are there separate permissions for scheduling activities?
No, there are no separate permissions for scheduling.
Any user with permission to POST ACTIVITY can also schedule activities.
6. What types of activities can be scheduled?
All activities listed under Parent Communication > Activities can be scheduled, including custom-created activities.
7. Can I schedule activity posts?
Yes, you can schedule activity posts in advance.
8. What types of activities can be scheduled?
You can schedule any activity listed under Parent Communication > Activities, including custom activities.
9. How far in advance can I schedule an activity?
You can schedule an activity as early as 5 minutes from the current time and up to 30 days in advance.
10. Will there be any difference between scheduled and instant activity posts for parents?
Not really. Both scheduled and instant activities appear the same way on the parent's timeline.
The only difference is:
Instant posts are published immediately.
Scheduled posts are automatically published at the selected date and time.
11. Can I edit a scheduled activity post?
Yes.
To edit, go to the Schedules tab under Parent Communication > Activities. You’ll find all upcoming scheduled posts, and you can easily edit or update them as needed — just like regular activity posts.
12. Do scheduled activity posts require approval?
It depends on the staff member’s permission level:
If the staff member has posting without approval rights, the activity will be scheduled and posted directly.
If they do not have approval rights, the admin will be notified for approval. The admin can approve it any time before the scheduled date and time.
If not approved in time, the post will still be published at the scheduled time but will appear under Unapproved Posts for that day. The admin can then review and approve it.
Announcements
Q: How do I enable announcement emails, set the subject line, and configure the reply-to email when sharing an announcement?
A: When posting an announcement, you can choose to send it via email by enabling the "Send by Email" option. Once enabled, you will see fields for "Reply-To" and "Subject."
📧 Reply-To Email:
By default, the Reply-To email is prefilled with the admin email, this is the email address used during the center’s initial setup.
If you want to use a different email address:
Navigate to Settings > Activity Post > Additional Email for CC in Announcement Emails.
Add the desired email address here. Once set, this will override the default admin email for all future announcements.
Regardless of the default, you can always manually change the Reply-To email when posting an announcement for that specific announcement post.
Tip: If you don’t want parents to reply to announcement emails, enter a dummy or no-reply email (e.g., noreply@yourdomain.com) either while posting the announcement or in the settings mentioned above.
📝 Subject Line:
You can add a custom subject for each announcement in the Subject field.
If left blank, the system will automatically use a default subject in the following format:
"New Announcement posted by (School Name) on (Posting Date)"