Introduction

Before working with TS School on a day-to-day basis certain information must first be entered. For example, there have to first be classes before you can assign learners to them. Use the setup screen for this. The purpose of the setup screen is to bring together all required information into one screen. If anything is outstanding, this screen will always be shown (no matter who logs in) - thus serving as a constant reminder of information required from the following users:

Setup for Principal

Since the school principal has supreme system access, the school principal needs to perform some initial system setup, including adding the system administrator.

User

• User groups - A user group is a group of users to which a user belongs. For example, there is an Educator user group to which all user educators should belong. The user group names, descriptions, as well as the access rights of the user groups need to be confirmed.

• Username settings - Confirm the way the system is to automatically generate its own usernames, if at all. If the automatic option is turned off, then usernames will have to be manually entered each and every time a user is created. It is therefore strongly recommended that you have the system automatically assign usernames.

Staff

• Staff types - Set up the various types of staff members.

• Add system administrator - There must be at least one system administrator.

Learner

• Learner settings - Configure various learner settings such as student body gender and how student numbers are to be generated when adding learners.

Reports

• Report settings - Set up the look and feel of reports.

Security

• Audit trail settings - Set up who is to be tracked doing what in the system.

Setup for System Administrators

The system administrator is charged with adding the secretaries and to continue with other setup.

Staff

• Add secretaries - Add all the secretaries:

Database

• Backup folder - Indicate where backups are to be saved.

• Backup schedule - Set up when system backups will occur, if at all.

Documentation

• Documentation folder - Confirm the location of the documentation folder. This folder holds all TS School's documents (which is found by default within the same folder of where School.exe is installed).

Messaging

• SMS - Set up the basic email structure of how an SMS is sent.

• Message rates - Set up the frequency at which PC messages, emails and SMSs are sent.

• Old messages - Indicate when to delete old messages.

Security

• Security settings - Confirm a number of security settings.

Web

• Users - Add the users you would like to have access to your online school information.
• Upload database- Upload various tables.
• Schedule upload - Indicate when to automatically upload the tables.
  

Setup for School Secretaries

School

• School details - Enter the school's details. Some of these details will go on letters of correspondence, report cards, etc.

• Schoolhouses - Set up the school's houses for sporting, academic, and statistical purposes. Learners and staff need to belong to schoolhouses.

• Venues - Set up the various venues that the school will use both on the school grounds and externally that the school may use from time to time.

• Terms - Set up the school's terms for the year.

Medical

• Emergency companies - Set up emergency companies.

• Medical aid companies - Set up medical aid companies.

• Medical practitioners - Set up medical practitioners.

Staff

• Add all staff - including the details of staff already added by the school principal and system administrator.

School

• Departments - Set up the school's various departments (Science Department, Department of Mathematics). Departments can be headed up by heads of department (HOD).

Calendar

• School holidays - Maintain a list of all school holidays. These holidays reflect in all calendars, schedules, attendance registers, and extend the time that material from the library can be on loan.

Timetable

• Timeslots - Set up the timeslots that periods will take up each day.

Subjects

• Grades - Set up all grades.

• Subjects - Set up all the subjects offered by the school, associating each with a grades and a department.

• Levels - Set up the levels that subjects can be taught on. If there aren't any subjects in your school taught on differing levels of difficulty then simply have a single level and give it an apt name such as Standard Level.
  

• SGLs - Set up all valid combinations of subjects, grades and levels. These therefore represent all the subjects taught at your school.

Exam

• Test templates - Set up which grades are to sit which tests/exams.
• Report card templates - Set up the look and feel of report cards.
• Symbol templates - Set up the symbols to go on report cards.
• Subject order - Indicate the order of subjects on report cards.

Learners

• Aptitudes - Set up a complete list of learner aptitudes against which to assess the talents of learners.
• Add all learners - All learners must be added, ensuring that each learner's subject and sports wish lists are complete. TS School uses these to know which learners want to take which subjects (on which grade) and which sports (at which age).

Admin Class

• Administration classes - Create administration classes, assigning venues, staff and learners to them. Admin classes must be assigned to a grade and can also have calendar events such as class outings.

Subject Class

• Subject classes - Create subject classes, assigning venues, staff and learners to them. Subject classes must teach an SGL, have a timetable and can also have calendar events such as class outings.

Hostel

• Dormitories - Create dormitories, assigning venues, staff and learners to them.

Admissions

• Admissions criteria - Set up the criteria that order the admissions pool list.

Awards

• Awards - Add all the awards offered by the school.

• Certificate templates - Set up the look and feel of award certificates.

Development

• Appraisal criteria - Set up the criteria to assess the performance of staff.

Discipline

• Disciplinary actions - Set up disciplinary actions.

• Offence categories - Set up the categories for which staff and learners require discipline.

Documentation

• Templates - Set up the various documentation templates.

Financial

• Initial takeon - This involves the following:

• Various settings - Configure various settings.

• Service groups - Set up the various groups to which services can belong.

• Services - Set up the various services offered by the school for which fees will be charged.

• Service subscriptions - Subscribe learners to school services.

Library

• Media types - Enter the various media types.

• Media categories - Enter the various subject categories.

• Fines - Set up library fines.

Messaging

• Templates - Set up the various messaging templates.

Safety

• Lockers - Set up the school's lockers.

Competition

• Competition levels - Set up the various competition levels (eg: A Team, B Team, 1st Team, 2nd Team). These are used by the sports, athletics, gymnastics and swimming modules.

Setup for Sports Secretaries

• Sports - Set up the various sports offered by your school (eg: Soccer, Tennis).

• Sports categories - Set up the various combinations of sport, age group and gender (SAGs). These therefore represent all the sports offered by your school. E.g. rugby at your school can only ever be taken by boys under 13 and older, whereas Chess can be taken by both boys and girls of all ages.

• Teams - Create sports teams, assigning venues, staff and learners to them.

Setup for Athletics Secretaries

• Running lanes - indicate the number of athletics tracks. This number is needed in order to intelligently set up team sizes to participate in athletics meetings.

• Disciplines - Set up the athletics disciplines (eg: 100m, 400m, High Jump, Long Jump).

• Heats - Set up the various combinations of athletics disciplines, age groups and gender (DAGs).

• Templates - Set up athletics templates. Later on actual athletics teams will be based on these templates.

• Trial templates - Set up athletics trial templates.

• Trial teams - Create athletics trial teams, assigning venues, staff and learners to them.

• Meeting teams - Create athletics meeting teams, assigning venues, staff and learners to them.

Setup for Gymnastics Secretaries

• Disciplines - Set up the gymnastics disciplines (eg: Horse, Floor).

• Heats - Set up the various combinations of gymnastics disciplines, age groups and gender (DAGs).

• Templates - Set up gymnastics templates. Later on actual gymnastics teams will be based on these templates.

• Trial templates - Set up gymnastics trial templates.

• Trial teams - Create gymnastics trial teams, assigning venues, staff and learners to them.

• Meeting teams - Create gymnastics meeting teams, assigning venues, staff and learners to them.

Setup for Swimming Secretaries

• Pool lanes - Indicate the number of pool lanes available for swimming.

• Disciplines - Set up the swimming disciplines (eg: 100m crawl, 200m backstroke).

• Heats - Set up the various combinations of swimming disciplines, age groups and gender (DAGs).

• Templates - Set up swimming trial templates. Later on actual swimming teams will be based on these templates.

• Trial templates - Set up swimming trial templates.

• Trial teams - Create swimming trial teams, assigning venues, staff and learners to them.

• Gala teams - Create swimming gala teams, assigning venues, staff and learners to them.