We loved seeing so many First Day of School photos on your social media channels and in newsletters last week! We want to help you keep that momentum and energy going all year.

If you have ideas or need support, please reach out to the subject matter expert below. If there is a topic you would like to see highlighted in a future newsletter, please let us know. You can also send messages anonymously at Contact Us.

Send us your BIG news and pitch us ideas!

As we celebrate the achievements of students and staff, we want to ensure that we include people from all corners of SPS. Help us streamline this process by using the BIG NEWS form to tell us about noteworthy events or accomplishments.

You can also use this form to let us know about unique learning opportunities or activities at your school that you think are worthy of a photo spread, video or even a highlight in our local media.

WHAT IS CLASS INTERCOM?

Class Intercom is a social media management platform that allows for content creation collaboration and sharing without logging into Facebook. There are several levels of user permissions that allow staff and students to submit content for administrator approval.

A recording of our virtual training can be found on the Communications Staff Site, where you will also find "A Guide for Social Media Managers." If you need access or would like to add additional staff members to your Class Intercom team, contact Theresa Tanner.

CLASS INTERCOM & SPS CONTENT LIBRARY

We upload posts that you can use for district-wide messaging – holiday closure reminders, activity sign-ups, registration information – to the SPS Content Library in Class Intercom. There may be some grade-level specific messaging that might not apply to your school, but in general, the content is a good resource if you’re not sure what to post.

Class Intercom also has a library of pre-suggested content, but we recommend using the topics as a starting point and creating a post that is more relevant for your school and audience. You can edit library posts with different photos (avoid text-heavy graphics), tags of community partners, and specific information about your school.

If there is universal content you believe should be added, please send a message to Theresa Tanner on Teams to let me know so we can add it to the library.

CHECK LET'S TALK DAILY

It is a best practice to check your Let's Talk dashboad every day. Even if dialogues are not assigned to you, you can see what your Team is working on and if there are any dialogues that need immediate action.

If you need access to Let's Talk or would like to add additional staff members to your Let's Talk team, contact Trish Gray.

SHARE THE CELL PHONE POLICY "WHY"

The updated SPS cell phone policy is new for everybody, and it’ll take some time to get used to it—for students, staff and families. Including the reasons for the policy change in your parent e-newsletters is a great way to spread the message and remind families of the role they have in helping schools create positive learning environments.

Please link to and use the language on our cell phone policy web page.

GRADE LEVEL LISTS

Now is a great time to create your grade-level lists in Thrillshare, if you haven’t already. Follow the steps in this video tutorial for each grade, and your lists will automatically update each night based on the data in PowerSchool. Here is a great example from Browne Elementary:

These lists come in handy when you need to send a message to just one or more grade levels, but not necessarily the entire school community. 

If you created these lists last year and didn’t delete them, you don’t need to take any action.

ELEMENTARY CROSS COUNTRY LISTS

All elementary schools now have elementary cross country rosters in Thrillshare. These lists do not automatically update each night.  As you get more sign-ups, please contact Kevin Dudley if you need your list in Thrillshare updated.

These lists contain only the contact information (email and mobile phone) of one parent/guardian. Emergency contacts were not included.

Training & Resources

Training videos and documents, archives of these newsletters, and more useful resources can be found on the Staff website.

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