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Defining day patterns and Special Days

[Applies to elementary [>>] and secondary [>>] school scheduling.]

A day pattern is a cycle of days on which a school operates. The pattern is a set of discrete days, typically four or five, which occur in order. Each set of days can have a separate bell schedule; this enables you to specify which classes are offered on particular days in the pattern.

A school can employ only one day pattern for the active schedule (although, for trial purposes, you can use a different day pattern for each planning schedule [>>]). Two types of day patterns are available for use at a school: a Days-of-the-Week Pattern which cycles through the fives days of the week (Monday to Friday), or a Relative-Days Pattern which cycle through a number of days, such as four (days 1, 2, 3, and 4, then back to 1 again) [>>].

For additional scheduling flexibility, you can set up one or moreSpecial Days [>>]. A Special Day has its own bell schedule for its specific purpose. Examples of Special Days include parent-teacher interview day, professional development day, early dismissal day, and sports day. You can schedule a Special Day as a one-off or have it recur, such as every 10 days. Also, if necessary, you can have a specific day in a Relative-Days Pattern start on a specific date [>>].

A Special Day can enable you to apply a shorter Relative-Days Pattern while still accommodating Special Days that have a different schedule. For example, you could apply a four-day pattern and have an early dismissal Special Day once a month (this would be instead of applying a 30-day Relative-Days Pattern wherein the 30th day would have a bell schedule suitable for early dismissal).

Note: Data mapping [>>] does not support Special Days. Use the same day schedule for all days in the day pattern. You can create different meeting patterns based on the bell schedule to accommodate different class types. You can apply a Relative-Days Pattern to a specific date and have PowerSchool SMS begin using that relative day on that date. For example, if the school was unexpectedly closed due to heavy snow on Day 2, you can apply Day 2 to the following day.

To apply a day pattern to a school: You can do this if your role is School Administrator.[SA]

1

In the Admin menu, click Scheduling. The Scheduling page appears.

2

Click Day Pattern. The Day Pattern page appears.

3

Under Regular Days, select the pattern: Days of the week or Relative days.

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For a Days-of-the-Week Pattern, you can change a day's code: in the Code column, click it and type a new code.

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To include Saturday or Sunday in a Days-of-the-Week Pattern, a District Administrator add them as normal school days to the Day Types setup list [>>].

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Click OK.

For a Days-of-the-Week Pattern, you can adjust the length of the week to include a day such as a Saturday. For an additional day of the week to be available, you must set it up as a normal school day in the Day Types setup list [>>].

To adjust a Days-of-the-Week Pattern: You can do this if your role is School Administrator.[SA]

1

In the Admin menu, click Scheduling. The Scheduling page appears.

2

Click Day Pattern. The Day Pattern page appears.

3

Under Regular Days, select Days of the week.

4

For each day in the pattern:

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In the Code column, click in the row for that day and type a code; for example "F". Note: The administrator cannot change the Name of a regular day of the week.

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To add a day, such as a Saturday, from the Actions menu select Add Regular Days.

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To delete a regular day from a Days-of-the-Week Pattern, select it and from the Actions menu select Delete Regular Day.

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Click OK.

Setting up a Relative-Days Pattern

To use a Relative-Days Pattern at a school, you must set it up in advance.

To set up a Relative-Days Pattern: You can do this if your role is School Administrator.[SA]

1

In the Admin menu, click Scheduling. The Scheduling page appears.

2

Click Day Pattern. The Day Pattern page appears.

3

Under Regular Days, select Relative days.

4

For each day in the pattern:

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In the Day Name column, click in the row for the day and type a name; for example, "Day Two".

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In the Code column, click in the row for that day and type a code; for example "D2".

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To add a row for an additional day, from the Actions menu select Add Regular Days.

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To delete a regular day from a Relative-Days Pattern, select it and from the Actions menu select Delete Regular Day.

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Click OK.

Setting up and applying a Special Day

To use a Special Day at a school, you must:

To set up a Special Day:

1

In the Admin menu, click Scheduling. The Scheduling page appears.

2

Click Day Pattern. The Day Pattern page appears.

3

Under Special Days, for each Special Day:

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In the Day Name column, click in the row for the day and type a name; for example, "Early Dismiss for PTI".

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In the Code column, click in the row for that day and type a code; for example "E-PTI".

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To add a row for an additional day, from the Actions menu select Add Special Days.

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To delete a Special Day, select it and from the Actions menu select Delete Special Day.

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Click OK.

To define a bell schedule for the Special Day: You can do this if your role is School Administrator.[SA]

1

In the Admin menu, click Scheduling. The Scheduling page appears.

2

Click Bell Schedules. The Bell Schedules page appears.

3

For Day, select the Special Day.

4

In the Actions menu, select Add Period. The Add Period page appears.

5

Set options [>>].

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Click OK.

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Click OK.

To assign a day type to the Special Day: You can do this if your role is School Administrator.[SA]

1

In the Admin menu, click School Setup. The School Setup page appears.

2

Click Day Types (setup list). The Day Types page appears.

3

In the Actions menu, select Add Day Type.... The Add Day Type page appears.

4

Set options [>>]:

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To set the bell schedule for this day, for Instructional day select "Yes" and for Use for defaults in day type list settings select "No".

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Click OK.

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Click Scheduling. The Scheduling page appears.

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Click Bell Schedules. The Bell Schedules page appears.

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For Day, select the Special Day.

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Click OK.

To assign the Special Day to a calendar date: You can do this if your role is School Administrator.[SA]

1

In the Admin menu, click School Setup. The School Setup page appears.

2

Click Calendar Day Exceptions. The Calendar Day Exceptions page appears.

3

In the Actions menu, click Add Exception Day.... The Add Exception Day page appears.

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For Day Type, select the day type you created for the Special Day.

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Set other options, including the Date.

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Click OK.

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If your school uses a Relative-Days Pattern, "Continue" replaces "OK"; this enables the administrator to apply a relative day to the day following this Special Day.

Starting a Relative-Days Pattern

Once a Relative-Days Pattern is set up (typically in the Planning Calendar [>>]), you can apply it. To do so, you must specify the date on which the pattern's first day begins. Note: You can apply a Relative-Days Pattern only to dates for which attendance has not been taken [>>], except future dates, where PowerSchool SMS deletes the attendance for those dates when a pattern is applied. In these circumstances, PowerSchool SMS also deletes attendance codes assigned by student behavior actions [>>]. However, student behavior attendance codes are reassigned on a day-by-day basis when PowerSchool SMS runs the daily attendance code calculation.

To have a specific day in a Relative-Days Pattern start on a specific date, you must be working in the Active Calendar [>>]. For example, if a school unexpectedly closed due to heavy snow on Day 2, you could have Day 2 start on the following day. You must complete this step in the Active Calendar.

To apply a Relative-Days Pattern: You can do this if your role is School Administrator.[SA]

1

In the Active Calendar [>>], In the Admin menu, click School Setup. The School Setup page appears.

2

Under Calendar, click Relative Day Pattern. The Relative Day Pattern page appears.

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Under Apply Regular Day Pattern, for Start pattern using day select the day from the pattern on which you want the cycle to start.

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For As of Date select the date you want cycle to begin.

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Click Apply Day Pattern. Under Calendar Day List, PowerSchool SMS displays the schedule according to your changes.

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