Beacon

Home Notes

A daily note from school, done as taps: emailed to the family the same day, replies kept and the week in one note on Friday.

When to Use This

Home Notes is the daily sheet from school, done as taps. The teacher or therapist taps what happened (mood, what was worked on, meals, bathroom, how the day settled and a win) and adds a line in their own words. The family gets the note by email the same day and can reply by replying; the teacher reads every reply under the note. On Friday the family gets the week in one note. Families read and reply free. A student is a first name only. Beacon writes nothing to families on its own: one Friday line if you ask for it, which you can change before it goes. Home Notes is not for emergencies: for anything urgent, call the school.

If You Are an Educator or Therapist

Use Home Notes when you send a daily sheet home in the folder. Add each student by first name, tap today's note, add your line and send it; every reply shows under the note and in your Replies list. Teachers and therapists are free during the beta.

See Example Home Notes

How It Works

  1. Add Your Students

    Add a student by first name or a nickname, never a last name. Add Several takes a whole class at once. Each student gets the family members you invite by email.

    See It in the Example

  2. Write the Note by Taps

    Open today's note for a student and tap through the sections of your template, then add a line of your own. The note saves as you go, and a note started offline waits on the phone until you are back online.

  3. Send It and the Family Gets an Email

    Tap Send and confirm. The note goes by email the same day to every family member who chose email. After it is sent it cannot be edited. The family's email carries the note itself, as you wrote it.

    The daily note email a family member gets on a phone: the note's sections, the teacher's line and the reply line.
    See It in the Example

  4. Add a Correction or Mark a Note Sent in Error

    A sent note stays as it was sent. "Add a Correction" puts a correction under it, by email and in Beacon, with your name and the time. "Sent in Error" is for a note that should not have gone: the family gets a short email to disregard it and the note is hidden from their Beacon. The email cannot be unsent.

    A correction email on a phone: the teacher's correction above the original note.The Please Disregard email on a phone, sent when a note is marked Sent in Error.
    See It in the Example

  5. The Week in One Note on Friday

    On Friday the family gets the week's notes in one email, Monday to Friday, so a parent who missed a day sees it there. By default it goes once Friday's note is sent; in Settings you can choose Review First, or not to send weekly notes, for everyone or for one student.

    The Friday weekly note email on a phone: each day of the week with its sections.

  6. How a Family Joins

    You invite a family member by email from the student's page. They accept from the invitation and sign in with a code sent to the invited address, with no password. Until they accept, nothing about the student reaches them.

    The invitation email on a phone, with the button to accept.The invitation page on a phone after Continue: the family member types the sign-in code sent to the invited address.The invitation page on a phone when signed in with another address: it names the address the invitation went to and asks to sign in with that one.

  7. Replies Come Back to You

    A family member replies by replying to the email, or in Beacon under the note. Every reply shows under the note it answers and in your Replies list, where Open the Note takes you to it to answer. You see when each family member read the note.

    My Notes on a phone: a family member's notes from school, newest first, each with its status.A note in My Notes on a phone: the teacher's sections and line, the corrections under it and the replies.The reply box under a note in My Notes on a phone, with a reply written to the teacher.
    See It in the Example

  8. Keep the Paper Sheet Too

    The daily sheet stays free to print, Letter or A4, for students who are not on Home Notes yet or for a day without a phone.

A Real Example

A self-contained K to 2 teacher sends Theo's note on a Tuesday. First names only:

WhenWhat HappenedWhere It Went
Tuesday 2:41 pmSent Theo's note: Calm, ate most of lunch, a win in readingEmailed to Theo's mom and dad
Tuesday 4:12 pmReply from Theo's mom: thank you, he told us about the bookShown under the note and in Replies
FridayThe week in one note, Monday to FridayEmailed to both

What Beacon Auto-Knows

  • Each student by first name, and the family members you invited.
  • Every note you sent, its corrections and the replies under it.
  • When each family member read each note.

How It Fits With Chat

  • Home Notes is its own tool in the bottom bar; your words go to families exactly as written, and Beacon writes nothing to families on its own: one Friday line if you ask for it, which you can change before it goes.
  • Chat can tell you what Home Notes does and where to find it.

Try These With Beacon

  • “How do I send a daily note home to a family?”

    Beacon points you to Home Notes in the bottom bar and the steps: add the student, tap today's note, send.

Open Home Notes in Beacon →

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