Users Manual

v1.2

Table of Contents

1. .................................... Table of Contents

2. .................................... Installing and Customizing the program

3. .................................... Administration

20. ................................ Teachers

27. ................................ Students

30. ................................ Parents

33. ................................ Notes

 Installing

Please see the installation instructions.

Customizing

You can customize the look of SchoolMate by editing the cascading style sheets defined in the
file header.php

You can also change the picture of the school by deleting the current school.jpg file from the
images directory and replacing it with your own.

2
Administration
1. After installing the program, log in with the username test and password test and click the
Login button.

2. Next we must configure how your school works. Click School on the left panel.

3
3. Now you can enter your schools information. When you are finished, click the Update
button.

4. Next we need to create the term so that we can add the semesters and classes for that term.
Click Terms on the left panel.

4
5. This screen allows you to add, edit, and delete your terms. We need to add one, so click the
Add button.

6. Enter the name of the term, the date the term starts and the date the term ends. When you are
finished, click the Add Term button to finish, or the Cancel button to go back to the
previous screen.

5
7. Next we need to add the semesters in this term. Click Semesters on the left panel.

8. We need to add a semester, so click the Add button.

6
9. Enter the Semester Name, the Term this semester is in, the starting date of the semester, the
midterm date, the ending date, and if this is the first semester or the second semester in the
term. When you are finished, click the Add Semester button to continue, or the Cancel
button to go back to the previous page.

10. Now we need to add some more users. Click Users on the left panel.

7
11. This is where you can see all the users for the system. Click the Add button to add a new
user.

12. Enter the username and password. Then you can choose which type of user you wish to add.
We need some teachers and students, so go ahead and add some of each. When you are
finished with the information, click the Add User button.

8
13. Now we need to associate a user to a teacher, so click Teachers on the left panel.

14. Lets add the teacher. Click the Add button.

9
15. Enter the teachers first and last name and pick the username that the teacher will use. When
finished, click the Add Teacher button to continue, or the Cancel button to go back to the
previous page.

16. Next we need to add the students. Click Students on the left panel.

10
17. Here you can use the Reports menu to generate different types of reports. If you need a report
for a previous semester, you may choose that semester with the Semester menu. To add a
student, click the Add button.

11
18. Enter the students name and which username they will use. When you are finished, click the
Add Student button to finish, or the Cancel button to go to the previous page.

19. Now we need to add some classes. Click Classes on the left panel. Here you can find the
listing of the classes for the selected semester. To view the classes in a grid form, click the
Show in Grid button. We need to add the classes for this semester. Click Classes on the left
panel.

12
20. We need to add a class, so click the Add button.

21. If the class is going to be offered both semesters of the year, click the Full Year button.
Enter the Class Name, select the teacher for the class, which semester the class is offered ,the
section number, the room number, period number, and specify the substitute teacher if
applicable. Put a check mark next to the days that the class is offered. When you are
finished, click the Add Class button, or click the Cancel button to return to the previous
page.

13
22. Next we need to register students for their classes. Click Registration on the left panel.

23. Select the student that you will be registering for classes as well as the semester they will be
registered. Then choose the class to register and click the Add button. After the student is
registered for classes you can use the Show in Grid button to view the students schedule in
a grid form.

14
24. To keep track of attendance for students, click Attendance on the left panel.

25. Here you can specify if the student was either tardy or absent. Click the Add button to do so.

15
26. Enter the date and specify tardy or absent and click Add Attendance to finish or Cancel to
return to the previous screen.

27. To add a parent, click Parents on the left panel.

16
28. To enter a new parent, you must first have a user specified as a parent in the Users section.
Once that is accomplished, click the Add button to add a new parent.

29. Enter the parents name and specify the student their child. You may add a parent more than
once if they have multiple children. Also, specify the username that this parent will use.
17
 When you are finished, click the Add Parent button to continue or the Cancel button to
return to the previous page.

30. Lastly we can add announcements for the rest of the users to see. Click Announcements on
the left panel.

31. To add an announcement, click the Add button.

18
32. Enter the title and the message. When you are finished, click the Add Announcement
button.

19
Teachers

1. Log in with your username and password. If you do not have a username and password. See
a member of the administration.

2. You will be given a list of your classes. To enter a class, click on its name. If you need to go
to a previous semester, choose the appropriate semester from the drop-down menu.

20
3. Now we need to define your grading scale. Enter the percentage required for each letter
grade. When finished, click the Update button.

4. Next we can manage the assignments for the class. To do so, click Assignments on the left
panel.

21
5. To add an assignment, click the Add button. To edit or delete an assignment, place a check
mark next to the assignment and click the Edit button or the Delete button.

22
6. When you are finished entering the information for the assignment, click the Add
Assignment button.

7. Next we can enter the students grades for the assignments in this class. To do so, click
Grades on the left panel.

23
8. You will be given a list of the students for that class. To enter a grade, place a check mark
next to the student and click the Edit button.

9. Enter the date the assignment was handed in, the points awarded, any comments you wish to
give to the student, and mark if the assignment was late or not. When you are finished, click
the Edit Grade button to continue or the Cancel button to return to the previous page.

24
10. To get a quick view of the students over-all grades, click Students on the left panel. You
will see each student, the total points, the points the student has been awarded, the percentage
and the letter grade. You can click the Back button to return to the Assignments page.

11. To view the announcements from the administration, click Announcements on the left panel.

25
12. To go to a different class, click Classes on the left panel.

13. To log out of SchoolMate, click Log Out on the left panel.

26
Students

1. First you must log in with your username and password. If you do not have a username and
password, see a member of the administration.

2. You will be given a list of your classes. To view the classs information, click the name of
your class. If you need to see the information for a previous semester, you may choose the
appropriate semester from the drop-down menu.

27
3. The Class Settings page will show you the grading scale for the current class. To view the
assignments for this class, click Assignments on the left panel.

4. Here you can see the list of the assignments, when each was assigned and when it is due. To
view your grades, click Grades on the left panel.

28
5. To view the announcements from the administration, click Announcements on the left panel.

6. To go to a different class, click Classes on the left panel.

7. To log out of SchoolMate, click Log Out on the left panel.

29
Parents

1. First you must log in with your username and password. If you do not have a username and
password, see a member of the administration.

2. You will be given a list of your children. Click on their name to view their information.

30
3. You will now be given a list of your childs classes. To view the classs information, click
the name of your class. If you need to see the information for a previous semester, you may
choose the appropriate semester from the drop-down menu.

4. The Class Settings page will show you the grading scale for the current class. To view the
assignments for this class, click Assignments on the left panel.

31
5. Here you can see the list of the assignments, when each was assigned and when it is due. To
view your childs grades, click Grades on the left panel.

6. To view the announcements from the administration, click Announcements on the left panel.

7. To go to a different class, click Classes on the left panel.

8. To log out of SchoolMate, click Log Out on the left panel.

32
Notes

SchoolMate was written by Ray Hauge and can be found at www.primateapplications.com or on

Sourceforge.net at http://sourceforge.net/projects/schoolmate
It is written under the GNU Public License.

Have Questions? Contact me at ray@primateapplications.com

33