What is included in Messaging?

The Messaging feature allows users to send communications throughout their school community. School directors and teachers can send Conversations and Announcements and include attachments or mark messages as urgent. This built-in feature is a convenient way to directly connect with staff and families about general communications, announcements, and urgent updates!

Table of Contents

1. Accessing Messaging
2. Features of Messaging
3. Conversations
   1. Active and Archived Conversations
   2. Conversation Filters
   3. Sending Conversations
4. Announcements
   1. 1. My Announcements
         1. Active and Archived Announcements
      2. Announcements Sent To Me
      3. Center and Classroom Announcements
      4. Sending Announcements
      5. Urgent Announcements
5. Shared Inboxes
6. Voice Broadcasts
7. Resources for Families

Accessing Messaging

Kaymbu users can access the Messaging feature from the Kaymbu app on their device or from the website my.kaymbu.com by going to Menu > Messaging.

When accessing the Messaging feature from the Menu, users will find two tabs at the top of the page: Conversations and Announcements. This format provides users with a more streamlined and organized experience, allowing easy navigation between the two distinct types of Messaging features.

 

Features of Messaging

Messaging includes three features: Announcements, Conversations, and Voice Broadcasts. Announcements allow users at all levels to send updates or general communication to families within their center or classroom. However, recipients will not be able to respond to Announcements. With Conversations, teachers or directors can hold back-and-forth conversations with individual families. Voice Broadcasts allow administrators, directors, or teachers to instantly record and send audio voice messages to families through automated phone calls.

Conversations 

Conversations can be accessed by navigating to Menu > Messaging and selecting the Conversations tab at the top of the page. All Conversations sent and received through Kaymbu’s Messaging platform will live within the Conversations tab on the Messaging page. With Conversations, teachers or directors can hold back-and-forth messaging with individual families.

 

 

When a Conversation message is sent to a family, they will receive the message and can respond directly through the Kaymbu for Families app and/or through email. Families can choose their notification preferences by customizing their Family Notification Settings. 

Teachers and directors can receive and reply to Conversations directly through the Kaymbu app or web portal. Please note that staff will not receive an email when a Conversation message is sent from a family. Conversations can be viewed directly on Kaymbu's Messaging platform.

Active Conversations and Archived Conversations

Conversations that have been sent or received through Kaymbu's Messaging platform will appear as an Active Conversation within the Conversations tab on the Messaging page. 

 

However, users can choose to archive Conversations when needed. Archiving Conversations will remove the message from your active inbox. Please note that archiving a Conversation does not delete the message; instead, it will move the message to your archive inbox.

To archive a Conversation, navigate to the Conversations tab on the Messaging page, open up the message, and click on the archive symbol at the top of the page.

You can also choose to “Select All” or select multiple Conversations at a time. Once the messages have been selected, click on the archive icon that appears at the top of the page.

Archived Conversations can always be accessed and restored to active when needed. To view your Archived Conversations, click the drop-down arrow next to “Active Conversations” and select “Archived Conversations.”

Once you have accessed all of your Archived Conversations, open up the message or select multiple messages and click on the restore icon that appears at the top of the page. This will restore the message to an Active Conversation.

Conversation Filters

Users can access different Conversation filter options to sift through the messages in their Conversations inbox quickly. Users can filter between My Conversations and All Conversations, by student(s), or by date range.

My Conversations and All Conversations

By default, the messages that appear when viewing Conversations will be filtered to My Conversations. The My Conversations setting populates the messages previously sent and/or received at the user's current level of access. This will allow teachers or directors to view the Conversations they have personally sent or received through Kaymbu's Messaging platform.

Alternatively, since each user has a shared inbox at their particular level of access, when selecting the All Conversations filter setting, they will have access to all of the messages sent and/or received at their level. For example, all teachers assigned to a classroom will be able to view all of the messages sent or received by other teachers assigned to that same classroom.

Furthermore, filtering to All Conversations as a high-level user, such as a director, will allow them to view and monitor the Conversation inboxes of all classrooms within their center. Directors will also have the ability to respond directly to any Conversations. 

Student Filter

Another filter that is available within the Conversations tab is the Student Filter. This will allow teachers to filter by student, while directors can filter by classroom or student.

Date Filter

The date filter allows users to filter messages within a specific date range. Users can also set a default start date for their Conversations. By setting a default start date, all Conversations before the start date entered will be filtered away from view.

Sending Conversations

Conversations can be sent by navigating to the Messaging page from the Menu. To create and send a message, follow the steps below:

1. Select the green circle with the “+” icon.
2. Select “Conversation” to start a 2-way conversation with an individual family.
3. Select recipient(s) by clicking the pencil icon. Please note that all family members of a student’s profile will receive the message.
4. Enter a subject and the content of the message below
5. Select the paperclip icon below to add any attachments, if applicable.
6. Select “Send.”

 

When a Conversation is sent out to families, family members can view the message through the Messaging feature on the Kaymbu for Families app or via email, depending on their Notification Settings. Please note that families will only receive text messages (SMS) if an Announcement is marked as Urgent.

To learn more about Messaging for families, you can click here.

Announcements 

Announcements can be accessed by navigating to Menu > Messaging and selecting the Announcements tab at the top of the page. All Announcements sent and received will live within the Announcements tab on the Messaging page. 

Announcements allow users at all levels to send updates or general communication to families within their center or classroom. For example, an Announcement can be sent by directors to all of the families within their center, while teachers can send an Announcement to all of the families in their classroom. Please note that recipients will not be able to respond to Announcements.

High-level users, such as administrators and directors, can send Announcements to staff members and/or families. Staff will receive Announcements directly through the Kaymbu app or web portal. Additionally, they will receive an email when an Announcement is marked as Urgent or when an Announcement is sent by a director to staff.

Families will receive Announcements in the Kaymbu for Families app or through email, depending on their notification preferences. Families can customize their Notification Settings directly from the Kaymbu for Families app. Additionally, users can access a family member’s notification settings directly from the Roster by clicking on their family profile.

My Announcements

The row of messages that appear under “My Announcements” on the Announcements homepage are Announcements that the user has personally sent to families and/or staff. These Announcements are indicated with purple tabs. 

At a glance, each Announcement card that appears under “My Announcements” includes the subject or title of the Announcement, a preview of the message, and its post date. The top of the card will indicate if the Announcement was sent as Urgent, while the bottom of the card will indicate the recipient(s). 

Users can scroll through their row of Announcement cards by clicking on the arrows that appear next to “My Announcements.” Alternatively, you can choose to view all of the Announcements you have sent by clicking on “See All.” This will take you to the “My Announcements” grid page, which will populate all active Announcements. From the "My Announcements" page, you can also choose to archive your Announcements and access your Archived Announcements inbox when needed.

Active Announcements and Archived Announcements

Both Active and Archived Announcements can be accessed by selecting the “See All” option on the “My Announcements” row. By default, all Announcements that have been personally sent by the user will appear as an Active Announcement on the “My Announcements” grid page. 

However, users can choose to archive Announcements when needed. Archiving Announcements will remove the message from your active inbox. Please note that archiving an Announcement does not delete the message; instead, it will move the message to your archive inbox.

To archive an Announcement, navigate to the Announcements tab on the Messaging page. Then, select the “See All” option on the “My Announcements” row. By default, all Active Announcements will populate. 

From the “My Announcements” grid page, users can click on the archive icon located on the top right corner of the Announcement card, or they can choose to open up the Announcement and click on the archive icon within the message itself.

Once an Announcement has been archived, it can always be accessed and restored to active by navigating to the Archived inbox located on the “My Announcements” grid page.

To restore an archived Announcement, navigate to the Announcements tab on the Messaging page. Then, select the “See All” option on the “My Announcements” row. Click on the “Archived” option at the top of the My Announcements gridpage.

From your Archived inbox, users can click on the restore icon located on the top right corner of the Announcement card, or they can choose to open up the Announcement and click on the restore icon within the message itself. When an Announcement has been restored, the message will return to your Active inbox.

Announcements Sent To Me

The row of Announcements that appear under “Sent To Me” on the Announcements homepage are messages that the user has received. These Announcements are indicated with red tabs. 

At a glance, each Announcement card that appears under “Sent To Me” includes the subject or title of the Announcement, a preview of the message, and its post date. The top of the card will indicate if the Announcement is a new, unread message and if it was sent as Urgent, while the bottom of the card will indicate the sender. 

Users can scroll through their row of Announcement cards by clicking on the arrows that appear next to “Sent To Me.” Alternatively, you can choose to view all of the Announcements you have received by clicking on “See All,” which will take you to the “Sent To Me” grid page.

Please note that the Announcements that have been sent to you can only be archived by the original sender.

Center and Classroom Announcements

High-level users, such as directors or administrators, will be able to access all Announcements for all centers or classrooms within their account by navigating to their list of entities located at the bottom of the Announcements homepage. 

Both Active and Archived Announcements can be viewed by drilling down into each center or classroom. When viewing classroom Announcements as a high-level user, the Announcement cards are indicated with pink tabs. High-level users are able to archive or restore these Announcements when needed.

Sending Announcements

Announcements can be sent by navigating to the Messaging page from the Menu. To create and send an Announcement, follow the steps below:

1. Select the green circle with the “+” icon.
2. Select “Announcement” to send a group announcement to staff and/or families.
3. Select recipient(s) by clicking the pencil icon. High-level users, such as administrators or directors, can send Announcements to staff members. When selecting their recipients, they will have the option to send the message to Staff, Families, or both.
4. Enter a subject and the content of the message below
5. Select the paperclip icon below to add any attachments, if applicable.
6. Select “Send.”

Urgent Announcements

Urgent Messaging is available for Announcements, allowing users to have the option to send vital notices or updates to their school community. When a Message is sent as urgent, families will receive notifications across all stored contact methods. For example, if a family member has the Kaymbu for Families app and their email and phone number are saved to their profile, they can receive notifications through all three methods.

Likewise, urgent Announcements can be sent to staff. High-level users such as administrators or directors can mark an Announcement as "Urgent" and send the message to staff, families, or both. Staff can also receive urgent notifications across all stored contact methods. 

To send an Announcement as urgent, simply toggle the “Urgent” option ON when drafting the message. Upon doing so, a prompt will appear informing you that an urgent message will notify recipients through all contact methods. However, you do have the option of whether or not to include an SMS notification.

Please note that families and staff will only receive text messages (SMS) if an Announcement is marked as “Urgent” and if a phone number has been saved to their family profile or user profile. SMS notifications for staff must be enabled through their user profile in the Roster.

Shared Inboxes

Each user has a shared inbox at their particular level of access. For example, if there are multiple teachers in Classroom A, all teachers will have access to the same messages. This is also true at all of the other levels, meaning that all of the directors of one center will also have a shared inbox and access to all of the same messages.

In addition, families of the same student also have a shared inbox, so all family members attached to a student profile will have access to the same messages. This means that all connected family members can view the communication shared through the Kaymbu Messaging platform, whether the school or family members initiate that communication. Please note that Kaymbu's Messaging platform does not allow you to message an individual family member.

Voice Broadcast

The Voice Broadcast feature allows Administrators, Directors, or Teachers to send a pre-recorded audio message to families through an automated phone call. Kaymbu’s Voice Broadcast feature uses an automated system to initiate the call containing the audio message to all families simultaneously. This eliminates the need for manual calls. Once the call is answered, the pre-recorded voice message will play automatically, ensuring consistent and clear communication with each recipient. Please note that Voice Broadcasts can only be received by family members who have phone numbers listed within their contact information.

Resources for Families

As families are getting familiar with the Messaging feature in Kaymbu, we recommend referring to the article, Messaging Overview: For Families. This article will give them information about the features and how to receive and send messages.