What is included in Messaging for Families? 

Messaging allows families to receive direct communication from your school community. School administrators and teachers can send family members Conversations and Announcements directly to the Kaymbu for Families app. This built-in feature is a convenient way to directly connect with your school community about general communications, announcements, and urgent updates!

Table of Contents

1. Accessing Messaging 
2. Features of Messaging 
3. Shared Inbox
4. Receiving and Sending Messages
5. Marking Messages as Read

Accessing Messaging

Families can access the Messaging feature from the Kaymbu for Families app on their devices. If families are unable to access the Kaymbu for Families app, they can opt to receive messages to their email. These preferences can be managed by teachers or family members through their Notification Settings.

Features of Messaging

Messaging includes two features: Conversations and Announcements. With Conversations, teachers and directors will be able to hold back-and-forth conversations with families.  Announcements allow staff to send updates or general communication to all families within their center or classroom. However, families cannot respond to Announcements. Announcements are indicated by a megaphone icon located to the right of the message’s title. Any Urgent messages sent to families will be highlighted in red.

Shared Inbox

Families will share an inbox where all family members attached to an individual student profile can access 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 there is no ability to message an individual family member through Kaymbu's messaging platform.

Receiving and Sending Messages

Once a message has been sent to families, family members will receive an email and/or a notification on their Kaymbu for Families app, depending on their Notification Settings. 

If families do not have the Kaymbu for Families app, messages will be sent via email. Email is the default method of communication for families. If a family member has both an email and a phone number in their profile, all communication will default to email.

Receiving via Text Message

Families will only receive text messages (SMS) if a Conversation or Announcement is marked as Urgent. 

Receiving and Sending via Email

If a family member has email notifications enabled, they will receive all Messages (Announcements and Conversations) via email. Announcements are read-only and cannot be responded to. However, families can directly reply to Conversations via email. To reply to a Conversation via email, simply reply to the email, as you would with any other email, and your response will be sent directly to the Teacher or Director. 

Receiving and Sending via Kaymbu for Families App

When a family member downloads the Kaymbu for Families app, and enables app notifications, they will receive a notification when a message has been sent to them. Families are able to view Announcements and Conversations from the Messaging section of the app. 

Announcements are read-only and will have a megaphone icon in the right corner of the message’s subject line. Any Urgent messages sent to families will be highlighted in red. 

Conversations can be replied to simply by opening up the Conversation message and typing in a response in the text box. Additionally, a new Conversation can be started by selecting the green plus button in the lower right corner of the Messaging section on the app. Follow the steps below to send a Conversation message: 

1. Select the green plus button to start a new thread.
2. Families can select between two recipients: Teachers or Directors. Once selected, tap “Next.”
3. Tap on the Subject line to add a title.
4. Tap on the text box to add your message.
5. Select “Send.”

Marking Messages as Read

From the Kaymbu for Families app, family members have the ability to mark all messages (Conversations and Announcements) within their inbox as read with one single action. To do this, navigate to the Messaging tab and select “Mark All As Read” in the top right corner of the screen.