The Periods screen is used to set up the periods of the school day. Periods need to be set up in Focus, regardless of the school type. The periods allow for courses to be set up and linked to the attendance module. Periods are also used in scheduling.
Only users with the "Delete & Add" profile permission for Periods in Users > Profiles will be able to add periods to the bell schedule, delete periods from the bell schedule, or modify the Title and Short Name for an existing period. Users with only the "Edit" permission to Periods, and not the "Delete & Add" permission, are limited to modifying the Start Time, End Time, Length, Used for Attendance, and Required for Scheduling on existing periods.
When first setting up periods for the school, Focus provides a Default bell schedule where periods can be added. Additional bell schedules can be set up as needed.
1. In the Setup menu, click Periods.
2. In the blank row next to the plus sign, enter a Title for the period.
The title can be up to 255 characters.
3. Enter a Short Name.
The period short name displays in various areas in Focus. The short name should reflect the short name from the previous data system for data migration.
4. Enter a Sort Order.
This determines the order in which periods display in pull-downs.
5. If applicable, enter a Start Time and End Time for the period.
The Start Time and End Time must be defined for periods if using the system preference "Enable smarter Attendance Completion portal alerts" in Setup > System Preferences > Attendance tab.
6. Enter the Length (in minutes) of the period.
The minutes entered here drives the daily attendance code based on the minutes entered via Setup > System Preferences > Attendance tab.
7. Select Used for Attendance if attendance will be taken for this period.
The Used for Attendance column determines the period that display via Attendance > Administration and Attendance > Absence Summary.
8. Select Required for Scheduling if students will be scheduled into courses during this period.
For example, if you have an after school period used for sports, do not select Required for Scheduling for that period.
9. Click Save.
10. Continue adding periods to the bell schedule.
For elementary schools, add a period for each subject area students attend during the day. This allows the appropriate period to be assigned to sections. Include the Length (minutes) for each period where attendance is reported. Usually the number of minutes for the entire school day is entered for the homeroom period. Start and end times are not necessary for elementary schools. Select Used for Attendance on the period where attendance is taken, usually the homeroom period. Select Required for Scheduling on each period so that the Percentage of Students Scheduled report in Scheduling > Loading Reports will accurately reflect how many students have all periods scheduled.
For secondary schools, add a period for each period of the school day, including homeroom if applicable. Enter the Start Time and End Time for each period, corresponding to the school's period or bell schedule. For each period, enter the true Length (in minutes). Select Used for Attendance on all periods that take attendance, and select Required for Scheduling on all periods where students will have courses scheduled.
For K-8 or K-12 schools, all periods should be selected as "Used for Attendance," even though elementary only takes attendance in one period.
If your school uses a rotation schedule, the Periods screen will have additional columns to set up the Start Time, End Time, and Length (minutes) for each rotation day.
In Setup > System Preferences > Scheduling tab, ensure the preferences "Advanced Rotation" and "Rotation Day Label" are set correctly before setting up periods.
Set up the periods as described in Adding Periods to the Bell Schedule. Only set up the Start Time, End Time, and Length on the periods that meet on that rotation day.
In this example, the school has a two day rotation with rotation day labels A and B. Periods 1-5 only meet on A day, so the Start Time, End Time, and Length (minutes) are defined in the A columns for periods 1-5, but not in the B columns. Periods 6-10 meet on B day, so the Start Time, End Time, and Length (minutes) are defined in the B columns for periods 6-10, but not in the A columns.
In this example, the school has a "blocks and skinny" schedule. The rotation is set to 3 days with labels A, B, and C. Periods 1-4 meet on A day, periods 5-8 on B day, and all periods meet on C day.
If the school is combined, i.e. some students are on a rotation schedule and some students are not, there is still only one set of periods. This is because the columns used for attendance and scheduling are connected to the periods, not the bell times. Sections that meet on certain rotation days should be assigned the appropriate rotation days in Courses & Sections; sections not on a rotation schedule should be assigned all the rotation days in Courses & Sections.
1. Edit the Title, Short Name, Sort Order, Start Time, End Time, Length (minutes), Used for Attendance, or Required for Scheduling fields as needed for the period.
2. Click Save.
1. Click the minus sign next to the period to delete.
2. In the confirmation message, click Delete.
Schools can have multiple bell schedules if needed. For example, some grades in a school may follow one bell schedule, while other grades follow another. The bell schedule is assigned to sections in Courses & Sections. The bell schedule can also be set on the Attendance Calendar.
1. Click the +Add/Modify Bell Schedules tab.
2. In the blank row next to the plus sign enter the Bell Schedule Title and Short Name.
3. Select the Default check box to assign this bell schedule to newly created sections by default.
4. Click Save.
The new bell schedule is now displayed as a tab. Add periods or adjust the bell schedule values as needed.
The values in the new bell schedule will be pre-populated based on the values set on the Default bell schedule, if there is a bell schedule marked as Default.
1. Click the +Add/Modify Bell Schedules tab.
2. Edit the Bell Schedule Title, Short Name, and Default check box as needed for the applicable bell schedule.
3. Click Save.
1. Click the +Add/Modify Bell Schedules tab.
2. Click the minus sign next to the bell schedule to delete.
3. In the confirmation message, click Delete.
