SchoolDesk School year setup School Year Setup · USD 24
Three children, two schools, and 31 things to do before Christmas
Term dates, forms, payments and kit, per child, from 140 school messages.
One hundred and forty messages across two schools, three apps, a paper bookbag and a class chat group since September. Reduced to a term calendar and an action list, it comes to 31 items, four of which have already passed and two of which cost money if missed.
A trip deposit, a photo consent form, a music lesson signup and a parents evening booking have all closed. Three can still be recovered by emailing the school. The music signup cannot, and the next window is January.
Missed
Four things, three recoverable
| Item | Child | Deadline was | Recoverable? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Residential trip deposit, USD 60 | Aarav | 10 October | Yes, email the office |
| Photo consent form | Kiran | 18 September | Yes, form still open |
| Music lesson signup | Meera | 26 September | No. Next window January |
| Parents evening booking | Aarav | 22 October | Yes, phone the office |
All four arrived by a different route. The deposit was in an app notification, the consent form came home in a bookbag, the music signup was in a class chat group, and the parents evening was an email sent at 16:40 on a Friday.
Term
Everything before Christmas
- This week
Recover the three items
Two emails and one phone call.
- 3 Nov
Meera swimming starts
Kit needed every Tuesday from this date. Two costumes recommended.
- 6 Nov
Kiran phonics meeting
17:00. One parent.
- 11 Nov
Aarav options evening
18:30. Both parents suggested. This one matters.
- 13 Nov
Non-uniform day, both schools
Both on the same day. Kiran needs a USD 1 donation.
- 18 Nov
Meera class assembly
09:15. Parents invited.
- 21 Nov
Aarav residential balance, USD 180
Hard deadline. Trip is in March.
- 27 Nov
Kiran nativity costume needed
Shepherd. School has asked for a plain tea towel and a dressing gown.
- 2 Dec
Meera parents evening
Booking opens 18 November.
- 5 Dec
Kiran nativity performance
14:00 and 18:00. Choose one.
- 10 Dec
Aarav mock exams begin
Two weeks. Timetable attached in the workspace.
- 12 Dec
Christmas jumper day, both
Both schools, same day, USD 1 each.
- 19 Dec
Term ends, both schools
Kiran finishes at 13:15, the others at 15:30.
Two schools with different finish times on the last day of term is the sort of detail that only appears when both calendars are put side by side. It is in one message from September that nobody would look at again.
Weekly
What each child needs, by day
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aarav, 13 | PE kit | Food tech ingredients | PE kit | Homework due | |
| Meera, 10 | Reading record | Swim kit | Library book | Spellings | |
| Kiran, 6 | Book bag | Book bag | Forest school clothes | Book bag | Show and tell |
| Money | Food tech, USD 4 |
Wednesday is the heaviest day: ingredients for one child, outdoor clothes for another, and the only day money is needed. It is also the only day neither parent does the school run.
System
So this does not happen again
- Now
One inbox for school
Forward all five channels to one address. It does not stop the fragmentation, it puts it in one place where a weekly scan works.
- Sunday, 10 min
Scan the week, print the grid
Section 03 on the fridge. Ten minutes on a Sunday replaces five separate panics.
- When money is requested
Pay it immediately
Every one of the four missed items was small and none was hard. They were deferred and then invisible.
- Termly
Rebuild the calendar
Both schools publish term dates in advance and neither of you has ever put them all in one place before today.
- Three recoverable items chased this week
- Music signup diarised for January
- Residential balance of USD 180 diarised for 21 November
- Both parents evening booking dates diarised
- Term end times noted, 13:15 and 15:30
- Weekly grid printed and on the fridge