Entering Bell Schedule and Calendar Information for 2020-21

Entering Bell Schedule and Calendar Information for 2020-21
Posted on 03/11/2020

In reference to Administrative Circular No. 220, schools must enter Bell Schedules and Calendar information in PowerSchool by April 23, 2020. The IT Department has applied basic configuration to the 2020-21 calendars, which include mandated holidays and district breaks. As a reminder, schools will no longer be able to edit 2020-21 Bell Schedules or Calendar information after September 7, 2020.

Elementary Schools: If you are an Elementary school who chooses to copy the master schedule, you must first submit a request to the IT Help Desk indicating you wish to copy your school"s master schedule. The copy process must be complete prior to updating the Bell Schedule names or entering the Calendar for the 2020-21 school year.

Secondary Schools: If your school will be changing the number of Periods or Cycle Days for 2020-21, you must first submit a request to the IT Help Desk indicating the changes. The IT Department will need to complete the appropriate changes in PowerSchool prior to updating the Bell Schedule names or entering the Calendar for the 2020-21 school year.

To enter your Bell Schedule information for 2020-21, please follow the directions below:

  1. Login to PowerSchool Administrator at https://powerschool.sandi.net/admin
  2. Make sure your School is selected, in the upper, right-hand corner of the page
  3. Change the Term to 2020-2021, in the upper, right-hand corner of the page
  4. Select School, from the left-hand side of the page (under Setup)
  5. Select Bell Schedules (under Calendaring)
  6. Update the Name for each Bell Schedule to reflect the 2020-21 school year:
    1. Confirm the name of each Bell Schedule has been updated to begin with 20-21.
    2. Schools that use a short day once a week should name the bell schedule for that day as 20-21 Modified Day. In addition, schools with minimum days should name the bell schedule for that as 20-21 Minimum Day.
    3. Please differentiate between a "Modified Day" and a "Minimum Day" by creating two separate bell schedules. For example, a "Modified Day" bell schedule is used for a short day that occurs once a week such as every Tuesday or Wednesday. A "Minimum Day" bell schedule is used for short days on selected dates such as parent teacher conference days, back to school night, and testing dates.
  7. Update the Start and End Times for each Bell Schedule for the 2020-21 school year
  8. Delete any Bell Schedules you will not be using in 2020-21
  9. Add any new Bell Schedules you may need for 2020-21

To enter Calendar information for 2020-21, please follow the directions below:

  1. Make sure you have entered your Bell Schedules for 2020-21 (see instructions above)
  2. Login to PowerSchool Administrator at httpspowerschool.sandi.net/admin
  3. Make sure your School is selected, in the upper, right-hand corner of the page
  4. Change the Term to 2020-2021, in the upper, right-hand corner of the page
  5. Select School, from the left-hand side of the page (under Setup)
  6. Select Calendar Setup (under Calendaring)
  7. Enter the Cycle Day and Bell Schedule for each day in 2020-21
  8. You may optionally enter a day Type and Note
  9. For schools with multiple Cycle Days, please take note to enter the appropriate Cycle Day after each holiday or off-session day

Bell Schedule and Calendar reports in PowerSchool

  • Bell Schedule and Calendar Counts by School – This report shows Bell Schedule and Calendar information by school. To view information for a different year, change the Term in the upper, right-hand corner of the page and re-run the report. When run from a school, only that school"s information will be shown. If running the report from District Office, you may optionally specify that you only want to include district elementary, middle, high schools, and alternative sites; if set to "No", Early Childhood and charter schools will be included. To run this report select System Reports, select the sqlReports tab, and then expand the group of Attendance reports.
  • Bell Schedule Details – This report shows the Bell Schedules for a given school, including Start and End Times. To view Bell Schedules for a different year, change the Term in the upper, right-hand corner of the page and re-run the report. You may optionally specify that you only want to include periods which meet less than or equal to a certain number of minutes. To run this report select System Reports, select the sqlReports tab, and then expand the group of Attendance reports.
  • Calendar Setup – This report shows Calendar information for a given school. To view Calendar information for a different year, change the Term in the upper, right-hand corner of the page and re-run the report. You may optionally include off-session days. There is also a feature to check for in-session days which are missing a Cycle Day or Bell Schedule. To run this report select System Reports, select the sqlReports tab, and then expand the group of Attendance reports.

Reminder: Assistance is provided by the IT Training Department. Visit Professional Learning for elementary and secondary Master Schedule Open Labs.