ARTICLE: Reach Student Primer

ARTICLE: Reach Student Primer

Welcome to Reach Student Life Management
The Reach platform is a student management system that is designed specifically for boarding schools. It helps your school to manage an extensive range of residential activities including leave, rollcalls, student records, pastoral care, and reporting.  As a student, you can use the Reach system to request/manage leave, view/register/decline your events, edit/manage your calendar, and record where you are; this may include various on-campus and off-campus locations.

Access 24/7 from Web Browser or Mobile App

Reach is cloud-based and can be accessed from any device with an internet connection, using either a web browser or via the mobile app, which is available for Apple and Android devices through their online stores.


Via The Reach Web Portal 

How to Access Reach

Once you have registered at your new school, the staff will create a personal profile for you in their Reach portal, then connect (associate) you to your parent and guardian profiles who become your authorised hosts within the system. Then, with your new username and password, open a web browser and enter your  school's specific Reach portal web address  and sign in with your assigned credentials.
Alternatively, your school may have emailed you an invitation with a link to login to their Reach portal, if so, follow the prompts in the email.

NOTES: 
  1. By default, your username will be your email address.  If you do not have your email address registered, then your username will be FirstnameLastname (note the capital letters). These details should be provided to you by the school after they create your personal profile
  2. If your identity cannot be authenticated then you will be presented with an error message. Please retry your credentials and click Sign In
  3. If you continue to get an error message, then your credentials are most likely different from those provided
    1. Please contact your school and they can reset your credentials
  4. The Reach portal login is case sensitive to upper and lower case text
  5. Once you have logged in, you can manage your details/settings via the My Account section
    1. Click on the area of your name/Reach logo/profile photo in the top right corner
    2. Then click My Account, update/change details as required, then click Save

Reach Web Software Basics

How to navigate in Reach

The navigation sections of the Reach portal screen are; Main Menu , Header Bar , and My Account .  The a vailable functions and features will differ with active access settings and extension modules specific to your school.




Main Menu
The icons on the left-hand side of the screen, are the Main Menu,  this list provides you with quick access to the software functions. Click an icon to reveal the mini menu within each function.

Header Bar
The  icons across the top of the screen are indicators of functions or quick links to your available features.

Three Lines Menu - Click this to expand or collapse the Main Menu, to show icons only, or icons plus titles

Cloud - Glowing green indicates you are currently online

Bell - Click this to open the notifications mailbox, the bell will change colour to notify of incoming messages

Calendar - Click this to open the calendar tab 

Lightning Bolt - This is Pulse, and it indicates the Reach portal is actively connected to the main server for fast updates

Question Mark - Click this to open the Reach support website in a new browser window - support.reach.cloud

Chat Bubbles - Click this to open the Reach Now communications module

My Account 
In  the right-hand corner of your Reach screen, you will see your name and your profile image. The Reach Logo will appear if no image has been loaded. Click this area to open the drop-down menu, the menu options are; My Account, Messages, Help, and Lock Screen.

My Account

Once clicked, this will open in a new tab, here you can update/change your personal details, when complete, click Save.

Messages

Once clicked, this will open the My Mailbox tab, this is the same as clicking the bell icon from the top menu bar.

Help

Once clicked, this will open the support centre in a new tab, this is docs.reach.cloud, a Reach software information portal.

Lock Screen

Once clicked, will lock the Reach portal browser window, to unlock, your personal Reach PIN is required.

How to use the Home Dashboard

Once  you  have logged in, the sections that you are presented with are for easy viewing and quick access to the main functions.  The  page   tabs (currently showing Calendar & Home ) allow you to work on many things at once.  Each item that you are working on will open as a new tab across the top of your dashboard screen.  When using Reach you can easily switch between these tabs at any time, without losing any data on other pages, a tab will glow orange to alert you to unsaved changes on that page.

The Home Tab standard features are; Events, Current Leave, and Historic Leave.
Depending on your school's active  permissions per user and extension modules , more options may appear, for example; Lists & Surveys.




Events
If  your school is using the Recreation Events Manager module and it is enabled you will see the Events table.
This section of the dashboard is split into two parts, the events you have 'Already Signed-Up' for and the Events that are 'Available for Sign-Up'.  Events are created and managed by your school, the events listed in your login are specific to you.   
Click the link to view a quick video tutorial:  Events Overview

Already Signed-Up displays a list of events that you have already  been registered for. If you click the 'View' button, a pop-up will provide details of that event and the current status as, waitlisted or attending. The action buttons provided are Unregister and Cancel.

Available for Sign-Up displays a list of events that are available for you to register for. If you click the view button, a pop-up will provide details of that event and the action buttons provided are Register, Decline, and Cancel.

SISO 
SISO stands for Sign-in / Sign-out
This widget will provide the locations that are available to you. Simply click on the location required to check-in to that location.
For details about 'How to Sign In/Out of Locations', please scroll down to that section of this document.

Lists
Lists and Surveys available to you will be shown here, all items are created and managed by your school.
Examples of possible items are; events, booking forms, confirmation submissions, activity or study surveys, afternoon activities, transport bookings, etc.  
This module is an extension to the Reach platform and may not be enabled or available at your school. 

Current Leave
This section shows  any upcoming leave events that may require  action by you/parent/staff.
For details about How to Create a New Leave Request, please scroll down to that section of this document.

Historic Leave
This section is a history of your leave items, each item can be clicked to open, so as to view all details.

Your Leave Via the Web Portal


How to Create a New Leave Request

To  create a leave request, click the green Create Leave Request button on the Home  tab of your dashboard, or click the s uitcase  icon in the left-side main menu and select Create Leave Request, each option will open the Leave Details screen.

Your name will appear on the leave details screen by default,  follow the prompts to enter your required details, the  majority of the fields are drop-down menus and they will guide you towards your appropriate selections, when ready,  complete and save the form.


The  example form below has been highlighted to better explain the functions.
The fields marked in green are all drop-down selector menus.  Simply select the relevant item for your request.
The fields marked in yellow are for free text input, add details or notes as required .



Leave Types and Method of Transport lists are c reated and managed by your school.

Host drop-down  menu will only show pre-approved parents, guardians and hosts.

The hosts that you can go on leave with, are authorised by your parents and their profiles are created and connected (associated) to you by the school staff.
If the host that you want to select for a leave event is not  on the list, this is because either;
(1)  the host has not been installed  (created)  in the Reach system or
(2)  they have not been connected ( associated ) to you as an approved host

Destination field is compulsory and in some instances (when set by the school) the Notes section may also be compulsory.

Recursion field, highlighted blue, is set to Once Off by default, click this to choose Select Pattern.
Once you have chosen this item, the Recursion Pattern field will open.
  1. Select the type of pattern - Every week or every 2nd, 3rd, 4th week
  2. Select the days of the week for the recurring event
  3. Select the drop-down menu at For then select between - Until Date or X Times
    1. Until Date provides a calendar, once clicked you can select a completion date
    2. X Times provides a field to enter the number of times you would like the event to occur
  4. Recurring events only require approval once by parents and staff, then each event will be available as the time/date occurs
Once you have entered the required details, click the save button, this window will close. Your newly submitted leave request now appears in the current leave section of the dashboard, shown as pending, Reach automatically contacts your parents and the selected host for approval. When the parent/host approvals have been completed, Reach will automatically contact the staff for final approval. You will receive an email from Reach when your leave request is fully approved. The current State (status) of each leave request can also be seen on the Home dashboard screen, this will automatically update as approvals are completed.

How to Edit a Leave Request

If you need to edit a leave item, if it is  approved or  still pending , you  can select the specific item from the current leave screen, and adjust the details as required. You can change any aspect of this leave item, and remember to click the Save button when complete

Changes to Leave Details will generate new leave request approvals
When a leave event is altered, a new set of notifications and approvals will be generated by Reach, requiring approval of any alterations from all parties involved.  This is a security measure that ensures that adjustments can not be made without notification to all relevant parties involved. This procedure also ensures that the school has the correct facts/details of a leave event approved by the parent.

Using the Kiosk 

How to Sign in / Sign out of Locations (SISO)

To SISO of locations can be completed quickly and easily, however, depending on the procedures of your school there are different methods. The school could use location-specific Kiosks, QR codes, NFC tags, RFID card scans, Biometric scans, or quick SISO in the mobile app. To use any of these methods, first, you must  identify yourself to the system, then your profile will appear with the  SISO  locations that are permitted to you.

This example image shows a Kiosk view, with the Student SISO window open.
 

If you have an approved leave  item in the system, this location will appear in your profile for SISO use.
If particular on-campus locations are created by your school, you will also be able to SISO to those locations via your mobile device.

About your location movements

Only locations that you are permitted to go to, will display in your Reach login.
SISO to off-campus locations typically requires staff approval, please refer to the specific procedures for  your school regarding  campus   departures while using the Reach platform.


Via The Reach Mobile App

The  Reach app is designed for use as a transaction platform, it is free and available for use by all users that have an account on the specific Reach portal of your school . The app provides access to the major transaction elements for student users. It is not a complete replication of all functionality available to users in the Reach web portal. 
To view detailed explanations of each section of the app, please view the: Student Mobile App User Guide

How to Access Reach 

Once  you have a profile created by your school, your login will be set, at this point, you also have access to the mobile app.
Download the app, it is free and available to download for Android and Apple devices.
Search for Reach Student Life Management in either the Google Play Store or iTunes store.  
To view more detailed explanations please read the Article: Access & Use the Reach Mobile App

Reach App Software Basics

How to Navigate in the Reach App

The main menu areas of the app are as follows;
Firstly ,  the home screen is sectioned into ‘cards’ for fast access to the main areas of Reach available to you.

Secondly, the red menu bar across the bottom of the app, these buttons are quick links to features.

Thirdly, the central PLUS button at the bottom of the screen, once tapped, will pop up a list of quick access features.  


Home Screen / Metrics View

The  Home Screen is your base Metrics View and launch point for the main functions of the app.

In the top right corner is the Reach Now messaging icon for fast access to the Communications feature. PLease note t he Reach Now i con may not appear, as this is an extension module and must be enabled by your school.

The Location pin icon in the top right corner of your screen will open the locations page that is separated into off/on campus locations, click your new location to activate the change to your current location, this will automatically update across the Reach portal.

Each section of the home screen is explained in detail via this support guide : Student Mobile App User Guide  

Your Leave via the Mobile App

Students  are able to submit and edit leave requests within the app. 

Activity Metrics

This panel visualises your total number of upcoming Pending and Approved leave items.  
Pending Leave – how many leave requests are awaiting approval from all parties involved, tap to open
Approved Leave – number of fully approved leave items in the system, tap to open
Create Leave – will take you through a simple page-by-page process to create a new leave request,  tap to open


SISO and Quick Leave

Students are able to change their locations quickly either by selecting SISO in the Current Location card or by selecting the Location Pin icon in the top right corner of their screen.  

  1. The current location is displayed in the banner at the top of the screen and will have a checkmark next to the location in the list
    1. Based on your school's location settings, various on/off-campus locations may or may not be listed for you as options
  2. To SISO to another location, tap the new location, this will automatically change on the home screen and throughout Reach
  3. If your school utilises QR codes and/or NFC tags to access locations on campus, you will see these options, as can be seen in the image above
    1. After a successful scan, you will see a confirmation of the location change
  4. If your school's settings allow you to SISO to your next leave event, this will be listed as a location, here it is shown as SISO TO LEAVE, select this to move to that pre-selected location as approved/predetermined by the leave request
Student Quick SISO settings are configured within the Reach website portal by your school to allow access to this Quick SISO widget and whether On/Off-Campus locations are displayed as options for students to access.  Configuration settings will also determine if students are able to SISO to their next leave, SISO when returning from a leave event and if they will see QR SISO and NFC SISO widgets.  

How to View Existing Leave Items

Tap the Leave button from the bottom menu bar to open the manage leave screen.
  1. The top right-hand corner provides search/filtering options to sort the listed leave items
  2. Quick filtering for  Approved ,  Pending ,  On Leave , and  Rejected  items by selecting the corresponding colour just above the listed cards
  3. Clicking on a leave item will display the extended details of that leave item, scroll down to view
  4. Tap on each additional tab; Meals, Notes, and Audit to view those specific details, a  red line appears under the currently active tab

          

How to Create a New Leave Request

To  create new leave, tap the PLUS button at the bottom center of the screen and select New Leave Request. Follow the series of prompted screens to input the required details. You have the ability to select multiple legs of transportation for departure and return. For recurring leave, select the frequency and duration. Prior to submitting the leave request, review the details and make any changes if needed.   

How to Edit a Leave Request

Access  the edit feature via manage leave, simply select either the pending leave button on the activity metrics card or by tapping the Leave button from the bottom menu bar. 

Select the required pending leave item, this will display its details page, then select the note and pen icon in the top right corner of the page. You can then progress through the pages to make any necessary updates. Use the prev/next buttons at the bottom of each page to quickly move between each detail section. When complete, tap the red finished button on the final summary page to Save.


Note: The ability to make edits is set by your school's user accessibility setting and may not be accessible for everyone.
     
  

Getting Support

User Guides

Mobile App User Guide
While in the Reach web portal, click the top of your left side menu.
Go To: Help >> Mobile App User Guide
Quick Link :   Student Mobile App User Guide  

Web User Guide
While in the Reach web portal, click the top of your left side menu.
Go To: Help >> User Guide
Information Portal:   Reach Software Information Portal

Reach Help Center
While in the Reach web portal, click the top of your left side menu.
Go To: Help >> Support Website
Quick Link:  Reach Help Center

Knowledge Base & Help Desk

At  the top of your Reach web portal, you will find a question mark icon. Clicking this icon will open a new web browser to the Reach Help Center, where you can search for answers, and if you need to, you can also create a support ticket for our help desk.
Quick Link: Reach Help Center

Email Contact 

(1)  You can contact Reach Support directly by sending an email to support@reach.cloud
(2)   Contact the  Reach administrator within  your school




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