Winter Running Program Update #2: Communication, New Parent App
And . . . we’re off!! I mean that we are officially running in the winter, as opposed to enjoying another snow day :/. Jill and Jake had a great time the first day with a great group of new and existing club members.
As a parent I know that managing the communication with all the various groups you are affiliated with can be a challenge. As a club, we make it a priority to keep you informed at all times in ways that make sense. Unfortunately, there really isn’t a single, simple solution. In an effort to help you access all of the tools we use, and to give you quick access to me and the other coaches, I have created an app that you will hopefully find helpful.
SJTFC Parent App (hopefully not a parent trap:)
Feel free to just try to app now, or read on for very specific details on each of the tools we use. The app has links to everything, and you can also click the links here.
This might be the most important way that we communicate with families during a program. We will o our best to keep the calendar up to date with days, times and locations of all of our sessions and events. If you try to access the calendar for the first time on a mobile device, you may not be able to see our calendar events. You may need to follow the invite link on a computer. You should see a list of your calendars, and you click the check boxes for the ones you want to appear in your calendar. We will always try to add map pins to the note section of calendar items, especially for new, or infrequent locations. If you ever see something that needs an edit, please just let me know, as you might be the first one to notice.
The Family Portal is a webpage connected to our main website. ***Please note that this page loads slowly, but it does work. Club and program updates are sent out as emails, and then saved as blog posts, so you can go back and easily find any previous updates. You are automatically subscribed to “Club-Wide Announcements” and any specific program you sign up for. In the portal, you can subscribe or unsubscribe to any list at any time. We pay for a service that helps keep the emails from going directly to spam/junk folders, but it isn’t perfect, so keep in mind you may need to tag messages or create a filter so that you get them consistently.
We use Remind for more last-minute alerts, like weather cancelations. You can send messages directly to the coaches through Remind, but if its not specific to the alert, email is always a better option. We have separate Reminds set up for each program. The codes are listed in the Parent App. If you haven’t signed up for the Winter Running Remind yet, the code is: @ehbk4a
Feel free to use this form for anything you want to tell us.
Coach Emails and Phone Numbers:
We provide our contact information in the Parent App for safety and emergency situations. You can call me (Craig) any time, but please only call the other coaches when it is necessary.
Tying Everything Together in the Parent App:
When you open the app you will be reminded to save it to your home screen. This will create an icon you click on any time. The Parent App has a main page with club info (including links directly to registration forms for all of our programs), a link to a page with all the above apps, and coach contact buttons. On the “communication” page, you will also see buttons for each program’s saved email updates. Hopefully it’s all intuitive and helps keep everything easy to access.
And finally. I will be attending the session tomorrow at noon, so if we have not yet met please introduce yourself, if you’re willing to brave the 28 degrees! (It should be a beautiful afternoon with little wind).
Thank you!
Craig
Craig Strimel, SJTFC Managing Director
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