District and School Communication

One of the keys to student success and family engagement at Simsbury Public Schools (SPS) is ongoing and regular communication. Starting in late August, members of the SPS community will be able to access commonly used webpages, receive calendar updates, and receive push notifications by downloading our custom Simsbury Public Schools app from the Google Play and Apple App Stores. In addition, we have upgraded our notification capabilities to include text messages for emergencies, and we have selected SchoolMessenger as a uniform app* that teachers can use to communicate quickly with families. These enhancements are designed to increase communication and engage our community in the amazing work of each of our schools.

*Your child’s teacher may choose to use Google Classroom and email as their modes of communication to families.

Please be certain the email you provide via the yearly enrollment process is current. Reach out to your child’s school if you need to change your email address for any reason.

Below is an outline of the communication options that are available to our families and the greater community:

Emails from Superintendent	Superintendent Messages for regular district communication - Contacts 1 and 2 automatically downloaded from PowerSchool, no need to sign up
Weekly Emails from your child’s School Principal	Principal Weekly Communication - Contacts 1 and 2 automatically downloaded from PowerSchool, no need to sign up
Henry James and Simsbury High School Daily Notices	Download the Simsbury Public Schools App from the Apple or Google Play Store - Use the icon for HJMS or SHS Daily Announcements to directly access the daily notices for Henry James or Simsbury High School
Emergency Emails from Superintendent or Principal	Contacts 1-5 automatically downloaded from PowerSchool, no need to sign up
Emergency Phone Messages through Robocalls	This will be used for: Staff calls Emergency situations that happen after the start of the school day Simsbury High School Attendance / Course Selection Messages
Emergency Communication through SMS Text Messages	Sign up service directions from SchoolMessenger - Opt In Flyer Available starting Friday, September 2nd
Simsbury Public Schools Custom Mobile App	The Simsbury Public Schools Custom Mobile app is available on the Android Google Play and Apple iOS app stores under the name “Simsbury Public Schools”. Use this app to access: School calendars, My Payments Plus (the platform used to pay for school lunches and activity fees) PowerSchool Athletics Website CIAC Sports Calendar HJ and SHS Daily Announcements School Messenger Communicate App
PowerSchool	PowerSchool Annual Enrollment - Students/Families PowerSchool Portal Students and families in grades 7-12 can stay informed regarding class schedules, grading, and report cards.
Optional Teacher and Coach Communication App - School Messenger Communicate	The SchoolMessenger app is available on the Android Google Play and Apple iOS app stores under the name “SchoolMessenger.” Capabilities of the SchoolMessenger app include both individual and group messaging (e.g., classes, sports teams, clubs…etc.) two-way messaging; the ability for teachers and families to exchange files, images, and videos (e.g. study guides, newsletters…etc.); and the ability to review all messages related to your child in a single, scrollable, “stream” view. We will no longer be using Remind to communicate.