1) – EduLink One.

This is a secure app for your smartphone or tablet that will allow you to not only receive notifications from the school but also find vital information including:

• Your son’s fortnightly timetable.

• His attendance as a whole school year percentage.

• All of his achievement points

• All of his behaviour points

• Your son’s termly Progress Reports in a ‘Reports’ tab

• A ‘Noticeboard’ tab where you can see important documents like the Year 7 Homework timetable

• A ‘Links’ tab where you can link to your son’s own personal Google Classroom code so you can see exactly what homework has been set (you will need him to provide you with his username and password to access this feature).

• A ‘Forms’ feature where you can quickly and efficiently respond to notices from school on your app or web browser as opposed to filling in a paper form, placing in an envelope only to hope ‘student mail’ gets it to where it is supposed to go only to find it at the bottom of their school bag weeks later!!!

• A ‘Messages’ feature that is being used by a number of our admin staff including our trips co-ordinator.

The app will provide you with easy access to important school information and will also allow you to access information about your son(s) with a single login.

We will be in contact at the earliest available opportunity once we are able to send you an email invitation from EduLink One containing our School ID, your unique Username and a link to set your own password. The password link only remains active for 7 days once the email has been sent to you, so please try and find the time to sign up straight away by downloading the app on your smart phone or tablet. There is an option to view EduLink One on your web browser of your desktop/laptop. Please note, however, that if you have already have a child in a year group at the school then you may already see some of your incoming son’s details already. If this is the case you will not receive a new login as you will already be able to see all your children by using your existing login.

2) – Intouch.

This is a school system for sending out the majority of our letters via email and short text messages. The quickest and most reliable way for us to communicate important information with you is via email and in some instances regarding attendance by text message. As well as helping us to share this kind of information with you quickly and easily, we also save time and money because the amount of administrative time and printing of letters is dramatically reduced. The school will use the email address and mobile number that you supply on the Student Data Collection Form (link to that was sent with the initial welcome email). If you change your contact details at any time please let the school know as soon as possible (you can do this via our school website using the ‘General Enquiry’ form on the Contact Us page - https://www.hbs.herts.sch.uk/do/pages/contact_us/general_enquiry).

We will add the parent listed as Priority 1 to the InTouch system. If you wish to add a second contact to the system you can let us know by emailing admin@hitchinboys.co.uk.

The details you provide will be kept private and used for school business purposes only. If you have any queries or do not wish to receive messages via the InTouch system, please contact the school on 01462 432181.

3) – G-Suite Portal.

Available at www.hitchinboys.co.uk. This is primarily the gateway for all staff and students to access the Google Suite of applications that supports us with many functions of the school. To go beyond the front page and access these functions from Google Classroom to Google Drive to Gmail your son will need his own unique username and password which will be given to him once he starts in September and has completed his ICT induction. From this point on he should be checking Google Classroom and Gmail daily.

4) - Social Media

Hitchin Boys’ School (@HitchinBoys) and several school departments have Twitter accounts, where reminders, notices and details of events are also shared. If you are interested in seeing the latest news from all the accounts in one place, these now appear on the homepage at www.hitchinboys.co.uk (bottom right). There is also a Pastoral Care Twitter account, @HBSPastoral. If you would like to follow any of the accounts individually, you can click on the account name in the feed, log into Twitter and then click 'Follow'. We also have a Facebook page which you can like and follow, a YouTube channel and an Instagram account which can be found. We hope you find these additional methods of communication useful.

5) - School Newsletter

Our online school newsletter is published regularly via the school website. Previous editions can be viewed here.