The system can be configured to send birthday messages by SMS to Learners, Parents and Staff. The SMS is generated based on the date of birth entered on each person's profile.

My School > General > Birthday SMS: Birthday SMS Options

For each recipient group there are 3 options. Click on the applicable tab (Learners, Parents or Staff) and then select one of the options:

A. Deactivate the service

Select this option if you do not want to use the birthday message service for a specific group. The function is then switched off for that group. Click Save.

B. Automated service

The automated service runs on “auto pilot” — including during school holidays.

1. Select the time at which messages should be sent (between 07:00 and 18:00).

2. Select a pre-set SMS template. A preview of the longest possible message is shown, together with the SMS length calculator. Every 160 characters costs 29c — this is an approximate calculation.

3. Click Save. Changes take effect the following day.

C. Task-driven service

Select this option to see a task at My Home > My Tasks on the day of birthdays.

1. On the task screen the following appears, for example: “You have 3 learners celebrating their birthdays today. Click here to send birthday messages to them.”

2. Select the template and the recipients to whom the message should be sent.

3. Click Continue and confirm to send the messages.

Click Save for each recipient group. Changes only take effect the following day.

Frequently asked questions

When do changes to the birthday SMS setup take effect?

Changes only take effect the following day. Remember to click Save for each recipient group (Learners, Parents, Staff) separately.