Why both a School Planner and Grade Level Planner? Why not just one planner?

In developing and field-testing this online tool, teachers and parents overwhelmingly agreed in asking for two separate planners. The School Planner allows for scheduling school-wide events (assemblies, speakers, meetings, after school events, parent invitations and notices, field trips, special meal times, etc). Grade Level Planners allow grade-level teams to download school-wide events from the master School Planner and then personalize their planners with events, details, notes, and reminders that would not be necessary for other grades to worry about.

Which planner should I create?

If you are a MARE Site Leader (have either attended a MARE Summer leadership Institute or been designated as the MARE site coordinator by your principal) then you can create a master School Planner. Once the School Planner is created, all Grade Level Planners can link directly to it and download school-wide events from it. A school can only have one master School Planner, so only MARE Site Leaders or designated site coordinators should create the School Planner.

If you are a grade-level teacher, you can create a Grade Level Planner in coordination with other teachers at your grade. In other words, it's probably more efficient and easier if grade-level teams collaborate in creating a single planner for each grade rather than individual planners for each class.

If you are a parent, you can create a Grade Level Planner with other parents at your grade level to help coordinate parent support throughout your schools Ocean Immersion event. If a School Planner has already been created for your school, your planner will also be linked to the master School Planner and be able to download any posted school-wide events.

How long can an Ocean Immersion event be?

Every school is different but most schools celebrate from one week to one month events. You can create a planner ranging from one week to six weeks long.

I checked and a School Planner has not yet been created for my school. What should I do?

If you find that a School Planner has not yet been created for your school, check with your MARE Site Leader or principal. Only these individuals should create a School Planner. We recommend waiting until a School Planner is created for your school before creating a Grade Level Planner. You can still create a Grade Level Planner before the master School Planner is created, but it will not be linked to the School Planner. You will need our technical assistance to connect any unlinked Grade Level Planners once a School Planner is created.

A School Planner has already been created for my school, but when I tried to create a linked Grade Level Planner I was asked for a master code. What is a master code and where do I get it?

When a School Planner is created, the creator of the school planner receives a master code that they can then e-mail to teachers, administrators, and parents inviting them to now create Grade Level Planners. This code is used by teacher/parent teams to correctly link Grade Level Planners to the master School Planner. It is also a security measure to restrict the linking of Grade Level Planners to authorized teachers and parents from that school. Without the master code, you cannot link a Grade Level Planner to a School Planner. If you have not received a master code and you are a teacher or parent at a school that is planning an Ocean Immersion event, you can request your schools master code by selecting Create a New Planner from the main menu, select Create Grade Level Planner, and then click on Request a School Code.

What if I lose my master code?

If you created the master School Planner and have lost or misplaced the master code, you will need to contact our technical support to receive your master code via the e-mail used in your account profile. If you are a teacher or parent wishing to create a Grade Level Planner but have not yet received or lost/misplaced the master code, you can request your schools master code by selecting Create a New Planner from the main menu, select Create Grade Level Planner, and then click on Request a School Code.

What if my e-mail or other user account information changes?

You can change your account passwords or other contact information by accessing User Settings from the main menu.

Can I create two master School Planners for my school?

No. Only one master School Planner can exist in a single academic year for any school. You can, however, create as many Grade Level Planners as you need for your Ocean Immersion event.

My state or city is not listed in the pull-down menu for checking for planners. Can I still create a planner?

You can still create either a School or Grade Level Planner for your school by selecting Create a New Planner from the main menu (either School or Grade Level) and clicking on Create a New School under Option 3. This will guide you to add your school information. Once your planner is made public, your city and state will appear in the pull down menus.

I want someone to view my planner but I don't want to give them permission to edit or modify it. Is this possible?

Yes, you can send someone an e-mail invitation to view your planner. Select Share from the My Planners menu and complete all of the fields (including the recipients e-mail address). They will receive an email with a link directly to a read-only version of the planner you wish to send.

I'm a 4th Grade teacher. Should I build a Grade Level Planner on my own?

You can if you wish, but we recommend that teachers work as grade-level teams to build a Grade Level Planner. You probably want to coordinate your lesson rotations, parent support, field trip logistics, special grade level specific speakers/visitors, etc with your other grade level teachers. You may certainly create your own planner for special reminders or notes, but the Grade Level Team Planner has space and designated locations for these important details.

I'm ready to create a Grade Level Planner. A School Planner has already been created and I have the master code. What do I do?

Select Create a New Planner from the main menu, then click on Create a Grade Level Planner. Under Option 1 (With a School Code), enter your schools master code and submit. Any information on your schools master template will be automatically downloaded onto your Grade Level Planner. Once the information is retrieved, you can begin personalizing your Grade Level Planner.

How do I create a new Grade Level Planner linked to the School Planner without a master code?

Select Create a New Planner from the main menu, click on Create a Grade Level Planner and then select Option 3: Without a School Code. From the pull-down menu, find the state, city, and name of the school you are linking to. Give your new Grade Level Planner a name and submit. Confirm that you wish to create a planner linked to the School Planner by clicking Yes. Now begin editing your new Grade Level Planner by defining your start and end dates and working title for the planner. You can also add preliminary notes and reminders here for yourself, other teachers, or parents. When ready to proceed, click Okay. You are now ready to begin building events into your planner.

How do I build a planner?

The planner is fairly self-instructive. Click on Help to view a mock planner. Drag your cursor over the highlighted areas of the planner to view pop-up help windows explaining how to create a great planner. Close the Help window to return to edit mode.

My school's Ocean Immersion event lasts an entire month, but I only want to build a Grade Level Planner for one week within that month. Can I do this?

Yes, you can decide the start and end dates of your Grade Level Planner. However, the planner you create will download information from the master school template to your Grade Level Planner for the entire month. You can specify one week within that month, but will see information for the entier month. You will be able to edit information for that week only.

I forgot to add color to my planner from the start. Can I add color at the end?

Adding color at the end requires you to select a color, then drag a new colored Day Title to the day you wish to color. Unless the title of the day you are dragging is identical to the non-color day, the Day Title will need to be corrected to what it read before being colored. Any timed events within the day will remain unchanged.

The colorful image I keep dragging to a day on my planner won't "stick" to the day I want. What's going on?

The menu of provided images at the bottom of the planner can only be dragged onto blank days or days with Day Titles only. If you have an event scheduled already in that day, you cannot paste an image over it.

What is the difference between Save and Save & Publish?

Clicking Save allows you to save any work you have done to a planner. It is a private planner and can be viewed only by you. Save & Publish creates a publicly viewable planner. Visitors to the Ocean Immersion Planner homepage can view you planner by selecting from the pull-down menus. This published is read only (it cannot be modified) but it can be printed.