Sandbox is the Student Management Application that we use at Prairie Pals. 

  

The system gives us a central location to access and update

student file information that is required by DCFS and provides

a consistent communication channel for information distribution. 

      

    

TA2017 Info

   

Sandbox Parent Portal Overview

Once you have enrolled at Prairie Pals, you will create a Sandbox Parent Portal Account.

The following is a brief overview of what you will find in the portal.

  

Parent Portal Login Website: https://parentportal.runsandbox.com/

  

Balance Due: ** We do NOT currently utilize the billing features in the Sandbox system.  Your balance due will always read $0.00.  If you have questions about tuition rates, you can check your child's enrollment in the Child Info tab, reference a copy of your Tuition Agreement that you sign for childcare, or the enrollment reservation form for preschool.

 

* Items marked with an asterisk below can be updated by you in the portal.  Some changes will require "approval" before you are able to see them in your child's online file.  This is simply an audit check so we can make sure that the change is appropriately communicated to all individuals / reports that need to be modified throughout the building.  As soon as the change is accepted, you will see the new information reflected in your Sandbox file.

    

News Feed Wall:

• The parent portal news feed wall is the first screen you will see when you log into your portal account and where we will post important information from school.  The office will post links to monthly newsletters, flyers for upcoming events at school, the monthly childcare menu, etc.  Preschool teachers will post their weekly gazettes and Childcare and Preschool teachers will post pictures and updates for things happening in the classroom at school.
• Information posted on the news feed wall is categorized by month, so you're able to click back to a particular month to find information that was distributed earlier in the year.  This can be particularly helpful when searching for the Preschool Student Directory and other forms that are typically posted within the first month of school starting.

Messages:

• The Messages tab allows you to send a direct message to the school.  It is a great tool for reporting an absence or asking a quick question about the schedule or a classroom activity.  Currently, you cannot select a direct recipient for your message, so if your child attends multiple classes in our building (Preschool & Childcare) - both teachers will have access to your message thread.  If your message is of a more sensitive nature, please feel free to send an email message to the recipient rather than posting on the Message Board. 
  

Child Info

• * General Info:  your child's name, birthday and gender.
• Enrollment:  you can view your child's current and upcoming enrollments.  Preschool Teacher assignments are also posted in this section next to your enrollment once those details are announced prior to the start of school. You can find your monthly or weekly tuition information here, as well.
• * Medical / Allergy Information:  Our student allergy and medical requirement reports are based on the information you have supplied here.   If there are any changes to your student's allergy / medical requirements, please update here so we can make the necessary adjustments on our reports at school.
• Attachments: The office has the ability to upload files for your review here.  You will be notified if we attach a file to your student's account that needs attention.

Calendar:

• ** Important Note regarding the Calendar: the calendar is automatically generated based on your child's class schedule and we are not able to delete days when preschool isn't in session due to District Days off, Field Trips, etc.  Please don't use this as a guide for those days.  You can access the Preschool Calendar distributed at Orientation or posted on the website and Sandbox wall for those days.   We are able to add "Center Closed" dates to the calendar for days when the entire building is closed due to a holiday.

Attendance:

• Attendance is manually entered from the sign-in sheets that are used when you drop off and pick up your students. 

Daily Logs:

• Electronic Daily logs are not currently being utilized.  We will notify families if that changes. 
  

Contacts

• * Guardians:  we are required to have a full home address (with city, state and zip) as well as a current phone number for each of the child's guardians.  An email address is also required for at least one guardian. 
• * Contacts:  we are required by DCFS to have 2 local / non-parent individuals that can get to our building within approximately 20 minutes in the event of an emergency listed for each student.   We need to have a full address (including city, state and zip) as well as a current phone number for each person listed.  You can have as many Authorized Pick-Up people on your list as needed, but a minimum of 2 of these contacts must have the Emergency Contact box checked in Sandbox.  
• * Family Doctor:  we are also required to maintain contact information for each child's doctor's office in their file.

Settings:

• Account Info:  if you need to change or update your Parent Portal password, you can visit this account info setting.  
• Notifications:  we will default your notifications to send an email when items are posted to your newsfeed wall or your message board in Sandbox.  
  

Click here to download a copy of the Sandbox Registration Guide.

This guide will help walk you through getting your student's file set-up in our Sandbox system.