Creating absence letter templates for use in attendance.
Purpose.
To enable schools to create absence letters in their own style and wording to be used with the absence tracking report in Integris Attendance.
Instructions.
Creating a letter Template Using Windows Explorer or My Computer go to the Keys\Integris\MMTPL\Attend directory and double click on the ABSLIST document to open it. This document contains all the Integris field names that can be used in a letter template. Start a new word document and type your absence letter, including all the Integris field names you want to use. e.g.
Dear , I am writing to inform you that has been absent from schools between to …………..etc
Tip: The Integris field names can simply be typed straight into your letter template, but it may save time if you have the ABSLIST document open and simply highlight the relevant field names and copy them, then paste them into your template.
Once the letter is finished, click on file at the top of the screen and choose save as. Save it in the Keys\Integris\MMTPL\Attend directory with a file extension of .kst, placing speech marks round the whole thing, e.g. “first absence letter.kst”
This template can now be used each time you need to send an absence letter.
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Sending absence letters using the letter template.
Note: If you have not previously used the absence tracking report, you may have to set your absence limit prior to running the report. To do this click on Parameters from the Attendance sidebar and choose Absence Limit & Absence letter templates. Type in your required absence limit at the top left hand side. E.g. If you want Absence Tracking to pull up all students who have one or more consecutive days of unauthorised absence the limit would be 2 (a morning and afternoon session)
From the Attendance sidebar click reports. Click on the Absence Tracking Folder to open it and highlight the Absence tracking report. Input the first and last dates of the period you wish to run tracking for and click print. Highlight the students you want to send letters to by clicking on their names (holding the ctrl key down whilst highlighting the names allows you to select multiple students). Click on Print Letters. Choose Print to a Mail Merge Template or Mail Merge File (csv) and OK. Click on yes to say you want to print the letters now. Highlight the letter you want to send and click OK. Click on yes, to say you want to continue. Microsoft Word will automatically be opened and the letters merged, once this has finished you will be asked if the letters have printed successfully. Clicking on Yes will log the date in the absence tracking screen, clicking on No will allow you to print the letters again. The letters can now be printed from word, or edited in word in the usual way.
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