What parents and pupils see in HexerSMS

HexerSMS is the school management system we're building for nursery, primary and JHS schools in Ghana. Most of it is for the school office and teachers, but one part is for families: the pupil's portal, which pupils and their parents use together.

HexerSMS is still in development. Here's what families will see.

Signing in

There's one login per pupil, and parents use it too. It's the pupil's Student ID, made from a short code for the school and a number, plus a password.

When the school office creates a pupil's account, the parent gets a text with the Student ID and a link to set a password. The link works for 7 days. Passwords need at least 8 characters, with an uppercase letter, a lowercase letter, a number and a special character.

Forgot the password? Tap Forgot password and HexerSMS texts a 6-digit code, valid for 10 minutes.

There's nothing to install. HexerSMS runs in the web browser on any phone or laptop. On a phone, the main pages sit in tabs along the bottom: Dashboard, Grades, Fees and Attendance.

The dashboard

The first page shows the essentials: the pupil's overall grade, their attendance, the fee balance, today's classes, unread messages, announcements and recent grades.

Grades

Grades appear as teachers record them, not only at the end of term. So families can see how a pupil is doing during the term, not just on report day. Before the exam, the overall grade is projected from what's been recorded so far, weighted the same way as the report card.

Report cards

Once the school publishes a report, it appears in the portal, ready to print. Reports that are still being prepared don't show. Here's how HexerSMS works out the report.

Attendance

The attendance page shows the pupil's attendance rate and the number of days present, late, excused and absent, month by month, with a list of the days themselves. Families can choose the dates to look at.

Fees

The fees page shows the outstanding balance, the balance for each term, the payment history, and a receipt for every payment. Fees are paid to the school directly, not through HexerSMS, so the page points families to the school office for how to pay. Here's how fees work.

Timetable and messages

The class timetable is there for the week. Pupils can also message their teachers and the school office, and announcements from teachers show up in the portal.

Where it stands

HexerSMS isn't open to schools yet. If your child's school might be interested, or you run a school yourself, email us at info@hexerize.com, or look around the preview.