databird

Moving to a different MIS is being discussed. I am a data manager with no responsibility for the hosting/running of SIMs, just using and manipulating the data. Over the years I have built whole swathes of marksheets and reports bespoke to what we need here. Can any of that be migrated along with the data? For eg from SIMs to Bromcom? Our admin staff would literally resign if we had to rebuild all out 'tools'

Fellow Edugeeks, I am struggling to apply my Year 11 Leavers date in SIMs and it is fast approaching! I'm using Routines, Students, Leavers, selecting the Year 11's then All to get them in the panel below, then leaving date of 27/6/2019, reason End of phase transfer FE, Apply to all which I can see it has in the panel, then Save. And all that happens is the circle of doom whirrs around until someone from IT rings to say I've broken SIMs again and can they kick me off? Has anyone encountered this or have any helpful ideas please? Just to mention that we had a full rebuild of SIMs from scratch in November 2018 so this is essentially the first time this will have been done since we had to start the whole bloomin' thing all over again. In case it makes any difference. Thanks in advance for your help Databird

Calling all SIMs Data Managers and the like, Any help or advice needed, all donations gratefully accepted. Let's imagine for one horrific moment that SIMs got wiped completely and there are no backups. *quiet sobs* How would you go about trying to repopulate your student details with the minimum of manual labour? Hypothetically, I had an idea that you could get hold of the most recent census file, reverse engineer it and turn it into CTF file(s), letting SIMs do most of the legwork. It would require some XML jiggery pokery, but on paper, seems reasonable? Alternatively, collating all available data from various different other sources into a spreadsheet/csv file, and turn that into a CTF file. Then churning out data collection sheets for parents to fill in any gaps. Does anyone have any thoughts on this approach, pitfalls, other ideas, another way of doing it? There may be more back door options I don't know about or bright ideas from your collective experience. All entirely hypothetical of course. Many Thanks Databird

Hi folks, I have been trying to set up a scheduled report to pick up a) that days behaviour incidents worth 3 points or more a) same report on a weekly basis. So far, the job is running and producing output (with a large onward date range in the Scheduled bit), but I am only managing to produce data for the date I created the report. How do I get the date to change dynamically within the report itself? No doubt a rookie mistake, but it's driving me bananas. Any help gratefully accepted. Thanks Databird

Thanks for the tips folks. I'm just going to have to suck it up and get on with it. I have drawn up a spreadsheet to keep tabs on it, and am shortcut key happy, so with any luck, I might get finished before term starts in September ) It's hard enough trying to work out what they really want from some woolly high level requirements, never mind trying to build it all from scratch. As you say, it'll probably all be in the bin by the end of next year, but hey, it pays the bills. Cheers Databird

Hi folks, I have found several historic threads on this topic, but I guess they are out of date by now. I have to set up 100s of Aspects for our new AWL scheme (doesn't resemble anything like the off the shelf ones before you ask.....), and I had hoped I could create one set of Aspects for one subject, export them and clone and replace in an XML editor to then reimport them for the 20 odd subjects, but having exported them, I am a bit baffled by the id numbers, can I create my own? Is the whole idea barking mad? I saw that someone had created a useful tool for this very job, but that was 5 years ago and I wondered if anyone had anything similar they are willing to share............... Many Thanks Databird

Hi folks, Another SIMs nube question if I may. Staff keep asking me for a marksheet to enable them to track pupils Grades + Behaviour mark + Motivation mark for all subjects, 3 assessment times a year throughout the school. My ready reckoning makes that a marksheet of 16 KS3 subjects x 3 columns (G, M, B) x 3 times a year, x 5 years = 720. Which is obviously out of the question. Any suggestions of how to achieve this for them? 4matrix takes care of the Grades for me, but I can't see how I can do it for Behaviour and Motivation marks. I may have missed something painfully obvious so please feel free to point that out. Many Thanks Databird

Dear fellow Data Managers, I am hoping for some input from those of you who have been in the job longer than I. I am 6 months into being a Data Manager at a large busy secondary school. My hours are only 20 a week (term time only) with no options to increase hours. I have 15 years experience in IT as an analyst programmer/systems analyst/application support engineer so I am aware that there is a lot more to SIMs than just a repository for grades. BUT! In my limited hours, I am totally bogged down in producing students reports and data churning spreadsheets and reports (not by choice!) for SLT and Governers meetings. I want to be a good Data Manager, but at the moment, there is no time to manage anything. What I wanted to ask was if you were in my situation, where should I concentrate my precious few spare hours here and there in order to get to grips with SIMs, what more it can do for me/the school, and what more my role as a Data Manager should include in your experience? Thank you in anticipation Databird

Hi WTT, Thanks for confirming. I have resorted to pestering my previous incumbent in his new job and he too relayed the bad news that we have to go through each marksheet one by one. *sigh* Happy updating ( Cheers Databird

Hi folks, Apologies for the probably dumb question, but I am a SIMs nube, and we are struggling to work out why the teachers cannot see their marksheets under Focus-My Marksheets (that's IT services, me, admissions, timetabling, outside support desk....). Initial thoughts are that there is some sort of timetabling issue, but registers etc are working fine. I have been told that I probably need to reassign every marksheet to the new classes for this year (our class names change each year as they are based on the teachers initials....................) so that Sims knows which kids are in which classes but that seems like a mahoosive amount of work and I can't believe that's the (best) solution. Any help gratefully accepted Many Thanks Despondent Databird

Hi folks, Apologies for nube question (only just into my 3rd week on SIMs.....). Is there any way to force todays date as the default date in the Membership Period 'From Date' field on the List Entry Browser? Lot of teachers having issues at report writing time with pupils who were "never in their class", changed class, left school etc, and it's always because they haven't entered todays date in the From field, and are therefore picking up the names of every student who was ever assigned to their class. If I can default it to today when the browser opens, that would save me the pain of explaining it 37 times over. Many Thanks in advance databird

Hi everyone, I am new to SIMs and the Data Manager role in the Reigate/Redhill area (though I have 15 years IT experience as a Cobol programmer and an Application Support Analyst so am no stranger to databases.................). Seems every question I have so far is on this forum somewhere so thank you already for being the font of all knowledge. Looking forward to sharing inane questions with you in the coming weeks and months :-) Databird