 Hey, hey from CESA! Let's learn how to use the new messages feature in CESA. When you log into CESA, you're going to notice a few changes. There is now a messages icon in the upper left-hand corner next to your name. This is where you will find all messages sent from your teacher or principal for you. You will also now see a notifications tab on the right-hand side next to your Activities tab. This is where you will receive all notifications about new activity in your journal, like when you have comments on a post from your teacher or family member, or if a teacher sends back a post for you to continue working on. Let's tap on the Messages icon. You are now in your CESA messages. It's important to know that all messages from all of your teachers will show up no matter what class you are in. So if you have a CESA class for your homeroom, your reading group, and your PE class, no worries. You can see messages from all three of your teachers no matter which class you have clicked into. How cool! There are two types of messages you should know about. Announcements and Conversations. This is an announcement. You will know the conversation is an announcement when you see the speaker icon. Your teacher might send an announcement to remind the class of an upcoming field trip or an important test coming up. You cannot reply all to an announcement. If you need to reply to an announcement because you have a very important question to ask your teacher about their announcement, then tap the three dots under the announcement they sent, and tap Privately Reply to send a private message to your teacher. The private conversation between you and your teacher will open up. Simply type out your very important question and tap Send. Only you and the teacher will see this reply. The other message type in Messages is a conversation. The teacher might send a group conversation to the entire class with the question of the day or a group conversation to you and a few other students to check in on a group project. Group conversations are a great way for you and your classmates or students in other classes to have discussions. To reply to a group conversation, simply type your message. Then tap Send. All members in this group conversation will be able to see your reply and respond to you in this ongoing conversation thread. To start a new conversation, tap on the paper and pencil icon in the top left. To get started, type your teacher's name into the Send to box and select them from the drop-down menu. Next, type your very important message to your teacher. This is a great place to ask homework questions. Don't forget you can add an attachment like a picture or video using the green Add button. When you are ready, tap Send. If your teacher sends you a one-on-one message, you can easily reply to this conversation like you would a group conversation. One last thing, you can filter your messages. This is an easy way to find messages from one teacher if you're in multiple C-Saw classes. Just select all messages and then select the class and only messages from teachers in that class will appear. So why would you need to send a message? You might begin a private message with your teacher or teachers to get homework help. You can contribute to a group conversation with teachers and classmates for group projects, questions of the day, or even to collaborate on a school-wide celebration. You can privately reply to an announcement from your teachers if you have a really important question that cannot wait, and you can even participate in a group message with your teacher and family members about your progress. It is important to remember to be thoughtful, appropriate, and kind when using C-Saw messages. When you are being thoughtful, appropriate, and kind, you are being a good digital citizen. We're excited for you to start using messages. See you again soon here at C-Saw.