SURRAnet Version 3.0 is now Online!
IMPORTANT NOTE - If you are having problems viewing your account, then the issue may be your browser. SURRAnet has been tested on these major browsers - Firefox, Safari, and Chrome. Internet Explorer tends to lag behind in implementing industry standands, thus if the latest version of IE doesn't work for you, you will need a browser like Firefox (click to download) in order to use SURRAnet online. Don't worry, Firefox won't slow down your computer, and it's one of the few modern browsers that works on older systems (Windows XP and even Windows 98).
Firefox does not replace IE, you can use both - Firefox for SURRAnet and IE for other stuff, if you so desire.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Updated 01/29/2011
What is SURRAnet?
SURRAnet is a student information system (SIS) that tracks a variety of data to allow administration, teachers, parents, and the student to track his / her performance at school. SURRAnet offers a number of tools to the faculty, including computerized gradebooks, attendance records, discipline records, the ability to print report cards, and more. The online portal is the student's and parent's access point to SURRAnet.
Is my child's information safe online?
The information accessible online is protected by user ID, strong passwords, and encryption technology. This means that only those who have access to a specific user ID / password pair can access that student's profile (therefore do not give that information out to just anyone). More importantly, the actual database itself is stored on a secured server that is not directly connected to the Internet. What you see online is a copy of summary data such as grade averages, attendance totals, etc. No sensitive information, like your address, is stored on our website.
How up-to-date is the information?
Any changes that are made to the database (new grades, discipline infractions, etc.) are uploaded daily to our website at 6:00 AM. Teachers are encouraged to keep grades up-to-date on a weekly basis, though the grades posted usually lag about a week due to the time required to score papers, tests, etc. Sometimes a teacher's other responsibilities will cause him/her to fall behind in entering grades into our database, therefore each course has its last assignment and due date listed. It is also important to know that some subjects (particularly practicums and certain electives) are graded only at the end of a quarter and thus won't change online on a week-to-week basis. You are more than welcome to contact the teacher of a particular course (see below) if you have concerns regarding the "freshness" of the information you're viewing.
Why is the information online not the same as what is on the printed report card?
The SURRAnet online portal provides a comprehensive look at the entire school year, whereas a printed report covers a specific period of time, usually the 9-week period that makes an academic quarter. Ultimately it's the "big picture", as SURRAnet online provides, that is important. The final report card printed at the end of the school year will match the online portal since both cover the same period of time.
How do I contact a teacher by e-mail?
Just click their name as listed in the Academics Section of your SURRAnet report. This should open up your email client with their GHCA school email address already filled in.
How accurate is the information?
While the information provided by this service will usually be quite accurate, GHCA makes no guarantee that the information online will be mistake-free. Our teachers are encouraged multiple times throughout the school year to double-check the database against their books, enter makeup work and redos, etc. If you have any questions concerning the grades recorded for a particular course, please set up an appointment with the teacher of that course.
It is important to understand that at the beginning of a new school year, the course average is based on only a small number of assignments, thus it will be greatly affected by single assignments. As the school year progresses, the the average becomes much more statistically sound, but this also means that it has more "inertia" - it becomes harder to change the average the later in the year it becomes. It is thus best to proactively work to raise low averages early on and not wait until the last days to attempt to affect a change.
Why is the lower elementary excluded from this service?
SURRAnet was written primarily with high school requirements in mind, and while it does scale well down into our upper elementary, our lower elementary school is using a substantially different grading system that is not compatible with SURRAnet.
I think I found a bug - what do I do?
With SURRAnet 3.0 being new program code, it's likely that a computer glitch or two have yet to be discovered. If you find a bug, the first thing to do is make sure you are using the latest available version of your Internet web browser (see our note above). The browser plays a critical role in rendering the Interface, and old browsers lack the technology needed by SURRAnet. If that doesn't help, send an email to support@surratech.com with "Bug found in SURRAnet" in the subject line. Be thorough in your description of the problem.
I can't even log in!
Passwords are case-sensitive, and it's sometimes easy to mistake a letter like 'oh' with a number (zero). It is important not to have any spaces in, before, or after your password. Make sure you're using the current and not an old password. If you still can't log in, call the office for additional help.
SURRAnet Development
SURRAnet is open source software owned solely by Michael Surran and released under the Artistic License 2.0. The database engine, HTTP server, and XML dynamic code generators are written in Python, while the client-side interface is coded in Javascript. If you are interested in the latest updates, upcoming features, hints and tips for SURRAnet, visit the SURRAnet Facebook Page and click "Like". To download source code, visit the SURRAtech website.
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