Welcome to the comprehensive guide to launching House Points in LiveSchool. House Points is an exciting and optional system that can have a significant impact on fostering a positive school culture, building camaraderie, and boosting school spirit among both students and faculty. In this article, we will take you through all the necessary steps to set up and run a successful House Points competition within LiveSchool.

Why House Points?

House Points can be a powerful addition to your school's culture. They promote teamwork, motivation, and a sense of belonging among students and staff. While there is some initial setup required, the benefits of House Points in enhancing your school community and making learning fun are well worth the effort.

Set Up Houses

In LiveSchool, you have the flexibility to create up to 12 Houses. These Houses can be assigned to students in various ways, including manual assignment, random assignment, or by grade level. Get creative with your House names to make the competition even more exciting.

Looking for creative ways to name your Houses? Check out our 1,000+ House names!

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Setup Option 1: Sort Students by Grade

First, go to House Points then click "House Setup." Easily sort your students into grade-level Houses with a single click:

From the House Setup screen, click on "Create Houses Using our Grade Lists".

Customize the House names as needed to match your school's unique identity.

Setup Option 2: Sort Students Randomly

For a bit of randomness, use the "Sort my students into Houses for me" option:

From the House Setup screen click on "Sort my students into Houses for me." Then enter the names of the houses you'd like and click "Continue".

You can specify how many Houses you want to create and name them accordingly. A House list can be downloaded to announce the Houses to students.

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Setup Option 3: Create Houses from Pre-Sorted Groups

Manually sorting your Houses is also an option:

To create Houses from Rosters you've already created, click on "I've set up my House rosters" and search for the House rosters you've built.

First, create rosters for each of your Houses and then link them to House Points. Detailed step-by-step instructions are available here.

Customize Your Houses

House names and colors play a crucial role in your House Points competition:

From the House Setup screen, click on "I've set up my House Rosters" and select "Options" for each house.

After setting up your Houses, you can control the names and colors displayed on the House Points Dashboard throughout the competition. This customization allows you to match the Houses with your school's unique theme and spirit.

Click "I've set up my House Rosters."
Click "Options" next to one of your House Rosters.
Select "Change Color" or "Edit Name."

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Run Your Competition

Setting a start date for your House Points competition is essential:

From the House Points screen select Options and click on the date. Set a new date on the calendar.

The House Points Dashboard will only display points earned after the start date. You can set the start date for the day before your competition begins or adjust it for new quarters without clearing your site's history.

Choose "Options"
Click the date next to "Competition Start Date"
Choose a new date and click "Save"

The start date updates the dashboard for everyone in the school.

Do not click "Delete Houses" unless you'd like to reset house points to default settings. But if you do, don't worry! You can re-link your house rosters to House Points using these steps.

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Subtract Negative Points from House Totals?

You have the option to decide whether negative points earned by individual students will be deducted from House totals:

From the Options screen, select Yes, Subtract Points or No, Don't Subtract to determine if demerits will be removed from your Houses.

This setting is distinct from the "Subtract Points for Negative Behavior" setting that affects individual student point balances.

Choose "Options"
Click "No, Don't Subtract" to make your choice.

When "Yes, Subtract Points" is chosen, the Dashboard will update the whole school with what negative point (behavior) was recorded, but will not show which student earned the negative point.

Switching between "No, Don't Subtract" and "Yes, Subtract Points" is retroactive. Any old demerits that were issued could cause the totals shown on the House Points Dashboard to decrease.

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Display The Dashboard!

Displaying the House Points Dashboard adds excitement and recognition to your competition:

Each time a student earns a point, their name and the specific point they earned are displayed on the Dashboard. The Dashboard also provides real-time standings for each House, making the competition engaging and competitive.

Requirements to Display the House Points Dashboard

To display the Dashboard, you'll need:

A TV
A connected device (or integrated technology in your TV) that can connect to the internet and log in to LiveSchool.
An input device (e.g., keyboard and mouse) to facilitate login and navigation.

How To Display the House Points Dashboard

Simply attach your internet-connected device to your TV, log in to LiveSchool, navigate to the House Points section, and click "Points Dashboard."

View the Points Dashboard from the House Points section of the app.

Your Dashboard will update in real time, keeping everyone engaged.

If you encounter difficulties, you can also display the House Points Dashboard by going directly to the URL and logging in with your LiveSchool account credentials.

You can also print House posters to keep your students in the loop if your school doesn't have TVs.

Looking for more LiveSchool Resources? Click here!

Add Points to an Entire House

Change the Color of a House on the House Points Dashboard

Restarting a House Points Competition and Setting a Start Date

Subtract Points from House Totals

Delete Houses