Setting up a semester to block off dates

Last updated: August 17, 2026

Semesters in Noto let you define a term's start and end dates and mark specific dates to skip. When you schedule recurring sessions and select that semester, Noto uses the term's dates as defaults and automatically skips the blackout dates you set — useful for school breaks, holidays, and any non-teaching days within a term.

Create a semester and add blackout dates

Semesters are managed on the Semesters page under Settings.

  1. Go to Settings → Semesters.

  2. Create a new semester, or open an existing one to edit.

  3. Set the Semester Start Date.

  4. Set the Semester End Date.

  5. In the Blackout Days field, select each date you want recurring sessions to skip.

  6. Save.

Once saved, any recurring sessions created with that semester selected will use the start and end dates as the default range and skip the blackout dates you chose. This applies to both group classes and private enrollments.

Configure a service to use a semester

For a semester's dates and blackout days to take effect when scheduling, the service itself needs to be configured with that semester.

  1. Go to the service you want to configure (for example, under Services in your dashboard).

  2. Open the service's settings.

  3. Locate the Semester field and select the semester you created.

  4. Save the service.

Once the service is linked to a semester, recurring sessions created for that service will default to the semester's start and end dates as the default range and automatically skip the blackout dates you set.

Use a semester when scheduling

The semester picker appears on every form that schedules recurring sessions, including:

  • Enrollment creation

  • Recurrence edits

  • Group section creation

  • Add-to-enrollment

  • Edit service recurrence

The picker defaults to the service's own semester, so nothing changes unless you override it. Picking a semester prefills the recurrence start and end dates and skips its blackout dates. Choosing None applies no blackout-date filtering.

Good to know

  • Blackout dates should fall inside the semester range. Noto currently lets you pick blackout dates before the semester's start date, but those dates fall outside the term and won't behave as intended. Keep blackout selections between your start and end dates.

  • Existing sessions aren't removed. Setting up blackout dates affects recurring sessions created afterward. If lessons are already scheduled on those dates, they need to be cancelled individually.

  • Ended semesters don't interfere with new scheduling. If you schedule a session from the calendar for a service tied to a semester whose end date is in the past, that ended semester won't affect scheduling.

Blocking dates without using a semester

If you need to block off a week or specific dates outside the semester mechanism — for example, a one-off closure — you have two options:

  • Staff availability: On an instructor's staff profile, add "Unavailable hours" for each day of the target range.

  • Calendar block: On a teacher's calendar, click and drag over a time range and select Block.

Keep in mind:

  • Neither method cancels lessons already scheduled during that period. Existing sessions must be cancelled individually.

  • With multiple instructors, you'll need to repeat the block on each teacher.

  • There is no single studio-wide "close for the week" toggle.

Self-scheduling and semester dates

If members self-schedule recurring slots, the self-scheduling flow may still show dates before the term's start. As a workaround, set date-specific availability that runs from the term start date through the end of term, so only in-term dates are offered.