June 2026
Editor's Note
Pill bugs, potato bugs, roly-polies, sow bugs. Whatever name you call them the Armadillidium vulgare are a fascinating creature.
As terrestrial isopods, these creatures aren't insects. Instead they are crustaceans, and like their shrimp and lobster relations, they breathe out of gills.
And like crab and crayfish, they are edible! Apparently they taste like shrimp and are a great source of protein.
If you aren't interested in their flavor, perhaps you would like to know that they are great to help break down compost and they have many benefits for your garden.
Bugs are a common pest in the tech garden as well (see what I did there?!). While a software bug definitely feels more annoying than a garden-variety roly-poly, it's usually just a sign that a new update isn't quite compatible with our existing code. Digging into the system to find the root of the issue is no small task.
I want to give a massive shout-out to our brilliant programmers, CEO Trent Liscomb and Lexie Veblungsnes, for not only keeping our tech garden weeded, but also working at odd hours to develop all the new features we have coming this summer.
Read on to see all the fixes they did this month.
Hope you all have a relaxing summer!
NEW & IMPROVED
This is what's NEW:
- There is now a "Clear All" button in the Assign Category to Judges page.
- Teachers are now allowed to see judging feedback.
- Stats at the bottom of Auto Assign Judges now show judge preferences and how many judges picked that category.
- Clicking on the judges tab when assigning projects shows a new field where you can transfer assigned projects to a different judge all at once.
- When sending messages in bulk email, an option to "Require All Tags" shows up as you select multiple tags in the Tag Filter.
- You can now enter in a maximum amount of assignments given to special awards.
- A list to show which judges were assigned to more than one judge group has been added to the top of the Judge Group Page.
- You can now add a limit to volunteers who sign up for a session and a message will appear to the volunteer when the limit has been reached.
New Configs:
- Teacher - Show Judging Feedback: Teachers are now allowed to see judging feedback when this config is engaged. Feedback Manager will appear in the Teacher's menu and they can manage the feedback for their students.
UPDATES:
- Additional fields added to CSV export for scores from the Judging Results Reviewer (Team and Times Judged).
- Additional fields added to Stats report.
- Emails are now sent to directors when Teachers sign up to be Judges as well.
- You can now see the title, description, and photo credit in the Photo Gallery.
- Records of who edits the "ready to review" and "ready for Judging" are now available.
NEW LAST MONTH:
- Paperwork review shows counts
- Amount of times scored shows in Results Reviewer
- Auto tags for custom questions
- Bulk Emails now have exclude options
TEAM NOTES
In addition to zFairs, we have our own organizational software—the behind-the-scenes magic that rarely gets the spotlight. Here at zFairs, that invisible engine is what runs our business. You might not physically see any changes made to this software, but I guarantee we are working hard to make our communication with you smoother than ever.
To make sure we're hitting the mark, we've sent quick survey separate from this newsletter. We'd truly appreciate it if you took a few minutes to let us know where we can improve, and of course, what you already love about zFairs!
Tip of the Month: Where to Find Stats
With your event ended, now is the time to be gathering all those demographics and stats for your sponsors, finance department, and future campaigning for your event. But where do you find what you are looking for?
The Dashboard
Although still a work in progress, the dashboard will not only show you a doughnut chart on some select demographics of your event, but clicking on the "data" tab will show you exact counts.
Report Viewer: Stats
Yes, that is the name of the report! Stats is exactly what you would expect to find there. We have just pulled a few items from your fair and provide counts for each item.
Quick Access
Messages | Grade Stats | Reports
If there are other stats you would like to be shown in either the report or on the dashboard, please include it in your survey response or reach out to us directly at Support@zFairs.com.