How to change the pop-up messages
The messages that pop up when you first access the site are controlled by Nova Sticky Messages. The simplest way to modify them (or turn them off) is to go to:
Joomla->Extensions->Module Manager
and then click on Nova Sticky Messages (or perhaps Pro Sticky Messages, depending on when your site was established).
To turn the notes off entirely, just click on the "No" button to the right of the word "Enabled" in the top-left box.
You can edit the messages for Guests and Classmates in the boxes on the right-hand side of the page.
If you want the initial messages to only appear once, set "One time cookie" in "Module Parameters" to "Yes".
The module has lots of additional capabilities, including sound, video and links, which we have not explored.