Kingswood-Oxford School uses an email system called FirstClass and provides every student, teacher and staff member with an account on the school's mail server. K-O email addresses are all in the format: UserID@k-o.org   While at school you can access your email account on the FirstClass server through the FirstClass client program that is loaded on every school PC.
The desktop icon for the FirstClass email client program looks like this:


Double-clicking on the icon will start the client program and you will then see, briefly, the FirstClass company logo.


Then, after the program loads, you will see the logon box:


Depending on the computer you are using to access the system, the User ID: box will be blank, or contain your username, or the previous user's username.

The User ID for a student FirstClass account is the same as the K-O Network logon name and is in the format: lastname.firstinitial.twodigitclassyear (i.e. smith.j.06). [When duplicate accounts occur, we add the first initial of the middle name (i.e. smith.ja.06).] For returning students, the FirstClass password is not reset at the beginning of each school year. For a new student, initially your FirstClass Password is also the same as your Network password and is either your birthdate in the form: mmddyyyy or, if we don't have it, 99999999. If your FirstClass Password does not work, please see Mrs. Solomon in the Upper School Library or Mrs. Brodeur in the Middle School Resource Room.
Enter your Username in the User ID: box and then your Password in the Password: box and click on Login (or press Enter).

If your logon is successful you will be at your Kingswood-Oxford FirstClass desktop, which will look like this (but some icons will be different):


Please Note: To protect your privacy and access to your account, make sure you close the client by clicking on the FirstClass Exit icon (it's the one on the far right of the top icon bar) when you are finished with a mail session. Remember: Students are responsible for their email and their accounts and any abusive email sent from their accounts!

Double-clicking on any of the email desktop icons will open that area of your account. Your mailbox is always the first icon in the upper left corner of the desktop. Whenever you have unread mail or messages a little red flag will appear next to the icon for the area containing the message. Some teachers at K-O use FirstClass Conferences for distributing or collecting classwork. Icons for those conferences will appear on your desktop and the teacher will tell you about their use in class.

Most of your use of FirstClass will be from your mailbox. Open your mailbox by double-clicking on the mailbox icon on the desktop and you will see something like this:


If you double-click on a message, it will open in a new box and look something like this:


The icons on the top of each box perform the usual functions one would expect in any email program. If you are not sure of what an icon does, move the mouse cursor onto it and pause - after a few seconds a box will open with a short description. (Note: Be careful, the default reply is to ALL people who received the message, not just the sender.) (Special Internet Safety Note: Never open an email attachment unless it is one you are expecting from a sender you know!)
There are two ways you can learn more about the functions of FirstClass email; first, you can and should play around with the program. Practice by sending yourself some email and try out some of the other functions. It's a powerful, yet fairly easy package. Second, there is extensive help and a variety of demo movies at Atomic Learning. This is a subscription based tutorial and demo service that K-O has purchased access to from any PC on campus. To visit the FirstClass help go to the site, click on "Windows Tutorials", then, at the bottom of the right column, click on "FirstClass Email Client" and you will then see the complete list of 40 QuickTime demo and tutorial movies. Try it when you have a question about using FirstClass.

For access to your K-O email account from your home or personal computer, you can download a copy of the version 8.3 client software for free from the FirstClass download site and install it on your own PC.
On the page, under the header Click below for the North American FirstClass 8.3 Client, click on the Operating System your home computer runs. On the page you are sent to, select "Step 1" for the download and install. When the install is complete, do not select "Step 2".
Instead you can manually configure your client by; starting the client (double click on the FirstClass desktop icon), and when the logon box appears; make sure home.fc is in the "Address:" box, then click on the "Setup" button, then enter High-Speed Internet.FCP in the Connect via: box (assuming you have High Speed Internet access from Home), then enter your User ID in the "User ID:" box, then enter firstclass.k-o.org in the "Server:" box. When those three pieces are in, click on the "Save" button. The logon box should now display with home.fc as the Address, firstclass.k-o.org as the Server, and your ID as the User ID. You are ready to logon on by entering your password and clicking on the "Login" button or hitting "Enter".

You can also access your K-O FirstClass email account from any PC connected to the internet via a web interface at firstclass.k-o.org
Point your browser to firstclass.k-o.org and when the page comes up, click on the desktop graphic in the middle of the page. You will then see the FirstClass Login box. Enter your User ID and Password and click on the "Login" button (or hit "Enter") just as you would if you were logging on at school and you will see a "webified" version of your email desktop.
The web version of FirstClass access is slightly different than access via the client program. For example, while there are icons at the top of the main page, most actions occur by clicking on options in a menu column on the left side of the pages. Also, many actions require only a single mouse click. The best way to get used to the web version is to play around with it. Try it now, so if you ever need it you won't get delayed by its differences.