E-Mail at MISD

The district maintains a professional-quality e-mail system for use by staff and teachers while conducting school business. Your e-mail account is subject to the conditions outlined in the district’s Acceptable Use Policy document. 

E-mail faqs

	Q:	Q:Why can’t I get my mail at the ESC 14 web site?
	A:	Because you don’t have an account on the Region 14 mail server.  Unless you work for an entity other than MISD (co-op, etc.), your mail is maintained by Merkel ISD, not Region 14.  You can access it from the Merkel ISD web site.
	Q:	How do I get an e-mail account?
	A:	District employees are issued an e-mail account when they sign the Acceptable Use Policy.  If you don’t have an account, see your campus tech representative.
	Q:	How do I read my mail from the web site?
	A:	Go to the MISD web site:  (www.merkel.esc14.net) and click the District E-Mail link.  You must know your username and password. You can read your mail from any computer with an Internet connection
	Q:	What’s my username and password?
	A:	Your e-mail username is the first part of your e-mail address – the part before the @merkel.esc14.net.  With very few exceptions, this is your first initial, last name. Your password is generally the last six, unless you have changed it to something else.  If you have changed it, I cannot look it up. I can only clear it or set a new one.
	Q:	Do we have e-mail training?
	A:	Not really. GroupWise is very easy to use and most teachers don't require help. The HS multimedia classes have developed some tutorials that might be useful for the basics.  In addition to basic e-mail, GroupWise has many advanced features. The "Help" screen in GroupWise is quite useful. There’s a link to an online Users Guide, and the Help Topics index is well organized. Occasionally, staff development sessions may be offered as well.
	Q:	What about all this spam?   ...SPAM thing #1
	A:	I wish these spammer people would get real jobs…. Believe it or not, most spam -is- caught by an aggressive spam and virus filter on our server.  But we can’t catch everything. If you receive mail you find objectionable, please just delete it, or use the Junk and Block features in GroupWise and just get rid of it.  If you feel you are receiving an unusually large volume of junk mail (> 12 day), please send an e-mail to the technology director.
	Q:	I think I’m not receiving all my mail?  ...SPAM thing #2
	A:	It’s possible – the spam filter can’t always distinguish between ‘real’ junk and your buddy forwarding the latest baldness cure….  My suggestion is to have your friends send this type mail to your personal e-mail account rather than your school account. Every day, all the trash that the spam filter catches is reviewed by a human (possibly a teen-ager) to make sure no ‘real’ mail was captured. If it was, it will be sent on to you if at all possible. *If there’s someone who regularly sends you mail, and it never comes through, please let me know. Include the sender’s e-mail address. I can adjust the filter to ‘always allow’ mail from a particular sender or domain.
	Q:	I signed up for a mailing list and I’m not getting anything? ...SPAM thing #3
	A:	If you sign up for a mailing list, such as the TLC list or another educational site – please let me know.  In most cases, I will need to put an exception to allow it to pass the filter. Please make it easier on the teen-agers (and me) by not signing up for joke of the day, free movie tickets, bargain of the week, etc. These will not be cleared.
	Q:	I see how it is -- my friend always sends me jokes and they get caught in the filter and you delete. ....Spam thing #4
	A:	Yes. This is true.  PLEASE TELL YOUR FRIENDS, in-laws, soccer buddies, etc., NOT to FWD the jokes, chain letters, etc., to your school account. I don’t have time to manage everyone’s fluff. Yes, they’ll get caught. No, I won’t pass them along.   If this is a big problem for you, see the asterisk on Spam Thing #2 above.
	Q:	What’s is my ‘personal’ e-mail account? How do I access it from school, and what do I use it forr?
	A:	This would be your e-mail account on your home computer. Usually you CAN get to these from school if necessary. Use it for all non-school business.
	Q:	Why don't Hotmail and Yahoo mail work anymore?
	A:	Free web-based mail accounts like Yahoo Mail, Hotmail & Excite will not be permitted at school.  The 8e6 filter (gray screen) will block them, and you will not be able to bypass. This is in compliance with our Acceptable Use Policy, which conforms to the CIPA (Child Internet Protection Act) guidelines.  There are other, acceptable free e-mail accounts available for educators and students. And your home e-mail is probably accessible from school also. Please contact your campus tech representative or the tech dept if you need assistance setting these up.
	Q:	What about students who need e-mail for assignments and scholarship applications?
	A:	If a student needs an e-mail account, one can be created for them by the technology representative on thier campus. We recommend Gaggle.net for safe, virus & spyware-free web-based e-mail.
	Q:	Now I’m confused & not sure what e-mail accounts to use when!
	A:	1)  For school business and general (but limited) casual correspondance, use your school account (teacher@merkel.esc14.net) from GroupWise. Access it at school, at home, wherever you like.   2) For online shopping, signing up for free movie tickets, playing games, or forwarding the latest jokes from your friends, use any account EXCEPT for your school account. 3) Don't use your home account for school-related correspondance.