Email: Rosa.Jundt@k12.sd.us
If you have a question about an assignment or grade, the BEST option is usually to talk to me in person. That way, we can both look at the assignment and figure out what is going on.
You can find me:
Before school: 8:00–8:20 a.m.
During school: English class, homeroom, study hall, etc., when appropriate
After school: 3:30–4:00 p.m.
By email
I cannot guarantee an email response after 8:00 p.m., but generally speaking it's better to send one than to not.
Most importantly:
I cannot help you if you are silently confused.
I am an English teacher. I am not a mind reader.
Bring what you need every day.
This includes:
A writing utensil
Notebook
Folder or binder
Laptop and charger
Textbook and/or assigned books
Completed homework, projects, vocabulary, papers, etc.
Any additional supplies needed for the day's work
KEEP YOUR ENGLISH PAPERS!
Do not immediately throw away an assignment because it has a grade on it.
Keep your English papers until the end of the semester unless I tell you otherwise.
Your organizational system is up to you, but you need safe places for:
When in doubt, ask before you throw something away.
The garbage can is permanent. Choose wisely.
*All tests will be filed in my file cabinet once handed back.
Physically arriving in the classroom is an excellent start.
Unfortunately, more is required.
Being ready to learn means:
Complete assigned work and readings before class when they are due.
Pay attention during instruction.
Take useful notes.
Be prepared to answer questions when called upon.
Contribute thoughtfully to discussions.
Participate in small-group work.
Avoid sidebar conversations while someone else is speaking.
Stay on task during work time.
No snacks during lectures.
No games while I am teaching.
Also, finishing one assignment does not automatically mean the rest of the period has transformed into Bonk Appreciation Hour.
If you finish your work, you could:
A whole world of possibilities awaits.
Respect your teacher. Respect your classmates. Respect yourself.
Everyone in this room deserves to be treated with dignity.
That means:
Zero tolerance for bullying.
Keep your hands to yourself.
Do not make fun of someone's answer, reading, writing, or ideas.
Do not deliberately distract people who are trying to work.
Follow directions.
Avoid sidebar conversations.
Treat our classroom like a shared space.
You do not have to agree with everyone.
You do have to behave like you have encountered other humans before.
NO CELL PHONES OR SMARTWATCHES in the room.
Don't.
Just don't.
Phones may not be used to listen to music either.
This is a school policy. Follow it.
There MAY be occasional activities when I specifically allow phones. If that happens, use them only for the purpose I have allowed.
And remember: if one person abuses the privilege, that person may ruin it for everyone.
We will regularly use school devices and digital tools such as:
Google Classroom
Google Docs
Google Slides
Google Drive
Quizlet
Storyboard That
Blooket
Canva
Other programs as needed
You are responsible for:
Following school technology policies
Using your device for the assigned purpose
Keeping track of your usernames and passwords
Staying off games and unrelated websites
Using technology responsibly
If you're doing something on your computer that you immediately minimize when I walk by, we both already know you probably shouldn't be doing it.
TURN YOUR WORK IN ON TIME IN THE FIRST PLACE!
This is the easiest version of the policy.
If you choose the more adventurous route, here is what happens with late work in my class:
If an assignment is late:
10% is deducted automatically.
You have 5 SCHOOL DAYS to submit it.
After 5 school days, the assignment becomes a ZERO.
Not five calendar days.
Not “roughly a week.”
Not “whenever I eventually notice the missing assignment in Infinite Campus.”
If there are legitimate extenuating circumstances, communicate with me. Those situations will be handled case-by-case.
Typed English assignments should follow MLA formatting unless I specifically tell you otherwise.
This generally includes:
Times New Roman
12-point font
Double spacing
1-inch margins
Correct MLA heading
Last name and page number in the running header
Centered title
First-line paragraph indents
No extra spaces between paragraphs
No unnecessary bolding, giant titles, decorative fonts, random pictures, or other artistic adventures
MLA formatting is part of the assignment. If you need help with formatting, check out my English Toolbox page or talk to me about it.
Your title does not need to be 28-point Comic Sans, bold, underlined, italicized, and glowing.
This is an English paper, not a yard-sale sign.
🚨 ACADEMIC INTEGRITY, PLAGIARISM & AI
The work you submit needs to be YOUR WORK.
Plagiarism is more than copying and pasting. Using someone else's words or ideas without giving proper credit is also plagiarism.
You may:
You may not:
Copy another student's work
Give another student your work to copy
Work on an individual assignment together and share answers
Take someone else's ideas and pretend they are yours
Do not use AI—including ChatGPT—to do your assignments for you.
Do not have AI write your essay.
Do not have AI write a paragraph that you “change a few words” in.
Do not have AI generate your answers and then perform a complicated ritual of synonym replacement in hopes that it has magically become your writing.
The purpose of English class is for YOU to think, analyze, read, and write.
When in doubt: ASK BEFORE YOU USE IT.
If you are caught cheating, plagiarizing, or improperly using AI, consequences may include:
📊 DAILY POINTS: B-P-T-M-H
Daily points are worth 5% of your overall grade.
There are five categories.
And, yes, there are many creative ways to lose them.
Behavior points may be lost for:
Acting up
Disrupting class
Playing games
Leaning back in chairs
Littering
Not pushing in your chair
Being unprepared when called upon
Eating snacks during lectures
General shenanigans
If you find yourself wondering, “Does this count as a shenanigan?” There is an excellent chance it does.
Participation includes:
Taking good notes
Paying attention
Answering questions when called upon
Contributing to discussions
Participating in small groups
Volunteering thoughtful ideas
Asking questions about the material
Thoughtful participation impresses me.
Seriously.
If you arrive late without a valid excuse and pink pass, you lose your Tardy point. Being near the classroom when the bell rings is not the same as being in the classroom.
Bring your materials. If you have to borrow basic supplies such as a pen or paper because you didn't bring yours, you may lose the Materials point. If the bell has rung and you ask to go get something you've forgotten in your locker, you lose a material point.
Homework needs to be turned in on time. Missing homework can cost your Homework point in addition to consequences under the late-work policy. This includes physical and digital homework. The internet does not make homework imaginary.
Ideally, you will never climb this ladder.
Verbal Warning
15-minute detention after school
30-minute detention after school
45-minute detention after school
1-hour detention after school
The ladder resets each quarter.
Detentions may be given for:
Behavior
Cheating/academic misconduct (1st offense is an automatic 30-detention)
6 or more missing assignments
Missing IXL or vocabulary work
Other significant or repeated problems
The easiest way to avoid detention is an ancient and highly effective technique called: Don't do things that earn detention!
Try to use the bathroom near the beginning or end of class rather than during instruction.
Only ONE student may go at a time.
Do not turn a bathroom trip into a 10-minute daily vacation.
Consistent overuse may result in bathroom privileges being regulated like Fort Knox or detentions after school to make up for all the class time you missed that week while in the bathroom.
WASH YOUR HANDS.
If you are about to imminently throw up: GET OUT.
Do not raise your hand.
Do not patiently wait for me to finish explaining symbolism.
Do not begin with, “Ms. Jundt, I don't feel so—” [proceeds to projectile vomit on my carpet]
GO.
This is one situation where I enthusiastically support leaving the room. Preferably, take the garbage can with you.
🧹 PRIDE IN YOUR CLASSROOM
This room is not a landfill with books.
Please help take care of it.
Garbage goes in the garbage can.
Not on the floor.
Not under tables.
Not in cabinets.
Not on bookshelves.
Classroom snacks must come from the snack machine.
No gum.
Do not write on the tables.
Push your chair in before leaving.
Each table should end class with five chairs.
Clean up after yourself.
And if you see a wrapper six inches from your shoe, please resist the powerful urge to announce: “THAT'S NOT MINE.”
You are correct.
Congratulations on establishing your innocence.
Now pick it up.
Vocabulary tests will normally be on Fridays—or the last school day of the week if it's a 4-day week.
Vocabulary words must be entered into Quizlet.
There's two ways to earn bonus points on vocab tests.
The first is to get under 10 seconds in the Match game on Quizlet. The set must be made by you, not copied off your classmate's, and the game and score must be recorded on your own set. If I go in and check your score and it's you don't have the Quizlet made and played on someone else's, there will be some consequences.
The second is to write the Random Ridiculous Word of the Week and its definition on your test. The word must be spelled exactly and the definition has to be mostly exact to get credit.
Overall, my best advice is to study your vocabulary often throughout the week.
Finding out during the test that staring at the words for 30 seconds in between classes did not permanently install them into your brain can be disappointing.
New IXL skills will normally be assigned on Mondays.
Complete assigned IXLs to a score of 80.
They are due the following Monday before 8:20 a.m.
A score of 100 earns one bonus point.
You may go back and complete eligible previous IXLs from the quarter for bonus points email me specifically.
If you complete a late or previous IXL, EMAIL ME and tell me exactly which skill(s) you completed.
For example:
“Ms. Jundt, I completed R1 and R2 to 80. And I got Q1 oto 100”
Excellent. I know exactly what you did and can quickly go adjust your grade and mark you down for 1 bonus point.
“I did some IXLs.”
A thrilling mystery. And I will make you tell me which ones specifically; otherwise, no credit will be given.
Check Infinite Campus OFTEN.
Please do not wait until the final days of the quarter to discover your grade and arrive before me with the haunted expression of someone who has just seen the future. And they don't like it.
If something looks wrong: COME TALK TO ME.
If you have a question about a grade, talking in person is usually best because we can look at the assignment together.
A detailed email is also fine when necessary.
A grade problem identified early is usually much easier to fix than one discovered at the end of the quarter.
🔄 GRAMMAR WORKSHEET RE-DOS
There is a limited opportunity to re-do certain assignments.
And by “certain assignments,” I mean: GRAMMAR & PUNCTUATON WORKSHEETS ONLY.
You qualify for a re-do if:
It is a grammar or punctuation worksheet.
You earned a 69% or below.
You ask for the re-do before the end of the class period when the worksheet is returned.
You give me your original worksheet.
If all of those things happen, I will print you a new copy.
Your new worksheet is due: THE VERY NEXT SCHOOL DAY.
If you forget to turn it in, the re-do will not be accepted.
There is no late re-do.
There is no late-late re-do.
There is no “But it's in my locker!” re-do extension.
How is the new grade calculated?
I will average: Original Grade + Re-do Grade
If that average is higher, your grade improves.
If somehow the average is lower than your original grade, I will keep your original higher grade.
In other words: A RE-DO CAN NEVER MAKE YOUR GRADE WORSE.
But remember: TESTS CAN NEVER BE RE-DONE.
A re-do is an opportunity—not an extension.
✍️ WRITING REVISION POLICY
Grammar worksheet re-dos and writing revisions are different things.
For writing assignments such as essays, narratives, and extended writing projects, you may have ONE opportunity to revise your work to improve your grade.
The revised version must be submitted within:
FIVE SCHOOL DAYS OF RECEIVING YOUR GRADE.
Your revision also needs to actually improve the writing.
Changing three commas, replacing “good” with “excellent,” and resubmitting the exact same paper does not constitute a daring literary transformation.
If you aren't sure what to improve: ASK ME.
Preferably before Day 5.
Extra credit opportunities are limited.
Do not come to me at the end of the quarter or semester and ask: “Is there anything I can do for extra credit?”
The answer will not suddenly become a secret 500-point coloring page.
Your primary extra-credit opportunities are:
📖 OPTIONAL INDEPENDENT-READING EXTRA CREDIT
You are NOT required to complete an independent-reading book report.
However, if you want to earn extra credit, you may:
Choose and actually read a school-appropriate book of an appropriate reading level and length.
Give me an ORAL REPORT about the book.
That's it.
There will be a form to fill out before the oral report.
You need to be able to talk to me about the book you read.
Possible places to find books include:
Sora
School library
City library
If you need help choosing a book, ask.
The goal here is surprisingly straightforward:
Read a book. Know what happened in the book. Talk to me about the book.
Revolutionary.
🏫 ABSENCES & MAKE-UP WORK
Being absent does not cause your assignments to vanish from existence.
I checked.
IF YOU KNOW YOU WILL BE GONE:
Get a make-up slip.
Let me know about your upcoming absence.
When you return, CHECK WITH ME AGAIN in case anything changed.
Plans change.
English class marches onward.
IF YOUR ABSENCE WAS UNEXPECTED:
Before coming to class:
Get your make-up slip from the office.
Check the due dates on it.
Check the make-up work folder behind my desk.
Ask about anything you don't understand or can't find.
You are responsible for getting your missed work and arranging to make up:
Assignments
IXLs
Tests
Quizzes
Lessons
Other required work
Do not rely entirely on your friends to tell you what happened.
Your friend saying: “We didn't do anything yesterday.” should not be considered an official academic record.
Remember you have 1 school day for each day you missed to get your work done.
⏳ WHEN MAKE-UP WORK BECOMES LATE WORK
This part is important.
Your make-up slip gives you a NEW DUE DATE.
It does not give you an unlimited extension.
If an assignment, IXL, test, quiz, or other required make-up work is not completed by the date on your make-up slip: IT BECOMES LATE WORK.
From the due date on the make-up slip, you then have: 5 SCHOOL DAYS to complete it under the normal late-work policy.
After those 5 school days, the work will become a zero.
So: ABSENT → MAKE-UP DEADLINE → MISSED DEADLINE → LATE → 5 SCHOOL DAYS → ZERO
Being absent gives you reasonable time to catch up.
It does not create an assignment immortality spell.
Welcome to South Dakota.
Sometimes the weather decides it also has authority over my lesson plans.
If there is a possibility of a snow day, take home the materials you might need.
“My book is at school” is not a particularly strong argument if everyone knew a blizzard was coming.
If school is canceled ON the scheduled day:
We will resume the schedule as quickly as possible.
Generally:
If the snow day happens BEFORE an existing test or deadline:
Do not automatically assume the original test or deadline has changed.
Unless I tell you otherwise, be prepared for the original schedule.
Snow can cancel school.
It does not always cancel responsibility. This means if we have a snow day on a Thursday, and we have a vocab test scheduled for Friday, guess what, we ARE taking that vocab test. And saying "But we had a snow day yesterday!" is not an excuse for you deciding to go out snowmobiling instead of studying for Lesson 17's vocab words!
Generally speaking, if there's bad weather, check Google Classroom for any updates I might put on there about the snow day.
❓ FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
“Can I throw this paper away?”
Ask me first if it's from the current semester.
Future You may need it.
Future You would appreciate Current You not throwing everything into the abyss.
“Can I study with a friend?”
Absolutely.
You can quiz each other, discuss ideas, and study together.
You cannot complete an individual assignment together and submit suspiciously identical work.
That's not studying.
That's cloning.
“What if I don't understand something?”
ASK.
Ask during class.
Come see me.
Email me.
Please choose one of those options before choosing:
Do nothing → become increasingly confused → don't turn it in → panic.
“What if I disagree with a grade?”
Come talk to me.
Bring the assignment.
We will look at it together like reasonable people.
“Can I get an extension?”
Maybe—if there is a legitimate reason.
But asking for an extension does not automatically mean you will receive one.
“What can I do to fix my grade?”
If you are at the point where you're on the verge of failing or are already down that rabbit hole, it's a little too late to do anything about your grade. You might be able to go on an IXL binge and somehow accumulate enough IXL bonus points, but I wouldn't count on that always working.
Here's an absolutely crazy thought... DO YOUR WORK IN THE FIRST PLACE AND ASK FOR HELP IF YOU NEED IT! Most failing grades are due to students not handing in the assignments to begin with. It's EXTREMELY difficult to come back from zeros in Infinite Campus. Don't let yourself down by not handing in anything.
You do not need to memorize every sentence on this page.
You do need to understand what all of these policies boil down to:
TAKE CARE OF YOUR CLASSROOM.
ASK FOR HELP BEFORE A SMALL PROBLEM BECOMES A FIVE-ALARM ACADEMIC EMERGENCY.
And perhaps most importantly: BE READY TO LEARN.
You have now been given the information necessary to survive my English class.
Good luck!
