Biology 2020-2021 Course Syllabus

California Connections Academy

Instructors: Mrs. Ray, Ms. Walker, Mrs. Lumbard , Mrs. Dean, Mrs. Butterfield, Mrs. De, and Mrs. Baham.

Welcome to Biology! We are going to have an exciting semester learning about the world of science together! There are
several things that students can do to have a successful year in Biology, including: stay in contact with your teacher
(phone or webmail) and contact your teacher right away if you are having trouble with course work.

LiveLessons:
The purpose of most LiveLesson sessions will be to help students who are struggling with main concepts on the current
chapter. Attendance is not required, but is highly recommended. LiveLesson recordings are posted weekly on the
Section Message Board for students who cannot attend.

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

Regular Mrs. Dean

LiveLesson 10AM-11AM Ms. Walker 1PM-2PM
Mrs. Ray 1PM-2PM
Mrs. Mrs. De 1PM-2PM
Butterfield: Mrs. Lumbard 1PM-2PM
10AM-11AM

Mrs. Baham

10AM-11AM

Office Hours: 1-on-1 Help

Mrs. Dean: Monday 11AM-12PM

Office Hours for the following teachers are offered upon request. Please contact your teacher to set up a time for 1-on-1
science Help!!

● Mrs. Ray
● Mrs. De
● Mrs. Lumbard
● Miss Walker
● Mrs. Baham
● Mrs. Butterfield

Contact Mrs. Ray’s phone number: 714-718-7996

Information Mrs. Dean’s phone number: 562-337-9197
Mrs. De’s phone number: 949-427-0187
Mrs. Butterfield: 209-372-5180
Mrs. Lumbard: 209-379-5024
Ms. Walker: 562-457-0085

Mrs. Baham: 562-337-9151

Links
Mrs. Ray’s:  https://ww3.livelesson.com/bray/
 Mrs. Dean’s classroom: https://ww3.livelesson.com/kydean/

Mrs. De’s classroom:  https://ww3.livelesson.com/pde/ 

Mrs. Butterfield’s classroom:https://ww3.livelesson.com/sbutterfield/

Mrs. Lumbard’s classroom: https://ww3.livelesson.com/klumbard/

Ms. Walker’s classroom:  https://ww3.livelesson.com/mwalker/

Mrs. Baham’s classroom: https://ww3.livelesson.com/jbaham

Team Teaching Classroom (De, Ray, Walker):

https://ww3.livelesson.com/calcahsbio/

Phone Contacts:
Participation is worth 5% of the overall grade in Biology. Students must contact their teachers at least ONCE a semester
to earn full Participation credit.

Portfolio’s, Labs and Rubrics:

Templates and Rubrics: Custom instructions and Rubrics are provided by the teacher for each Portfolio. These documents can be
found on the Message Board and attached to the Connexus Portfolio. Always look for webmails and message board
portfolio instructions!
● There will always be a LiveLesson supporting the portfolio and explaining how to complete it. Please make sure
you come to the LiveLesson or watch the recording BEFORE doing a portfolio.
● All portfolios/labs are completed using Microsoft Office or http://www.openoffice.org. Microsoft Works and
Notepad are not acceptable formats. Graphs and tables can be created within the word document.
● http://www.openoffice.org-This is a free alternative to Microsoft Office that is available. It is not in any way
owned by Microsoft, but it is compatible with all the file types. Instructions for how to download and install
OpenOffice are posted on my message boards.
● Do not use the PDF documents provided online . They do not allow you to add tables/graphs, nor do they allow
me to add comments to your work. Instead, I will always send them to you in a Word document format. Please
return it in this same form.
● Handwritten work is not accepted. Pictures of Handwritten work are also not accepted! Please contact
teacher if you are having difficulties with your software on your computer.
● All work must be submitted online using the dropbox. Offline or mail-in submissions are not accepted.
● Students with documented accommodations through IEP or 504 plans that specify different accommodations
will be honored.
Resubmitting Portfolios: Portfolios with a score below 70% can be revised and resubmitted. Please read teacher’s
comments on the graded portfolio and contact teacher for help.

Portfolio Help Request Form: (posted on message board): If extra time is needed on a portfolio, please submit the
‘Portfolio Help Request’ form into the dropbox. The Portfolio Help Request form acts as a placeholder, which will allow you
to move forward in the lessons. You WILL still be responsible for completing this assignment. By submitting this Portfolio
Help Request form you are asking for a temporary zero and a chance to submit this assignment for possible full credit, no
 penalty for turning it in at a later date. When you are ready to submit the assignment, please email me requesting to clear
the drop box. Students should ideally submit the portfolio within two weeks of submitting the ‘Portfolio Help Request’
form.

Proper File Names & Headings:

All portfolios/labs will use the following formats: Assignment
Heading:
First & Last Name
BioA U#L# (this is the unit # and the Lesson #)
Date File Name :
(For giving your file a proper name when saving it to your computer). To save your document using the correct file
name, select “save as” then choose “word document”. Name it as follows:

Last name_First name_BioA_Assignment name

Tests and Quizzes:

● Unit tests and finals in high school Biology are now timed.
● Students with documented accommodations through IEPs or 504 plans that specify untimed assessments will be
honored.
● Please be sure you are refreshing your Connexus home page every 15-20 minutes or so, while testing, to avoid
getting signed out of the system. When you get signed out and are trying to submit the test, your test will clear
and not be saved!
● Once you open a test, the timer will begin. When the time limit expires, your test will automatically be
submitted, even if you have not completed it. Please be aware that the timer will start when accessing a test
under the student AND under the Learning Coach sign-ons.
● Each test will tell you the number of questions and the time limit before you open it, along with a message
acknowledging the honor code, and a start button to begin the assessment.
● Tests will not be reset, due to the correct answers being shown on the automatically graded questions, so study
and be prepared before you open the test. (This also applies to quizzes and quick checks).
● Each test will consist of multiple choice, fill-in-the-blank, short answer, and essay questions. Short
answer/essays usually count for the majority of the points on a test, please answer in complete sentences.
● If you earn below a 70% on a unit test, please contact your teacher.
**If some unforeseen incident happens, and the browser closes or crashes during the test, reopen the test immediately,
and complete it before the time limit expires. (Previous answers will not be saved, so you will need to re-enter them).
The clock does not reset.

Test Corrections: If you receive less than 70% on a unit test you are eligible to complete test corrections. You are
allowed to complete one test correction for each unit test. You can earn back half of the points lost by completing test
corrections. Please contact your teacher for specific test correction instructions. YOU ARE ONLY ALLOWED TO
COMPLETE TEST CORRECTIONS ON THE UNIT TESTS NOT ON THE FINAL EXAM!!! Aim to have you test corrections
submitted before the last week of the semester! Submitting them after this time risks them not being corrected before
grades are due! Finals and grade submissions will be your teachers Priority!

SUGGESTION: It would be wise to take screen shots of your test while completing it. If your internet goes down in the
middle of the test, you won’t know until you click on the “save and submit” button. This would make it easier to input
the answers again if there is time left. If not, you can contact your teacher and discuss sending those screenshots to her.

Late Work:
Assignments are scheduled on each student’s planner. There is an expected pace for completing assignments. At
Connections Academy students are encouraged to be flexible in their schedules and take the extra time they need to
complete assignments. However you do need to maintain a steady pace when completing assignments.
Discussions:
A custom rubric will be sent to show how discussions are graded.

● Students are required to write a paragraph related to the discussion topic for full credit. Please answer all parts
of the discussion, there can be 2-5 questions to address.
● Check off the lesson only after you have posted your original conversation. -- You will be able to move past your
discussion without checking it off.
● Discussions do not need to be done in lesson order. If you are behind in lessons, you can jump ahead and
participate in the discussion when it appears on your planner.

Section Message Board link found within Connexus course landing page.
● Message Boards can be accessed by either:
o clicking on the course picture and being taken to the course landing page
o from there click the message board link (it is recommended that you bookmark your course message
boards)
o LiveLesson recordings, portfolio instructions, rubrics, report forms, notetaking guides and study guides
can all be accessed on the Message Board

Extra Credit:
● Available on most portfolio/lab assignments, details provided in custom instructions and rubrics.
● Going above and beyond on a discussion can earn additional points.
** See the last page of the syllabus for the first Extra Credit opportunity of the semester!

Grading:
Based on an accumulation of points using the following standard scale:

A+ 97-100% B+ 89-87% C+ 79-77% D+ 69-67% F 59% and below Test 40%

Quiz 15% Portfolio
A 96-93% B 86-83% C 76-73% D 66-63%
Item 25% Quick Check 5%
A- 92-90% B- 82-80% C- 72-70% D- 62-60% Discussion 10%
Participation 5%

Honor Code (Plagiarism/Cheating):

● Connections Academy and your teachers take your education very seriously. When completing assignments or
test study guides you can use: Brain Pop, Discovery Video, Kahn Academy, and Ebsco (all found within
Connexus). You can also call your teacher for help!

● Internet use (or resources from outside Connexus) is NOT allowed. Please understand that the information on
the internet may be incorrect and/or off target to your level and the level of the material. Use of outside
resources is considered an Honor Code Violation. If a student is found to be in violation the steps within the
Honor Code policy will be implemented.
● During tests/quizzes/quick checks: Please make sure to close textbooks, and notes. These should not be used
during these assessments. Also make sure that you do not use the internet before or during these assessments.
Learning Coaches may help clarify questions on assessments.
HONOR CODE VIOLATIONS (School-wide Policy)

The information regarding Academic Honesty is in Section 8 of the 2020-21 School Handbook: General Portion. There is
additional specific school information in the Handbook Supplement for CapoCA and CenCA in Section 8.2 and 8.3. Please
review so you are aware of the school’s expectations and consequences. You can review this in the welcome letter your
homeroom teacher sent out.

Fill out the form below and submit to your teacher for an EXTRA 5 points! This can be done with an electronic
signature. I only need this part, not the entire syllabus. Signing below acknowledges that both the student and Learning
Coach are aware of the policies and procedures within this syllabus for Biology.
Best phone number to contact you at

Date:

Student Signature:
Date:

Learning Coach Signature:

Tell me something about yourself.
Also what you would like to learn this year?