SOLs Covered: All Math 7
Math Topic: 17 End-of-Year
Daily Agenda: May 18-22, 2026
Upcoming Assessments: All assignments close tonight (Fri. 5/22) at midnight
Greetings! We're so close to the finish line and closing out the 2025-2026 school year! The students have worked extremely hard these past two weeks and most have pulled their grades up, many significantly. That being said, they can still submit work on Canvas through tonight at midnight and I will still accept any handwritten/printed writing assignments at the start of class on Tuesday. As I've told the students, for those who go the extra mile with their writing assignment, I've told them that if they are on the cusp of going up a letter grade, I'll give the final boost they need to meet that goal due to their extra efforts.
I also spoke to and worked with students who were at risk of failing other classes and allowed them to switch to working on those classes in an effort to either minimize or eliminate the need for summer school. For both my class and the others that students were able to pull up to passing or simply improve upon, I had several students thank me for "pulling up their grades" but I made sure to tell them that it wasn't anything I did aside from giving them the opportunity to work. All the work was done by them and their grades are a result of their increased and improved efforts. It's my hope that it will push students to start strong next year and stay on top of things moving forward.
As I briefly mentioned above and in last week's update, we had a creative writing assignment as the final grade. I had a few math-focused writing prompts I've used in the past and couldn't decide on one, so I gave the students a choice between the five. While completing their writing assignment, I also played the recording of the graduation ceremony for Thomas Dale and some of the other CCPS high schools to show the students what they are working towards. It led to conversations about what some of the cords, tassels, and stoles were for, questions about graduation requirements, etc. Overall, I think it was a great addition to class as I could tell some of the kids were genuinely thinking ahead to their own futures with the added bonus that several of the kids could watch (some for the first time as they couldn't all attend in person) the graduation for some of their older family members and friends.
Well, that should cover the highlights of this week. Again, please remind students they have through tonight to wrap up their work for my class for the year (technically the long weekend for anything completed on paper). As always, please reach out if you have any questions, though I give this final reminder that I do not respond to emails outside of working hours in efforts to establish a more healthy work/life balance, but I will get back to you on Tuesday. I hope everyone has an amazing holiday weekend!