Last Week of the School Year - Signing Off

Thursday June 21 marks the last day of the school year and signals the close of a productive and memorable journey through middle school mathematics. Grades for the 5th term, final exams and whole year are now available at http://www.snapgrades.net/ and families are encouraged to raise questions or concerns regarding anything reported.

Parents and students alike have also asked for advice regarding summer activities that could be used to keep math skills fresh or allow students opportunities to explore math concepts independently. In response, I have prepared a few links and recommendations for ideas that may prove useful.

1. The O'Bryant School itself is requiring summer assignments that must be completed. They cover History, Science, English and Math. All assignment instructions can be found at http://obryant.us/servlet/pub?REQTYPE=pubstart

2. The Algebra book students will use all year as 8th graders has an online resource edition with activities, problems and resource guides. This is a free way to get a preview of next year's curriculum! The resources are available at http://www.glencoe.com/sec/math/algebra/algebra1/algebra1_05/

3. 8th graders should be college-minded and thinking about standardized entrance exams, namely the SATs. We have been using an SAT prep book in class and it is highly recommended that students go to the Boston Public Library where they can find multiple versions of SAT prep books full of lessons, problems and answers.
The BPL link is http://www.bpl.org/

4. There are a number of great math-themed websites that are interactive and dynamic. We have used several of these in class throughout the school year. The following links may prove interesting:
National Library of Virtual Manipulatives http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/vlibrary.html
NCTM Illuminations http://illuminations.nctm.org/WebLinks.aspx

I welcome families to feel free to email me over the summer and I wish everyone a safe and fruitful vacation.

Best Wishes,
Nikan Hodjat
7th Grade Mathematics Teacher