Math Department Weekly Newsletter

In the meantime, please be sure to keep AI note takers out of any Zoom meetings you are facilitating.

Four courses Algebra 1 and up that utilize Study Forge, we are currently Beta testing a screen reader. It does have limitations.

• Will not read PDFs in the course. Visually impaired students usually have their own software for this however.
• Often reads irrelevant wording in the course
• There may be errors we run across as we use this.
• Study Forge will be tracking usage.
• No training materials.

What it looks like for teachers:

What it looks like for students:

Study Forge activated this for us October 28th.

Please collect your feedback on this tool as we go.

Teachers, if you get any questions about Part Bs being dropped, they can let them know that their Academic Advisor will be able to assist them (Please including the AA in the response). This issue is known and advisors are working to correct this.

Math Teachers when using your Personal Zoom Room make sure you have the highlighted area checked off in your Zoom account settings AND let your families know that they may not be able to communicate via the waiting room if they do not have an updated Zoom app on their device.

Go To>> Settings >> In the Search Bar Type "Waiting Room" >> Then Scroll Down until you see the image on the right.

Make sure that "Allow participants in the waiting room to reply to co-host and host." is checked off. However, even if this is checked off and a family does not have an updated Zoom app, they may not be able to communicate from the waiting room, so reminding them before the meeting is crucial.

Please bookmark these folders for easy access:

Math A

Math B

Year-End Celebration 2026: Save the Dates

Our save the date emails have gone out to our full time students for YEC 2026! Here is some of the information you may need to know:

• We will be in San Diego, CA again this year from June 9-12

• They can view some basic information about the event here.

• If families have questions, they can email events@laurelsprings.com or they can attend our information session on Tuesday, December 9th (info is on the YEC landing page).

• If you as staff have any questions please reach out to Christeyn Fremont.

What’s Happening at Laurel Springs?

Upcoming Virtual Events:

Nov 21: Fibonacci Sequence Day

Back to School Meetups/Picnics

Dec 5: San Antonio, TX - River Walk Area

Dec. 9: Williamsburg, VA - Busch Gardens Christmastown Meetup (4-7pm)

Click here to let us know you will be joining us at our regional meetups

Monthly Family Field Trips: Please share this link with families

Dec 3-5: San Antonio - Learn more here

Jan 28-30: San Juan, Puerto Rico - Learn more here

• Coming October 30th: Improved accessibility in Buzz
• As part of Agilix’s continuing efforts to improve accessibility in Buzz, Agilix has released the following updates as of (10/30):
• More predictable navigation with labeled Main Menu entries
• Agilix will enhance accessibility in the Main Menu for students, teachers, and observers by making button labels always visible for top-level navigation items rather than depending on hoverable tooltips.
• When a course is selected from the Main Menu, all top-level menu entries will remain in the same position rather than collapsing to icon-only buttons, creating a more stable and predictable navigation experience.
• Clipboard Add button moved for screen reader compatibility
• Agilix will improve accessibility in the Clipboard by moving the Add button for Quicklists and Groups.
• The Add button is currently nested inside a control used to expand or collapse a field, which is not recognized by screen readers. With next week’s release, the button will be placed in a more accessible location, ensuring all users can easily add Quicklists and Groups.
• The Remove button will also be moved and changed into a delete icon button.
• Streamlined tooltips
• To improve usability in Buzz, Agilix is streamlining the text in the hoverable tooltips and removing unnecessary tooltips that can interfere with using other content on a screen.
• For example, tooltips in the Teacher > Editor > Syllabus that appear for icon buttons in a grid will be removed, so users can use those tools without tooltip covering them.
• This will not impact screen reader text for those buttons and less recognizable buttons, like the Choice activities button, will retain tooltips.
• Buzz now saves a user's grade printing selections
• In last week's release, Agilix standardized the process for selecting additional data to include in grade printouts by adding an Optional columns dropdown to the print dialog.
• Buzz now remembers your selections in the Optional columns field for each screen. Once you choose your preferred settings, those selections are automatically retained the next time you open the print dialog on that screen. Enjoy a faster, more consistent printing experience every time.
• Students and Observers print grades from the Grades screen
• Teachers print grades from the Gradebook
• Administrators print grades from the Users tool
• Improved accessibility by ensuring all click targets are at least 24px x 24px.
• Added a button to show/hide a user’s password in the login Password field.
• Added a notification for users when they upload resources into the Domain > Resources indicating that resources are public and should not contain private or sensitive information.

1. November Billing Due - November 17th - (early due to Thanksgiving holiday) Please check the image on the right for billing dates and current month alignment and make sure your dates match. And don't forget the new course name conventions listed in Standard Names for Math Courses for Billing. In addition, make sure you are using this most current template Math Department Billing Template
2. Tomorrow - November 11th - Veterans Day - School Closed
3. November 26-28 - Thanksgiving Break - School Closed
4. December 22 - January 2 - Winter Break - School Closed
5. Please continue to email Academycounselor@laurelsprings.com if you need to loop in a counselor or get support for a student who doesn't have a counselor or their counselor is on leave.