Finals week, often consisting of little sleep, hours of studying, and heightened levels of stress is typically a dreadful time for students. This year, additional worries rise among virtual students. To relieve some of this stress, Mu Alpha Theta is offering a student-tutoring program for all students in math classes.

Mu Alpha Theta has offered a student-tutoring program each spring as a service to students and as a way for its members to earn points. This year, however, the mathematics honor society is offering it as a way to help students prepare for final assessments, despite the tests no longer being able to impact a students’ grade negatively.

“As a virtual student myself, I understand the detachment a student can feel from the classroom/tutoring setting, so I hope that a one-on-one student tutoring program allows these students to feel a semblance of normalcy and find success in their classes,” said Jack Logan, president of Mu Alpha Theta.

Students in Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2, Algebra 3, Academic Statistics, Algebraic Reasoning, and AQR will be able to receive tutoring via a Google Form presented by their teacher, whether they are virtual or in-person.

“Hopefully students take advantage of this opportunity given our situation right now,” said co-sponser of Mu Alpha Theta, Jim Dang. “Hopefully with the offering of virtual tutoring, that gives them another reason that they should get help if they need it.”

In-person students will be able to sign up for one-on-one tutoring sessions at school, while virtual students will be able to sign up for one-on-one tutoring sessions over Zoom. Instead of receiving tutoring from a teacher, it will be coming from student members of Mu Alpha Theta.

“Sometimes, teachers can come across as intimidating to some people, scaring them away from asking for extra help,” said Logan. “I think that with other students, people will feel more comfortable saying that they don’t understand something or need more explanation.”

Although final assessments this year aren’t mandatory, they still offer students an opportunity to improve their grades. Students will be allowed to take the last exam from home or at school Dec. 16-18. If their project or test grade is higher than another summative during the second 9 week grading period, the higher grade will replace the lower one.

“We need students to make good choices, and be able to help themselves out,” principal Lisa Drabing said. “[Final assessments] are going to be shorter than the typical final exam and [students] are going to be able to stay home. There’s really no reason not to take them. [Students] have people wanting to help them, so I think it would be the right thing to do for them to make that decision and that choice to take advantage of that opportunity that’s being presented to them.”

Teachers hope students take advantage of the rare opportunity being handed to them.

“I know this is cliche, but the secret to doing well is being prepared,” Dang said. “I want to make sure that students are prepared [by doing] whatever we can to make sure they earn credit or earn a high enough score for them to be able to move on.”