Close the year with a self-directed capstone - a data-modeling project, a deeper puzzle path, or a preview of what comes next.
This closing week is yours, exactly like the term-1 stretch week, but with an entire year of tools available now. Path A (Data project): find real bivariate data, decide whether it looks linear, quadratic, or exponential (or admit it looks like none of the three - that is a legitimate, useful finding too), fit a model, and check a prediction against reality. Path B (Puzzle depth): push past what the discriminant allows - what happens when it is negative? Path C (Preview): look ahead at how this year's work sets up Algebra II and Geometry.
Whichever path, produce something showable - a data report with a real plot, a solved set of harder puzzles with a written reflection, or a one-page preview of what is coming next and how this year already prepared you for it. The habit this closes out: mathematics as something you choose to explore, not just complete.
Mastery looks like: An artifact exists, they can explain it clearly, and they end the year able to name real growth from week 1 to now.
Common stumbles: Picking a path just because it seems easiest rather than genuinely interesting; treating the reflection questions as an afterthought instead of the actual point.