Administrator's Corner
Dear Spartan Families,
A reminder that the key to your student's academic success is coming to school on time and attending every class. Please note that we will not be accepting excused absences for students who are in school and want to miss a class in order to study or do homework. This is unacceptable and it will be addressed as a truancy issue. Also, we require 92% attendance for all seniors to be eligible to attend prom and to participate in graduation ceremonies. Please speak with your student and reinforce the importance of being on time and attending every class, every day. (Seniors can connect with Mr. Skari for options to improve their attendance percentage)
Please be advised that we will have CMAS testing on Thursday, March 24th and Friday, March 25th. The only students who should attend school on these two days should be any student with freshman credits (59 and below) and AP students who are taking mock AP exams. If you have an AP student please have them confirm with their teacher whether or not they will be taking a mock exam.
TJ's Inaugural Online Auction will take place on 4/16/17! Check out https://tjhs.ptapal.com/auction_comingsoon.asp for more information. We are taking donations now to help support classroom grants, field trips, guest speakers, etc.
Andrew Skari
Assistant Principal
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TJ's Tardy/Truancy Policy
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Thank you for your su
pport in keeping our attendance at its best!
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Week at a Glance - Week of 2/20-2/24
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- NO SCHOOL - Presidents' Day
- Please click here (or see the above "Athletics Schedule" quick link) to see athletic events for the week
Tuesday-
- Class of 2017 Chipotle fundraiser night: 7350 E. Hampden, 4-8:00 p.m. (be sure to mention TJ!)
Wednesday-
- Senior Cap and Gown Pictures - 8:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.
- Office Hours/early release
- All class t-shirts (as well as other gear) for sale during 8th period and after school (during Office Hours) in the lobby.
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- Thomas Jefferson's own JROTC Armed and Unarmed drill teams competed at the JROTC Western Regional Championships held in San Antonio Texas on 4 Feb, after earning the invite last April after taking the State Championships. The teams each competed in 4 events to achieve and overall score, in hopes of qualifying for the US-wide Army Nationals Championships held in Louisville, KY April 1st of this year.The Armed Drill team had a good showing and gained a lot of experience, competing in their first ever National-level Drill Meet. At the end of the day the team came away from the meet placing as high as 8th in one event and 16th overall, one position higher than the only other Colorado school in attendance. The team will now turn their focus to the upcoming Colorado meets in hopes of qualifying for next year's Regional Championships.The Unarmed Drill Team (HP) had an outstanding Meet, qualifying and competing in these Championships for a 3rd straight year. The team took home a 2nd and 4th place trophy in two of the four events and finished up 7th overall (3rd overall in raw scores). The team's efforts earned an invitation to the All-Army National Championships in Kentucky 1 April, however due to funding, etc the team will decline the invitation and focus on upcoming Colorado competitions in hopes of earning a trip back to Regionals next year.
Way to go, Spartans!
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Here's a photo of Coach Justine Sullivan and the TJ girls who qualified for the state swimming & diving championships held this past weekend. After great swims in the preliminary rounds, the girls 200 Freestyle Relay made up of
Megan George
,
Halie Hall
,
Morgan George
and
Phoebe Briney
qualified and made it back to the state finals Saturday afternoon. Diver
Molly Jordan Little
also made the cut in prelims and was a finalist in diving.
Way to represent TJ, girls!
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9
th
graders will be doing CMAS testing on March 23
rd-24th
. Please make spring break plans accordingly so that students are here to test.
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Leadership is doing a sports/TJ memorabilia project. TJ families, alumni, or community members do you have any TJ gear that you no longer want? Please bring them into the main office labelled Leadership.
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Important Attendance Reminders
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Parents and Guardians,
As a reminder, the key to your student's academic success is coming to school on time and attending every class. Please note that we will not be accepting excused absences for students who are in school and want to miss one class to study or hang out. This is not acceptable. Also, we will require that all seniors have a 92% attendance rate to attend prom and participate in commencement ceremonies. (Seniors can connect with Mr. Skari for how to fix their attendance.)
If your student is struggling and needing academic support, please remember that we have tutoring after school in the library on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. Office hours on Wednesday is from 2:15pm-3pm and every student should be connecting with at least one teacher during that time.
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TJ's 2017 Inaugural Online Auction
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The Auction Acquisitions Team is hard at work and Auction items are coming in! We currently have Broncos Tickets, Restaurant Gift Cards, Massages and Hotels to name a few! TJ's Inaugural Online Auction will be held
April 16-20, 2017
and proceeds will directly benefit our staff and students by helping to pay for valuable programs such as classroom grants and much-needed upgrades for improved working and learning environments. We want this to become TJ's biggest fundraiser on an annual basis and we need your help!
Here's what you can do:
1. Ask the places you already know, love and frequent for a donation...they rarely say no to a donation for a public school! Reach out to businesses and request donations such as restaurant certificates, merchandise, vacation and travel opportunities, spa packages, professional services, and tickets to entertainment, cultural and sporting events. The
TJHS 2017 Auction Letter
provides additional information and has the TJ Tax ID #, as donations to TJ are tax-deductible. This can be printed out and given to businesses when requesting a donation. Donation information can be submitted directly into the Auction system here
and items can be turned in or mailed to the TJ office.
2. When the auction goes live on
April 16th
, share the link with friends, families, neighbors, co-workers--anyone in the SE Denver community and beyond--who would enjoy supporting our neighborhood high school and walking away with some pretty awesome stuff as a result. When you bid and win, so does TJ!
We need everyone to help with donations to make the Auction successful!
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Hi TJ families!
Tons of great things coming up this winter/spring and we need tons of help to pull it off!
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April 14--Mr. TJ, the legendary, hilarious, often-imitated-never-duplicated beauty pageant spoof starring TJ seniors
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April 16 - 20--TJ's Inaugural Online Auction to raise money to meet classroom needs, help fund student competitions at the state/regional/national level, and build a positive school culture at TJ that continues to enhance the learning environment for our students
These great traditions and events help make TJ special, and ensure continued growth and success.
Please take a careful look at the
sign up genius
and pick at least ONE thing you can commit to over the next few months. It will take a village--and we need you! Thanks for making TJ a special place to be!
If you would like to make a donation and PTO will purchase what is needed,
click here.
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Science Tutoring - Every Tuesday
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Ms. Bromley has coordinated with Mr. Weaver to get a science tutor! Starting tomorrow, February 14, 2017, there will be a science tutor in room 134 after school to work with ANY student that needs extra help with science. Thanks!
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- Chess will continue to meet Thursdays after school as always.
- We scored 3.34/8 possible points against RVA taking 4.66/8 at our last meet.
- We need a parent volunteer chaperone on Thursdays after school Parents please contact Mr. Weaver.
- Any player wishing to commit to the state championships on President's Day weekend at Auraria Campus Feb. 18/19 must tell Mr. Weaver immediately so we can secure your USCF membership and CSCA registration.
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Click here to learn more about Legislative Day -
Feb. 23! Now is the time for students to apply, and it is strictly a GT program!
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Center for Family Opportunity Resources
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Cold Weather Care Guide and Sheltering Options for Families
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As cold weather approaches, many families need extra assistance and sheltering options. Please
click here to see the comprehensive guide.
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Communications Protocol for District Weather Closures and Delays
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As we prepare for winter weather conditions, the Communications and Transportation Services teams want to ensure we're aligned with how we're sharing news about districtwide closures, dismissals and delays:
- When districtwide school closures or early dismissals occur, information will be provided by Communications to students, families and educators.Additionally, messaging will be shared through area radio, television and print media, as well as through district websites and social media tools. We also encourage you to share this information on your school websites and social media tools.
- Communications will use Infinite Campus to send out districtwide school closure or early dismissals messages.
- Please note that the Transportation Services team will share information with students, families and educators about any delayed openings using its notification system called Bus Bulletin.
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Special Olympics Winter Games Volunteer Opportunity
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5 Mar 2017 @ 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Volunteer with Special Olympics at the Colorado Winter Games at Copper Mountain! Help participants in various activities from skiing to snowshoeing! No prior training required, and you don't have to ski or ride if you're volunteering with snowshoeing! Just sign up with Special Olympics and then email Jessica to get on the CYL group list!
Step 1: Sign up to volunteer
here
Step 2: Email
[email protected] to get on the CYL group list. We'll meet up at the beginning and at lunch to share stories and meet new CYL members!
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Mental Health and Social/Emotional Tips
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~ How Can We Facilitate Increased Happiness in Our Kids? ~
11 Questions That Will Make Your Child Happier
Some people are naturally happy/care-free, seemingly without having to make much effort to feel this way. Other people may struggle with this a bit more. The good old "Glass Half Full versus Glass Half Empty" debate. The good news is that there are some questions you can bring in to your routine at home that can increase happiness in your family members (and even yourself!). These 11 questions focus your children on how to make themselves happy. Eventually, your children will internalize these questions and ask them in their own heads. Then you'll have given them the gift of happiness, which will make you so (you guessed it) happy.
1. What was your favorite part of today? This is a good question to ask at bedtime, to help your child feel content and happy before sleep. It also instills a habit of focusing on the best thing that happened in any given day rather than the worst. If you make this part of your bedtime routine, it will become second nature.
2. What are you grateful for? This is a good question for the dinner table. Every family member can take a turn saying what he or she is grateful for that day. There is a strong correlation between happiness and gratitude, so this one is very powerful.
3. What are you going to do about that? When a child comes to you with a problem, ask this question in a warm and curious tone. Don't just jump in and solve their problem; how does that help them in the long run? At least give them a chance to work it out on their own, and give them the gift of your confidence in them, which is evident by this question that implies that they can think of solutions to their own issues. If your child says "I don't know," you can say, "I am not sure either, let's try to figure it out together." Happy people are people who think of problems as surmountable, and think of themselves as effective problem solvers.
4. How did that make you feel? At the risk of sounding shrink-y, an essential part of happiness is being able to notice and express your own emotions. If you can verbalize what you're feeling, you can make sense of it, you can process it, and you can obtain support from others. This is a great question to ask when your child comes to you with something "bad" that happened, instead of either dismissing it ("that wasn't that bad") or fixing it ("let mommy get you some ice!"). It trains your child to be aware of his feelings, and to use that information effectively.
5. What do you think he/she feels? In any situation, you can cultivate empathy by asking your child to wonder about what someone else feels. Empathy will make your child a happier person; he or she will have stronger interpersonal relationships, feel better about himself for thinking of (and then, often, helping) others, and derive more meaning from life.
6. How can we look on the bright side? In any situation, you can teach your child that there are positives. With preteens or teenagers, this question may be way too corny, but little kids will like it. You can also teach them the expression "making lemonade out of a lemon" and ask them how you can make lemonade out of a bad situation.
7. What part of that can we learn more about? In any TV show, book, trip outside the house, basically any situation at all, there is something to learn more about. And look at you, Super Parent, you already have your smartphone at the ready! So this time use it for teaching your child that life is full of learning opportunities. Happy people are people who are curious and always learning. So when you watch TV and someone says "Bonjour," you can look up pictures of France or a YouTube song sung in French. Let's use our ever progressing technology to keep learning conversations going between each other!
8. What do you want to do on the weekend? Research shows that anticipation of positive experiences brings more happiness than the experiences themselves. Once your child is old enough to realize that tomorrow is not today, start instilling a habit of positive anticipation of small pleasures. A child who is excited all week to get frozen yogurt on the weekend is a happy child, just as an adult who plans a vacation six months in advance is happier during those six months.
9. What can we do to help/to make someone happy? Bringing your child along to visit a sick relative, or someone recovering from surgery, or to volunteer at a soup kitchen is a wonderful gift that you can give to your child. Your child will feel even more proud of his behavior if he is the one to think up the nice thing that can be done (e.g., baking cookies to deliver, drawing a card). Research shows that giving even releases oxytocin and endorphins, so it's like a high that your child can become addicted to. Also, involve your child in your charitable activities, as giving charity is a form of altruism that is also linked directly to happiness (and just to being a good person, which you also want for your child). Incorporate a spirit of generosity into your child's daily life.
10. What do you want to do outside today? Getting outside and engaging in physical activities alongside your child is a wonderful way to get him or her in the habit of not just sitting around. Exercise releases endorphins and can be as effective as treating depression with medication. And the most powerful way that you can teach your child about exercise is to do it yourself. Children whose mothers exercise are more likely to exercise themselves. And sunlight can also help boost mood and regulate circadian rhythms, which means better sleep for your kids, which makes everyone happier.
11. When do you feel happiest? If you direct your children's attention to the experiences that they most enjoy, they will start to realize that they can choose to proactively increase their time spent in activities that make them feel best about themselves. According to researcher Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, "flow" is the state where people find an activity so enjoyable and rewarding that they become completely immersed in it, losing all sense of time and feeling completely in the moment. If your child is lucky enough to have found an activity that makes him feel a sense of "flow," it is helpful for you to point this out and allow your child enough time to attain this state.
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Mental Health and Social Emotional Tip:
Compiled by Samanda Davis, LCSW, MSW and Natalie Koncz, Ed.S., NCSP
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Great news!
All Class T-Shirts are now available (as wells as other TJ gear) in the
Spartan Store and during 8th period and after school (during Office Hours) on Wednesdays in the lobby. (Pictures of 2018 and 2020 shirts coming soon!)
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SENIOR T-Shirts - Get Yours Now
We still have some of the original Class of 2017 T-Shirts available. Y
ou can purchase online and pickup at school OR
see Julie Thibodeau in the office
to buy your shirt.
Profits from these shirts support After-Prom Event for 2017.
So please support our Seniors and a safe, fun Prom 2017.
Purchase online here!
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Thanks for helping to make TJ and the Class of 2017 Great!
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- Class of 2018 Parents: Mr. TJ is on the horizon. This male talent/variety show is a TJ tradition for Senior Boys and will be held Friday, April 14th. Junior parents run the concession sales during the event. We are in need of parents who want to volunteer to help with concessions and help coordinate the show. This is a fun way to get involved. Volunteer commitments vary; anyone interested should email: [email protected].
- Please look for more opportunities this school year for parents to socialize, get connected and contribute to the Class of 2018 fundraising efforts. Please email [email protected] if you're interested in helping out at any point this year. We need you!
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Class of 2019 - Sophomores
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We are excited to introduce the Class of '19 retro t-shirt for sale (picture above)! T-shirts are $15 each and proceeds will help fund Class of '19 Senior Year activities, including After Prom. Shirts can be purchased directly from Julie Thibodeau, online at the Spartan Store, during Office Hours in the lobby, or at various school events. Parents will be selling the t-shirts in the lobby on February 8th and 15th as well.
THANK YOU for supporting the Class of '19!
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If you have an idea for fundraising, community building event or volunteer opportunity, please contact Jane Bulger:
[email protected]
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- Thank-you to Megan Perkins and Lisa LoJacono who have agreed to be parent representatives for the Class of 2020. Please look for important information to come. If you are interested in getting involved please email Megan at: [email protected] or Lisa at: [email protected].
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SAVE THE DATE!
April 15, 2017; 8:00-11:00 a.m.
College 101
Parents/Students: Freshmen, Sophomores, and Juniors;
learn about the college application process, financial aid, Naviance, and more!
More details to follow.
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News from the Future Center
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Seniors and families, we are approaching financial aid deadlines. To receive priority financial aid and institutional scholarships, students must complete FAFSA and institutional scholarship applications before the colleges' deadlines. Even if you think you have too much income to be considered for need-based aid, some colleges may still require the FAFSA to apply for their scholarships. Click
here
to see a list of deadlines for Colorado colleges and universities.
Seniors who are interested in applying to a community college should attend the Community College Application Workshop on 2/15, at 2pm. During this workshop, representatives from Arapahoe Community College, Community College of Aurora, Community College of Denver, and Red Rocks Community College will be present to help students complete their applications. If you would like to attend this workshop, please sign up in Naviance or see Ms. Maez.
For upcoming events, college visits, financial aid workshops, scholarships, and much more, visit the Future Center
wikipage
!
Rena Maez
College Advisor, Thomas Jefferson High School
Denver Scholarship Foundation | a 501(c)(3) Public Charity
3950 S. Holly Street | Denver, CO 80237
O 720.423.7134 F 720.423.7098
[email protected]
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www.denverscholarship.org
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