Administrator's Corner
November 15, 2021
Happy Monday, Spartans!
We only have 4 days left before Thanksgiving Break!
The district announced that Friday, November 19th will be a non-contact day devoted to personal wellness of our faculty, staff and students. Please use that day to relax and kick off the break!
We hope that many of you can relax and enjoy some downtime next week; however, some students need to really use that time well to get caught up on their work. After break there are only 10 days of classes before finals week, so it's officially crunch time! Click here for the finals schedule.
Please take a minute to complete the form below regarding a potential shift in start time for next year.
There will be no newsletter next week, so you will hear from us again on Monday, November 29th with more important news and events.
Happy Thanksgiving, TJ!
¡Feliz lunes, espartanos!
¡Sólo nos quedan 4 días antes de las vacaciones de Acción de Gracias!
El distrito anunció que el viernes 19th de noviembre será un día sin contacto dedicado al bienestar personal de nuestra facultad, personal y estudiantes. ¡Por favor, utilice ese día para relajarse y comenzar el descanso!
Esperamos que muchos de ustedes puedan relajarse y disfrutar de algún tiempo de inactividad la próxima semana; sin embargo, algunos estudiantes necesitan realmente utilizar bien ese tiempo para quedar atrapados en su trabajo. Después del descanso hay sólo 10 días de clases antes de la semana final, así que es oficialmente tiempo de crisis! Haga clic aquí para ver el calendario de finales.
Dedique un minuto a rellenar el siguiente formulario en relación con un posible cambio en la hora de inicio para el próximo año.
No habrá ningún boletín la próxima semana, por lo que volverá a escuchar nuestra opinión el lunes 29th de noviembre con noticias y eventos más importantes.
¡Feliz acción de gracias, TJ!
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Andrew Skari
Assistant Principal
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Monday-
Tuesday-
Wednesday-
- HBCU College Fair - 6:00 p.m. (details below)
Thursday-
- Resume workshop: 11:15 (details below)
Friday-
- No School
- DPS leadership has decided to make Friday, Nov. 19 a non-attendance day for students, and district-run schools and office buildings will be closed.
Saturday-
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Denver Public Schools and the Special Populations Network Congratulates the 2021 Dr. Martin D. Jenkins Scholar Award Recipient:
Shana Saint-Phard -TJ Thomas Jefferson High School, Denver Public Schools
- The award, which is named in honor of Dr. Jenkins, the Father of Research on Gifted Black students, is designed to honor the achievements of highly gifted Black students who excel academically in school.
Way to go, Shana!
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On Saturday November 6th Sparta Robotica Level 2 students participated in The Rocky Mountain Best Regional Robotics Competition. This year's game was DEMO DAZE and focused on demolition and recycling. Students also participated in an Engineering Notebook Competition, Minecraft Challenge, Marketing/Business Plan, Visual Display, and Team Interview. Over the eight week competition students had a limited kit of materials and overcame a number of obstacles to be ready to compete. Their hard-work and determination paid off as the team took 3rd Place in the Best Award which is the combination of their overall scores in all events and is considered the toughest award to earn.
Awesome work, Sparta Robotica!
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Possible Start Time Change for Next Year - Share Your Opinions! |
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As you may have heard, DPS Board of Education has announced that as part of the Healthy Start Initiative that in the 2023-2024 all secondary school will begin no earlier than 8:30 a.m. (https://www.dpsk12.org/healthy-start-times/)
Looking at the 2022-2023 school year, it may be possible that TJ's school day could be changed from our current school day of 7:30 a.m. - 2:45 p.m. to 8:50/9:10 a.m. - 4:05/4:25 p.m.. Due to transportation constraints those two options would be the only options for the 2022-2023 school year. If you would like to share your opinion regarding the school day for the 2022-2023 school year, you can do so by completing this short form here!
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SkillsUSA Thanksgiving Food Drive |
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SkillsUSA is holding a Thanksgiving Food Drive to ensure Thomas Jefferson High School Families in need have a Thanksgiving dinner! Please support SkillsUSA in their efforts by donating non-perishable food items to complete a Thanksgiving Food Box. Sign up to donate and deliver item donations HERE. Donations can be dropped off in the school parking lot (3950 S. Holly St, 80237) from 3-5 pm on November 15 & 16. Donations can also be brought to school by students and dropped off in the SkillsUSA Food Donation Box outside the main office no later than November 16. Thanks for your support of SkillsUSA!
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PTO NewsTJHTO Meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 9th at 7:00 pm |
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There are many ways to show your support for the amazing TJ community during the holiday season. Thanks to everyone who donated to the Skills USA Thanksgiving food drive.
Look for a Sign Up Genius to be a Holiday Helper in the next few days. This adopt-a-family program has been a long-standing tradition. Details about how to get involved will arrive to your inbox before Thanksgiving break.
Details from last week’s PTO meeting can be found on the TJ PTO website.
We wish you a wonderful Thanksgiving week!
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Youth Vaccinations through Denver Health |
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Save the Date - November 17 |
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Transition Supports for 11th/12th Grade Students Headed to College - Application due Nov. 19th! |
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Transitioning to Higher Education Course: (THEC) Help 11th grade, 12th grade, and 18-21 Transition Program students with IEP and 504 programs learn the essentials for making a seamless and successful transition from high school to higher education! The Transition to Higher Education Course is a free spring semester course taught on Auraria Campus by campus faculty and staff on Wednesday evenings from 4-5 pm from January 12th-April 20th. See prerequisites and help students apply at the application linked HERE. THEC Flyer
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Science Poinsettia Fundraiser is Back! |
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After a long hiatus, the famous festive fundraiser is back!
The Science Poinsettia Fundraiser starts on Monday November 15th and runs through Thursday December 2nd.
All orders can be placed through any TJ Science student.
The cost is $15/poinsettia.
We will be selling red and white poinsettias.
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Birdcall Tennis Fundraiser - 11/30 - SAVE THE DATE! |
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Fall Play - Tickets Available Now! |
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Tickets for the Fall Play, She Kills Monsters: Young Adventurers Edition, are on sale now! The play will run December 2-4.
If interested, please contact Andre_Moss@dpsk12.net. The price is $5 for students with a valid ID, including a college ID and $10 for adults.
She Kills Monsters is a dark comedy written from the perspective of Agnes, a high school cheerleader that has recently lost her little sister and parents in a car crash. After she finds her little sister’s Dungeons and Dragons Dungeon Master module, she decides to play, taking us along on a fantastical journey where we encounter sit-com loving demons, monsters made of Jell-O, five headed dragons, and a bunch of nerds that band together, learning to accept themselves and each other for who they are, regardless of orientation, ability, or their position on the cheer squad.
Cast List:
Agnes: Elle Benson
Tilly: Alex Baca
Miles: Peter Bodin
Orcus/Ronnie: Bodhi Layer-Carlson
Vera: CeCe Prime-Morales
Chuck: Landon Williams
Lilith/Lilly: Alex Mitchell
Kaliope/Kelly: Morgan O'Keefe
Narrator and Farrah the Faerie: Lacey Arritola
Steve: Hunter Adams
Evil Gabbi, the Beholder: Ashlee Gardner
Evil Tina: Maggie Craig
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Understudies:
Agnes: Alex Baca
Tilly: Emma Krause
Miles: Emanuel Morales-Gomez
Orcus/Ronnie: Josh Lucero
Vera: Leah McFee
Chuck: Alexander Howe
Lilith/Lilly: Devan Grissom
Kaliope/Kelly: Lila DiFalco
Narrator and Farrah the Faerie: Mattie Brightwell
Steve: Alexander Howe
Evil Gabbi, the Beholder: Elizabeth Zwerin
Evil Tina: Angel Fox
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TJ Spirit Store - New Items and In Person Sale Soon! |
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We have some new items in the TJ spirit store and are excited to share them with the TJ community! Email us at tjhs.store@gmail.com if you have any questions.
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Paraprofessional Job Openings at TJ |
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There are 3-4 paraprofessional jobs available here at TJ! The job would pay $15 and would be from 7:20 am-2:50 pm. Please contact the main office if you are interested. |
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College and Career Readiness |
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Questions? Contact Mr. Mason!
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Our goal is that all students graduate college and career ready. One of the ways we achieve this goal is to support students' career and college exploration through programs that provide opportunities for students to discover how their interests and passions might someday fit into the world of work. There are many resources to help you learn more about career and college programs in DPS, visit collegeandcareer.dpsk12.org to learn more! Handouts: English / Spanish
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Matthew Mason (He/Him/His)
Navigator at Thomas Jefferson High School
DPS Career and College Success
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Mental Health and Social/Emotional Tips |
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Did You Know…?
We are seeing a high level of students who are struggling with their mental health, managing emotions, and responding to demands of daily life. We also know community resources are experiencing a stress in resources and may have long waitlists to see new clients. Here are some warning signs regarding anxious and depressive symptoms so you can be on the lookout for changes in your child’s functioning, as well as supports you can put in place at home to help.
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Home-Based Interventions:
- Be consistent in how you handle problems and administer discipline.
- Be patient and be prepared to listen.
- Avoid being overly critical, disparaging, impatient, or cynical.
- Maintain realistic, attainable goals and expectations for your child.
- Do not communicate that perfection is expected or acceptable.
- Maintain consistent but flexible routines for homework, chores, activities, etc.
- Accept that mistakes are a normal part of growing up and that no one is expected to do everything equally well.
- Praise and reinforce effort, even if success is less than expected. Practice and rehearse upcoming events, such as giving a speech or other performance.
- Teach your child simple strategies to help with anxiety, such as organizing materials and time, developing small scripts of what to do and say to himself or herself when anxiety increases, and learning how to relax under stressful conditions.
- Do not treat feelings, questions, and statements about feeling anxious as silly or unimportant.
- Often, reasoning is not effective in reducing anxiety. Do not criticize your child for not being able to respond to rational approaches.
- Seek outside help if the problem persists and continues to interfere with daily activities.
Crisis Resources:
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News from the Future Center |
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From Your TJ Future Center
Keep up the great work, Spartans! You are crushing the college process!
Be sure to continue working on your scholarship search and log into your college portals as you are admitted. If you have not yet applied for FAFSA or CASFA, make a plan to get that done this month.
Check your email regularly for updates from your colleges and
SHARE YOUR ADMISSIONS WINS! Make note of your institutional scholarship deadlines. These opportunities are one of THE BEST forms of $$$$ for college available to you.
Monday, November 15: University of Colorado at Boulder and University of Denver Early Action Deadlines
Wednesday, November 17: HBCU Virtual College Fair
Thursday, November 18: CSU Rep Visit
Katie Damas
Future Center Advisor CC Fellow
Future Center Phone #: 720-423-7134
Rm 135
Emily Webster
College Advisor | Thomas Jefferson High School
Denver Scholarship Foundation | a 501(c)(3) Public Charity
789 Sherman Street, Suite 610 | Denver, CO 80203
emily_webster@dpsk12.net
ewebster@denverscholarship.org
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Our class leaders are committed to providing Senior parents with continued support and the latest graduation and senior events. You can reach out for more info:
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PRE-SALES for your fabulous class of 2023 t-shirts! T-shirts will be $15 and pre-sales will take place during lunch and Advisement. ALL MONEY goes to prom!! |
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HOW TO GET CONNECTED:
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT of 2023!
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Class of 2024 - Sophomores |
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The Class of 2024 is hosting an online Pampered Chef fundraiser that anyone and everyone can enjoy!
The Class of 2024 will receive up to 15% of our total sales! The fundraiser runs through Sunday, November 28, so please pass it along to family and friends – products will be shipped to you directly. This is your opportunity to get those gadgets for your holiday meals or gifts for those chefs in your life!
Click here to begin shopping and support the Class of 2024!
Parent Meeting – Join Us!
Class meetings will be held the third Tuesday of month at 7pm.
There will be no meetings during November and December due to the holidays and school breaks, please plan on joining us in January.
Our next meeting details:
Date: Tuesday, January 18, 2022
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Jll McLain’s house
Class Donations – Every dime counts!
Sophomores are quite possibly the best “10s” out there! Gather those dimes (pennies, quarters, and ten-dollar bills too) and make a donation to the Class of 2024; money raised will be used for the Class of 2024 After Prom.
Please click on the PTO Square link to support the class. Feel free to pass the link onto family and friends! Corporate matching is always appreciated.
Extraordinary parents – come get involved!
Reach out with questions, comments, and ideas. We look forward to a great year!
Rebecca Moore
Tambyr Reed
Robin Morrissey
Dyanna Spicher (parent)
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Stay Connected, Spartans! |
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