|
Dear TJHSST Families:
We are in the final stretch! In two months we’ll honor the Class of 2023, wave goodbye for the summer to the rest of our students, and rejoice in our accomplishments!
As announced in our March bulletin, this coming week is an important benchmark for TJHSST. Every 5-6 years the Academic Year Governor’s Schools in Virginia undergo a full-site evaluation process. We are evaluated in the following categories: Learning and Development, Assessment, Curriculum Planning and Instruction, Learning Environments, Programming, and Professional Development.
On April 17-19, the visiting evaluation team will speak to various focus groups comprised of students, faculty, staff, central office staff, community partners, and parents. They will also join classrooms to observe our instructional programs. When they conclude their visit on April 19, we anticipate hearing a draft verbal report along with a timeline for when we will receive a final written report with findings, commendations, and recommendations. We are ready to showcase all that TJ has to offer and celebrate our successes!
If you haven’t had a chance to attend an event yet at TJ this year, spring provides a great opportunity. Bring a chair, kick back, and enjoy a softball or baseball game. Take in a tennis match, see track and field, or watch sticks clash and head-bumped balls at our lacrosse and soccer contests. Our spring musical Pippin is almost ready for the stage, art portfolio projects will be on display, and TJ musicians are thrumming and tuning for spring concerts.
In this edition you will see plenty of information about yearend testing. Please take time to mark your calendars and support your children throughout these final weeks. Find ways to help our students destress during the testing season. Assist with time management and insist on sleep for wellness. Most of all, emphasize that perfection is not necessary. All of our children are amazing, beautiful, and talented just the way they are!
Sincerely,
Dr. Ann N. Bonitatibus
TJHSST Proud Principal
We will be holding AP tests from May 1-12, with the late/makeup window going from May 15-19. To minimize class changes during the testing windows, we’ve eliminated Anchor Days those weeks, which results in the flipping of some Red and Blue Days.
Here is the link on our website that features the day by day bell schedule:
https://tjhsst.fcps.edu/aptestingschedule2023
Please read it carefully as the schedule changes each and every day. Here are a few key ones to note:
Wednesday, May 3 - Classes will go backwards in order (from 4th period down to 1st period). This is being done to balance time spent in class since morning classes will be shorter than the ones in afternoon during the AP testing period.
Thursday, May 4 - Classes will be in normal order, but 7th period in the afternoon will be extended to 115 minutes.
Wednesday, May 10 - 5th and 7th period will be held in morning. 6th period will be held in afternoon and extended to 115 minutes.
Thursday, May 12 - Classes will once again go backwards in order (from 4th period down to 1st period).
Friday, May 13 - 6th and 7th period will be held in morning. 5th period will be held in afternoon and extended to 115 minutes.
We will also be administering SOL tests. The SOL schedule is as follows:
-
Monday, April 24 - SOL Reading occurring throughout the day in cafeteria/lecture hall. Students will be notified when they are testing.
-
Thursday, May 11 and Friday, May 12 - SOL Biology done through students' biology classes
-
Monday, May 15 - Algebra 2 SOL during morning in cafeteria/lecture hall. Students will be notified if they need to take this test.
-
Tuesday, May 17 and Wednesday, May 18 - World History 2 SOL done through students' history classes
We'd like to thank those members of TJ Class of 2023 families that came to our recent Senior Information Webinar. We hope you found everything you learned there, as well as the information in the Senior Update letter sent via E-Notify on March 10, helpful.
The webinar presentation is posted on our Senior FAQ website. Learn all the details/dates about prom, graduation, ANGP, and obligations there. If you have any questions please reach out Senior Class Administrator Assistant Principal Chrystal Benson.
For those who did not know, longtime TJ counselor Susan Martinez retired at the end of February. Student Services is pleased to announce that Dr. Sharmane Delgado-Payne has been hired to fill the vacancy. Through the end of the school year, Dr. Delgado-Payne will help the counseling team with workload tasks and assist with day-to-day student needs that may arise. No student will be specifically assigned to her, as to not disrupt exiting counselor/student/family relationships. She will have a full caseload assigned to her beginning with the 2023-24 school year.
Dr. Delgado-Payne earned an undergrad degree in Social Work from Mountain State University, followed by a Master of Social Work from The Ohio State University. She earned her Doctorate in Organizational Change and Leadership at USC. Dr. Delgado-Payne’s career has spanned all branches of the Department of Defense and Homeland Security, with family and children experiences that have included health and human services, child abuse assessment and neglect treatment, diversity and inclusion training, and behavioral mental health.
|
Quick reminder that registration for all of TJ's Summer Programming, which includes Academic Summer School, Summer Enrichment Modules and the Middle School Summer Institute (MSTI) begins April 24.
Academic Summer School provides an opportunity for current TJSSST students to earn one credit for a full-year course and one-half credit for each semester course. Students are not permitted per FCPS policy to enroll in both a TJHSST program course and an online campus course during the summer.
The Summer Enrichment Modules are designed to focus on skills development in a variety of subject areas. These modules will have synchronous and asynchronous opportunities for students. These are non-credit courses and registration is limited to currently enrolled TJ students.
MSTI is a summer STEM program that consists of experiential workshop style sessions for middle school to explore STEM at TJ. MSTI provides an opportunity to engage young minds in our community in STEM programs. Sessions occur weekly and are open to middle school students in rising grades 6-8.
Visit the TJ Summer Programming Website for more information.
 A small sample of our many Regional Science and Engineering Fair winners!
Thirty TJHSST students presented their 23 outstanding research projects on March 18 at the Fairfax County Regional Science and Engineering Fair. An astonishing 17 of the 23 earned a First Place prize designation in their categories, and the remaining six earned a Second Place prize. All first place winners are eligible to compete at the Virginia State Science and Engineering Fair in April.
In addition to the category prizes, 20 TJHSST projects earned 42 different specialty society prizes from science and engineering organizations totaling in the thousands of dollars in cash and prizes.
Congratulations go to our Grand Prize winners Rohan Kalahasty, Ronit Kapur, Ryan Kim, the team of Omkar Kovvali and Sritan Motati who have earned a spot at the International Science and Engineering Fair in Dallas, Texas, in May.
Our Grand Prize alternates are Ashrita Gandhari, Anirudh Mantha, and the team of Mihika Dusad and Aryaman Khanna.
Our other Grand Prize nominees are Sanchali Banerjee, Seoyoung Jun, and the team of Dhruv Anurag, Steven Lu, and Sathvik Redrouthu.
As a reminder, the TJ English Department remains available for students to get help on their English assignments during certain eighth periods.
Here are the sessions in April that students can sign up for via Ion:
- 8A on Wednesday, April 12
- 8B on Wednesday, April 18
- 8A and 8B on Friday, April 28
Please encourage your student to take advantage of English Worktime! If you have questions, please contact Humanities Division Leader Susie Lebryk-Chao or Assistant Principal Cynthia Hawkins.
 On March 31 after TJ closed for Spring Break, the TJ PTSA Diversity Committee, in conjunction with the Namaste club, held a Holi celebration. Holi is often called the Festival of Colors and celebrates the arrival of spring. TJ thanks the PTSA for organizing this event, please enjoy some photos above.
 On March 30, the Namaste club held its 20th i-Nite Performance at the Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall on the Alexandria campus of NOVA. Several cultural clubs at TJ put on performances of music and dance that awed and inspired the audience! Enjoy the photo gallery above of some of the fesitivies!
In each newsletter we want to give some quick shout outs to TJ staff, students, teams, and alumni.
 Members of the Social Change Club - Annika Holder, Jaya Gupta, Sophia Li, Drishika Bose, Ananya Bandaru, Harika Akundi, with Sponsor Volita Russell
- The Social Change Club was honored on March 19 at the Student Peace Awards of Fairfax County. They were recognized for working to create a safe space to discuss social, environmental, and other issues affecting the world. They have created a curriculum for an ethnic studies elective. They hope to submit the proposed course syllabus for approval by FCPS curriculum leaders during the 2023-24 school year with implementation as a piloted class at TJ the following year in 2024-25.
- On March 13, social studies teacher Jenifer Hitchcock renewed her certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. She, along with 36 other FCPS teachers who either renewed their certification or earned it for the first time were honored in an evening ceremony. Way to go!
- TJ’s two Envirothon Teams scored first and third overall at the local Envirothon competition on March 25 at Eleanor C. Lawrence Park. Students scored first in all individual categories (Aquatics, Soil, Forestry, Wildlife, and Special Topics – climate change). The teams have the opportunity to advance to the Area competition in Culpeper on April 18. Here is some more information about the competition.
-
Congrats to the TJ Curricular Band Program – the Symphonic Band earned an Excellent rating, and the Wind Ensemble earned a Superior rating at the VBODA State Concert Band Assessment on March 15 at George Mason University. Combined with the Marching Band’s Superior rating back in October, this earns TJ the distinction of being named a Virginia State “Honor Band” for the 10th time in school history!
-
Also congratulations to the TJ indoor Winter Drum Line, who attended the Atlantic Indoor Association championship event at the Hampton Coliseum in Hampton Roads, VA on April 2 where they finished their season as the champion of the AIA Scholastic Open Class division. We wish luck to their companions in the indoor Winter Color Guard who are currently in Ohio from April 12-15 to compete in the WGI World Championships for the first time in 4 years!
 Top Row: Leo Resquin, Armond Bass, Daniel Seidenberg. Bottom Row; Volita Russell and Jennie Lee
-
TJ brought together a group of IBEST teachers, along with other staff, to participate in the Portrait of a Graduate (POG) Presentations of Learning Innovator Cohort. On March 21, Armond Bass, Jennie Lee, Leo Resquin, Volita Russell, and Dan Seidenberg attended a Share Fair at Willow Oaks to collaborate across the division and share the POG work from our IBEST teams. Dave Arthur, Jane Iyengar, and Mike Roth were also part of the team. One takeaway they gathered from the conference was that TJ is truly on the right path in providing innovative opportunities for its students through authentic learning activities and will continue to embed reflection around the POG attributes in our work.
-
From March 15-17, TJ Media staff members from tjTODAY and Techniques yearbook traveled to New York City for the Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA) Spring National High School Journalism Convention. On Friday, March 17, the hybrid publication tjTODAY/tjTODAY.org received a Silver Crown during the annual awards ceremony. Crown Awards are the highest recognition given annually by the CSPA to a student print or digital medium for overall excellence in content, design or presentation, coverage, photography as well as writing and editing.
If any TJ student has an outstanding obligation, a "Notice of Obligation" email was sent to their fcpsschools.net account on Tuesday, April 12. The email lists a description of the outstanding obligation as well as the cost. Please clear them as soon as possible.
To pay with a credit card on MySchoolBucks, sign into your account (www.myschoolbucks.com) and follow these steps:
1.) Course Fees: (Design and Tech, Art Classes, and Robotics)
- Click on “Invoices” and pay
2.) Lost/Damaged items: (Lost or missing textbooks, library books or technology items)
- Click on the search field (Magnifying glass) and type in “Lost”
- Click "View Details", enter the item details (reference the "Notice of Obligation" email that was sent out on 4/11/23 for specifics) and pay
3.) Other Fees: (Senior Dues, Field Trips, Club Fees)
- Click on the search field (Magnifying glass) and type in the name of the obligation (ex. "Class of 2023 Senior Dues“ or "NHS Dues")
- Click on "View Details" and pay
Payments by cash or check should be dropped off to the Finance Office (Room 105.) Email the Finance Office at TJHSSTFinance@fcps.edu with any questions.
Challenge Success will be hosting a free online event with Lynn Lyons (author of the Anxiety Audit and host of the popular podcast Flusterclux) on April 19th from 7-8pm. Ms. Lyons will discuss teen mental wellness and anxiety, with a focus on taking action to increase connection, and improving certain cognitive and social skills that can make a big difference in preventing mental health struggles.
To register visit here.
Now that Spring allergy season is approaching, we wanted to remind students and parents that proper healthcare provider authorization is required for students to self-carry epinephrine and albuterol.
To self-carry albuterol, please have a licensed healthcare provider complete a Virginia Asthma Action Plan and the FCPS Virginia Asthma Action Plan Authorization.
To self-carry epinephrine a licensed provider should complete the FCPS Epinephrine Authorization.
Please contact PHN Dee Wilkes at 571-536-9780 or LWilkes@fcps.edu with questions.
 Team pictures of all of our Spring Sports
TJ Athletics is having a successful spring so far! Please enjoy the photo gallery above that features our baseball, softball, boys and girls soccer, boys and girls lacrosse, boys and girls tennis and outdoor track and field teams!
Every athlete needs a new athletic physical every school year so save some time and come out to TJ on June 7, 2023 and support the TJ Athletic Training Program. Need a BOY SCOUT or CAMP PHYSICAL at the same time? No problem, just make sure you bring all the forms with you on June 7. The physical is $50 for pre-registered students. All money goes to support TJ Athletic Training. FCPS Athletic Trainers get $0 from the county for supplies.
Volunteers (MD, DO, PAC, NP, RN, PT) are still needed to run physicals. We need parents to help make the sports physicals a successful event. Your expertise and a few hours of your time will greatly benefit our TJ athletes.
Students are also encouraged to sign up and get community service hours! Dinner will be provided for the volunteers.
Email Dr. Murphy if you can volunteer or have questions. Heather.Murphy@fcps.edu
Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology is on Twitter! Visit @TJHSST_Official for news, upcoming events, reminders of important deadlines, and updates of all the fun activities going on at the school.
Be sure to give us a follow!
April 20: Religious or Cultural Observance Day (Eid al Fitr begins at sunset) - school remains in session with normal hours, no afterschool or evening activities
April 21: Religious or Cultural Observance Day (Eid al Fitr) - no school for students or staff.
April 24: Modified Anchor Day with one hour advisory and no JLC.
April 27-29: First weekend of performances TJ Theatre Spring Musical "Pippen"
May 5-6: Second weekend of performances TJ Theatre Spring Musical "Pippen"
May 5: May edition of News You Choose Newsletter released.
|
