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Dear TJHSST Families,
It is so wonderful to be back at TJ! It's hard to believe how quickly the first few weeks have flown by. I've truly enjoyed reconnecting with so many of you – students, staff, and parents – and I'm grateful for the warm welcome back. The energy and enthusiasm here are contagious!
We're already diving into academic advising season as we look ahead to the 2025-2026 school year. It's an exciting time to explore new opportunities and chart future paths. I want to thank all the parents and students who joined me at the PTSA meeting two weeks ago. We had a productive discussion about the FCPS curriculum updates and the exciting possibilities they unlock for our students. For those who couldn't make it, I encourage you to join the PTSA's virtual meeting on Thursday, February 13, 2025. All the details can be found on the TJ PTSA webpage: https://tjptsa.com/.
Beyond the classroom, I've been so impressed by the incredible range of activities and passions our students pursue. From the delicious Taste of TJ to the vibrant Lunar New Year Celebration, it's been a joy to participate in these community events. The tremendous work of our school's student-led groups and our PTSA efforts truly make these experiences special, and I'm so thankful for everyone's support.
The recent TJ Science Fair was truly inspiring! The level of research, innovation, and dedication displayed by our students was remarkable. Congratulations to all the participants – your hard work and creativity shone brightly.
And let's not forget our athletic achievements! We've already celebrated championships in swim & dive and girls wrestling, with many more victories on the horizon. Go TJ!
TJ is a truly unique place. We're not defined by a single neighborhood, a single class year, a single area of study, or a single passion. What unites us and makes us extraordinary is that together, we are One TJ! We are a dynamic community of learners, thinkers, and doers united by a shared commitment to excellence and a belief in the power of collaboration. Let's continue to support each other, celebrate our successes, and work together to make TJ an even better place for everyone.
Regards,
Michael Mukai, Principal
#OneTJ
Students have begun to meet individually with their counselors to discuss and lock-in course requests for the 2025-2026 school year. During advisory on Monday, January 13, students learned how to enter course requests in StudentVUE; you may wish to review that information by accessing Schoology. Additionally, counselors shared this presentation to assist students with course selection: Academic Advising Guidelines. (Need to have Schoology account to access those two links)
We ask that you ensure that your student has entered their course requests, including alternates, in SIS StudentVUE prior to these meetings. Students may reach out to their counselor to make changes to their course requests until Friday, March 14.
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Rising Seniors, Class of 2026 – Meetings have already begun. They are occurring in Physics or AP Physics between January 30-February 12
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Rising Juniors, Class of 2027 – Meetings will occur in World History/Geography 2 between February 13-February 26
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Rising Sophomores, Class of 2028 – Meetings will occur in IBEST between February 27-March 12
After academic advising for each grade level has concluded, we will ask parents to verify student course requests through SIS ParentVUE. Parents will have until Friday, March 21 to contact the counselor and make changes to the 2025-2026 requests. After Friday, March 21, counselors will only make changes to course requests in accordance with the TJHSST Schedule Change Policy.
The Spring Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) Screener will be administered to students in grades 9-12 during advisory on Monday, March 10, 2025. Students use the SEL Screener twice a year to share their perspectives on how well their school and community help them develop skills they need to succeed. The screener works by asking questions or presenting statements that students can think about and respond to. More information is available about the SEL Screener by accessing this link: https://www.fcps.edu/student-tests-and-assessments/student-assessment-details/social-emotional-screener
If you wish to opt your child out of the SEL Screener, please reach out to Elizabeth Soteriou at easoteriou@fcps.edu
It's hard to believe that the Class of 2025 has reached its final semester at TJ. Families, you received an email from Assistant Principal and Senior Class Administrator Volita Russell on January 30 with details on Senior Prom, Graduation, Transcripts, and Dues.
For the most up-to-date news, please continue to reference the Class of 2025 Information Page that will be updated as information comes in.
Thank you to all Class of 2025 senior families who have paid their senior dues. For those who have not, please see the following message from our Finance Department.
Class of ’25 Senior Dues
Senior dues for the class of 2025 are $85.00. This fee covers expenses associated with graduation including graduation cap and gown, tassel, diploma, diploma cover, seals, and senior luncheon. For those who have not yet paid, an email reminder will be sent to your senior student shortly.
We ask you to please submit your $85.00 dues as soon as possible. Your timely payment will help us ensure that every senior receives their essential items for graduation.
Payment Options:
1.) By credit card - (Senior dues will not automatically show up on your MySchoolBucks Account)
Follow these steps to pay on MSB:
Log into www.myschoolbucks.com
Click on the search field (magnifying glass at the top right of the screen) and type in “Class of 2025 Senior Dues”
Click on "View Details" and pay via credit card
2.) By cash or check (made out to TJHSST) - have your senior drop off payment to the Finance Office (Room 105)
Questions? Email the finance office at TJHSSTFinance@fcps.edu
Thank you!
Does your student wait until the last minute to complete an assignment? Do you attribute the problem to words like “procrastination”, “motivation”, “lazy” or “time management”?
While it seems easy to pass off as a lack of executive functioning skills such as time management, planning, prioritizing etc, research has shown that procrastination is an emotion regulation problem, not a skill deficit. We tend to avoid the activities or objects in our lives that are hard, uncomfortable, or stressful.
For many students (and adults),it looks like scrolling through social media on our phone, switching between tabs on the computer, chatting with friends, or staring off into space. The problem with avoidance is that it works in the short-term, but reinforces the root of the problem—the discomfort. Procrastination becomes easier; it intensifies as we avoid.
What is the solution? The opposite of avoidance. Lean into the discomfort, often with support. Grab a buddy for accountability. Find the right environment. The library? A coffee shop? Dining room table versus bedroom? How do you regulate the emotion? Find engaging ways to approach the task. Teach someone else. Think out loud. Use a graphic organizer to get started and make it feel less overwhelming. Find ways to creatively manipulate the material.
Want to learn more? Attend Executive Functioning: Maximizing Efficiency and Efficacy for those who Procrastinate, a virtual event hosted by TJ PTSA Health and Wellness Committee on February 24, 2025 at 7:00 p.m. Keep an eye out for the Zoom link in a future PTSA newsletter.
Free/Reduced Application information and forms for qualified families (Online Submission)
FCPS offers nutritious meals every school day. Your child may qualify for free meals or reduced-price meals at TJHSST. Students who qualify for reduced-price meals receive breakfast and lunch at no cost. For information on how to apply for Free and Reduced-price meals, please visit the link above. The online free and reduced-price meals application is available in 8 languages and can be completed on mobile devices. It needs to re-apply annually.
Consent to Share Form (PDF)
If you have children eligible for the Free and Reduced-price meals program, they may also be eligible to participate in other FCPS fee-based programs without paying a fee or by paying a reduced fee.
This would include things that are specified in FCPS Notice 5922. Those are:
- Musical Instrument fees
- Driver Education fees
- Student Parking fees
- Career and Technical Education Certification fees
- Fine Arts fees
- Technology and Engineering Education Material fees
- Online Campus fees
- Advanced Placement fees (after six exams)
- Returned Check fees
You are also eligible to receive information about scholarships, classes and services that are provided by agencies and organizations other than FCPS.
In order to receive the benefits, you have to fill out the Consent to Share Form (please visit the link above), a written agreement allowing FCPS staff to share information about your children's meal eligibility status.
Spring testing will be upon us before we know it!
For all SOL and AP exams, students must use their FCPS issued device on exam day. Students who come to their exam without their FCPS device will not be allowed to test.
To prepare for this, from now until the end of the school year, students should be bringing their FCPS issued devices to school on a regular basis to ensure it is working properly and it has all necessary updates.
Photo Gallery of TJ Science Fair on Instagram
Photo Gallery of Award Ceremony on Instagram
The annual TJ Science and Engineering Fair took place this past Saturday, February 1, where we had 113 students present 75 projects sponsored by 33 of our faculty. We are able to send 23 Outstanding Projects on to the Fairfax County Regional Science and Engineering Fair to be held March 21-23 at Robinson Secondary School. Additionally, there are 15 Honorable Mention projects that include four alternates for the Regional Fair.
We announced and recognized these awardees during lunch on Friday, February 6. Thank you to all who participated, we are in awe of your creativity and thirst for knowledge!
Here are all the Outstanding rated projects that will be advancing to the Regional Fair:
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Armaan Ahmed and Rishikesh Narayana - EEG Based VR Neurofeedback for Motor Function Rehabilitation
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Anush Devkar and Ansh Malhotra - BrailleSense: A Modular, Low-Cost Solution for Accessible Refreshable Braille Displays
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Deven Hagen - A Novel Approach to Algorithmic Redistricting: Combating Gerrymandering with Artificial Intelligence Tools
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Rohan Honganoor - Investigation of the Immunosuppressive Microenvironment in NSCLC Bone Metastasis Using Single-cell RNA Sequencing
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Justin Kim and Nishka Shah - Weathering the Storm: The Impact of Storm-Driven Hyposalinity Cycles on Coral Thermotolerance in Warming Oceans
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Petr Kisselev - Improving infectious disease predictions through the use of metapopulation SIR modeling and graph convolutional neural networks
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Nikhil Krishna and Nived Nandakumar - A Comprehensive Machine Learning Paradigm for Space Debris Surveillance: An Integrated Triple-Model Framework for Identification, Orbital Prediction, and Collision Risk Evaluation
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Rushil Kukreja - Smart Photovoltaic-Integrated Electrochromic Window for Solar Energy Harvesting and Light Pollution Mitigation
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Sakethram Kuncha, Nam Ngo, and Dev Srivastava - Simulating Extrasolar Planet Detection via Transit Photometry: Practical Implementation of Random Forest Classifiers for Recognition of False Detections
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Isaac Leetyn and Daniil Prokofev - Data-Driven Discovery of Novel Therapeutic Targets in Neurodegeneration: A Multi-Modal Analysis Using Novel Interpretable Kolmogorov-Arnold Network implementations
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Ethan Lee - Modeling Risk of Richter Transformation With and Without Chemotherapy Treatment on CLL
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Marina Lin - CAACS: A Carbon Aware Ant Colony System
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Medha Pappula - Decoding Imagined Speech: A Noninvasive Pathway to Real-Time Communication for Nonverbal Individuals
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Sarah Park - Near Infrared Spectroscopy: An Improved Individualized Approach to Non-Invasive Blood Glucose Monitoring
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Aashritha Penumudi - Understanding the Structural Basis of Ribosomal Stalling by Cellular Arresting Peptides
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Aditya Pujari and Ruhaan Singh - Computer Vision-Based Early Diagnosis of Parkinson’s Disease via Spiral Drawing and Handwriting Pattern Recognition
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Srishanth Ravi - MSallNet: A Novel Deep Learning Approach To Analyzing White Matter Lesions in Multiple Sclerosis Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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Rithvik Redrouthu - Hybrid Quantum-Classical CNNs for Improved Glaucoma Detection in Retinal Fundus Imaging
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Palatin Shaaker - Dual-Targeting Therapeutic Strategy for MSI Colorectal Cancer: Evaluating the Efficacy of Combined BMH21 and HRO761 Therapy on Colorectal Cancer
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Ryan Singh - FentaNULL: A Physics-Based Mathematical Model to Track and Prevent Opioid Addiction
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Tanush Vuppala and Surin Wettimuny - Generalizing The Traveling Salesman Problem For An Arbitrary Number Of Cities Using Quantum Algorithms
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Oliver Wang - Differential Equation Driven Hydrogel Passive Cooling for Enhancing Solar Panel Efficiency
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Max Zhao - A Quantum-Inspired Algorithm for Solving Sudoku-Type Puzzles
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In January's News You Choose newsletter, we revealed that eight members of the Class of 2025 earned a spot among the top 300 finalists of the annual Regeneron Science Talent Search put on by the Society for Science.
Well we now can reveal that one of those finalists, senior Ray Zhang, has made the top 40!
His project - Biofilm Composition in Clinical Isolates of Fungal Fusarium and Development of a Multi-Targeted Antifungal Treatment to Inhibit Proliferation - will now compete in a week-long competition March 6-12 in Washington, DC where the top 10 will be decided!
Way to go Ray, and good luck!
 Photo courtesy of Fairfax County Public Schools
TJ has once again won the Highest Achievement Exemplar Award as part of the 2024-25 Virginia Board of Education Exemplar Awards!
Only 92 schools throughout this state met this honor which included meeting state benchmarks in reading, math, and science and low absenteeism.
Our Principal Mr. Mukai and Director of Student Activities Mr. Arthur were on hand at the FCPS School Board meeting on Jan 24 to accept the award from the School Board members, along with Superintendent Dr. Michelle Reid and Chief of Schools Dr. Geovanny Ponce!
In each newsletter we want to give some quick shout outs to TJ staff, students, teams, and alumni.
 Ray Zhang (left) and Jaydon Sun (right) are Jack Kent Cooke semifinalists!
- Congratulations to TJ seniors Jaydon Sun and Ray Zhang for being named Cooke College Scholarship Semifinalists by the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation. They were two of only 571 selected from amongst the entire country! The scholarship recipients will be named in late March.
- Last month the TJ Quiz Bowl Team was named the National Academic Quiz Tournaments National Team of the Week for their performance at the 2024 Centennial Invitational Tournament!
- The TJ Science Bowl Team, led by head coach Elissa Levy, once again won the Virginia Regional Science Bowl Tournament at Jefferson Lab in Newport News on Feb. 1! They now have been invited to compete in the National Tournament in April. Way to go everyone and good luck!
- Members of the TJ Quiz Bowl Team participated in a taping of It's Academic last month. They went on to defeat Oakton and Wooten (a school located in Rockville, Maryland) to qualify for the playoffs! You can watch their match here!
- The TJ Ocean Bowl Team successfully competed at the regional Chesapeake Bay Bowl this past weekend, with teams placing both first and third. The First Place team will participate in the National Ocean Bowl Finals virtually in May. This marks the fifth time in the last six years that TJ has gone to Nationals!
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Congratulations to the following Winter Sports that have completed National District Competition. Boys and Girls Swim and Dive are 12-time consecutive District Champions! Girls Indoor Track and Field team took second in their National District meet. The Gymnastics Team took second at its District Meet, while the Boys Indoor Track and Field team took fifth at its meet. See all the results (including our individual results) and pictures at www.tjsports.org and at @TJHSST_Sports Instagram.
Photo Gallery of Curriculum Fair on Instagram
As mentioned earlier in this newsletter, Academic Advising season has begun as our 9th, 10th, and 11th graders begin to look ahead to signing up for their 2025-26 classes. The TJ Staff wants to make sure they fully understand all the options at their disposal, so we held our annual Curriculum Fair on Jan. 15.
Students had the chance to visit various classes that they might be interested in, hear a presentation from the teachers and ask any questions they might have.
We continue to urge you to visit our Choosing Courses for Next School Year 2025-26 webpage as a family to help students make their decisions!
Photo Gallery of Sophomore Lab Visits on Instagram
The Class of 2027 has plenty of time left in their TJ adventure. Yet it is never to early to start thinking about their independent senior research experience!
On Jan. 31 during eighth period the sophomores participated in lab visits as they got to visit three labs of their choosing to learn more about them. They found out more about what each lab focuses on, what types of projects have been done in the past, and what (if any) prerequisites the lab has so that they can make sure they take those classes their junior year (which of course is very important during Academic Advising season!).
In addition during one of the four total sessions, the sophomores went to the cafeteria to learn about TJ's fantastic mentorship program and how it operates in case they end up choosing that as their senior research experience.
Photo Gallery of Taste of TJ on Instagram
Videos of Performances at Taste of TJ on Instagram
There are always a lot of unknowns when you start a new event at TJ. How should it be organized, can you afford it, and will anyone come being some of the more important ones.
The Class of 2025 took that chance as it put together the first Taste of TJ, a multicultural food event fundraiser
The event was an overwhelming success as students and their families came in droves to enjoy all sorts of cuisines from around the world that represent the vast cultures of our community. We also had dance performances and snuck out the karaoke machine as well!
The 2025 Class Council deserves an enormous amount of credit for putting together an incredible event that so many people came to enjoy! This may have been the first Taste of TJ, but we have a pretty good feeling it won't be the last!
Photo Gallery of Lunar New Year Celebration on Instagram
Five different student groups (Chinese Honor Society, Vietnamese Student Association, Korean Culture Club, Japanese Culture Club, and Asian Awareness) teamed up to host January's cultural event celebrating the Lunar New Year on Jan. 28!
There were games, performances, and of course food all available to raise awareness and celebrate the Year of the Snake!
Thank you to all the students who had a hand in planning this event and to the TJ PTSA for their generous donation and volunteer efforts in helping them execute it!
Photo Gallery of Short Wave Radiation Measuring on Instagram
During a couple of warm(er) days last month our students were able to go outside to do some science!
Students in geosystems classes performed an exploration of the balance of radiation at the Earth's surface to measure short wave radiation and non-contact infrared thermometers to determine long wave radiation.
Later on they used that data to graph out both short-wave and long-wave radiation over the course of a day!
With the weather turning cold and snowy again this month, we were thankful for this opportunity to get this one in!
Spring Sports will start on Monday February 24, 2025. Spring sports are Baseball, Crew, Lacrosse, Soccer, Softball, Tennis, & Track and Field.
Tryout information is coming soon and will be posted on social media. Several teams are already holding out of season practices. Students must have a valid VHSL physical dated May 1, 2024, or after to participate in out of season practices and tryouts.
Families must also complete athletic registration each year before tryouts. Both can be found at www.tjsports.org.
VHSL physicals can be dropped off during the school day in the Activities Office, and after-school in the Athletic Training Office.
Dr. Murphy will be in the AudLob during lunch on Feb. 21 to collect forms. You can reach out to Mr. Arthur or Dr. Murphy if you have questions or concerns.
Hack TJ Volunteer interest form
From Saturday, March 8 to Sunday, March 9, HackTJ 12.0 will take place at CVent in Tyson's. This is TJ's annual 24-hour hackathon, where students collaborate and compete to craft (hack) innovative computer programming solutions. It’s a high-energy event featuring workshops, a ping-pong tournament, and non-stop coding!
With over 400 students participating, we need chaperones to help make this event possible. Help is done through shifts, but our biggest challenge is overnight coverage - we need parents to step up!
If your child is participating (registration is now open), please consider volunteering. This event is a TJ tradition, and we cannot run it without your support.
Sign up now, and we’ll follow up closer to the event to confirm schedules.
Thank you for helping make HackTJ 12.0 a success!
More Info: https://hacktj.org/
We genuinely appreciate your support!
Paul Kosek, Mark Hannum, and the Hack TJ Team
TJ is looking for more players for its JV Rocket League eSports team! Any 9th through 11th grader of any skill level is welcome. Games are every Thursday, and tryouts are in room 118 every Thursday during February after school from 4:00-5:30 p.m.
Students should share their interest with Mr. Dorsey (gddorsey@fcps.edu).
Save the date! The TJ Athletic Trainers will be hosting their annual fundraiser, Sports Physical Night, on Tuesday, May 27. Every athlete needs a new athletic physical every school year so save some time and come out to TJ on May 27, 2025, and support the TJ Athletic Training Program. 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.
We are still looking for medical professionals that can volunteer at our fundraiser. This is a popular at school event benefiting both the athletic training program and our athletes. Please email if you can volunteer. Volunteers (MD, DO, PAC, NP, RN, PT) are needed to run physicals. Your expertise and a few hours of your time will greatly benefit our TJ athletes.
Email Dr. Murphy if you can volunteer or have questions.
This is a new section that covers general information and reminders that will remain important throughout the 2024-25 school year.
TJ Writing and Math Centers Now Open
The centers are now open for tutoring!
Student-tutors offer all kinds of help, from writing scientific papers and creative writing/personal narratives, to helping students at all levels of mathematics. The tutors are excited to work with their peers!.
Testing Information
Looking for information related to testing? You can find it all on Schoology in the All Parents/Guardians course! Once in the course, you will find a folder labeled “Testing”, click on that and then you can navigate to the specific test information you are looking for. Information will be updated as it comes in, so check back often.
Student Food Deliveries to TJ
As a reminder, per FCPS safety and security protocol, students may not have food and drinks delivered to the school campus during the academic day. Allowing external deliveries can create potential security risks and disrupt the learning environment. Our primary goal is to maintain a safe and orderly atmosphere for all students and staff.
Spring Sports
Spring Sports will start on Monday, February 24, 2025. Spring sports are Baseball, Crew, Lacrosse, Soccer, Softball, Tennis, & Track and Field. Several teams are already holding out of season practices. Students must have a valid VHSL physical dated May 1, 2024, or after to participate in out of season practices and tryouts. VHSL physicals can be dropped off during the school day in the Activities Office, and after-school in the Athletic Training Office.
Families must also complete athletic registration each year before tryouts.
Both can be found at www.tjsports.org. You can reach out to Mr. Arthur or Dr. Murphy if you have questions or concerns.
Need to get ahold of someone at TJ? Here is some commonly requested contact information:
Main Office - 703-750-8300
Attendance Office - thomasjeffersonhigh.attendance@fcps.edu
Student Services - 703-750-8340
Student Activities - 703-750-8333
Security - 703-750-8331
Administration Contact Information
Mr. Michael Mukai - Principal
Ms. Volita Russell - Assistant Principal (oversees Class of 2025 and Humanities Division)
Ms. Yaara Crane - Assistant Principal (oversees Class of 2026 Science and Technology Division)
Ms. Chrystal Benson - Assistant Principal (oversees Class of 2027 and Mathematics and Computer Science Division)
Mr. Dylan Forshay - Assistant Principal (oversees Class of 2028 and World Language, Art, Music, and Physical Education Division)
Ms. Sara Genetin - Director of Student Services (oversees Counselors, Social Worker, School Psychologist and other staff providing student support)
Mr. Dave Arthur - Director of Student Activities (oversees Activities Office, 8th Period, Athletic Office, Building Maintenance, Custodians, Food Services)
Mr. Leo Resquin - Director of Technology (oversees Technology Team, Testing Tech Support, tjSTAR, Safety and Security/Transportation)
Mr. Mike Roth - Communications Specialist (oversees NewsYouChoose and eNotify, Event promotions, print/digital text, photo, video, Social Media accounts, TJHSST Webmaster and Visitors US & International (TJPF)
For another specific staff member, please use our Staff Directory to find contact information.
Be sure to visit Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology On its official social media channel on Instagram @OfficialTJHSST for pictures and highlights of all the fun events and activities going on at TJ! (Please note that we have discontinued use of our X/Twitter account).
We'd love it if you give us a follow!
TJ Anchor/Blue/Red Day Calendar
Feb. 10 - While this was previously scheduled as a modified Anchor Day, that is no longer happening. It will be a traditional Anchor Day with JLC
Feb. 17 - President's Day Holiday - no school for students and staff
Feb. 21 - TJ's Got Talent - Auditorium 5:00-7:30 p.m.
Feb. 28 - Religious or Cultural Observance Day (Ramadan) - school remains in session with normal hours.
Mar. 7 - March News You Choose newsletter is released.
Mar. 17 - This is a modified Anchor Day - there will be a 60 minute advisory and no JLC.
Mar 28 - End of third quarter
Mar. 29 - Senior Class Prom Capital One Hall, Tysons, VA - 7:00-11:00 p.m.
Mar. 31 - No school for students or staff (Eid-al-Fitr)
Apr. 1 - Teacher Work Day - no school for students
Apr. 2 - This Wednesday that begins fourth quarter will be a traditional Anchor Day
Apr. 4 - April News You Choose newsletter is released
Apr. 14-18 - Spring Break - no school for students or staff
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