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Dear TJHSST Families,
It's finally the fourth quarter and the finish line is approaching! I have a lot of important updates for you in this month's newsletter about the last nine and a half weeks of the school year. That includes all the information you need about testing (SOL and AP), final exams and the change in our end-of-year schedule due to the graduation ceremony.
Switching gears and speaking as one of the Class of 2025 sponsors, I want to publicly thank everyone who was involved in making sure the 2025 Senior Prom went off without a hitch! A special thanks to my co-sponsor Tanya Holloway who used her party planning expertise to give our seniors a night they will never forget! I have really enjoyed working with this class the past four years and am excited for graduation on June 11.
As always please feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions or need guidance on who you should be reaching out to.
Sincerely,
Mike Roth
TJHSST Director of Communications
#OneTJ
On Tuesday, April 1, Director of Communications Mike Roth sent out an E-Notify message explaining the change in the end-of-year schedule for TJ. Because of the Class of 2025 graduation ceremony the morning of Wednesday, June 11, our school year will now end on Tuesday, June 10. Underclass exams have been moved up a day as well.
Please refer to the next couple of stories below for both senior and underclass exam schedules, and make sure to review the E-Notify message for a more detailed explanation of all changes.
Hey Class of 2025, graduation is only two months away! While this has been posted on Schoology, and the Class of 2025 website, we want to make sure you and your families are aware of the Final Exam Schedule this year.
Monday, June 2 – Sixth Period (Modified Anchor Day, sixth period will be 90 minutes long to accommodate any exams)
Tuesday, June 3 – Fifth and Seventh Periods (Red Day)
Wednesday, June 4 – First and Second Periods (Half Day)
Thursday, June 5 – Third and Fourth Periods (Half Day)
As always, you can visit the Class of 2025 FAQ website. It has all the details/dates about, graduation, ANGP, and obligations there. If you have any questions please reach out Senior Class Administrator Assistant Principal Volita Russell.
Below is the final exam schedule for our underclass this year. Each day will be a half day that lasts from 8:40-11:55 a.m. (except the final day, Tuesday, June 10, see below). Grab and go lunches will be available at the end of each day. Bus transportation will be provided at the release time. If you transport your own child, please make arrangements to pick them up on time as teachers will be busy grading and we do not have staff available to supervise large groups of students until the end of the work day at 4:00.
Wednesday, June 4 – Periods 1 and 2
Thursday, June 5 – Periods 3 and 4
Friday, June 6 – Periods 5 and 6
Monday, June 9 – Periods 7 and makeups
Tuesday, June 10 – 2-hour day (class time - 8:40-10:40 a.m.)
Spring testing will be upon us before we know it! The majority of our students will be taking at least one test, whether it be SOLs or AP exams. Students need to be ready for exam day and should take care to not schedule appointments during scheduled test dates.
- The AP Exam Schedule is set by College Board.
- There will be no Anchor Days during the two-week testing period (May 5-16). We will alternate between Red and Blue days. Class periods will remain the same length.
- Monday, May 5 - Blue Day
- Tuesday, May 6 - Red Day
- Wednesday, May 7 - Blue Day
- Thursday, May 8 - Red Day
- Friday, May 9 - Blue Day
- Monday, May 12 - Red Day
- Tuesday, May 13 - Blue Day
- Wednesday, May 14 - Red Day
- Thursday, May 15 - Blue Day
- Friday, May 16 - Red Day
- End of Course (EOC) English Reading SOL (all 11th graders) will be given on Monday April 28.
- EOC Biology SOL (all 9th graders) will be given through IBEST on Thursday, May 15 and Friday, May 16.
- EOC Algebra 2 SOL (for 9th graders who still need to earn a verified credit and/or meet Federal Participation) will be given on Monday, May 19
- Students who are missing verified credits will be contacted directly by Ms. Broadhead with their specific dates/times of testing.
Students are required to use their FCPSOn device for all AP and SOL exams. Please work with your student to ensure their device is properly functioning and is fully up to date. Students should be bringing their device to school and restarting it on the school network regularly.
If a student is going to miss an AP exam due to an academic or athletic competition, the student needs to notify Ms. Broadhead as soon as possible so that the exam can be moved to the make-up date.
If a student is absent from an AP exam due to illness and would like to take the exam during the make-up window, the absence must be listed as excused in SIS and the parent must notify Ms. Broadhead, by completing a google form, within 24 hours of the student missing the exam to request the make-up. The google form will be posted to Schoology and on the school website by the start of AP exams.
All questions related to SOL and AP Testing should be directed to our Assessment Coach, Lisa Broadhead.
Friday, April 25 is final DEADLINE to preorder a 2025 yearbook at www.yearbookordercenter.com (use school code 13621). You will get the 288-page yearbook. TJ’s literary magazine, science magazine, and a year of tjTODAY (distributed at school and online) are also included for free.
After April 25, remaining copies of the yearbook will be sold through MySchoolBucks while supplies last. Distribution will take place at school in June.
Please email lmhampton@fcps.edu if you have questions or concerns.
The following message comes from the TJ Finance Office:
TJ Student Obligations (outstanding fees, books or materials)
If students have any outstanding obligations, “Notice of Obligation” emails were sent to their fcpsschools.net accounts. The emails list 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:
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Course Fees: (Design and Tech, Art classes, Robotics, etc.)
- Click on “Invoices” and pay
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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 for specifics) and pay
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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 2025 Senior Dues” or “NHS Dues”)
- Click on “View Details” and pay
Payments by cash or check should be dropped off at the Finance Office (room 105.) Email us at TJHSSTFinance@fcps.edu with any questions.
As we approach the upcoming school testing period, we want to ensure that your child is as prepared and confident as possible. Here are a few tips to help support your child and set them up for success:
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Encourage Consistent Sleep Habits: A well-rested mind performs better! Help your child establish a regular sleep routine leading up to the test, ensuring they get enough rest each night.
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Healthy Nutrition: Encourage your child to eat a nutritious breakfast on test days, including protein and whole grains, to fuel their brain and body for the day ahead.
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Create a Calm Study Environment: Set aside a quiet, distraction-free space for any review or study time. This will help your child focus and engage with the material in a stress-free environment.
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Review, But Don’t Overload: While it’s important to review key concepts, avoid overwhelming your child with last-minute cramming. Short, focused review sessions are more effective than long, tiring ones.
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Foster a Positive Attitude: Test-taking can feel stressful, but reminding your child that the test is just one part of their learning journey can help reduce anxiety. Encourage them to do their best, but let them know it’s okay to make mistakes.
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Practice Relaxation Techniques: If your child tends to get anxious, consider practicing relaxation techniques such as deep breathing or visualization exercises to help them stay calm and focused.
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Arrive Prepared: Make sure your child has everything they need for the test day—FCPS issued device, pens, pencils, and any other required materials—so they feel ready to start the test without last-minute stress.
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.
You may remember from previous newsletters that senior Ray Zhang had advanced to the Regeneron Science Talent Search finals with one of the top 40 projects in the entire competition.
After a multi-day showcase in Washington DC, Zhang came in 10th place in the country for his project Biofilm Composition in Fungal Fusarium and Development of a Multi-Targeted Antifungal Treatment!
What that means is he found a better way to treat drug resistant fungal infections! That can save lives!
Way to go Ray, thank you for representing what you can achieve here at TJHSST! We can't wait to see what you do in the future!
TJ was well represented at the Fairfax County Regional Science and Engineering Fair on March 21-23 at Robinson Secondary School. A total of 22 projects won awards, with four projects earning a Grand Prize honor, which advances them straight to the International Science and Engineer Fair! (ISEF)
Full Fairfax County Regional Science Fair Results
Special Award Winners
Here are TJ's winners:
Grand Prize Winners (Advancing to ISEF):
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Jaemin Lee, Modeling Risk of Richter Transformation With and Without Chemotherapy Treatment on CLL
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Isaac Leetyn and Danya Prokofev, Interpretable KANs Uncover Novel Targets and Therapeutics in Neurodegeneration
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Oliver Wang, Optimizing Hydrogel Heat Sinks for Enhancing Solar Efficiency and Computing
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Anush Devkar and Ansh Malhotra, BrailleSense: A Modular, Low-Cost Solution for Accessible Braille Displays
Grand Prize Alternates (Advancing to Virginia Science and Engineering Fair, called up to ISEF if a grand prize winner can’t go):
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Justin Kim and Nishka Shah, The Impact of Storm-Driven Hyposalinity Cycles on Coral Thermotolerance
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Sarah Park, SVM-Enhanced Infrared Spectroscopy for Noninvasive Blood Glucose Monitoring
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Marina Lin, A Novel Carbon-Aware Ant Colony System Algorithm for Sustainable Transportation
Grand Prize Nominees (Advancing to VSEF)
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Ryan Singh, FentaNULL: A Behavior-Based Mathematical Model to Prevent Opioid Addiction
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Aashritha Penumudi, Exploring the Structural Basis of Ribosome Stalling by Arresting Peptides
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Petr Kisselev, Spatially heterogeneous GCN-coupled SIR infection modeling to inform policy
First Place Category Winners (Advancing to VSEF)
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Srishanth Ravi, MSallNet: A Deep Learning Approach for Multiple Sclerosis Lesion Analysis
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Rushil Kukreja, Photovoltaic Electrochromic Window for Solar Harvesting and Light Pollution
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Sakethram Kuncha, Nam Ngo and Dev Srivastava, Modeling Exoplanet Detection via Transit Photometry: Random Forest Approach
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Nikhil Krishna and Nived Nandakumar, An Integrated Triple-Model Framework for Space Debris Surveillance
Second Place Category Winners
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Palatin Shaaker, Dual-Targeting Therapeutic Strategy for MSI Colorectal Cancer
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Rohan Honganoor, Investigation of the Immunosuppressive Microenvironment in Lung Adenocarcinoma Brain Metastasis
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Armaan Ahmed and Rishikesh Narayana, Adaptive Vision Correction for Presbyopia Using Voltage-Controlled Liquid Lenses
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Deven Hagen, A Novel Approach to Algorithmic Redistricting: Combating Gerrymandering with AI Tools
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Max Zhao, Qudoku: A Quantum-Inspired Algorithm for Solving Combinatorial Optimization Problems
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Tanush Vuppala and Surin Wettimuny, Quantum-Classical Optimization: A Virginia Approach to the Traveling Salesman Problem
Third Place Category Winners
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Medha Pappula, Decoding Imagined Speech: A Noninvasive Pathway to Real-Time Communication for Nonverbal Individuals
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Rithvik Redrouthu, Hybrid Quantum-Classical CNNs for Glaucoma Detection in Retinal Imaging
In addition Aashritha Penumudi took home the Regeneron Biomedical Science Award, while Aditya Pujari and Ruhaan Singh won the Virginia Tech Biomedical Engineering Innovation Award.
Prom Gallery One on Instagram
Prom Gallery Two on Instagram
It may have been held a little early in the school year calendar, but prom was an overwhelming success! With 80 degree weather for our Class of 2025 to enjoy over 400 students came to celebrate their four years of hard work and party the night away!
Thank you to the administration, staff, class sponsors, Class Council and Prom Comm and of course our Class of 2025 for an amazing night!
In each newsletter we want to give some quick shout outs to TJ staff, students, teams, and alumni.
- The TJ Quiz Bowl team annually represents the Colonials in the VHSL Scholastic Bowl each year. On March 1, they won the State Championship for the 18th time in school history! Way to go everyone!
- The same weekend that Quiz Bowl was winning a State Championship, the TJ Dance Team was down in Orlando for their National Competition! It was an incredible conclusion to the 2024-25 season as they took first place in the Kick category and fifth in the Pom category. Congrats on an amazing season!
- Congrats to the TJ Science Olympiad Team for winning the Virginia Science Olympiad State Tournament on March 29! They came in first in seven different categories and were in the top three in 18 out of the 23 categories total! TJ qualified for the National Tournament that takes place May 24 at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln, Nebraska!
- At the same Virginia Science Olympiad State Tournament, TJ's own Samantha Hale was honored for 10 years of coaching at the event!
- Make it 25 years in a row! The TJ Chess Team won the Championship event at the Virginia State Tournament in Charlottesville for the 25th straight year March 7-8. Aarush Vinod and Kent Slate were individual Co-Champs! TJ also won the Blitz team championship on March 7!
- Big congratulations to sophomore Grace Yuan and junior Jocelyn Huie for winning National Silver Medals in the National Scholastic Art and Writing Awards competition! Yuan earned her award for her piece entitled “Artists.” Huie earned her honor for her piece entitled “Protection.”
- Congratulations to Philharmonic and Symphonic Orchestra for earning straight Superior ratings at State Orchestra Assessment on March 19!
- In addition, our Orchestra Director Allison Bailey and our Band Director Steve Ballard were thrilled to announce that 18 of TJ's musicians were selected for the All-Virginia Band and Orchestra! They are:
- Max Zhao (Concertmaster - 1st chair Violin)
- Jaemin Lee (Assoc. Concertmaster - 2nd chair Violin)
- Rayna Kim (Violin)
- Angelee Kang (Violin)
- Timothy Oh (Violin)
- Spencer Wang (Violin)
- Lucia Ishii (Violin)
- Kai Bilal (Viola)
- Valerie Lai (Cello)
- Daniel Yeum (Principal Oboe – 1st chair)
- Anmol Karan (Bassoon)
- Hudson Keeler (Clarinet)
- Dhivij Bhooma (Clarinet)
- Nathan Lee (Clarinet)
- Jack Shinkman (Clarinet)
- Maxwell Ritter (Trumpet)
- Alexander Liu (Trumpet)
- Abhinav Chakravarthy (Percussion)
HackTJ 12.0 was an enormous success March 8-9! Held in Tysons, over 200 students from TJ and other FCPS schools were locked in the CVent building where they had the chance to build their own coding project over a 24-hour period! Here are the winners:
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Best Overall Hack: AlgoRhythm (Abraham Agbota, Ryan Ghimire, Justin Ma, Arjun Babla)
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Best Mobile Hack: SearchParty (Aryan Gadre, Kanishk Sivanandam, Chetan Maviti, Adarsh Bharadwaj)
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Best AI/ML Hack: SafeScape (Ansh Malhotra, Nivaan Kaushal, Pratham Singh, Armaan Ahmed)
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Best Web Hack: QuantumFold (Deven Hagen, Justin Lee, Alan Zhu)
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Best Quantum Hack: Quantum Enhanced MRI Diagnostics (Kashi Kamat, Sarvani Vemuri, Surbhi Singla)
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Best Finance Hack: Circa (Maneesh Vaddi, Agastya Sondhi, Arjun Chitla, Adhiraj Chhoda)
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Best Lifestyle Hack: PinPoint (Soham Jain, Shaurya Jain, Anmol Karan, Jason Hao)
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Best Cyber Technology Hack: DeepShield (Rohan Honganoor, Amogh Katiki, Andrew Chen, Jayden Yang)
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Best Biomedical Hack: RDD: Respiratory Disease Detection (Anush Luv, Saatvik Sanjeev)
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Best Environmental Science Hack: Retro Rower (Darwin Goldstein, Daniil Prokofev, Christoph Knaeble)
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Best Beginner Hack: AP Romance (Nathalie Hatchuel, Sohana Bahl, Fay Amirullah)
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Best Use of ROAM AI Agent: CyberGuard (Shiv Davay, Aahan Sachdeva, Parthiv Maddipatla, Svaran Medavarapu)
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Vishnu Murthy Foundation Best Social Impact: Jot It (Sophia Huang, Jacob Dipasupil, Avery Li, Ipek Sayar)
Thank you the HackTJ team and sponsors for all the hours you put in behind the scenes in preparing for the event! And thank you to the sponsors, as well as the TJ Partnership Fund for their generous grant that made this event possible!
Innovate TJ is an annual competition where teams get to collaborate to create pitches to real entrepreneurs to win cash prizes!
Over 20 teams competed in this year's competition on March 22 and attended workshops that helped improve their entrepreneurship skills!
Congratulations to the TJ LaunchX Club for putting on another successful event!
Organized by our College and Career Specialist Kendel Gilchrest, 13 TJ students had a unique opportunity to participate in the 18th annual West Point Leadership and Ethics Conference (WPLEC) on March 13 at the Arlington campus of the George Mason University Business School.
WPLEC 2025 used an ethical decision-making curriculum developed by the U.S. Military Academy (USMA) at West Point, New York. Cadets from West Point, college ROTC programs, and young civilian professionals facilitated sessions where students develop solutions to leadership and ethical challenges typically faced by young adults.
There was also several keynote speakers who shared their perspectives on why ethics are fundamental to leadership.
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.
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
Apr. 14-18 - Spring Break - no school for students or staff
Apr. 21 - This is a normal Anchor Day with JLC - it was originally scheduled to be a modified Anchor Day, but that is no longer happening.
April 25-26 - First weekend of Spring Musical Big Fish
Apr. 28 - This is a modified Anchor Day - there will be a 60 minute advisory and no JLC.
May 2-3 - Second weekend of Spring Musical Big Fish
May 2 - May News You Choose newsletter released
May 5-16 - AP Testing occurs
May 19 - Humanities Field Trip for 10th and 11th Grade to Smithsonian
May 21 - tjSTAR during school day.
May 21 - Spring Band Concert - 7:00 p.m. in TJ Auditorium
May 23 - J-Day during school day.
May 26 - Memorial Day - no school for students or staff
May 28 - Spring Orchestra Concert - 7:00 p.m. in TJ Auditorium
June 2 - Freshman Symposium during school day - this will be a Modified Anchor Day with no JLC, 6th period final exams for seniors only
June 3 - Fifth and seventh period final exams for seniors only
June 4 - This is a half day - Final Exams for first and second period, all grades.
June 5 - This is a half day - Final Exams for third and fourth period, all grades. This is seniors last day of school.
June 6 - This is a half day - Final Exams for fifth and sixth period, grades 9, 10, and 11.
June 6 - June News You Choose newsletter released.
June 9 - This is a half day - Final Exams for seventh period and makeups, grades 9, 10, and 11.
June 9 - Graduation Rehearsal for Class of 2025 at TJ in morning.
June 10 - This is the 2-hour day school will be dismissed at 10:40 a.m. Last day of school for students.
June 11 - TJ Class of 2025 Graduation at Eagle Bank Arena, 9:30 a.m.
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