Dear TJHSST Families,
Welcome to 2026! We had a good week as everyone got back into their normal routines. The semester will be over in only a few weeks, so I have included the Midterm Exam schedule in this newsletter.
As we head into Academic Advising season, we have our Virtual Curriculum Night next Thursday, January 15. Parents/Guardians of students in the classes of 2027, 2028, and 2029 will want to be sure to tune in and get their questions answered before their child meets with their counselors in the coming weeks.
One final article I do want to make sure you pay attention to is a change in the Academic calendar for June 1 and June 5. While I know it is a while off, it does involve a 10:30 a.m. release on Friday, June 5 so you'll want to mark your calendars now to prepare.
The following information is a "Cliff's Notes" version of information on the upcoming Curriculum Night on Thursday, Jan. 15. Parents/Guardians of current TJ students should check their inboxes as an E-Notify was sent on Thursday, January 8 with more details.
Who: Current parents/guardians of Class of 2027, 2028, 2029
What: Curriculum Night
When: January 15, 2026
Time: 6:00-8:00 p.m. – Visit with our various Academic departments over four repeating 25 minute sessions (6:00-6:25PM, 6:30-6:55PM, 7:00-7:25PM, and 7:30-7:55PM).
Why: Share info about course offerings and program sequences to help students make decisions about classes to take next school year.
Mode: Virtual, via Zoom sessions
Where: Schoology All Parents/Guardians course.
Resources: Links to all Zoom sessions will be posted in the "Curriculum Night Parent Resources" folder in your All Parents/Guardians Schoology course. Current sessions planned include:
- Computer Science Courses
- Mathematics Courses
- Science Courses
- Technology and Engineering Courses
- English and Social Studies Courses
- World Languages Courses
- Music Courses
- Health/PE Courses
- Dual Enrollment Courses (Session 1 & 2 only)
Sessions: Drop-in format. Visit any session you choose in any order. There will be information presented at beginning of each session with Q&A to follow.
What to do now: Please log in to Schoology prior to January 15 to ensure you have access to the All Parents/Guardians course. You will need that in order to access the Zoom sessions.
Sneak peek: Visit the TJ Website’s Academic Page as information has been updated and several departments have already posted their Curriculum Night preview videos.
In addition visit Choosing Courses for Next School Year 2026-27 page for all information regarding the course selection process.
Questions regarding the Curriculum Information Night for parents/guardians may be directed to Communications Specialist Mike Roth.
Students will have the opportunity to learn about course offerings on January 16, 2026 at the Curriculum Fair during 8th period. Beginning the following week, we head into Academic Advising season.
Students will meet one-on-one with their assigned school counselors for Academic Advising appointments according to the following schedule; if a scheduled appointment is missed, counselors will hold make-up appointments with students on Mondays.
Academic Advising Schedule
- Rising 12 - through English 11 - Jan 20 to Feb. 6
- Rising 11 - through Chemistry - Feb. 10 to Feb. 26
- Rising 10 - through IBET - Feb. 27 to March 13
The deadline for students to contact school counselors and request changes to course requests is Friday, March 13. Following academic advising, a parent verification email will be sent to the enrolling parent, and the deadline for parents/guardians to contact school counselors and request changes to course requests is Friday, March 20.
As the first semester/second quarter comes to a close, TJ has scheduled midterm exams from Jan. 20-23. Not all classes have midterm exams, but those that do are scheduled by subject matter. Here is the TJ Midterm Exam schedule:
- Tuesday, Jan. 20 - Blue Day Humanities, World Languages, Music, and Arts Classes
- Wednesday, Jan. 21 - Red Day Humanities, World Languages, Music, and Arts Classes.
- Thursday, Jan. 22 - Blue Day Math, Computer Science and Science classes.
- Friday, Jan. 23 - Red Day Math, Computer Science and Science classes.
Updated Anchor/Blue/Red Day Calendar
We want to make families aware of an Academic Calendar change that we have been approved for by FCPS. Monday, June 1, will now be a Red Day. Friday, June 5, will be an Early Release Anchor Day with dismissal at 10:30 a.m.
The reason for the change is TJ's Class of 2026 graduation ceremony is on Saturday, June 6 so we are giving the time back to the staff to make sure they are able to attend.
Please remind students to check the Lost and Found Closet and Room 46 next week if they are missing items. All items remaining after Friday, January 16 will be donated or disposed of.
Class of 2026 Families – Post-Deadline Extension for Limited Senior Yearbook Ads
Ads are ONLY AVAILABLE UNTIL Fri., JAN. 16, 11:59 p.m. OR until ad space in the yearbook runs out.
Here is How to Purchase: Click this link for a sample.
To order visit www.yearbookordercenter.com and use school code 13621. Once there, you can scroll down to "Share Your Love" and click the "Start Your Ad" button. Options and pricing will then appear. If you have questions, please do not hesitate to email Lisa Hampton (lmhampton@fcps.edu).
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. You will need 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.
As our school community grows and changes, more of our students and families are facing practical needs. That’s why we’re excited to launch Jefferson Junction, our brand-new non-perishable food and hygiene resource for students.
But we can't do it without your help.
We're asking our amazing TJ parents and families to partner with us in stocking the pantry shelves. Whether it's some healthy snacks, or hygiene essentials, every donation makes a difference. We will collect donations on a rolling basis to keep the pantry stocked. All donations will be used to support TJ students.
🛒 Want to help? Here’s how:
- Visit our Amazon Wish List and have items sent directly to the school: https://a.co/giHCfQN Attention: Danielle Armstrong, Social Worker
- Drop off non-perishable donations at the school: Attention: Danielle Armstrong, Social Worker
From all of us at TJ — thank you for stepping up and helping Jefferson Junction become a place where every student knows they’re seen, valued, and supported.
Every student can take advantage of Varsity Tutors’ services at no cost, including weekly live online classes; on-demand 24/7 chat tutoring; essay editing; and study resources such as recorded content, practice problems, and diagnostic tests.
Learn more about online tutoring with Varsity Tutors.
Fairfax County is seeing very high levels of influenza (flu) illness. Visits to emergency departments and urgent care centers for flu-like illness have increased, especially among children, and multiple flu outbreaks have occurred in our community and school settings.
Consider these tips from the Fairfax County Health Department to help reduce the spread of flu and other germs.
The Society for Science announced its top 300 scholars in the Regeneron Science Talent Search 2026, the nation’s oldest and most prestigious science and math competition for high school seniors on January 7. TJ is excited to reveal that it has 8 winners! A unique aspect is that all 8 went to different middle schools. Our hard-working students come from all across Northern Virginia!
Congrats to the following seniors (with their project name)
Anusha Agarwal, Multigrid-Inspired Neural Operators for Real-Time Brain Biomechanics Prediction With Spectrally-Aware Learning
Rushil Kukreja, Preparing for the Next Carrington: Spatiotemporal Agent-Based Modeling for Safeguarding Satellite Infrastructure Under Extreme Space Weather Disturbances
Madeline R. Levorson, Novel Antimicrobial Treatments Designed With Discovered Lytic Bacteriophages Evaluated Through a Rapid Screening Protocol and an In Vivo Galleria mellonella System
Caroline Li, Improving the Detection Sensitivity of Calcium Transients in Densely Labeled Neuronal Tissue Through Pinhole Illumination: A Low-Cost Approach
Nived Nandakumar, A Closed-Loop Deep Generative Model for the Inverse Design of Radiation-Resistant Polymers
Medha Pappula, Identifying Underlying Brain Connections in Pediatric ADHD: A Pathway to Early Diagnosis and Reduced Secondary Effects
Aashritha Penumudi, A Novel Approach to Understanding the Structural Basis of Ribosome Stalling by AMD1 and Cellular Arresting Peptides
Max Zhao, Improving Time-Series Flood Detection on Remote Sensing Satellite Imagery With Persistent Homology
These 8 advance in the competition where the top 40 finalists will be announced on January 21! Those 40 will get the opportunity to present their projects at the Regeneron STS fair in March! Good luck!
Clips and Photos from TJ Orchestra Lunchtime Concert on Instagram
A major tradition in the week before Winter Break is the annual TJ Orchestra lunchtime concert in Nobel Commons. As part of the tradition, former TJ Principal Dr. Bonitatibus joined in the fun on clarinet!
The Orchestra played a host of holiday classics to the large crowd that had gathered and put everyone in a good mood going into the break!
Donut Day Photo Gallery on Instagram
You do not want to miss the last day before a break at TJ, because you never know what surprise may await!
Today was donut day! The TJ Administration surprised students and staff with 2200 Krispy Kreme donuts as they walked in the door! Everyone got a tasty treat heading into their last day of class before Winter Break!
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. Betsy Fawsett - Associate Principal
Ms. Yaara Crane - Subschool Principal (oversees Class of 2026 Science and Technology Division)
Mr. Shawn Frank - Subschool Principal (oversees Class of 2027 and Mathematics and Computer Science Division)
Mr. Dylan Forshay - Subschool Principal (oversees Class of 2028 and World Language, Art, Music, and Physical Education Division)
Ms. Volita Russell - Subschool Principal (oversees Class of 2029 and Humanities Division)
Ms. Sara Wright - Director of Student Services (oversees Counselors, Social Worker, School Psychologist and other staff providing student support)
Ms. Leah Conte - Director of Student Activities (oversees Activities Office, 8th Period, Athletic Office, Building Maintenance, Custodians, Food Services)
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's Anchor/Blue/Red Day Calendar
January 14 - Winter Orchestra Concert - 7 p.m. in Auditorium
January 19 - Martin Luther King Holiday - no school for students or staff
January 20-21 - Midterm Exams - Humanities, WLMAPE courses
January 22-23 - Midterm Exams - Math, Computer Science, Science and Technology courses
January 28 - Modified Red Day with two-hour early release - end of first semester
January 29 - Staff Development Day - no school for students
January 30 - Teacher Workday - no school for students
February 6 - February News You Choose newsletter will be released
February 16 - Presidents' Day Holiday - no school for students and staff
February 17 - Teacher Workday - no school for students
February 18 - This Wednesday will be an anchor day for TJ. It is also Religious or Cultural Observance Day (Ash Wednesday) - school remains in session
February 25 - Winter Band Concert - 7 p.m. in Auditorium
February 27 - TJ Talent Show - afterschool in Auditorium
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