What a busy and fun week we just finished! Monday was the annual Humanities trip to the Smithsonian Museums for our junior and sophomore classes! While those two classes were out of the building, our seniors dressed in their college shirts and we took our class composite photo out at the main stadium!
Wednesday was the annual tjSTAR symposium. Our seniors showed off their hard work over the past school year to a multitude of guests and their fellow classmates. We also had a fantastic keynote speaker in TJ 2001 alum Mike Elias, the current President and General Manager of the Baltimore Orioles!
The week concluded with J-Day, which is our student body's chance to unwind and celebrate the year. Unfortunately, due to the weather, we had to move the entire event inside, but our Student Government Association (SGA) did a great job adjusting the programming.
I hope everyone enjoys the upcoming five-day weekend. Office hours during the break are listed in the article below. We will see you back on Thursday, May 28!
As always, please reach out if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
Mike Roth
TJHSST Director of Communications
TJ's main office will be closed on both Monday, May 25, and Wednesday, May 27 next week. It will be open by appointment only on Tuesday, May 26. The office will be open during normal hours (8:15 a.m.-4:15 p.m.) on both Thursday, May 28, and Friday, May 29.
The seniors are almost done with their time at TJ! Senior Final Exams (for those who have them) begin as soon as we return next week. Here is the schedule for their remaining time at TJ.
Thursday, May 28 – Blue Day Math, Computer Science, and Science and Tech Final Exams
Friday, May 29 – Red Day Math, Computer Science, and Science and Tech Final Exams
Saturday, May 30 - Senior Prom, Schuyler Ballroom Hamilton Hotel, 7:00-11:00 p.m.
Monday, June 1 – Red Day Humanities, World Language, Music, and Makeup Final Exams
Tuesday, June 2 - Blue Day Humanities, World Language, Music, and Makeup Final Exams - Last Day for Seniors
Wednesday, June 3 - Seniors do not need to come into building unless they have senior obligations to take care of or are participating in the Athletic Award ceremony during 8th period.
Thursday, June 4 - Graduation Rehearsal and Senior Cookout - Seniors should arrive at 9:30 a.m. Senior cookout will follow immediately afterwards.
Saturday, June 6 – Class of 2026 Graduation at EagleBank Arena beginning at 7 p.m.
As always, you can visit the Class of 2026 FAQ website. It has all the details/dates about, graduation, and obligations there. If you have any questions please reach out Senior Class Administrator Assistant Principal Yaara Crane.
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.
All Fairfax County middle and high school students can get a Student Bus Pass SmarTrip card to ride the Fairfax Connector and Fairfax CUE buses for free! With the pass, fares are free from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week, all year. Learn more about the Student Pass and access the application, which can be returned to the front office.
Children 12 and younger ride for free on the Fairfax Connector with a paying adult.
As our school community grows and changes, more of our students and families are facing practical needs. That’s why we’re excited to have the 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.
Is your student experiencing anxiety, behavior changes, or challenges with peer and family relationships? If so, you may refer your child for weekly therapy with a licensed therapist through Hazel Health. Visit the FCPS Teletherapy webpage for information on this service.
tjSTAR Photo Gallery on Instagram
One of TJHSST's biggest events every year is tjSTAR where our seniors get to showcase everything they've been working on the past year in their independent research class!
We had more than 270 groups or individuals showcasing their project to the rest of the school, their family member guests, and VIPs from FCPS and the local community on Wednesday!
We also had a our keynote speaker from the Baltimore Orioles, their President of Baseball Operations and General Manager, Mike Elias! He is a 2001 TJ graduate and talked about his journey from the Colonials to Yale to a career in Major League Baseball, and how data based science that he learned here at TJ helps him do his job today!
This wouldn't have been possible without the generous grant from the TJ Partnership Fund Their gift paid for lunch and a gift for the seniors as well as a lot of the logistical elements that made this event a success!
It takes a village to put on a school-wide research fair. Thank you to the tjSTAR Committee (pictured above). Their hard work throughout the year sacrificing their time so that their peers could have a memorable final presentation needs to be recognized!
And thank you to TJ administration and staff! Every single person pitched in and their efforts did not go unnoticed!
Science Fair season came to an end last week when four TJ students participated in the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) in Phoenix, Arizona. Two TJHSST came away with awards!
Jack Gao won a third place award in Earth and Environmental Sciences for his project: TorSight: Transitioning From Tornado Detection to Prediction Through Pre-Tornadic Signatures
Sarah Park won a fourth place award in Biomedical Engineering for her project: “Revolutionizing Targeted Therapeutics Using AI-Powered Origami Millirobots”
Full information can be found here: https://www.societyforscience.org/press-release/regeneron-isef-2026-full-awards/
Congrats to everyone who participated in Science Fair this year!
We are excited to announce that two TJ seniors, Shaanvhi Jayaram and Nived Nandakumar have been named semifinalists for the US Presidential Scholars Program! Only 627 high school seniors in the entire country earned this honor. Over the next couple of months, the final winners will be announced by US Secretary of Education Linda McMahon.
We would like to congratulate the TJ Speech Team for a great season and a strong performance at the VHSL championships last month. Here are their results:
Arnav Dusad: VHSL CLASS 6 original oratory state champion
Moubon Ray Kurukumbi: VHSL Class 6 prose state qualifier
Ami Le: NSDA national qualifier and 3rd place overall in Dramatic Interpretation
Moubon Ray Kurukumbi: NSDA 6th place overall in program oral interpretation and national alternate
Clara Jarvis: NCFL national qualifier, 5th place overall in WACFL region in oral interpretation of literature
Ami Le: NCFL national qualifier, 3rd place overall in WACFL region, 5th place WASDL final round champion in dramatic performance
Moubon Ray Kurukumbi: NCFL national qualifier, 4th place overall in WACFL region in oral interpretation of literature
Sohana Bahl: NCFL national qualifier alternate, 7th place overall in WACFL region in dramatic performance
Way to make TJ proud!
Photo Gallery of Techstravaganza 2026 on Instagram
The love of STEM is established well before high school. TJ students helped prepare the next generation of STEM lovers with their annual Techstravaganza festival last Saturday!
This annual STEM festival is hosted by TWIST (Tomorrow’s Women in Science and Technology club) and features representatives from nearly every TJ STEM club at different booths showing off various experiments to kids as young as three and as old as middle school!
There were rocket launches, biology, physics, chemistry experiments, computer science demonstrations and so much more!
All of this wouldn’t be possible without a generous grant from the TJ Partnership Fund They also brought several of their corporate partners who set up some neat displays!
We had well over 1000 visitors from all over the DMV area on Saturday. Thanks to the TJ Partnership Fund grant that included kids from 21 different Title I schools! The grant paid for bus transportation from their school to TJ and allowed us to feed them lunch! Thank you TJPF and all of your corporate and public sponsors!
It was an amazing event and we encourage families to check it out next year in May 2027!
Photo Gallery of Award Ceremony on TJPTSA Instagram
The Fairfax County Council PTA (FCCPTA) announced its annual awards on Monday. TJ staff, students and our PTSA all won honors!
🎊 TJ PTSA - 1000+ Membership Milestone and Impactful PTSA!
🎊 Ms. Aubrie Holeman - FCCPTA Educator of the Year!
🎊 Ms. Wenjie Yao - FCCPTA Staff of the Year!
🎊 Rachel Du - FCCPTA Student Scholarship Awardee!
🎊 Chetana Srinivasan - National PTA “|Belong” Reflections Awardee from FCCPTA!
Need to get in contact with 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 and 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 Jefferson Journal 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
May 25 - Memorial Day - no school for students or staff.
May 26 - Teacher Workday - no school for students.
May 27 - Religious or Cultural Observance Day (Eid-al-Adha) - no school for students or staff.
May 28-June 2 - Senior Final Exams
June 5 - This Friday will be a Modified Anchor Day with dismissal at 10:30 a.m.
June 6 -TJ Class of 2026 Graduation at Eagle Bank Arena, 7 p.m.
June 11 - Underclassman Final Exams Periods 1 and 2 - half day with dismissal at 11:55 a.m.
June 12 - Underclassman Final Exams Periods 3 and 4 - half day with dismissal at 11:55 a.m.
June 15 - Underclassman Final Exams Periods 5 and 6 - half day with dismissal at 11:55 a.m.
June 16 - Underclassman Final Exams Periods 7 and makeup exams - half day with dismissal at 11:55 a.m.
June 17 - This is the 2-hour day; school will be dismissed at 10:40 a.m. Last day of school for students.
|
