TJ’s variety of clubs can help students get active in the school and find people of common interests.
Artwork by Mia Nogueira
At Thomas Jefferson High School, being a Spartan is more than just showing up to the school and going to your daily classes. A true Spartan is an individual who is active in both the school and the community. Here at TJ, there is a wide range of clubs and organizations in which these active Spartans can participate and share their vast interests with people of similar tastes and ambitions. The clubs and organizations here at TJ are AVID Council, Black Student Alliance, Book Club, Chess Club, Debate, DECA, Gay/Straight Alliance, Interact, JROTC, Knitting Club, National Honor Society, Outdoor Club, Photo Club, Skills USA, Sick Flicks (Movie Club), Student Council, Video Club, and Video Game Club.
The AVID Council is a group of students that is part of the AVID class here at TJ and is interested in continuing to have AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination), which is an organization that is interested in helping the “middle students” with study techniques, note taking skills, and making college a real option for the future. According to AVID Council member Esther Turcios, “Being in AVID really helps you to get into college, as well as succeeding in your secondary education.” To get involved in AVID, contact Kim Holtmann at Kim_Holtmann@dpsk12.org .
The Black Student Alliance (BSA) is an organization of students of all ethnicities with the emphasis on promoting awareness of the African American culture. Club Sponsor Danny Showers says, “Our main focus this year is membership and establishing relationships with other BSA chapters in the Denver Metro area.” All students are encouraged to join the club by contacting Danny Showers at Danny_Showers@dpsk12.org.
Book Club is a fairly new club at TJ. The club’s purpose is to read books together as a group and discuss the books they’ve read or to suggest books for others to read. Sponsor Sudi Stodola says about book club, “The appeal of the club is that you get to read the book, review it, and in the end, you get to keep the book.” To join Book Club, contact Stodola at Sudi_Stodola@dpsk12.org.
Chess Club was started by and for the critical minds and strategic thinkers here at TJ. The Chess Club meets to face off against each other on the battlefield of the chessboard and try to put each other in check. Sponsor Nick Tussing says, “Anyone is welcome whether you know how to play or not. It’s all about having fun and learning about the game.” Contact Tussing at Nicholas_Tussing@dpsk12.org to get more information about Chess Club.
The Debate Club is the club at TJ consisting of all of the quick-witted and hardheaded arguers and debaters. Club sponsor Wauneta Vann says, ”Debate is about intelligently discussing worldly issues and having an intellectual conversation about many topics, such as politics. The club helps to improve every facet of your learning.” To join debate, Contact Vann at Wauneta_Vanna@dpsk12.org .
DECA, standing for Distributive Education Clubs of America, is one of the larger organizations at TJ. DECA members attend district and state competitions and must be enrolled in one of three business classes in order to be in the club. “DECA is great for learning about what it takes to run a business. Also, the skills you learn in DECA can help you in all aspects of your life,” says DECA President Mitchell Mankoff. For more information about DECA, contact Matt Nicolo at Matthew_Nicolo@dpsk12.org .
The Gay/Straight Alliance here at TJ preaches acceptance of all students regardless of sexual orientation. Sponsor of GSA, Linda Estlund, says, “The TJ Gay Straight Alliance promotes a supportive, non-bullying environment for students in the GLBT (gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender community) and joins together student, parent and teacher allies to participate in peaceful, meaningful dialogue and school-wide awareness activities.” To join the GSA, contact Linda Estlund at Linda_Estlund@dpsk12.org .
Interact Club gets involved in the community with canned food drives, coat drives, and other community service activities. Sponsor Danny Showers says, “We [Interact] plan on doing ten projects this year, focused on our local, national, and international community.” You can contact Showers at Danny_Showers@dpsk12.org to get involved in Interact Club.
JROTC is the junior military organization here at TJ. As four-year JROTC student Daniel Cole says, “JROTC is all about leadership, discipline, and respect.” If you are interested in learning these valuable character traits and joining JROTC, contact Brian Wyatt at Brian_Wyatt@dpsk12.org .
Knitting Club is for all of you stitch and knitters interested in uniting with your yarn, hooks and needles to create some creative design or warm blanket. Sponsor Sudi Stodola says, “We [Knitting Club] look to expand creativity with the things we make, and also to donate all of our knitted and crocheted crafts to a good cause.” To Join the Knitting Club, contact Sudi Stodola at Sudi_Stodola@dpsk12.org.
The National Honor Society is a nationwide organization that has a chapter at TJ High School. In order to be a part of this club, you must maintain a 3.7 grade point average and serve more than 17 hours per semester volunteering for the community. Sponsor Eileen Adair says, “Students in NHS find a great balance between their rigorous academic schedules and giving back to their community.” To get involved in NHS, contact Eileen Adair at Eileen_Adair@dpsk12.org.
Outdoor Club is TJ’s radical club for everything outdoors. The club goes on many outdoor adventures, especially during the winter on several skiing, snowboarding and sledding trips. “The outdoor club gives you a chance to experience nature and the environment from a different perspective!” says Outdoor Club member Mitch Moore, enthusiastically. To be a part of these awesome outdoor adventures, contact Kim Holtmann at Kim_Holtmann@dpsk12.org .
Photo Club is the club here at TJ that caters to the artistic students who are passionate about capturing the image of a particular subject. The Photo Club goes on excursions all around the Denver area to find new and interesting subjects to photograph. The sponsor of Photo Club is Jeffrey Colman and he states, “I hope that students in Photo Club this year will have the opportunity to go on more excursions and shoot pictures in a variety of venues.” Coleman can be contacted at Jeffrey_Coleman@dpsk12.org .
Skills USA is the career tech organization supported here at TJ. Last year at the club’s competition two teams from TJ took first and second in their events. “Skills USA is a great way for me to display my web design and website building my skills in a cool national competition,” says last year’s first place winner, Marelle Davey. To get involved with Web Design and Skills USA, contact Jerry Esparza at Jerry_Esparza@dpsk12.org .
Sick Flicks Movie Club is one of the newest clubs here at TJ. The club meets to watch and discuss a variety of different movies and movie genres. Sick Flicks Club is run by Kirk Hammond who says, “Sick Flicks club is an awesome chance to watch cool flicks as well as reviewing them. This month, we want to watch several scary and Halloween movies.” Hammond can be reached at Kirk_Hammond@dpsk12.org .
Student Council is TJ’s organization of student government. The Student Council makes many of the important decisions for each of TJ’s grade levels and the school as a whole. Student Council President Nicole Blake says, “Being in Student Council is the best way to get your voice heard in the school and to help make important school decisions. Also, it looks great on your college resume.” To get involved in Student Council contact Joanne Moreno at Joanne_Moreno@dpsk12.org .
Video Club is also a fairly new club to the many at TJ. Video Club consists of a group of students that is interesting in making short films and movies on a variety of subjects. The club makes videos, and submits them to many festivals and competitions. Co-Sponsor Matt Spampinato sums up the club: “It’s an elite group of filmmakers who want to enter their work into local and national competitions and just have fun sharing their directing and editing techniques.” To join Video Club, contact Matt Spampinato or Grant Laman at Matt_Spampinato@dpsk12.org .
The last club on the vast list offered at TJ is the Video Game Club. Members of this club meet to display their video gaming talents and go head to head with fellow video game enthusiasts. The Video Game Club is sponsored by Stacey Fornstrom who says, “The Video Game Club is just for students to have some fun and play games together.” Fornstrom can be reached at Stacey_Formstrom@dpsk12.org .
With all of these different clubs and the interests that they cover, it is easy to see that true Spartans that are involved and active are easy to find here at TJ.
[NOTE TO CLUB SPONSORS: If we have mistakenly omitted any officially sponsored TJ club, please contact Hayden Johnson so that we may remedy the situation.]
