TJ Spartan students, faculty, and staff embark on a well-earned respite.
Photo by Ed Gloor
Now that all the final exams have been completed, lockers have been cleaned out, and grades have been posted, the TJ community begins its summer vacation.
Thomas Jefferson is home to a diverse student body and has a strong dedication to academics and character. TJ has a large sense of community built on years of traditions. This year’s seniors helped to revive some of the school’s oldest traditions, bringing back Senior Sleep-out, an event in which seniors campout on school grounds the night before school starts and greet and welcome the incoming freshmen to TJ on their first day of classes, complete with breakfast.
This year a large number of TJ’s students and faculty members received recognition for their continued hard work and commitment to education. TJ’s JROTC program represented the school in style performing nearly perfect in obtaining the highest level of achievement, the Gold Star. The National Center for Women and Information Technology (NCWIT) honored Center for Communication and Technology Teacher Jerry Esparza and two students (Nicole Blake and Madison Bennett), who received awards for their outstanding commitment to their work in technology and in the CCT program. Math Teacher Aimee Witulski received The Jared Polis Foundation’s Teacher Recognition Award for her strong commitment to students and her innovative and effective teaching methods. Graduating Senior Luke DeGregori, through hard work and dedication to his academic career, became a 2011 recipient of one of the most highly esteemed scholarships in the state: the Boettcher Scholarship.
Based on last year’s improvements, TJ has now excelled to green level – which means “meets expectations” – from its previous position at a yellow level – meaning “approaching expectations” – on the Denver Public Schools Performance Framework (SPF). This advancement is due to growth in areas such as student achievement level, post-secondary readiness, center-based program offerings, and re-enrollment.
TJ also made great strides in competitions. Four TJ Seniors Competed in the First Robotics Competition at the University of Denver’s Ritchie Center, making TJ history by receiving second place. This is the first year TJ has ever had a robotics club and the students worked tirelessly to compete, making the club and competition a great success. TJ continues to achieve in its DECA and SkillsUSA programs, participating and placing in annual competitions.
TJ’s drama department put on two shows: Noises Off and The Fourth Wall. Noises Off provided TJ audiences with a comedic performance that left viewers falling off their seats in laughter. The Fourth Wall was a collaboration of a series of short plays directed by the students.
TJ Spartans have continued to achieve in sports with the Boys’ Tennis, Boys’ Baseball, Girls’ Softball, and Girls’ Volleyball all claiming a City Championship title. Spartans were very proud to bring back these titles, some of which are perennial accomplishments and others which haven’t been seen at TJ for several decades.
TJ has been successful in pioneering a new green mission with the installation of several hundred solar panels on the roof of the school. During the peak production, the 440 panels will add 90 kilowatts to the grid, covering a significant amount of TJ’s electrical usage. The Green Club at TJ has teamed up with neighboring Hebrew Education Alliance to build a community garden located at the Hebrew Education Alliance.
The Center for Communication Technology added a new feature to its program, TJ Student Radio (TJSR), in which students create radio broadcasts that air weekly. The CCT program is continuing the production of the Spartan Edition, a 10-minute video announcement show produced and aired daily by TJ students. Please take some time and fully explore all that the Thomas Jefferson Journal has to offer our readers.
Here are some important dates for this summer:
• Senior Registration is August 2nd 8:00-12:00.
• Junior Registration is August 3nd 8:00-12:00.
• Sophomore Registration is August 4nd 8:00-12:00.
• Freshman Registration is August 5nd 8:00-12:00.
• Freshman Academy is July 25-29
• District walk in Registration is August 9th and 10th
• Staff returns August 10th
• First day of school for freshman is August 18th and the whole school first day is August 19th.
• The Freshman BBQ is August 4th.
