The end is near for seniors who are preparing to officially move on to the next chapter of their lives. graphic by Andrew Villescas
The class of 2018 treasures their last few days of high school.
The time has come for seniors at Thomas Jefferson High School to wrap up their last year of secondary education. The hard-working class of 2018 has a bright future ahead of them, however, as these students gear up to embark on this new journey of life, there are a few things that must be taken care of at TJ before they depart.
The process of checkout for the seniors is fairly simple. On May 22, the students will receive a checkout form and proceed to attend all of their normal classes. Seniors must have every teacher sign off on their checkout paper, confirming that they have passed their classes. They must also check out with the library to make sure they do not have any missing books, and with the treasurer to pay any remaining fees. After this, seniors are ready for graduation.
The ceremony will be on May 30th, at 4:30 p.m., at the University of Denver (DU) Magness Arena. There will be two rehearsals before the event: one at TJ on May 23rd at 8:00 a.m., and the other at the Magness Arena on May 29th, at 10:30 a.m.. A perk of having graduation at DU is that students can invite as many guests as they would like, unlike other schools who limit the amount of guests per student. Along with the administration, students will give speeches recounting their experiences and reflecting upon the last four years.
During this bittersweet time for seniors, Principal Mike Christoff has some great advice for the soon to be graduates. He recommends living alone for at least a year not only to gain confidence and to learn about yourself, but also how to live without your parents. He joked, “You learn to always remember to buy toilet paper whenever you go to the grocery store.” Another strong recommendation he gave was to take a philosophy course, because it was one of his favorite courses in college. He explains, “I enjoyed a philosophy because I learned a lot about thinking and why we think the way we do. It helped me open my mind up to different possibilities and ideas.”
Seniors, as the year is wrapping up make sure to pay all fees and finish classes strong. Congratulations and good luck to all of the seniors as they take another step towards adulthood.
