Nidas the Ninja has been known to hide in the school, and the student who finds him will receive things like free Homecoming tickets or other prizes. photo by Sasha Mesropov
TJ’s Spartan Up program is better than ever with new prizes and more teacher involvement to ensure success.
As TJ continues to improve in academic and extracurricular areas, it has also added multiple programs to enforce positive behavior, good citizenship, strength of character, kindness, and acts of humanity, one of which is known as the Spartan Up program. “We want to really recognize students and reward them for ‘Spartaning’ up,” said Brittany Penn, Physical Education teacher at TJ and one sponsor of the program. This program encourages students to act like young adults and display positive behavior not only at TJ, but out in the community as well. “Spartan Up is the challenge from admin and teachers to be the example of what makes TJ awesome. It’s the good choices made that create the positive atmosphere and desire to become a Spartan,” said another one of the sponsors of the program and choir teacher, Tambyr Reed.
If a faculty member spots a student modeling the traits of being a Spartan, they pull the student aside at an appropriate time and give them a signature stamp on their Spartan Up card. The faculty member will then explain why the student received the stamp so they can continue to display that behavior. Once students have received five stamps, they put their cards into the Spartan Up box in the main office. Students’ names are then drawn at random every month to receive gift cards such as Nike, Chipotle, Gap, Cold Stone, Regal, iTunes, Elitches, Rockies tickets, Nuggets tickets, Prom tickets, etc., ranging from $10 to $50. If a student completes a card and it is not drawn, he/she is still eligible for the next month’s drawing and the Big Colossus Super Spartan drawing at the end of the year for larger items, such as packages for four to Elitch Gardens or Water World, as well as Beats Headphones.
“Now I think many students subconsciously ‘Spartan Up’ outside of school as a result of this program,” said junior Olivia Palizzi. Not only is the Spartan Up program making TJ a better place, it is helping the students become more mature and caring people. “Acknowledging positive behavior” is the goal of the Spartan Up program. Another development new to the program is NATRAPS (The word ‘Spartan’ spelled backwards). “NATRAPS is catching students off guard and just catching students in the act and immediately and rewarding them with candy or a coupon,” Penn said. The program also receives a lot of support from outside sources to make it successful. The Partners PTO (Parent Teacher Organization) and Assistant Principal Paula Hammel raise money and contribute coupons and other items like backpacks and water bottles to the cause. “Positive behavior support is better than always giving negative consequences,” explained Hammel. New to Spartan Up this year is Nidas the Ninja, a stuffed mascot who helps reward students for positive attitudes and good deeds.
The Spartan Up program is making a positive impact on TJ. “Spartan Up has increased the students’ motivation to be a true Spartan and represent their school,” said Palizzi. With this program in place, TJ is sure to make many more improvements academically and with student relations. Teachers embrace Spartan Up which shows the students that it is here to stay. “We’ve seen students as a whole become more of a community and show perseverance to improve their attitude, and gain an overall sense of positivity and happiness to come to TJ and do great things,” Reed explained. Spartan Up is an important program, and with its new improvements and positive outcomes so far, it’s sure to continue to make a big impact on the TJ community.
