Old notices, 2007-2008

These notices were on the PTSA home page (or other important pages).

SRR Quick Guide — A summary of the Student Rights and Responsibilities booklet.

SSAB 2007 - 2008 School Year

Networking for New Parents — September 27

On September 27, 2007, in the Cafeteria, SSAB will host an Evening of Networking for Freshmen and new Sophomore Parents.

Regularly Scheduled Meetings

Meetings are 7:30 to 9:00 pm in the library:

College Application and Admissions Process — January 16

On January 16, 2008, at 7:30 p.m. in the auditorium, SSAB will host a Parent-to-Parent Discussion Panel for tips on the college application and admissions process from a parent's point of view. Please join us for tips whether your child is a senior, freshman, or somewhere in-between. The panel will be made up of parents who have successfully helped at least one child get into college. The tips they have to share will not be the typical ones you will learn about from the guidance office.

Highs and Lows of High School — February 21, 2008

Parents and students who would like to spend an evening in the TJ Library talking with one another about the highs and lows of high school, TJ in particular, and looking for suggestions to make their 4 years at this school happy and successful, should join the rest of us under the banner of Student Services Advisory Board. We will meet next on February 21 at 7:30 p.m. For questions or to put something on the agenda, contact Karen O'Connor.

Keep in Touch

Once you have completed the form, take another minute and register for TJ's own personalized "Keep in Touch" system. The principal, Dr. Glazer, and the PTSA use this e-mail notification system to pass along important TJ school news and updates. Click here to register.

Ongoing PTSA Projects

Landscaping Committee
Upcoming Events

Saturday Gardening Workdays:

Weekday Gardening Workdays — Friday Mornings 9-12

Bring hat, sunscreen, water, gloves and your favorite hand weeder. Questions? Email

Carol Miranda
or call her at (703) 281-2913.

TJ students planting day lilies

Craig Saperstein ('11) and Kelley Hecker ('08)
planting day lilies in VT's colors in front of TJ

TJ students planting day lilies

Curriculum Advisory Committee
2007 – 2008 School Year

The Curriculum Advisory Committee (CAC) is an advisory to the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJHSST) Principal and faculty on curricular issues. The CAC serves the school in the following ways.

Membership in the committee is open to everyone in the TJHSST community who wishes to assist in the committee's work.

April 2008 Update

At the last TJ PTSA meeting, Dr. Evan Glazer, the Principal, requested that the Curriculum Advisory Committee help review and provide input on the Preliminary Program Recommendations from the Academic Goals Curriculum Team (see 4/21/08 draft). More specifically, Dr. Glazer would like us to focus on ideas A through D.

A. Initiate a school-wide focus on an issue or a question proposed by students as a core unifying issue. Invite students to submit questions; develop opportunities — through 8th period and other kinds of activities — to explore and answer the question.

B. Offer a symposium at TJ to share student work — all day for everyone

C. Support the creation of a research program for a cohort of students in grades 10-11

D. Implement a 2-3 week intersession where students can do research outside of the school (or take only one course inside the school)

The Curriculum Advisory Committee is planning ot use its next meeting, on May 7, 2008 (7:30 – 9 PM, in the Career Resource Center) discussing and addressing the following questions:

As we address these questions, please keep in mind that this is a work in progress, and the administration is soliciting ideas to make these experiences more meaningful for our students.

Dr. Glazer (and/or Heather Sondel) will be there to participate in and to facilitate the meeting.

Parent Curriculum

The TJ administration requested that we compile a "parent curriculum" to support the continuing goal of graduating students who successfully contribute to the advancement of knowledge in an environment of social awareness. We are looking for specific inputs on the skill sets (problem solving, critical inquiry, and research) and value systems (social responsibility and intellectual curiosity) our school has identified as needed to support their goal.

Please read our Parent Curriculum Letter and send us your responses.

Curriculum Advisory Committee Meetings

The CAC will meet in the Career Resource Center, 7:30 PM – 9:00 PM, on the following Wednesdays.

If you are interested, or have questions, please contact

John K. Pang.

Shop at stores that reward TJ's PTSA

Giant Food logo

TJ PTSA Meetings for the year 2007-2008

PTSA Meetings on Mondays at 7:30 p.m. in the Library:

PTSA Meeting and Principal's Coffee at 8:30 a.m. in the Cafeteria:

PTSA Officer Meetings on Mondays, 6 – 7:30 p.m. in the Career Center:

Shop with eScrip and Help TJ

Check out eScrip's 3 easy ways to earn money for our group. Register your Safeway or credit/debit card with eScrip, designate TJ (code: 154534149), and then shop on-line or in person with your registered card. A percentage of your purchases will be donated to the PTSA.

TJ Summer School

TJHSST Summer School and TJHSST Summer Technology Insitute information is available on the TJ website.

Summer Reading 2008

Information regarding 2008 summer reading is available on the TJ website.

Project Hospitality

The Safe Community Coalition's Project Hospitality tackles a serious local and national problem: underage drinking. As we move from prom to senior trips to graduation day, we want our seniors, with the help of their parents, to be safe.

Wish List — Refrigerator & Microwave

The Student Services Department is in need of a full-size refrigerator to replace their 2 mini fridges. Cold food = happy counselors! (Delivery needed, also!) They are also in desperate need of a microwave oven. The fire marshal made them remove their prehistoric microwave because of a recent fire alarm & evacuation. If you can help, please contact

Kerry Campane
at (703) 750-8344.

Contact Info

2007-2008 PTSA Officers
Position Name
President
1st Vice President
2nd Vice President
Treasurer
Recording Secretary
Corresponding Secretary

 

2007-2008 PTSA Committee Chairs
Position Name
Class Representatives
Alumni Parents
Class Liaisons: 2008
Class Liaisons: 2009
Class Liaisons: 2010
Class Liaisons: 2011
Cluster Representatives
Cluster I Rep
Cluster II Rep
Cluster III Rep
Cluster IV Rep
Cluster V Rep
Cluster VI Rep
Cluster VII Rep
Cluster VIII Rep
Arlington-Falls Church Rep
Loudoun Rep
Prince William-Fauquier Reps
Committees
Immediate Needs
County Council Rep
Curriculum Advisory
Directory Production & Sales


Diversity
Faculty Allocations
Government Relations
(previously Legislation)
Hospitality
Jacket Sales
Landscaping
Membership
Newsletter Distribution
Newsletter Editor
Parliamentarian tbd
Publicity-Historian tbd
Reflections
Recycling/Grocery Program tbd
Senior Grad Party (ANGP)
Volunteer Coordinators
Web Site
Faculty Reps



SGA Staff Rep
Student Reps – 2008 tbd
Student Reps – 2009 tbd
Student Reps – 2010 tbd
Student Reps – 2011 tbd
SGA President
SGA Secretary

 

2007-2008 PTSA Representatives
Position Name
Alumni Association
Cultural Liaison
Human Relations Committee
Student Services Advisory
Boosters  
Academic Boosters
Athletic Boosters
Band Boosters
Choral Boosters
Crew Boosters
Orchestra Boosters
Theatre Boosters

TJ Solar Panel Initiative

TJ Solar Panel Initiative is a group of students at TJ working to raise enough money to partially power TJ off of solar panels. Their project has been wholeheartedly approved by not only the TJ administration, but the FCPS administration as well.

Thier goal is to purchase a solar photovoltaic system (including all needed parts) by the end of this school year, to have it installed over the summer, and to have it fully operational by the 2008-2009 school year. To reach their goal, they need to raise $20,000 by April; they have raised almost $4,000 so far.

The benefits of solar panels are fourfold:

It is important to note that when TJ is renovated, these panels can be moved from one place to another and be integrated in the future TJ building.

Any help that can be provided would be greatly appreciated and would put us closer towards success. For more information, or to make a donation, please visit the TJ Solar Panel Initiative website. If you have any questions, please email

Varun Bansal
(2009).

All Night Grad Party

Thank you to the many parents who have stepped up to help us out with the Class of 2008 All Night Grad Party. We are still looking for some volunteers for the 2 a.m. to 5:30 a.m. shift Saturday/Sunday June 14th/15th and many more people for the 5 a.m. to 8 a.m. shift Sunday, June 15th to pack up supplies, decorations etc. Please email our

Volunteer Chair
if you can help.

Food donations from restaurants or home made can be dropped off 12 noon to 8 p.m. Friday June 13th or Saturday, June 14th from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Grocery store or restaurant gift cards can be sent in to the office and put in the ANGP mail box.

Wish List — Computers

Just before the holidays, Ms. Bettie Stegall's community service club requested a number of used computers. The computers will be used in a retirement home for elderly scientists to write their life stories. Imagine the elation by all when they received numerous offers!

The project still needs about four more computers in good working order, as well as a couple of laptops for those residents unable to get to the computer lab being developed. The names of the donors will be engraved on a plaque in the lab at Washington House once it is complete. Thank you for any help you might be able to give.

To contact

Ms. Stegall
about computer donations, please phone (703) 750-8300 (leave messages with Ms. Stead) or cell phone (703) 501-2182.

Summer Reading 2008

All summer reading assignments will be placed on the TJ Home Page by June 18th (if not before) under the "Summer Reading" and/or "Academics" tabs.

The following courses traditionally have summer reading assignments for their students: AP Lit (stand alone), AP Language (stand alone), AP Language with Creative Writing (stand alone), Topics in Globalization, Hum I, Hum II, IBET, and Geosystems. There could be more as well this year. In addition there will be a One Book reading required of all students in the school.

Parents or students with questions can direct them to

Ms. Colglazier
for Humanities courses and to for the Geosystems assignments.

TJ Summer School Registration

Applications for all for-credit, summer school courses at TJHSST will be accepted starting on May 12 and will continue to be accepted until courses are filled.

The summer school program will take place July 8 through August 7 at TJHSST. Registration forms are available online and complete registration packets will be accepted and processed at TJHSST May 12 – May 23. Completed registration packets may be dropped off in the designated box in the TJ main office or mailed to the school, but they must be received no later than June 24, 2008. Confirmation of registration will begin on or about May 30, 2008. Additional information about summer school at TJ can be found on the TJ website and about FCPS Summer programs in general on the FCPS website.

To contact the summer school office, please dial (703) 750-5019 or email the Summer School Principal,

Heather Sondel.

May 8: Summer School Update

Summer school packets will be collected during lunch and after school (4:00 – 4:30 pm) beginning on Monday, May 12 in the cafeteria. There will be a two-week window during which packets will be collected (May 12 – 23). Every effort will be made to accommodate ALL course requests. Summer school packets will ONLY be accepted if complete. A complete packet consists of the following:

TJHSST Summer Tech Institute Registration

TJ offers the 2008 Summer Technology Institute for students completing the 7th or 8th grade during Spring 2008 (rising 8th and/or 9th graders) regardless of high school enrollment. These enrichment courses provide hands-on experiences with a focus on the uses of technology. Courses will focus on the use of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) using hands-on approaches and research-based methods, and may explore aspects of art, English, humanities or other disciplines with an integration of technology. Complete information regarding all course offerings, dates, and descriptions will be made available on the TJ website.

Most classes will be five-day courses from 8:30 AM – 2:00 PM. Students are expected to bring their own lunches and provide their own transportation. Costs are $200 for each course. Registration for courses will begin approximately May 12, 2008 and must be completed through the FCPS Office of Adult and Community Education.

All Night Grad Party still short over 60 volunteers

We are short between 60 and 70 parent volunteers in order to run the All Night Grad Party for the Class of 2008. Please drop an email to our Volunteer Chair,

Sue Anderson.

Set up and decorating the school: 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Friday, June 13th. DINNER PROVIDED.

Packing up and putting away the decorations, etc. for the Class of 2009: 5 a.m. to 8 a.m. Sunday, June 15th. Desperately need someone to supervise this.

ANGP shift: 2 a.m. to 5:30 a.m. Sat/Sun June 14th/15th.

We need more dealers for the casino who already know how to play poker — we have instructions for the position.

Other Information:

Baccalaureate Ceremony — Some people have asked about donating food for the reception following the Baccalaureate ceremony. We're interested in contributions of veggie platters, fruit platters, baked goods, cheese, crackers, or even gift cards to Costco or Giant. Please bring donations to Room 242A on Monday, June 9.

Senior Picnic — June 12

The Senior Picnic is now on thanks to those students who have submitted their Senior Dues. The date is Thursday, June 12, directly following graduation rehearsal. The venue will be Lake Accotinck Park in Springfield (off of Backlick Road). We are still seeking a few more parent chaperones for this event. Please respond to

Robin Wilson
to volunteer. Also, the seniors are seeking donations of food items (desserts, snacks, appetizers) to accompany the hot dogs and chicken planned on the menu.

Welcome Family Gatherings

TJ Class 2012 Welcome Family Gatherings
RSVP Today (by invitation only)
Check Website for Changes & Updates
Arlington/
Falls Church		 April 22, 2008 from 6-8 p.m.
Location: TBD
Information: contact Lynn
Summer Potluck Picnic: TBD

Techcetera submission schedule

2007-2008 Techcetera schedule
For this monthly issue Submit articles by Mailing date
August/September July 23 August 9
October 1 September 24 October 4
November 1 October 22 November 1
December 1 November 27 December 6
January 1 January 2 January 10
February 1 January 28 February 7
March 1 February 25 March 6
April 1 March 25 April 3
May 1 April 21 May 1
June 1 May 19 May 29

PTSA Meeting and Elections — June 9

The next PTSA meeting will be held on Monday, June 9, 2008, at 7:30 p.m. in the school library. (Agenda)

The Nominating Committee presented the following slate of officers to serve on the PTSA Executive Committee for the 2008-09 school year:

All-Night Grad Party — June 14th, 2008

We invite all parents to get involved in All Night Grad Party planning! Many volunteers are needed to ensure a successful and memorable night for our graduates. We need volunteers:

Junior Parents: By Tradition – An Important Part of the TJ All Night Grad Party!

By tradition at TJ, the Senior Class has been able to rely on the help of junior parents to pull off ANGP since it is on the same night as senior graduation, Saturday, June 14th, 2008.

Junior parents are needed to help during the day and evening of graduation so that senior parent volunteers can attend the graduation ceremony with their families. This also provides an opportunity for junior parents to learn how to run a successful ANGP for their students the following year. Please contact our

Volunteer Committee Chair,
Sue Anderson, to sign up for a shift.

Senior Parents: ANGP Chaperones Needed

For further information, please contact

Bernadette & Ed Saperstein,
Co-Chairs of the All Night Grad Party 2008, at (703) 757-9010.

2008-2009 Student Parking — 5/5 through 6/2

The Safety and Security office is planning parking for the 2008-09 school year. Parking applications for rising Seniors and Juniors will be available in the Main Office and the security offices beginning Monday, May 5, through May 23. This paper application must be returned by June 2. In addition to the paper application, you must complete an Online (intranet) application by June 2.

Check out this survey from more than 1,000 teens from April 2007: Don't be a typical teen driver.

2008-2009 School Budget Update

Superintendent Jack D. Dale has proposed a school system budget of $2.3 billion for FY 2009 that reflects cuts of $45.6 million and approximately 521 positions throughout FCPS and, for the second consecutive year, includes no new programs. The FY 2009 proposed budget represents a 3.3 percent increase over the FY 2008 approved budget. The School Board has a work session on Monday, May 19 to discuss the budget and will take a final vote at the Thursday, May 22 School Board meeting. We encourage families to keep up to date on the budget issues to be sure to preserve TJ's interests. More information about FCPS budget is available on the FY2009 web page.

Last Day of School

A proposal has been made to end school two days earlier this year on Friday, June 13, 2008. FCPS School Board will potentially vote on this issue at Thursday, May 22 School Board meeting. More information about the last day of school will be provided by FCPS and TJ if the proposal is approved. See the May 22 Board Meeting agenda on the School Board website for more information.

Sleep Expert — May 29

Dr. Helene Emsellem, author of "Snooze…or Lose! 10 'No-War' Ways to Improve Your Teen's Sleep Habits," will be at Hayfield Secondary School (at intersection of Telegraph and Hayfield Roads) at 6:30 pm on Thursday, May 29.

Come hear teen sleep expert Dr. Helene Emsellem speak about teen sleep needs and tips at the Fairfax County Council of PTAs annual meeting. Dr. Emsellem's book will be available for sale during the 5:30-6:30 pm vendor exhibit period.

Fairgrade Presentations — May 27 & 29

FAIRGRADE is a parent advocacy group whose research has demonstrated that current FCPS grading policies put students at a disadvantage with respect to college admissions, merit scholarships, honors programs, NCAA athletic eligibility, and car insurance "good-driver" discounts.

Fairgrade presentations will be held on:

For more information, please read their flyer, visit the Fairgrade website, and sign their petition.

Technology Mentorship Fair — May 28

Parents of Pre-Mentorship Students (Juniors) are needed to assist with the 2008 Technology Mentorship Fair on May 28. Please return the volunteer form by e-mail with your choice of time by May 19th.

Music Opportunities for K–12 — May 28

Does your child love music? Is he or she looking for opportunities to rehearse and perform outside of school? Come hear about music programs in this area, for elementary through high school students. The program will include five panel members, who will provide information about options for beginning to very advanced student musicians. Panelists include: Tomoko Azuma, Executive Director of the American Youth Philharmonic Orchestras; Caroline Desmond, Managing Director of the Fairfax Choral Society; Tina Dove, Director of the Virginia campus of the Levine School of Music; Kerry Silva, Director of the Performing Arts Camp of Shenandoah University; and Gretta Sandberg, an experienced FCPS orchestra director and strings teacher.

This program is scheduled for Wednesday, May 28, at 7:30 PM, in the Luther Jackson MS auditorium, 3020 Gallows Road, Falls Church, Virginia. It is sponsored by the Fairfax County Association for the Gifted. Admission is free and open to the general public. For more information, contact Louise Epstein at (703) 917-7960.

Senior Issue of tjTODAY — May 23 **

One of the enduring traditions of senior year is the senior issue of tjTODAY. Six years ago, tjToday started including personal ads, and the practice quickly became incredibly popular. The deadline for ads is May 16. Bring your contract and payment to Room 107. You can send your ad electronically to

Jennifer Seavey
(Adviser to tjTODAY). They can scan non-electronic ads and guarantee they will get priceless photos back to you.

** The senior ad deadline has been extended until Friday, May 23.

The 2008 One Book — May 22 & May 23

This year's One Book is Cradle to Cradle by William McDonough and Michael Braungart. Purchase a copy from local bookstores for $27.50 or from the TJ Library for $20.00!

500 discounted copies for sale
DURING LUNCH ONLY
Thursday, May 22 & Friday, May 23

(If sold out, they will order another 500 at the discounted price, to be sold the following week.)

Fashion for a Cause — May 21

TJ's Fashion for A Cause club is hosting a 1920's themed fashion show to showcase student designs (along with other clothing brands) while raising money for two medical charities, the Autism Society of America and the Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation.

The Art and Decor Committee needs props for the "speakeasy/lounge" area of the show:

The committee can also use parent and student volunteers to help decorate/set up the cafeteria the afternoon before the event as well as help clean up afterwards. They are working on getting those hours eligible for NHS service.

If you can donate or loan props for the show or are willing to volunteer, please contact the

Fashion for A Cause
club or their sponsor,

The fashion show will be held on Wednesday, May 21, 2008, in the cafeteria 7-9 pm.

2008-2009 School Budget Update

Thanks to all those who provided comments to the Board of Supervisors on Fairfax County Public Schools budget needs. The Board of Supervisors will have their next budget meeting on April 18 with their mark-up session on April 21. (The mark-up should be shown on Channel 16/web cast as it is open to the public, but there is no public comment period.) They will adopt the budget on April 28, which is when the amount of the County transfer to FCPS will be finalized.

Once the amount is finalized, the Fairfax County School Board will begin to finalize the School Budget. On May 14 and 15th, the School Board will again hold public hearings on the School Budget. According to the School Board calendar, the speaker's list opens at 6 a.m. on May 2. You may sign up to speak. The School Board will vote on the final School Budget on May 22.

The twelfth edition in a series of weekly updates on the FY 2009 Fairfax County Public Schools budget was posted on April 11 on the schools' FY2009 web page.

College Fair — May 18

The Colleges That Change Lives college fair will be held Sunday, May 18, at the Hilton McLean – Tysons Corner at 3:00 pm. Forty colleges profiled in the Colleges That Change Lives book will present information.

Limited Parking at TJ — May 19 & 20

Monday and Tuesday, May 19 & 20, due to 2 class field trips, the entire front of the building will be unavailable for either visitor parking or student drop-offs. We will be parking 11 tour buses in the visitor spaces each day. As a result, it will take longer for students to get dropped and into the building.

Fairgrade Presentation — May 20

FAIRGRADE is a parent advocacy group whose research has demonstrated that current FCPS grading policies put students at a disadvantage with respect to college admissions, merit scholarships, honors programs, NCAA athletic eligibility, and car insurance "good-driver" discounts.

A Fairgrade presentation will be held on May 20, 2008 at 7:30 p.m. in the TJHSST Auditorium. The presentation will present FAIRGRADE's findings.

Fairgrade presentations also will be held on:

For more information, please read their flyer, visit the Fairgrade website, and sign their petition.

Help Wanted: AP Exam Proctors — May 5-16

Help is needed to monitor AP Exams May 5-16. Please sign up for at least two time spots. Morning and afternoon shifts are available on each of the exam days. Morning people should arrive at 8:00 a.m. or as close to that time as you can. The exam begins at 8:30 a.m. Afternoon people should arrive at noon and the exam begins at 12:30 p.m.

Parents are needed to help distribute and collect exam material and keep tabs on the test takers. Someone else is in charge — you are a helper. To volunteer or for more information, please contact

Kathy Young
as soon as possible. Please let Kathy know what days and shifts you can work.

UPDATE 5/01/08 — AP Exam Proctors

Proctors are still needed to help monitor AP exams for the following slots:

Exams vary in length but the average is 3 hours.

PTSA Elections — June 9

Election of these nominees will take place at the PTSA General Meeting of members on Monday, June 9, at 7:30 p.m.

PTSA Meeting — May 12

The next PTSA meeting will be held on Monday, May 12, 2008, at 7:30 p.m. in the school library. (Agenda)

Alternatives to Four Year College Resource Fair — May 8

The PTSAs of Lake Braddock Secondary School, Robinson Secondary School and West Springfield High School Invite You to:

Pathways to Success: Alternatives to Four Year College Resource Fair
When: May 8, 2008
Time: 6:00-8:00 pm
Where: West Springfield High School, Cafeteria, 6100 Rolling Road, Springfield, VA 22152

Explore the endless career & training opportunities that are available to students after high school graduation. This is a fabulous opportunity to guide yourself down the road to a successful future as you meet with representatives from area apprenticeship programs, companies, two-year residential colleges, technical schools, organizations & associations to learn about the endless post-secondary career opportunities that await you.

For additional information, download the flyer or contact

Margaret Fisher
(703) 968-2971.

Participants include (subject to change):
Art Institute of Washington * AKS Massage School * Aviation Institute of Maintenance * Baldino's Lock and Key * FCPS, Facilities Management * Fairfax County Police * Home Depot * National Court Reporters Association * Petco * Potomac State College of West Virginia * FCPS, Residential Construction Site * US Mechanical Trades School: Plumbers Local 5 Apprenticeship Program and Steamfitters Local 602 Apprenticeship Program * NVCC, Parks and Recreation program * One Stop Skill Source * FCPS, Adult and Community Education * Fairfax County Fire and Rescue * Local 26 Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee (electricians) * NVCC, Medical Education Campus * NVCC, Parks and Recreation program * NVCC, Personal Training Certificate Program * BB&T * and more!

Summer School

FCPS is in the midst of a difficult budget year. Schedules for summer school are not yet final. Please check the TJ Summer School web page regularly. Information about class offerings, exact dates, registration, and fees will be posted as soon as it is available.

Drive to Stay Alive — May 4

ABC 7 News is showing the program "Drive to Stay Alive" about driving safely during prom season (and all of the time). There is a special on channel 7 on May 4, Sunday night at 7:00 p.m. Their website is also a good resource for parents to have some serious talks with their kids about safety. Lets hope for a safe end of the school year!

Drivers Urgently Needed — April & May

Melissa Schoeplein, Science Policy Program Instructor, needs parent volunteers to drive students from TJ to Metro. One to two parents are needed to meet the students in the Main Office at 11:45 am and drive them to the closest Metro to TJ on these dates:

If you can help, please contact

Melissa Schoeplein.

Help Wanted: AP Exam Proctors — May 5-16

UPDATE 4/01/08 — AP Exam Proctors

Proctors are still needed to help monitor AP exams for the following slots:

TJ Summer School

FCPS is in the midst of a difficult budget year. Schedules for summer school are not yet final. Please check the TJ Summer School web page regularly. Information about class offerings, exact dates, registration, and fees will be posted as soon as it is available.

AP Exam Pre-Arranged Absences — April 25

Advanced Placement (AP) exams will be administered at TJ from May 5 through May 16, 2008. The administration recognizes that students who are taking multiple exams or who have exams scheduled on back-to-back days may need time to prepare for, or to recover from, studying/testing situations. Therefore, they are providing a pre-arranged absence opportunity for students taking AP exams to be dismissed for part of the day during exam weeks.

Please read the April 8 letter for complete information and then fill out and and return to the front office no later than April 25 the Pre-Arranged Absence form.

Silent Auction — April 25

All TJ families are invited to attend the Class of 2010 Silent Auction, on Friday, April 25th, 7:00 – 10:00 pm in the TJ Cafeteria. Join the Class of 2010 for entertainment (musical performances), dinner and live and silent bidding on vacations, tickets, restaurant gift cards, and other fun items.

For a sneak preview, check out the auction book.

Whole Foods Fundraiser — April 22

Help TJ go solar! On Earth Day, April 22, simply buy your groceries from the Whole Foods in Old Town, Alexandria (1700 Duke St). Five percent of sales from the entire day will be donated to TJ's Solar Panel Initiative. TJ students will be at the Whole Foods to greet and educate you about solar energy from 4-10. Tell your friends and family.

Northern Virginia Regional College Fair — April 17

The Northern Virginia Regional College Fair will be held on Thursday, April 17, 2008 from 6:00pm to 8:00pm at the Patriot Center Arena on the campus of George Mason University. More information can be found on the GMU website, including a list of Attending Colleges and Universities.

TJ Summer School

TJ still plans to offer summer school for TJ students. TJ will provide official information once it is finalized. The following is tentatively the current plan:

Dates: July 7 – August 7, 2008
Times: 8 am – 2:20 pm (3:20 pm for Chemistry)

One-credit courses planned:

Semester courses planned:

Student applications projected to be available March 24, 2008.
in May 2008.

College Admissions Night — April 15, 2008

The Department of Student Services invites the entire TJ community to hear from admissions representatives about their schools and what they believe is important when students apply to their prospective colleges, as well as strategies and tips to help with the college application process. Two different sessions will be held for this evening program.

Session 1: College Athletics, 6:15 – 7:15 pm, Location TBD

"Presenting Yourself as a College Athlete" and "What You Need to Know About the NCAA" will be presented by Mr. Paul Bowden, the Director of Compliance for the Department of Athletics at George Mason University.

Session 2: College Admissions Panel, 7:30 pm, Auditorium

We will hear from admissions representatives from the College of William and Mary, Davidson College, Georgia Institute of Technology, University of Pennsylvania, and Washington University in St. Louis.

PTSA Meeting — April 14

The next PTSA meeting will be held on Monday, April 14, 2008, at 7:30 p.m. in the school library. (Agenda)

Homecoming Photographs

Homecoming photos are online! There are four album pages — floats, court, cheering, and music.

Special thanks to Lynn Borton, who posted the pictures on her web server account, and to Thuy McMurray, who sent Lynn a whole CD of photos.

If you have any 2007 homecoming photos that you would like to share please contact

Lynn Borton.

MRSA Information

For the convenience of parents, teachers, and students, below are links to sources of information about Community Acquired Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus [CA-MRSA] infections. (Neither the PTSA nor TJHSST makes any representation about accuracy or completeness of this information.)

2008 Virginia School Census

Census forms are being mailed to all homes in Fairfax County and the City of Fairfax on March 1. The Commonwealth of Virginia mandates that a census is conducted to help determine the fair distribution of state sales tax revenue designated to support public schools. All children aged 19 and under are counted. For each child aged 15 to 19 who is counted, approximately $3,000 is returned to the schools. You can respond online. All responses are confidential. Translation assistance is available. Questions can be address to census2008@fcps.edu or (703) 329-7765.

Ground Beef Recall and School Lunches

The news has been stating that beef from Hallmark/Westland has been served in school lunch programs across the country. Fairfax County Public Schools did not receive any USDA commodity beef and we are on a different type of commodity program than other school districts. When this story first broke several weeks ago FCPS checked with their beef suppliers and none of our beef came from this plant.

The above information is from:
Penny E. McConnell, RD, SNS
Director, Food and Nutrition Services
February 18, 2008

2008-2009 School Calendar

As previously reported, the PTSA asked the Fairfax County Council of PTAs (FCC PTA) to lead the charge to change next year's Winter Break to start on December 22 instead of December 24. The FCC PTA discussed the calendar at their meeting on Monday, March 3. At this time, the FCC PTS has decided not to recommend any changes to the School Board. They had received indication from the School Board Chairman, Dan Storck that the School Board would not reconsider the calendar, as it was approved several months ago.

Summer School

Summer school and summer carpool information is coming soon. Please check back later.

2008-2009 School Budget

Thanks again to everyone who contacted the FCPS School Board members regarding the 2008-2009 school budget. Although the School Board members made a number of decisions, including the elimination the student activity and athletic fees and restoring transportation for TJ students. The School Board is requesting $63.7 million more for FY 2009. However, budget guidelines from the Board of Supervisors included no increase for FCPS in FY 2009. If the County is unable to provide any of the requested increase, FCPS will then have to cut $63.7 million from the school budget.

Public Hearings on Fairfax County's Budget with the Board of Supervisors are scheduled for March 31, April 1 and 2. To comment on the proposed budget, see 2008 Board of Supervisors Meetings.

Landscaping

Sunday Gardening Workdays:

Weekday Gardening Workdays — Friday Mornings 9-12

Wish List — Ping Pong Tables

The Ping Pong club is in search of ping-pong tables that parents may not want. They currently have two, but would like two more. Ping-pong is a popular 8th period activity. Please contact club sponsor

Adam Wong
if you can help. The club thanks Mr. and Mrs. Joseph and Jean Drodge for their recent donation of a table.

Regional Parent Meetings

Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) will present three regional parent meetings that are open to all FCPS parents to learn and to provide feedback about FCPS curriculum and services. The meetings are scheduled for the following dates and locations:

More information and registration information can be found on the fcps website and on their flyer.

UPDATE 3/27/08 — AP Exam Proctors

Proctors are still needed to help monitor AP exams for the following slots:

Did you miss Senior Parent Night?

Information for senior parents was presented on Wednesday, December 12, 2007. If you missed the meeting, please read a summary of the information presented.

Temporary Bus Schedule Changes — 2008

Delayed openings of high schools in the Fairfax County transportation system requires Thomas Jefferson students to transport themselves to their base schools to meet their shuttle bus to TJ. Shuttle buses should leave base schools at the normal times. A current list of confirmed delays is as follows:

School Board Adopts FY 2009 Advertised Budget

The Fairfax County School Board voted February 14 to adopt the FY 2009 advertised budget. Among other things, it eliminated both the proposed athletic and activity fees for high school students and the proposed fees for AP and PSAT tests. It also restored transportation for students to TJ. For more details, please read the news release on the FCPS website.

Kudos to our TJ community for all their letters, emails, phone calls, and activism.

Alan Bosch, KO4ALA

The TJ Amateur Radio Club's sponsor, Alan Bosch, died on January 23rd. Mr. Bosch was a wonderful help to the club and had attended the TJ club meetings every week for over a dozen years, far longer than anyone can remember. Even as he battled cancer and grew weaker from both the disease and treatments, he always did his best to make it to the weekly meetings, even coming in a wheelchair at times.

The Ham Radio Club extends their deepest sympathy to Mrs. Bosch and their children and grandchildren on the death of their beloved family member.

PTSA Nominations – March 25

It's that time of year when the Nominating Committee seeks nominations for elected positions on the TJHSST PTSA Executive Committee for the 2007 2008 school year. Do you want to get involved and make a difference at TJ? Do you want to keep up to date with what's going on and network with other parents, students, and teachers? Then we have the job for you!

Please step forward and volunteer to serve as an officer on the PTSA Executive Committee. The positions are:

Any PTSA member with a willingness and ability to serve and provide leadership is welcome to apply. (Note: PTSA by-laws require that a person may be nominated for president only if he/she has served on the executive board for at least one term.) PTSA members who want to nominate someone else for an office may do so, with the nominee's permission.

The deadline for nominations is March 25, 2008. Please contact the

Nominating Committee
for information or fill out the nomination form and drop it off in the main office.

Keeping Your Children Safe Online — March 25

Tuesday, March 25, 7:00 p.m.
Potomac Falls High School
46400 Algonkian Parkway, Loudoun County

Congressman Frank Wolf invites you to attend this free forum. This program will focus on what parents and their children should know about social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook. Speakers will include Virginia Attorney General Robert McDonnell, and John Shehan, an online safety expert from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC).

A representative from the Northern Virginia Task Force on Internet Crimes Against Children will also be on hand to discuss how local law enforcement is dealing with the challenges of the Internet age. The forum is free and open to the public. Parents are encouraged to attend with their children. For more information, visit www.wolf.house.gov.

Upcoming Events (Landscaping)

Saturday Gardening Workdays:

Weekday Gardening Workdays (9:00-12:00):

March 12 PTSA Forum Cancelled

The PTSA Forum scheduled for Wednesday, March 12, has been cancelled.

PTSA Meeting and Principal Coffee — March 13

**** NOTE CHANGE IN LOCATION ***

*** NOTE CHANGE IN START TIME ***

Please join us at the next Principal's Coffee and PTSA meeting on Thursday, March 13, 2008 at 9:00 am in the School Cafeteria Auditorium. Hear the latest news updates. The nominating committee for selecting next year's PTSA officers will be presented for approval at the PTSA meeting. (Agenda)

2008-2009 PTSA Executive Board Nominating Committee

A Nominating Committee is needed to solicit the six officers (President, 1st VP, 2nd VP, Corresponding Secretary, Recording Secretary, and Treasurer). The Nominating Committee's mission is to solicit officers for the PTSA and present it to the PTSA members for voting. Once the election is held, the Nominating Committee is discharged.

If you wish to be on the nominating committee, please

email us.
We would like to elect the Nominating Committee members at our March 13 PTSA Board meeting.

March 12 PTSA Forum Cancelled

The PTSA Forum scheduled for Wednesday, March 12 has been cancelled. Please attend the Principal's Coffee and PTSA meeting on Thursday, March 13 at 8:30 am in the school cafeteria for the latest news.

Change to Chantilly HS Shuttle to TJ — Effective Feb. 14

One of the TJ shuttle buses is moving from Chantilly to the parking lot of Greenbriar West ES. Please read the details.

2008-2009 FCPS Calendar Change Proposal — 3/3/08

At the February 11th TJ PTSA meeting, a motion was made and passed to "get in touch with the Fairfax County Council of PTAs indicating that the TJHSST PTSA Executive Board supports changing the calendar for next year; to ask the FCCPTA to lead the charge to start winter break on December 22." FCCPTA will consider the request at their March 3rd meeting.

You can contact FCCPTA president

Michele Menapace
about your view of the calendar change. The FCCPTA website is http://www.fccpta.org/. In addition, feel free to contact FCPS School Board members. Please copy TJ's on your e-mails.

Wish List: Monitors

The Geosystems classes received new computers from Fairfax County to run the ArcGIS software, but the current class monitors are suboptimal. If anyone has a monitor in the attic, or is upgrading their system at home or at work and can donate a monitor, we would like one with the display properties: greater than 256 color depth with screen resolution of 1024 x 768 recommended or higher at normal size (96dpi). Contact

Robin Howard
for more info.

Regional Parent Meetings

Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) will present three regional parent meetings that are open to all FCPS parents. The first meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, March 4, from 5:30 to 9 p.m. at Hayfield Secondary School. More information and registration information can be found on the fcps website.

TJ PTSA Cultural Liaisons — February 28

A Cultural Liaison meeting will be held in the College and Career Center on Feb. 28th (Thursday) from 7:30 to 9:00. Mrs. Kobick will present another information session on the college application process and center resources. Many parents commented on how helpful the session was last year. A big "thank you" to Ms. Lisa Moore who helped tremendously with arranging a Korean interpreter and equipment (earphones).

Other language interpretation needed? FCPS needs a few weeks to arrange interpretation so let us know as soon as possible. This meeting is NOT limited to limited English proficiency parents only, but sign up is requested due to room capacity concerns. Contact

Jean Lee
or (703) 642-0233.

School Board budget vote — Thursday 2/14/08

The School Board will be voting on Thursday, February 14, to adopt the FY2009 Advertised Budgets. It's not too late to contact your school board member and the members-at-large and let them know what you think about the budget and how it affects TJ students. Check FCPS website for the latest budget update.

Although there are proposed cuts to FCPS Summer School program, Dr. Glazer reported at the PTSA meeting that TJ has received approval to hold summer school, tentatively scheduled for July 7 – August 7, 2008. Details (e.g., times, courses) are still being worked.

There are other potential cuts that will impact TJHSST students. See below for more information about the impact on TJ and how to contact your school board member.

FCPS 2009 Proposed Budget Affects on TJHSST

Dr. Dale's proposed school budget is available on FCPS' website. Please contact your local School Board member to voice your concerns about the proposed budget. See below for their contact information.

There are proposed cuts to FCPS Summer School program. At this time, we believe that TJ's summer school will not be affected, as it is a separate program. However, there are a number of potential cuts that will impact TJHSST students. The following are excerpts from the proposed budget.

• Transportation

"Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology students will continue to be bused from their neighborhood or house stops in the morning. Afternoon bus service will be reduced to depot busing. This will result in students being transported to the school nearest their home* in the afternoon. Parents will be responsible for transporting their students home from the school nearest their home."

* The County actually means the nearest high school, not elementary or middle school. This was confirmed to a PTSA representative by Linda Farbry in the FCPS department of transportation.

• Student Activity Fee

"A $50 fee per activity will be charged to each student for participation in sponsored activities."

• AP Testing Fee

"In FY 2009, FCPS will charge students and their families for the full cost of these tests."

• FCPS Capital Improvement Plan (CIP)

Our building is in dire straits, but we always seem to be at the end of the line when it comes to getting anything done. Our renovation planning funds passed in the November school budget, but now it seems unlikely that we can get access to those planning funds for another year or two. The latest FCPS Capital Improvement Plan appears to move our TJ building renovation back to 2013-2014.

Our school board members need to know that TJ belongs to the whole county and also that the building is suffering.

We ask only that attention be paid to the particular problems we have with the aging facility and how it impedes carrying out the mission of the school. The school board charged TJ with its unique mission in science and technology. It is responsible for providing the tools to the staff and students to accomplish those goals.

• School Board Members Contact Information

Half Day of School — February 11

Monday, February 11 is TJHSST's half-day for TJ students only. The schedule will be:

Students will be dismissed at 10:30am and should leave the building. Buses will depart by 10:45am. Buses will not be provided later in the day at the usual dismissal time (3:50pm).

All practices and after-school activities will still take place at their usual time after 4:00pm or in the evening. If students do not leave at dismissal (10:30am), they must report to the Library by 11:00am and stay there until 4pm. There will be supervision for those who opt to stay in the Library until their practices. However, students who stay should be aware that their teachers will not be available to meet with them during the afternoon. Teachers will be involved in in-service meetings.

If you have any questions, please contact the Security office for transportation questions (703-750-8331) and the Activities office (703-750-8333) for activities/practice questions.

PTSA Meeting — February 11

The next PTSA meeting will be held on Monday, February 11, 2008, at 7:30 p.m. in the school library. (Agenda)

Hear the latest news from the PTSA, Faculty, Students and Dr. Glazer (Summer School, depot busing, CIP and more). Discussion on 2008-2009 school calendar: Next school year, Fairfax County starts winter break on Wednesday, Dec. 24. Some of the other counties (which send students to TJ students) start their winter break on Monday, Dec 22. The question has been raised if Fairfax County's break can be changed to start earlier. However, this means two days would need to be added somewhere else in the school calendar unless an alternate solution is developed for making up snow days.

Science Fair Judges Needed

The 2008 TJ Science and Engineering Fair will be held in the cafeteria on Saturday, February 9, with a snow date of February 16. The fair is closed to visitors during judging which will take place from 9:00 am until noon. The public is invited to view the projects beginning at 1:00 pm. An awards ceremony is scheduled for 2:30 pm.

A few more judges are needed in the following categories:

If you are willing to judge one of these categories, or know someone who would be interested, please contact

Jane Curtis.

FCPS 2009 Proposed Budget Affects on TJHSST

Dr. Dale's proposed school budget is available on FCPS' website. Please contact your local School Board member to voice your concerns about the proposed budget. See below for their contact information. Also, please let the School Board members know what you think at the School Board Budget meeting on Wednesday, February 6, 2008, at 6 p.m. at Luther Jackson Middle School. You can sign up now to speak at the budget meeting.

Summer Enrichment Camp Fair — January 30th

Sponsored by Fairfax County Association for the Gifted (FCAG), the Summer Enrichment Camp Fair 2008 will be held on Wednesday, January 30th, from 7:30 PM to 9:00 PM at Oakton HS, 2900 Sutton Road, Vienna 22181

There will be about three dozen camps. Most are known for specialized programs in math, music, drama, science, nature, computer programming, robotics, etc. Many are local camps, but there will also be sleepaway camps. Most of these camps are open to any interested students, but a few (such as CTY) have admission requirements.

Safe Community Coalition Cyber Summit — January 29

Safe Community Coalition's 2nd Annual Cyber Summit: Cyberethics, Cyberbullying, Cybersecurity will be held on Tuesday, January 29, 2008, 7:30-9:30 pm at Redeemer Lutheran Church, 1545 Chain Bridge Rd, McLean, VA 22101. Lori Nathan from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Davina Pruitt from U of MD Tech Education & Outreach, and Elizabeth Lodal are the speakers.

Pre-register online. Program is FREE. For more information, contact

Judi Nardella Hershman,
SCC President.

School Board and FCPS Budget meetings

If you would like to speak to the School Board regarding the FCPS proposed budget and impact to TJ, it's not too late to sign up for tomorrow's (Thursday, 1/24) School Board meeting. The online sign-up is closed, but the website says to call 571.423.1061.

In addition, you can sign up to speak at the Budget meeting scheduled for Wednesday, February 6.

For more information, please read:

All-Night Grad Party

We invite all parents to get involved in All Night Grad Party planning for June 14th, 2008! We are still looking for chairs of the following committees:

For further information, please contact

Bernadette & Ed Saperstein,
Co-Chairs of the All Night Grad Party 2008, at (703) 757-9010.

VDOT Crash Course for Sophomores — January 15 & 16

VDOT will be coming to TJ on January 15th and 16th during all Health, Driver Ed, and PE periods for Sophomores. All parents are welcome to attend.

VDOT will be presenting their award winning Crash Course Program in the Auditorium. Please be advised that a portion of the program that was put together by the Virginia State Police will have some very graphic images of recent fatal and nonfatal vehicle crashes involving Northern Virginia teenagers. Be assured that the graphic portion is not to scare, but to let teens see what can happen and why safe driving is so very crucial to their well being.

Parents who would like to opt-out their son or daughter may do so. Please send in a note or email their teacher.

PTSA Meeting and Principal Coffee — January 14

The first PTSA meeting of the new year will be held on Monday, January 14, 2008, at 7:30 p.m. in the cafeteria. (Principal Glazer's coffee will precede the meeting, at 7:00 p.m.) (Agenda)

Wish List Thank You

Ms. Stegall and her sophomore TA wish to thank the TJ community for their generosity. They received offers of 35 computers for their project to set up a computer network for Washington House Retirement Community.

Wish List — Computers

Ms. Stegall and her sophomore TA are embarking on a project to set up a computer network for Washington House Retirement Community. They are hoping to collect eight or nine computers. The computers don't have to be new, however they should be in good working order and must be capable of joining a network. To contact

Ms. Stegall
about computer donations, please phone (703) 750-8300 (leave messages with Ms. Stead) or cell phone (703) 501-2182. Read more about Ms. Stegall TA's project.

TJ — All Clear (12/21/07)

The children are back inside. The schedule is being adjusted.

Dear TJHSST Parents,

A bomb threat was called in to the TJHSST phone mail last night. We retrieved the message this morning. We called police and school security, and I requested that police use bomb-sniffing dogs to clear the building, which required evacuation of the building. We evacuated students and staff to the stadium and called for school buses to serve as warming stations for students who need them. FCPS security and Fairfax County police are on the scene. As soon as police cleared the building, students and staff returned to the building and the school day resumed.

Evan Glazer
Principal TJHSST

Threat at TJ — Friday 12/21/07

TJ received a threat around 10 am. The building was evacuated. The police have cordoned off the school and are checking the building. The children are safe. They were moved to the field and have their coats. FCPS sent in 15 buses that can be used to keep people warm.

There's nobody in the building, so please do not call. At this point, you cannot pick up your children.

Dr. Glazer will send out a KIT message as soon as he can to let you know what is happening. Please watch for it.

Senior Parent Night — December 12

Attention all Class of 2008 Parents

You are invited to TJHSST's annual Senior Parent Night on December 12, 2007, 7-8 pm in the TJ Cafeteria. We will be discussing important dates (prom, senior exams, graduation practice), details on graduation, financial obligations, graduation speaker, and the All Night Graduation Party. Cake and coffee will be served.

Speakers:

Please bring your checkbook to:

Also, the Rob the Cradle Soc Hop, our final Soc Hop here at TJ sponsored by our Class, is on Friday, December 7th. We need about 10 parent chaperones for this event. If you can help chaperone this event, please send an email to

Robin Wilson.

PTSA Meeting — December 10

The next PTSA meeting will be held on Monday, December 10, 2007, at 7:30 p.m. in the school library. (Agenda)

Tech Lab Selection Parent Meeting — November 29

Attention Parents of the Class of 2009

On the evening of Thursday, November 29th, at 7:30 pm in the Auditorium, there will an information meeting for the parents of all 11th graders for the purpose of the upcoming Senior Tech Lab selection process. This is a change from the previously announced November 27th date. Several TJ staff will be giving an overview of the application process. This program will be similar to the 11th grade meetings scheduled during 8th period on Monday, November 26th. The agenda for the meeting will be as follows:

  1. An overview of the 13 Senior Technology Research Laboratories
  2. The application process timeline
  3. The application (found on BlackBoard)
  4. The graduation requirement
  5. Mentorship option
  6. Questions and answers

Your students are encouraged to understand the importance of making informed decisions when selecting a Senior Technology Research Laboratory and this meeting will provide most of the information that you will need when making your selection. Feel free to contact

Alfred D. Lampazzi,
Tech Lab Director Liaison, if you have any questions prior to Nov. 29.

Volunteer opportunities for Language Minority Parents

Our list of volunteer opportunities for language minority parents is now available in Chinese and Korean.

Support the PTSA

There are many ways you can support our school by supporting the TJHSST PTSA — joining the PTSA, making a donation, volunteering, shopping, and recycling. Click on Support the PTSA on the navigation sidebar to learn all about them.

PTSA Membership Drive Results

The Class of 2009 has the most PTSA members and has brought in the most money so far. Congratulations to the Mighty Fine Class of 2009!

The PTSA is still behind on the number of members compared to last year, even though we have more students. These numbers reflect actual members not families. We have 1809 students at TJ. If every TJ family had at least two PTSA members — a student and one parent — we would have over 3600 members! Think of all we could accomplish with such strong support!

There's still time to boost your class numbers. Join the PTSA today and consider making a donation. Thank you.

 

PTSA Memberships and Donations
as of October 9, 2007
Class # Members Donations Total
2008 285 $2,555 $6,830
2009 346 $2,200 $7,390
2010 253 $2,605 $6,400
2011 295 $1,650 $6,075
Totals 1179 $9,010 $26,695

Help Develop Ideas To Improve TJ Transportation

We are looking for volunteers who are willing to help us in the next 6 weeks by working with a small committee to develop a new approach to transportation to and from TJ. Please read our flyer for more details.

Student Directory

The 2007-2008 Student Directory is now available and can be purchased from the PTSA and in the TJ main office. The cost is $10. Checks can be made out to "TJHSST PTSA."

If you pre-ordered a directory and did not pick it up at Back to School Night, please pick it up in the front office.

Geosystems Update Regarding Absences

There are no new rule for Geosystem classes. There is the set of attendance/make-up rules established at the beginning of the school year. There is no mention of absences blocking the value of the extra credit field trips. The is no such rule that missing more than two classes precludes field trip credit. All work missed from an excused absence can be made up, although it must be made up within a week from the return to school except in special cases such as hospitalization or representing TJ in a symposium or competition (that could be either academic or athletic). If the absence is unexcused, the missed work cannot be made up for credit, but the student is still responsible for the material on assessments (quizzes and tests).

Letter Jackets — November 16

This is the last day to order your letter jacket. You will receive it in February. The next order opportunity will be in September. Stop by the sales table at lunch. Bring a check, cash, or credit card information when placing your order.

This photo shows where to attach a letter onto a letter jacket, and this one shows where to attach numbers. Most people take the jacket to their drycleaner to have the letter & numbers sewn on.

* * * Temporary Bus Schedule Changes * * *

Herndon & McLean HS Morning Bus — November 16

Herndon & McLean High Schools will be opening late on Friday, November 16. Students need to provide their own transportation to the base high school to catch the bus to TJ.

Langley HS Morning Bus — November 15

On Thursday, November 15, 2007, Langley High School will be opening 3 hours late. TJ students will need to arrange their own transportation to Langley High School that morning. There will be no bus from the neighborhoods to Langley High School for TJ students. Please arrive no later than 7:30 am for the bus to TJ. Students will also be bused home as normal. If you have any questions, please contact Area III Transportation at (703) 249-7100.

Chantilly HS Morning Bus — November 12

On Monday, November 12, 2007, Chantilly High School is opening three hours late. TJ students will need to arrange their own transportation to Chantilly High School that morning. There will be no bus from the neighborhoods to Chantilly High School for TJ students. The TJ bus between Chantilly High School and TJ will run at the normal time. Students will also be bused home as normal. If you have any questions, please contact Area II Transportation at (703) 249-7000.

Robinson SS Morning Bus — November 12

Robinson Secondary School is opening late on Monday. The TJ bus from there will be leaving at 7:15, not 7:20 as it normally does.

Other Morning Bus Changes — November 12

Edison, Fairfax, Hayfield, Lee, South County, Westfield, and West Potomac are opening late on Monday. Students need to provide their own transportation to the base high school to catch the bus to TJ. For more information, contact Area II Transportation at 703-249-7000 or check their website to find the phone number to call for the base school transportation area office.

No Langley HS Morning Bus on November 15

On November 15, 2007, Langley High School will be opening 3 hours late. TJ students will need to arrange their own transportation to LHS that morning. Please arrive no later than 7:30 am for the bus to TJ.

If you have any questions, please contact Area III Transportation at (703) 249-7100.

Letter Jackets

School letter jackets sold in September will be delivered late November 2007. This photo shows where to attach a letter onto a letter jacket, and this one shows where to attach numbers. Most people take the jacket to their drycleaner to have the letter & numbers sewn on.

2007 School Bond Referendum — November 6

The 2007 school bond referendum that will be voted on in Fairfax County on November 6th includes funds for planning a new TJ. Residents of Fairfax County, please exercise your voting rights on the 6th and consider voting on this bond referendum.

More information on the Bond Referendum is available on the FCPS website.

Impact-Aid Forms Due — November 7

It's that time of year again. Impact-Aid forms for Fairfax County students are being distributed. Please ask your student for the form. It is extremely important that you return these forms on time. The completed and signed forms are due back Wednesday, Nov 7th.

PTSA Meeting and Principal Coffee — November 7

The November PTSA morning Meeting has been rescheduled and combined with the Principal Coffee. It will be held on Wednesday, November 7, at 8:35 a.m. in the cafeteria. Please join us. (Agenda)

Homecoming pictures

If you have this year's Homecoming pictures that you would like to share please contact one of our TJ parents,

Lynn Borton.
Lynn has offered to put the pictures up via her web server account. Instructions for accessing the pictures will be announced once the photos are uploaded.

All-Night Grad Party

We invite all parents to get involved in All Night Grad Party planning for June 14th, 2008! We are still looking for chairs of the following committees:

For further information, please contact

Bernadette & Ed Saperstein,
Co-Chairs of the All Night Grad Party 2008, at (703) 757-9010.

Partners for Safe Teen Driving — October 29

An informational meeting on Teen Driving will be held on Monday, October 29, at 7:30 p.m. in the Auditorium. The program, "Partners for Safe Teen Driving," will include information on driver education and the licensing process, insuring the teen driver, important traffic laws, and parent tips for coaching the teen driver. Judge Teena Grodner will be at the forum to share her insights. For more information, contact

Heidi Smith.

FCPS has released a news release about this program and has posted program information on their website.

ANGP

The 2006-2007 ANGP contact person is

Bob Hobart.

Reflections Program 2007 — October 19

This year's theme is "I can make a difference by..." Create an original piece of artwork in any of the six categories:

Submission deadline is October 19, 2007. Please turn in entries to the school main office on Oct 18 and Oct 19. See the Northern Virginia District PTA's Reflections Program web page for more information and application forms. For questions, please contact

Denise Bolton,
TJHSST Reflections Chair, at 703-339-0371.

Navigating TJ — October 17

The PTSA will hold a form on "Navigating TJ: Parents' Tips for Your Four Years." The Forum will bring together members of the TJ community to share their accumulated knowledge of the true TJ experience and the long-term impact of juggling extracurricular activities and academic work. The panel will discuss what role grades play in the final college selection process. Our aim is to share, communicate, help illuminate, be supportive, and responsive to the TJ community's specific needs, including our Principal and his staff. We hope you join us on Wednesday, October 17, at 7:30 p.m.

PSAT Day — October 17

The PSAT will be given to Sophomores and Juniors on October 17, 2007. The test will start at 8:30 am and end at 12:00 noon. Buses will leave around 12:15 pm. Freshmen will meet with their IBET and counselors. Seniors are expected to attend school unless parents send in a note excusing the student. Seniors will have an opportunity to work with their English teachers in the revision process of their College Essays.

Welcome Class of 2011!

Please visit our special welcome page for lots of helpful information to assist you in your transition to TJ.

PTSA Meeting — October 15

The next PTSA meeting will be held on Monday, October 15, 2007, at 7:30 p.m. in the school library. (Agenda)

Note that we will be voting on a Proposed Statement to be submitted to the General Assembly from the Virginia PTA. You will be asked to vote Yes, No, or Abstain regarding the following Proposed Policy Statement:

Policy Statement (PS) – Virginia PTA supports policy to allow distance and online learning through Virginia DOE approved coursework for credit for K-12 students who are homebound, incarcerated, or in alternative placement.

National Depression Screening Day — October 12

On Friday, October 12th, during A or B Block, Sara Coleman, our school psychologist, will be showing a movie related to teen depression and will make the opportunity available for students to attend a depression screening session with her if they are interested. Parent permission forms are available during the 8th period blocks or in the Student Services office. Please read this article for more information.

Letter Jacket Sales – Sept. 19, 20, 21

School jackets will be on sale Sept. 19, 20, & 21 for late November 2007 delivery.

This photo shows where to attach a letter onto a letter jacket, and this one shows where to attach numbers. Most people take the jacket to their drycleaner to have the letter & numbers sewn on.

Student Directory

The 2007-2008 Student Directory will be available for purchase at Back-to-School Night, Wednesday, September 19, 2007. Cost is $10.

Cultural Liaison Meeting — September 17

A Cultural Liaison meeting will take place on September 17 at 7:30 in Room 215 for parents who have difficulty with English or who would like to help parents who are having difficulties. Hope to see you there!

Student Directory

The 2007-2008 Student Directory will be ready for purchase or pick-up (if you pre-order online) at Back-to-School Night, Wednesday, September 19, 2007. Cost is $10/directory.

Tuesday at noon is your last chance to pre-order a directory on-line! After that, you can pay in person at Back-to-School Night or in the TJ main office.

Support the PTSA

There are many ways you can support our school by supporting the TJHSST PTSA — joining the PTSA, making a donation, volunteering, shopping, and recycling. Click on Support the PTSA on the navigation sidebar to learn all about them.

PTSA Meeting — September 10

The next PTSA meeting will be held on Monday, September 10, 2007, at 7:30 p.m. in the school library. (Agenda)

Student Directory — September 6

The PTSA is compiling information for the production of the 2007-2008 Student Directory. New and returning families who have not already updated their information this summer, please submit your online form no later than September 6th. Directories will be ready for purchase or pick-up (if you pre-order online) at Back-to-School Night in September.

Directory Preparation Help Needed

In order to put out the 2007-2008 directory on time, the TJ Directory Committee needs assistance immediately.

We have a paperless system for entry of directory and volunteer information. Membership is still at least somewhat on paper, but goes into the same database as directory and volunteer. The entry part is user friendly, but dealing with the data requires some technical skill. Nancy Sharma's daughter is a senior, so we need someone to shadow her this year that can help direct next year's directory preparation. We also lost our formatter, our printer liaison, and our chairman this year.

If you are interested or have any questions, please contact

Nancy Sharma
(703) 378-4296. The details for each position are:

Directory chair — Document the items that remain to be done, produce a timeline, facilitate communications between parties, ensure that questions get answered, ensure that all jobs have someone doing them. Understanding of the process would be good, but detailed technical knowledge is not required. Project manager type person.

Directory format — Take Excel files and format using existing Access database. Do validation checks to ensure that formatting is correct. Create pdf files to send to printer. Need to understand Excel, Access, Adobe Acrobat.

Organize and validate beginning and ending pages of the directory. Update information gathered from last year. Communicate with the school to get current staff, email, phone, bus, etc. information.

Assist with rationalization of database. Work with a seasoned TJ parent volunteer who will generate the db reports, to remove students no longer at TJ, ensure there are no duplicates, attempt to ascertain which info is correct when db doesn't match enrollment, edit data for capitalization, reasonableness. Requires understanding of relational db.

Advertise in the Directory

The PTSA is accepting advertisements to help defray the cost of producing the directory. A half page ad (3.75"h x 4.5"w) is $100; a full page ad (7.5"h x 4.5"w) is $200. Ad and payment must be received by August 31 , 2007. E-mail the

TJ PTSA
your black & white ad as .pdf file and either pay online or mail a check (payable to TJHSST-PTSA) to

TJHSST-PTSA Treasurer
6560 Braddock Road
Alexandria, VA 22312

Back to School Packets

August 20 & 21 we will need volunteers to distribute Back-to-School packets. Please let the volunteer coordinators know if you are available so we can count on you.

Students can earn service hours by helping with the distribution of the packets.

Please send your enquiries to

Jill Cook and Rajni Goel.

 

TJ Class 2011 Welcome Family Gatherings
RSVP Today (by invitation only)
Check Website for Changes & Updates
Fairfax Cluster Contact Date/ Time/ Location/Format
Cluster 1 June 10, 2007, 4-6:00 pm
Location: contact Louise. Potluck.
Cluster 2 June 9, 2007, 10 a.m.- 12:00 noon
Location: Fairview Elementary School, 5815 Ox Road Fairfax Station, Virginia 22039. Potluck. Drinks will be provided.
Cluster 3 May 20, 2007, 3- 5 pm
Location: Contact Angie. Bring a light appetizer. Drinks provided.
Cluster 4 June 10, 2007, 6:30-8:30 pm.
Location: Mount Vernon Municipal Center 2511 Parkers Lane, Alexandria – across the street from Sherwood Library. A light dessert will be served.
Cluster 5 June 9, 2007, 10 a.m.- 12:00 noon
Location: Fairview Elementary School, 5815 Ox Road Fairfax Station, Virginia 22039. Potluck. Drinks will be provided.
Cluster 6 June 9, 2007, 10 a.m.- 12:00 noon
Location: Fairview Elementary School, 5815 Ox Road Fairfax Station, Virginia 22039. Potluck. Drinks will be provided.
Cluster 7 June 9, 2007, 3-5 pm
Location: Contact Tricia. Bring a light hors d'oeuvre. Drinks provided.
Cluster 8 June 8, 2007, 6:30-8:30 pm
Location: Temporary Road Picnic Pavilion, corner of Temporary Road and North Shore Drive in Reston. Families should bring an appetizer or dessert to share, and lawn chairs. Party is rain or shine.
More Counties Contact Date/ Time/ Location/Format
Arlington/
Falls Church		 Sunday, August 26, 2007, 5:30-7:30 pm
Location: Lubber Run Park in Arlington. Pot luck picnic. RSVP Lynn Borton
Loudoun County June 1, 2007, 7-8 pm Location: cafeteria at Park View High School, 400 West Laurel Avenue, Sterling, VA 20164. Bring a dessert to share.
Prince William/
Fauquier		 New: May 20, 2007, 1-3 pm.
Contact Nassmah. Bring a dessert to share. Pizza & drinks provided.

Back to School Packets

On Thursday, July 19th at 10:00 am the Back-to-School packets will be assembled in the cafeteria. All Booster clubs and those with important messages to the TJ community need to have on hand 2000 copies of their respective flyers. Please arrive at 9:30 am for set up. Each club needs to send two volunteers to help stuff packets.

Sometime in mid August we will need volunteers to distribute the Back-to-School packets. Please let the volunteer coordinators know if you are available so we can count on you.

Students can earn service hours by helping with either task – the packet stuffing or the distribution of the packets.

Please send your enquiries to

Jill Cook and Rajni Goel.