May 2015 - Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and

TECHCETERA
MAY 2015
Principal’s Letter
President’s Letter
Dear Parents/Guardians, Teachers, and Students,
“Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes” – The end of April has been
full of signs of upcoming changes: an auditorium full
of incoming Freshman families, deadlines for college
decisions, and the PTSA’s efforts to line up Executive
Committee and Committee Chair nominees for next
school year.
May is historically known as “test month.” This is
the time where we proctor standardized tests that
measure student knowledge, skills, and
understanding both on the state (SoL) and national
(AP) level. Tests naturally provoke some stress
because we want students to do well on them. I
think tests are opportunities to allow students to
celebrate how much they have learned, so you might
also call them “parties.” Besides using new
nomenclature, sometimes stress during “party
season” can be reduced with some careful measures
students and parents can take in the weeks prior to
them. I’d like to review some strategies we have
been using at school, and also have a few requests
where you can help at home.
Just prior to exams, we celebrated our 4th annual
“Stress Less, Laugh More” week at TJ, led by our
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HOT LINKS TO THE
INFORMATION FOR WHICH
Y O U A R E L O O K I N G ….
Info from Other TJ Offices
Academic News
PTSA Committee Updates
Serving the TJ Community
Campaign for TJ
Class News
News Round-Up and
Awards
TJ Boosters
Other Student News
Marketplace
Useful Links
Noteworthy Dates
On April 23, the PTSA participated in TJ’s Freshman
Registration Night, held at the school for the first
time in two years. Not only was the PTSA able to
obtain contact e-mails for most (84%) of the Class of
2019, but we also offered advice, encouragement,
and support. During the next couple of weeks, the
PTSA will be sponsoring nine welcome “cluster”
parties throughout Northern Virginia. At Registration
Night, I told the new families that I think the best
part of TJ is the supportive, non-competitive, and
kind social environment that the students create at
TJ – which makes TJ a place where it is safe to be
smart. Furthermore, not only does TJ’s offer a full
menu of rigorous academics, but the school also
supports giving back to local communities through
STEM outreach, and maintains a wacky, fun
atmosphere….not to mention the arts, athletics, 8th
period clubs, etc. Thanks again to the school for
supporting the wonderful and important partnership
with the PTSA. My only “complaint” about the night
is that the agenda placed me immediately after the
eloquent student athletes, which was truly a hard
act to follow.
By the time this issue is published, most Seniors will
know where they’re going to college next year. I find
all of TJ’s students so amazing that I feel every one
of them can be successful just about anywhere.
Nevertheless (as I wrote last month), I hope that
they’ve found a college fit that will allow them to
become interesting, self-sufficient adults in an
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Principal’s Letter continued from page 1
Active Minds club sponsored by TJ psychologist Greg
Myers. The intent of the week was to educate our
students about effective study habits; provide
opportunities for unwinding, de-stressing, and
relaxing; and bring levity to the student body during
a time of high stress. A variety of student activities
have been offered during 8th period activities,
including yoga, mindfulness meditation, relaxation,
funny movies, gaming, therapy dogs, and more.
questions, then it’s time to offer a break as a reward.
Parents can provide a healthy snack, encourage
students to exercise, choose to eat a favorite meal
together, and more. For every two hours of work,
students should break for 15-30 minutes to recharge
and prepare for another round, if necessary. I think
parents should supervise breaks with a clock to
ensure participation in a video game, or something
similar, does not extend far into the evening.
At home, you can promote each of these themes, as
well. First, studying for a standardized exam
requires good reflection and metacognition, or
understanding distinctions between what students
know and what they don’t know. I realize there are
different levels of depth for each concept; however,
an accurate self-awareness is much stronger than
studying everything or simply hoping for the best.
The easiest way to decipher what is known is
through a practice test, which has likely been offered
in class as an assignment or assessment. Simply put,
we learn well when we understand our mistakes,
and then later retest ourselves using a test prep
book or other class materials to see if the gaps have
been closed. Please allow this preparation to begin
a couple of weeks before the exam, and then
gradually reducing the student study efforts closer to
the exam date as a result of increased
understanding. The night before should include lots
of sleep to ensure students are at their greatest
cognitive awareness. The morning of an exam should
include breakfast, for sure.
Lastly, find ways to have fun. Home life will likely
have increased tensions near an important exam, so
make time to celebrate with activities or people that
will bring a smile. Sometimes those unexpected
random acts of kindness can go a long way.
Additionally, stop and smell the roses. Realize the
preparation at TJ will enable most students to earn a
passing score, and more likely a very high score, as a
result of the challenging experience provided during
the school year and their dedication to success.
Furthermore, let’s keep exams in perspective. In the
end, a TJ diploma, a mindset geared towards
research and problem solving, will carry much more
weight than scores on an AP exam. The AP exam will
enable students to earn credits towards college, and
that may carry merit along with some financial relief,
as well.
The next layer of support you can provide is through
breaks. I encourage parents and students to discuss
highly-structured study times without distraction
and disruption. Students need to emulate testing
environments as they practice challenging questions,
as well as an opportunity to problem solve.
Eventually they will get to a point where they will
evaluate their work and determine questions that
should be posed to a friend or teacher the next
school day. Some people may try to participate in
online chat sessions while they are studying, and in
general, these are less productive due to social
aspects and constant disruptions. Once a student
has reviewed a chunk of material and prepared
May 2015
If you have alternate recommendations for
preparing students to ready for exams, please don’t
hesitate to share them with me at emglazer at
fcps.edu so we can make TJ an even better place for
learning and growing. I hope you enjoy the May
flowers in bloom!
Sincerely yours,
Evan Glazer
Principal, TJHSST
Final Two PTSA Meetings
of the School Year
(in the cafeteria)
Wednesday, May 6 – 7:00-9:00 pm
Wednesday, June 10 – 7:00-9:00 pm
Refreshments served at 7:00 pm and meeting begins at 7:30 pm
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Useful Links
TJHSST Home Page:
http://www.tjhsst.edu
TJ PTSA website:
www.tjhsst.edu/supportingtj/ptsa
TJ Booster Organizations:
Academic Boosters:
http://academics.tjhsst.edu/aboosters/
Athletic Boosters:
www.colonialathletics.org
Band Boosters:
www.tjbands.org
Choral Boosters:
http://www.tjhsst.edu/curriculum/fa/choir
Crew Boosters:
www.tjcrew.org/
Orchestra Boosters:
http://arts.tjhsst.edu/orchestra/
Theatre Boosters:
http://www.tjhsst.edu/parentscommunity/boosters/theatreboosters/
TJ Partnership Fund:
http://www.tjpartnershipfund.org
TJ Alumni Association:
http://www.tjhsstalumni.org
Other:
FCPS Blackboard:
http://fcps.blackboard.com
FCPS Keep in Touch (KIT):
http://www.fcps.edu/kit
FCPS School Board:
www.fcps.edu/schlbd
Fairfax County Supervisors:
www.fairfaxcounty.gov/government/board
May 2015
environment that supports discovering and pursuing
passions, learning new things, and dealing with
disappointments. TJ staff may be used to this annual
rotation, but in our household, this is a big one-off!
In our weekly newsletter, you may have felt a bit
bombarded by our calls for nominations for next
year’s PTSA Executive Committee and Committee
Chairs. It really takes a village – and more people than
you might think – to organize the village. I’m so
heartened by the responses we’ve received. If you
haven’t volunteered for one of these leadership
positions, be assured that there will be many
opportunities to contribute next year (and during the
balance of this school year, as well). As I have said
many times, my school volunteer experiences have
been rewarding and fun and have connected me to
schools and the local community in ways that I never
imagined.
Strap yourself in for seven weeks of even more
changes and transitions. As always, please don’t
hesitate to reach out to the PTSA with any questions
or suggestions you might have.
Eric Malès
TJ PTSA President 2014-15
Don’t Miss Out!
Time is Running Out
to Purchase the 2015 Yearbook!
Pre-order sales will end on May 9. There are a
limited number of copies available, so preordering is the only way to ensure that your
student receives a copy of TJ’s best yearbook
yet!
Visit this site and use school code 13621 to
order. Not sure if you’ve already placed an
order? Email Ms. Harris (EHarris1 at fcps.edu)
to double-check.
Again, the FINAL DAY to pre-order a
yearbook is May 9!
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Academic News
Spanish Honor Society
April was quite the busy month for Spanish Honor
Society (SHS). One of our most iconic and important
events of the year, the induction ceremony for new
members, was held on April 8 during 8th period.
During the ceremony, SHS officers and sponsors
inducted 32 Sophomores and Juniors who have
demonstrated exemplary leadership both in and out
of the classroom and a genuine interest in service and
the Spanish language. The ceremony consisted of a
reading of the SHS pledge, a symbolic candle lighting,
musical performances by students, and a singing of A
Dios Le Pido by Juanes. We hope that these newlyinducted members will continue to carry on the SHS
tradition of service to the Hispanic community.
Rounding out the month was a presentation given by
two diplomatic interpreters from the U.S.
Department of State’s Office of Language Services to
SHS members. The presentation proved interesting as
SHS members were able to learn what it is like to
work with foreign languages alongside government
officials such as President Obama and Secretary of
State John Kerry. In the next month, we are looking
forward to welcoming our new officers and planning
for our end-of-year festivities such as J-Day and the
end-of-year party.
Sophomores and new SHS inductees Nathan Alam and
Hannah Collins light their candles during the induction
ceremony on April 8.
May 2015
Sophomores and Juniors look on enthusiastically as they
are officially inducted into SHS.
PTSA Committee Updates
Health and Wellness
County Event on Teen Stress
Registration is now open for the 2nd Annual
Community Conversation on Teen Stress: Fostering
Wellness and Resilliency. The event will be held
on May 9, 2015, at Hayfield Secondary School from
8:30am to 2:30pm Marc Brackett, Ph.D., the director
of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence will be
featured as the keynote speaker. Tracy Cross, Ph.D.,
Professor at The College of William and Mary and
Executive Director of the Center for Gifted Studies
and Talent Development will speak in the afternoon
about perfectionism and child and adolescent
suicidality. This event will feature breakout sessions
led by FCPS staff members and guest presenters. A
variety of exhibitors will also be present. For more
information and to register online click here.
Questions? Please contact Dede Bailer at drbailer at
fcps.edu or 571-423-4250.
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Washington Post Opinion Piece on College
Applications by TJ Parent Glenn Kessler
“ ….at a time when some top schools reject more than
90 percent of applicants, I have a simple suggestion to
reduce some of the craziness. Place two limits on
college applications: Students should be allowed to
submit no more than 10 through the Common
Application and no more than four to the eight Ivy
League universities.” Read the full piece here.
How Much Math, Science Homework is Too Much? by
the American Psycological Association
More than 70 minutes a day is too much for
adolescents, researchers find. Read the full article
here.
Serving the TJ Community
Volunteer Opportunities
May is perhaps one of the BUSIEST months in terms
of volunteer hours needed at our school. Over 100
Parent Proctors for AP Exams and over 30 Parent
Volunteers for AP Snacks help make the AP weeks
go smoothly (see volunteer opportunities below).
May also opens the door to new VOLUNTEER
opportunities, as we look for new faces to step
forward and head committees that senior parents
are vacating.
Please consider stepping outside your comfort zone
and get involved, whether for a Committee Chair or
Volunteer Opportunity this month! If you have
questions about any volunteer opportunities, please
contact Robin Hatanpää (hatanpaa6 at gmail.com)
Vacant PTSA Committee Chair Position for 20152016 Year:
Recycling: Advertise the inkjet cartridge and cell
phone recycling programs, mail cartridges and cell
May 2015
phones to recycling company, and help make "free"
money for the PTSA.
Free Money from Groceries: Advertise the grocery
programs and encourage TJ families to sign up by
putting advertisements in the monthly newsletter
and This Week at TJ.
ANGP Chair for Class of 2016: JUNIOR PARENTS,
step up to shadow the current Class of 2015 ANGP
Team to prepare for your event of the year in June
2016.
Online and Paper Student Directory Team: Help
coordinate the collection of data and the
production of the Student Directory (online and
paper) with AtoZ Directory.
This Week at TJ Team: Keep track of athletic events
and report them in the Constant Contact Marketing
application that the PTSA uses to send out the
weekly email blast.
PARENT VOLUNTEERS NEEDED DURING AP WEEK!
Parent Proctors Needed!
May 5-16 is AP Exam Time for many of our students,
and the PTSA is asked to support this effort by
providing volunteers to assist our students during
the administration of the exams. No experience is
needed! You will not be in charge; a guidance
counselor will be responsible. You will be handing
out and collecting material, passing out tissues, and
walking around and monitoring students, so wear
comfortable shoes.
You are encouraged to sign up for as many slots as
your schedule permits. This is approximately a four
hour time commitment each for the morning and
afternoon exams. Click here to see the exam
schedule and select a time to volunteer. Signup
Genius allows you to sign up and register as a guest,
if you do not have log-in information. Contact Robin
Hatanpää (hatanpaa6 at gmail.com) for more
information or if you want to volunteer without
using Signup Genius!
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Donate Snacks/Volunteer for AP Snacks
As part of the Health and Wellness initiative, the
PTSA offers free snacks to our students during the
break in their AP exam. Some students don't eat a
proper breakfast or lunch before testing, and this
healthy snack is a welcome and comforting gesture,
plus students get to see the smiling faces of our
volunteers. Consider donating food or volunteering
to serve by clicking here.
Hospitality
To our awesome parents,
Do you remember how school kept closing and we
had to reschedule the Valentine’s Day teacher's
luncheon three times? We finally managed to serve
it on February 27! Everything was good and fresh,
and it's really amazing how so many parents
contributed to making this luncheon so special. We
braved Mother Nature's moodiness, and if it hadn't
been for you all sticking together to help out, we
wouldn't have been able to host this luncheon for
our teachers!
Join us for an award-winning film HAZE to educate
parents and students about the dangers of alcohol
and binge drinking. The film contains graphic
imagery but is a must-see for all parents and their
college-bound teens. A distinguished panel will be
on hand to answer questions. Click here for more
information about the film.
Wednesday, May 20, 7:00 to 9:00pm
Northern Virginia Community College
Ernst Community Cultural Center
8333 Little River Turnpike
Annandale, VA
Free parking in Lot B only
Renovation Update
The last teacher's appreciation lunch of the year
was served on Wednesday, April 29. It went well,
and during this happy hour on a beautiful, sunny
spring day, we were able to show how we care
about our teachers and thank them accordingly.
I also want to take this opportunity to thank you all
for your support these past two years; you’ve made
my job easier. This is the last hospitality event that
I’ll be chairing.
Good bye, and wishing you all the best,
Jane Hsu
May 2015
Phase 2 of the renovation is continuing as planned.
The cafeteria is now open and fully in use by the
students. Modular furniture for the new commons
areas arrived and is a hit with the students. As the
weather gets warmer and students are spending
more time outside, please remember to slow down
while driving around campus. Please direct any
questions regarding the renovation to Assistant
Principal Shawn Frank: sjfrank at fcps.edu.
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THOMAS JEFFERSON HIGH SCHOOL FOR SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
CAMPAIGN FOR TJ // LEADING THE FUTURE
QUESTION #2: WHY WOULD ANYONE SPEND A SUNDAY AFTERNOON ASKING
TJ PARENTS FOR MONEY?
A: There is something about finding a school where your child can be (and grow into) him- or herself that makes you
want to do everything you can to ensure its future.
B: There is something about attending TJ that makes you want to give back whatever and whenever you can.
C: Many parents, particularly freshman parents, don’t know what the TJ Partnership Fund does or why we need a
Campaign (not everyone reads Techcetera, This Week, or Newsworthy), and calling gives us a chance to explain how
important private contributions are to so much that makes this School special. When we explain, parents often give
without our having to ask.
D: We’re supposed to stick to our script, but sometimes we end up having great conversations: parents give tips,
alums tell their life stories. We also enjoy the camaraderie of making calls together.
And the answer, as it is with just about everything at TJ, is “E: All of the above.”
Phonathon caller, Margaret Mukerjee, Parent ’18, enjoys a
pleasant – and productive – conversation with a fellow parent at
the April 26 Campaign for TJ Phonathon.
THANK YOU, PHONATHON CALLERS:
Megha Chokshi, Parent
’17, Phonathon Chair
Ashok Anant, Parent ’17
Floortje BlindenbachDriessen, Parent ’16, ’18
Beth Finn, TJ ’94
Heather Erskine, Parent
’18
Aparna Gupta, Parent ’15
Won Huh, Parent ‘17
Hilde Kahn, Parent ’12,
’14, ’17
Kaylee Kim, Parent ’18
Mili Ahn Kim, Parent ‘18
Jo Koeniger, Parent ’16
May 2015
C Kotnana, Parent ’18
Sandy Kumar, Parent ’16
Hyun Joo Kweon, Parent
‘17
Hyangran Lee, Parent ’18
Margaret Mukerjee,
Parent ’18
Anna Ryjik, Parent ’15
Avani Saini, Parent ’15
Roma Saxena, Parent ’18
Tae Eun Seo, Parent ’17
Yeonjoo Seo, Parent ’18
Jennifer Simpson, Parent
’15
Seyun Sue, Parent ’18
THANK YOU, PHONATHON DONORS: On Sunday, April
26th, from 2:00 – 5:00pm, on a warm, sunny afternoon
at the end of a cold, dreary week, parent and alumni
volunteer callers reached out to every Freshman parent
-- and almost every Sophomore parent -- who had not
yet contributed to the Campaign for TJ. Most parents
were out, so our volunteers left a lot of messages and
followed up with a lot of emails, but when callers did
reach parents they explained why it is SO IMPORTANT
that all parents do what they can to help TJ stay strong
and become even stronger. And parents listened. The
following parents pledged or donated THAT DAY!
Alan & Elizabeth Bacon
Anonymous (2)
Nam Cheol & Mili Kim
Hugh & Lisa Quinn
Myung & Stephanie Han
Anna Ryjik
Nagesh & Jayashree Vattikonda
Kim Sherrock
Sandhya & Sreenivas Karpurapu Kaylee Kim
Srinivas Chodavarapu & Kiranmai Nandarapu
Donations are still coming in as parents respond to
follow-up calls and emails. Additional Phonathon
donors’ names will be listed in the June Techcetera,
and all Campaign for TJ donors to date will be listed in
the 2015-2016 Back-to-School issue of Newsworthy.
If you received a call and haven’t yet responded, or if
you’ve been meaning to donate, please send your
check or pledge/donate online today and watch our
total climb! Questions about anything Campaignrelated? Contact Samantha Courtney in the PF Office
at scourtney at fcps.edu or 703.750.8317
Thank you, parents, for all you do to support TJ.
– The Partnership Fund, TJ’s non-profit foundation
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ALL NIGHT GRADUATION PARTY
Saturday, June 20, 2015
ATTENTION TJ PARENTS! WE URGENTLY NEED
YOUR HELP!
By the time you read this, June 20 will be 50 days
away! Yes indeed, graduation at the Patriot Center
will be here before you know it and so will the All
Night Graduation Party!! The dedicated ANGP
Steering Committee has been hard at work all year
planning, budgeting, and fundraising for the event
to ensure that it will be the most fun ANGP ever!
Lots of activities, games, food, prizes, and surprises
are already lined up and finishing touches are being
made on decorations and menus. More than 300
tickets have been already been sold. Almost
everything is in place to make this special ‘last
chance’ opportunity for the seniors to celebrate
together a reality.
But (and you know there had to be one), the ANGP
URGENTLY NEEDS VOLUNTEERS to make this
evening possible. We still have almost 300 volunteer
spots that have not been filled! If we do not get the
volunteers we need, we will be forced to cancel
the event. Although JUNIOR, SOPHOMORE AND
FRESHMAN PARENTS are encouraged to volunteer
during any time period, we especially need you
during the 6:00pm – 10:00pm time slot. This is the
time when senior parents will be attending
graduation. This is an excellent (and no-pressure)
opportunity to see how the ANGP kicks off before
your child’s class participates. We also need SENIOR
PARENT volunteers for the 1:30am – 5:30am shift
on Sunday, June 21. Did you know that volunteering
to work the ANGP is the ONLY way parents will be
allowed to be a part of the celebration? That’s
right, unless you are a parent volunteer, you cannot
attend the ANGP. Don’t miss out on the fun of
celebrating graduation with your son or daughter
(without the tissue box!). CLICK HERE TO SIGN
UP!
MONETARY DONATIONS
In addition to volunteering, parents can help make
the ANGP a success in other ways as well. Because
of the renovations at TJ, we must hold the party at
an outside site which results in extra costs. As a
May 2015
result, the ANGP steering committee is seeking
monetary donations for the ANGP. Please consider
donating any amount, small or large, to help us
make the party a success. All donations are tax
deductible and go directly to help defray the cost of
the party. Your donation will be recognized on the
ANGP website as well as on the Donor Wall of
Recognition at the ANGP. Click HERE to donate via
PayPal or a credit card or HERE to download the
donation form.
FOOD DONATIONS FOR THE ANGP
Again, because of our offsite location, we are
unable to prepare food for the ANGP onsite. Some
of the food will be catered, but as you can imagine,
that is quite costly. To keep our expenses down, we
are asking EVERY senior family to consider a food
donation. Please click HERE and select a donation.
FILL THE SILVER DINER @ TYSONS ON
WEDNESDAY, MAY 20, 2015!
Have a great meal. Bring your family and friends to
Silver Diner, Tysons Corner on Wednesday, May 20,
between 6:00pm and 9:00pm, 8101 Fletcher St,
McLean. Celebrate the SOLs (or no homework) and
a portion of all food sales supports TJ’s ANGP.
SILK TIES AND SCARVES – JUST $30!
tjSTAR is just around the corner. What better way
to show your school spirit than with a TJ silk tie or
scarf as your student presents his/her research at
our annual scientific symposium? These fashion
essentials can also be worn on game day or to the
sports banquet for student athletes, academic
competitions, college interviews, and of course,
graduation. They also make great Mother’s/Father’s
Day gifts. You can pre-order online using PayPal.
A $5 RAFFLE = $50 DISCOUNT ON DRIVER’S ED
(BEHIND THE WHEEL)!
Support ANGP by purchasing raffle tickets for a
chance to win a $499, seven 100-minute sessions,
Behind-the-Wheel Training Package with “I Drive
Smart.” Even if you do not win, use your raffle ticket
to receive a $50 discount on any IDS package
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purchased by June 30, 2015! Raffle tickets are $5
each or 5 raffle tickets for $20. Buy tickets online
via PayPal by clicking here. Tickets will also be
available at the Partner for Safe Teen Driving
Assembly on May 5. The drawing will be held May
13. I Drive Smart is the only company where current
or retired police officers provide 100% of the
instruction. For more information, go to
www.idrivesmart.com or call 855-IDS-COPS.
TODDLER PICTURES
Senior parents: Time is running out... Please send
photos by May 30 if you want your senior's toddler
photo to be included in the 'Guess the TJ Senior
contest'. Provide your senior student's toddler
picture from ages 2 to 4. You can email
digital/scanned pictures to tjbabypics at
gmail.com. We request that you provide the photo
in jpeg format. Please include your son or
daughter's full name and nickname in your
email. PLEASE get your son or daughter's approval
for the picture you send. If you would prefer, you
can also mail a copy of the photo to:
TJHSST ANGP - Baby Pics, 6560 Braddock Rd.,
Alexandria VA 22312. Also, make a duplicate as
prints can not be returned.
ANGP TICKETS - $125
It’s not too late to buy a ticket. $125/student. Even
if you are not sure that your child wants to attend
ANGP, please purchase a ticket to support this
event! Ticket forms are available here. Please
remember that BOTH the student and one parent
need to sign the form.
The TJ PTSA is committed to ensuring that all
students can attend. If you need financial
assistance, please contact your guidance counselor.
All requests are kept confidential.
LAWN SIGNS - $20
Senior Parents: Congratulations Graduate Lawn
Signs are available for $20. Click here to purchase
one via PayPal.
PLEASE JOIN US FOR OUR NEXT ANGP
MEETING ON WEDNESDAY, MAY 6, 2015
FROM 6:00-7:30PM IN THE COLLEGE AND
CAREER CENTER.
May 2015
Class News
2015 – Seniors
Hard to believe but there are just two months to
graduation!! Final preparations for prom and
graduation are just about done, some students have
not submitted their required senior dues. Please
make sure you have paid the dues, which support
these important events, including graduation and
prom. If you have not paid already, please submit a
check for $100 made out to TJHSST and put “Class
of 2015 Dues” along with the student’s name in the
“For” line. Students can drop them off in Dr.
Osborne’s trailer (32).
Other events to note:
ALL NIGHT GRAD PARTY (ANGP): WE REALLY NEED
VOLUNTEERS! Senior and non-senior parents
(friends and family) can volunteer. Please help!
Sign up to volunteer at ANGP. Questions? Email
ANGP co-chairs Lisa Savage and Ginger Bugaighis at
tj2015angp at gmail.com. Our students deserve a
fun-filled event with all their fellow TJ seniors.
PROM: May 30 at the National Building Museum.
tjStar: June 9
SENIOR PICNIC: June 18 or 19 (date not yet
confirmed) right after the mandatory graduation
rehearsal.
GRADUATION: June 20: Patriot Center, George
Mason University, 7:00 pm.
PICTURES: Don't let your senior be left out of the
fun! Please send in your child’s photo (between
ages 2 and 4 yrs. old) as soon as possible for the
ANGP 'Guess the TJ Senior Contest'. You can email
digital/scanned pictures to tjbabypics at gmail.com.
Please include your son or daughter's full name and
nickname in your email.
Congratulations to all our students on their college
decisions!
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2017 – Sophomores
Summer is almost upon us and the Sophomore class
has been busy planning a fun way to end the year: a
field trip to Hershey Park. Buses will depart TJ at
11:00am on Thursday, June 18, and return around
10:00pm. Parent chaperones are needed for this
trip. Please sign up here.
Parent proctors are still needed for AP exams May 4
to 15! Shifts are four to five hours. You can sign up
here.
Sophomore parent help is needed for the All Night
Graduation Party (ANGP), a huge celebration that
provides TJ graduates with a fabulous, safe, drugfree, alcohol-free environment after the graduation
ceremony on June 20. Sophomore parents are
especially needed during the 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm
shift while senior parents are attending graduation.
Sign up is easy – click here.
Thanks to those who have mailed class dues in. If
you have not, it is not too late! Contact us if you are
unsure if you have paid your dues, or if you need
mailing info.
Thanks for your support of the class of 2017!
Ann Carr and Lan Fan
2017 Parent Liaisons
mandacarr at msn.com
fanlan at hotmail.com
looking like it will be the biggest party of the
year! We don’t want anyone to miss out on the fun,
so we will continue to collect registrations through
May 5.
We met with representatives from Audrey Moore
Rec Center, and they stressed the need for lots of
chaperones to make sure that everyone stays safe
while they are having all this fun. We do have
several shifts to cover through the night. We also
have more than 50 students requesting rides from
TJ to Audrey Moore that evening, as well as a fair
amount of supplies and equipment to transport, so
we could use volunteers to shuttle things back and
forth early that evening. We’ve already had almost
60 parents submit the volunteer form, and another
dozen or so have signed up online, for everything
from shuttle drivers to the graveyard shift, and we
are extremely appreciative!! But we could definitely
use some more, so if you are able to chaperone for
a few hours, it would be a great help to us. The
volunteer form was in the packet that was sent
home with the students. Here’s a link so you can
register to volunteer online.
Please feel free to e-mail us at MLAuerbach at
fcps.edu or CMDelaCuesta at fcps.edu with any
questions or concerns. Thanks, and see you on May
15!
Mike Auerbach and Chuck Dela Cuesta
Faculty Sponsors, Class of 2018
****
2018 – Freshmen
We have more information about the Freshman
Lock-Up, to be held on May 15 at the Audrey Moore
Rec Center. Here is another note from the Faculty
Sponsors:
Hello Again Class of 2018 Parents,
If you need another form to sign up for Lock-Up,
they are available in Mr. Auerbach’s classroom, T25. As always, the 2018 class parents are available
to answer any questions about Lock-Up or any
other issues relating to the Class of 2018.
Nancy Yang & Silvija Strikis
Class of 2018 Parent Liaisons
chaonanyang at gmail.com
sstrikis at yahoo.com
We have collected over 300 registration forms and
checks from students and the Freshman Lock-Up is
May 2015
Page 10
TJ Boosters
ACADEMIC BOOSTERS
Thank you to the wonderful students and parents who
helped out with our phonathon! If you were called by a
volunteer and already donated, thank you on behalf of
all of TJ’s academic teams!!
If you pledged a contribution and haven’t had a chance
to follow through on that commitment, please visit the
Academic Boosters website today and honor your
pledge. You’ll support the teams and save our
volunteers the followup calls! Here’s the link to our
membership page.
BOTBALL
Three TJ Botball Robotics Teams competed in the
Greater DC/Virginia Botball Tournament
(www.botball.org) on April 18.
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The Freshman team was: Andreea Foarce (captain),
Sarkis Ter Martirosyan, Angel Peprah, Nikilesh
Subramaniam, Arya Saravanan, Nithin Dass, Ethan
Liu, Sricharan Bachu, Arvind Srinivasan, Justin
Lasker, Jaden Lee, and Yuki Oyama.
Each team's pair of robots is equipped with cameras,
touch sensors, and light sensors. This year, the robots
score points by collecting, moving, and sorting
colored poms, blocks, and small frisbees, which are
placed on the surface of the board, on raised
platforms, and on the tops of poles. Scores are
determined by points awarded for project
documentation, an oral presentation about the
teams’ robots and strategy, the team’s average score
in the seeding rounds, and the team’s final position in
the double elimination tournament.
CHEM OLYMPIAD
Congratulations to Janice Ong, Joyce Tian, and
Lawrence Wang, who are our finalists in the
Chemistry Olympiad. As this issue is going to press,
they are competing in the National Chemistry
Olympiad in Germantown.
Team A came in 17th place in Seeding Round and was 02 in the Double Elimination round. Team B finished
with 2-2 record and received a Judge’s Choice award for
“Overall Design of the Sorting System.” The Freshman
Team finished with a 1-2 record and won an award for
their 2nd place finish in the “Alliance Challenge” rounds.
Computer Teams
At UVA's 5th Annual High School Programming
Contest in April 2015, the Senior 'Puter team of Kevin
Geng, Ashley Kim, Samuel Kim, and Hariank
Muthakana placed 3rd, and the Frosh 'Puter team of
Katherine Cheng, Srinidhi Krishnamurthy, Sujay
Ratna, and Justin Zhang placed 5th, out of 52
competing teams.
Team A included: Harshal Jariwala (captain), Steven
Wang, Diana Chang, Ben Trans, Akash Kalimili, Sathvik
Kadaveru, Katherine Yang, Hriday Kamshatti, Risheek
Rajolu, Abhilaash Velamati, and Rahul Sundararaman.
Team B included: Suhas Sastry (captain), Nipun
Mallipeddi, Daniel Kweon, Thomas Lai, Adam Kim,
Nikhil Daga, Hanshin Lee, Josh Rutzick, Daniel Medas,
James Ma, Numan Khan, and James Quek.
May 2015
JAPAN BOWL
In April, the TJ Japan Bowl team attended the
national competition at 4H Youth Center in Chevy
Chase, MD. The questions include a wide variety of
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topics other than the language-related questions
such as pop culture, art, sports, history, politics, and
economics. Congratulations to the TJ teams, who
did well again this year, and showed the great team
work!
Level 2 team: Raef Khan, Hayun Chong,
Woohyeong Cho
Level 3 team: Tanvi Haldankar, Austin Riopelle,
Ashwin Shrinivasan (6thin ranking)
Level 4 team: Kathie Shen, Zeal An, John Serger
(4th in ranking)
FORENSICS SPEECH
Congratulations to our VHSL State Forensics
Tournament competitors, Aria Kim, Matthew Sun,
who placed first in Original Oratory, and Victoria
Bevard, who placed first in Extemporaneous
Speaking. We also congratulate Matthew Sun who
advanced to the semi-final round of competition at
the National Speech & Debate Association Virginia
District Tournament. Our Forensics Team is now
preparing for the NCFL Grand Nationals Tournament
in May and for our Annual SpeechFest on May 15.
This is an opportunity for the students to share
what they have been working on during the year
with other TJHSST students. We hope to inspire
others to excel in public speaking.
George Washington University International Affairs
Association.
WAMUNC was the last conference TJ MUN will
attend this year. We would like thank our amazing
advisor, Señora Pou and our terrific parent
volunteers for all of your help this year!! We
couldn’t have done it without you!
Disarmament and International Security
Committee
Gavel – Mara Casebeer and Arya Sivadhanam
(United Kingdom)
Special Political and Decolonization Committee
Honorable - Sahaj Sharda and Arnav Simha
(Belgium)
Honorable - Ishaan Dey and Ian Moritz (United
Kingdom)
Social, Humanitarian, and Culture Committee
Outstanding – Alex Lewis and Neil Parikh (United
Kingdom)
Honorable - Arthur Browne and Sahana Epari
(Colombia)
Verbal - Sachin Jain and Christine Zhao (Egypt)
Joint Democratic National Committee, 2016
Verbal - Varun Saraswathula and Rishitha Anumola
(Louisiana)
Joint Republican National Committee, 2016
Verbal - Deepshika Dhanasekar and Shivam Kollur
(Louisiana)
International Criminal Court
Verbal - Richa Gupta (Defense Attorney Ryers)
Foreign Affairs Council of the European Union
Gavel - Chitra Kokkirala (Philip Hammond)
2015 State Forensics Tournament Team: (from left to
right) Matthew Sun, Aria Kim, Victoria Bevard, Mrs.
Marie Bakke-Coach
MODEL UNITED NATIONS
TJ Model United Nations gained great experience at
the seventeenth annual Washington Area Model
United Nations Conference (WAMUNC), held by the
May 2015
Conference on Online Social Networks
Honorable - Will Ryu (Tata Communications Limited)
Organisation Européenne pour la Recherche
Nucléaire (CERN)
Verbal - Justin Yum (Belgium)
Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement, 1992
Gavel - Nora Thompson (President Hosni Mubarak)
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Outstanding - Virginia Sun (President Cesar Gaviria
Trujillo)
Honorable - Puneeth Uttla (President Juvenal
Habyarimana)
Russian Mafia
Gavel - Will Frank (Andrei Skoch)
Mao’s Cultural Revolution Group
Gavel - Rushi Shah (Zhang Chunqiao)
Our A-team of Ryan Golant, Alexander Howe,
Ranjani Parthasarathy, and Michael Yue
participated at HERMES, a tournament held at
Richard Montgomery High School in Rockville,
Maryland, on March 28, where our team came in 6th
place. Ryan Golant received special recognition for
his individual performance at the tournament. The
B-team consisting of Justin Yum, Saurav
Pattanayak, and Rohan Hegde also participated in
HERMES. Finally, we successfully hosted our own
tournament, TJIAT, at TJ on April 18, with Joanna
Gerr and Bobbie Sheng as tournament directors.
Pakistani Cabinet
Outstanding - Sam Desmarais (Nargis Sethi)
RUBIK’S CUBE
The West Wing
Honorable - Becca Merriman-Goldring (Sam Seaborn)
BP Executive Board, 2010
Outstanding - Spencer Weiss (Robert Dudley)
United Nations Security Council
Outstanding - Vikram Sardana (United Kingdom)
The TJ Model United Nations club held its annual
TechMUN Conference on April 10-11, 2015, at J.E.B.
Stuart High School in Falls Church. TJ organizers
hosted middle-school and high-school delegates from
all over the Washington metropolitan area and
honored many individual students for their
achievements and resolutions throughout the
weekend. The Secretary General’s Awards for Best
and Outstanding Large Delegation were awarded to
Langley High School and McLean High School
respectively. The Secretary General’s Awards for Best
and Outstanding Small Delegation went to Garfield
High School and Edison High School respectively. The
Secretary General’s Award for Best Middle School
went to Kilmer Middle School with Carson Middle
School receiving the award for Outstanding Middle
School.
Paul Dumitrescu, Colin Murphy, Saurav Pattanayak,
Puneeth Sai, Ruyan Zhang, Rohan Hegde, Alexander
Howe, Aditya Sarkar, and Andrew Wang, in
conjunction with members of the History Bowl club,
attended the DC Metro History Bowl Championships
at Centennial High School in Ellicott, Maryland,
on March 7 and qualified for the National History Bee
and Bowl.
May 2015
TJ's Rubik's Cube Team made its presence known
yet again at the annual National Capital Area You
Can Do The Rubik's Cube Competition (YCDTRC) at
the National Electronics Museum in Baltimore. At
the YCDTRC Competition, teams of eight
representatives face off to solve 25 Rubik's Cubes as
quickly as possible.
This year, TJ's returning team members included:
Alex Wendt, Peter Gunnarson, Eli Lifland, Devin
Kim, David Zhao, and Landon Chu. New to the team
were: David Chao, Shreyan Jaiswal, Frank Ding, and
Adam Yee.
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TJ sought to regain the title as world record holders, a
title that was last held by TJ in 2013. The team worked
with club president Albert Chuang, sacrificing many
lunches and 8th period blocks, to strengthen team
strategies and coordination and create the most
effective algorithms. The TJ Cubing Team was confident
in its abilities, setting record-breaking times during
practices.
At the venue the team set a new world record of
1:10.3, beating the previous world record by 4
seconds! Unfortunately, this record did not stand for
long as River Hill High School, a TJ rival for many years,
broke out of its normal times of 1:15-1:20 with a solve
of 1:08.75.
Student Congress competitors are also preparing for
the National Speech & Debate Association Virginia
District Tournament and for NCFL Grand Nationals.
TJ THEATRE BOOSTERS
Fiddler on the Roof is TJ's musical and theatrical
spring production with shows held on April 30, May
1 and May 2 and directed by Performing Arts
Teacher Jennifer Lowery. More than 50 students
comprise the cast. May 1 is also Cappies night when
student judges from area schools attend to rate the
performance.
Drama Banquet: The end of the year banquet will
be held on Thursday, June 10, at 6:00 pm. Location
to be determined. Mark your calendar to celebrate
your student's achievement in TJ Theatre along with
a special tribute to this year's seniors.
Theater Boosters meetings: Please volunteer to be
on the board next year. Send an email to annaryjik
at gmail.com if you are interested in serving.
Although TJ may have fallen a little short this year, in
2016 the team will work to regain the title yet again. A
special thanks to team sponsor Christine Conklin and
all those who have supported TJ Cubing and made our
performance possible!
STUDENT CONGRESS
Student Congress competed at the VHSL Regional
Tournament in April, and we congratulate the following
students who advanced to the State Tournament:
Victoria Bevard, 2nd place, Nash Hemrajani, 4th place,
Leela Ramineni, 6th place, Sharon Liu, 8th place, Kaleb
Marioghae, 9th place. These five students represented
TJ at the VHSL State Tournament in late April. Our
May 2015
ORCHESTRA BOOSTERS
Current TJ Orchestra students were on hand to
answer questions posed by next year’s Freshmen
during “Freshman Preview Night” on April 23. We
look forward to welcoming new musicians in the Fall
into TJ’s wonderful music program! Placement
auditions for incoming Freshmen will take place
Saturday, May 16, at TJ.
TJ's production of Fiddler on the Roof is April 30 May 2. Musicians from the orchestra and band
comprise the pit orchestra to accompany choir and
drama students on the stage.
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The last Orchestra performance of the school year
will be on Friday, June 12, at 7:00 pm in the TJ
Auditorium. We hope you can join us for this final
(free) concert of the year, as well as see the
seniors take their final TJ orchestra bows.
If you have any questions or comments, feel free
to contact the Orchestra Boosters any time at
tjorchboosters at gmail.com.
BAND BOOSTERS
Band Assessment a Success: The TJ Symphonic
Band Assessment was cancelled due to a snow day,
but the Symphonic Wind Ensemble was able to
perform for their Assessment on the following day.
The students put in a lot of work preparing and
while it was unfortunate that all of the groups
were not able to perform, Mr. Foreman wanted to
recognize the students for all of their hard work!
Winter Drum Line and Color Guard Complete
Successful Competitive Seasons! Both the TJ
Drumline and Winter Guard had wonderful
seasons, with a very busy Feb - April full of
competitions. After an outstanding showing at the
TJ-hosted “Winter Showcase,” the groups also
competed at Mount Vernon HS, Broad Run HS,
South County HS, and Robinson HS for the Atlantic
Indoor Association. TJDL took first in their class at
the Broad Run, Virginia, competition, while the
TJWG took 3rd place! TDJL also took first place at
the AIA Championships in April – culminating a
truly incredible season!
TJ Drumline perform their show “Madness”
May 2015
TJWG completed their competitive season by
traveling to Dayton, Ohio, April 15-19 for the Winter
Guard International World Championship
competitions. TJWG earned their highest scores of
the season in Dayton and were also able to see
performances by some of the most elite Color
Guards in the world! Also at the WGI Competition,
Color Guard Co-Captain Coco Chen was recognized
with a scholarship from WGI for outstanding
scholastic achievement as well as contribution to
the sport. Congratulations to these hard working
teams for an outstanding season!
TJ Winter Guard prepares to perform 221B Baker Street.
At World Championships in Dayton, OH
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Solo and Ensemble Festivals include significant
participation by TJ Band Students: Each year, the
FCPS Band programs offer students an opportunity
to perform solo or ensemble pieces for independent
assessment by judges. Every year TJ students
participate in large numbers to showcase all they
have learned in the course of the year.
Congratulations to all the students who
participated!
TJ Jazz Ensemble Wins 2nd Place at Chantilly Jazz
Festival: On March 27 and 28, TJs Jazz Band and
Jazz Ensemble competed at the Chantilly Jazz
Festival, earning superior ratings. Additionally, the
Jazz Ensemble won 2nd place; the first time a TJ Jazz
group has placed at this competition. Many
Congratulations to TJ Jazz Ensemble members,
David Everhart, Justin Bui, Theo Richardson, Billie
Males, and Aaron Geldert.
Band Boosters Need Your Support!: The band
boosters support TJ's wonderful curricular bands
(Symphonic Band, Symphonic Wind Ensemble,
Percussion Ensemble, and Jazz Band) and extracurricular ensembles (Marching Band, Drumline,
and Color Guard) through volunteer and fundraising
activities that help provide student scholarships,
purchase equipment and supply uniforms. The Band
Boosters are in need of parent volunteers to assist
with critical activities. Please consider volunteering
to help Band Boosters make the 2015-2016 School
Year a success! Positions include:
• President or Co-President of the Band
Boosters
• Curricular Bands Uniform Coordinator
• TJMC Coordinator
• TJ Bands Photographer/Historian
• TJMC Camp Coordinator
• Fall/Spring Concert Refreshments
Coordinator
• TJMC Equipment Driver
• TJ Winter Showcase
Coordinator/Concessions Coordinator
• Fall Fundraiser Coordinator…..and many
more!
For more information on how to support TJ's band
programs, please see our website or email president
at tjbands.org.
May 2015
COLONIAL ATHLETIC
BOOSTERS (CAB)
VARSITY SOFTBALL
The TJ Varsity Softball team has faced fierce
competition in the early part of the 2015 season
playing the Liberty District teams of South Lakes,
McLean, Madison and Langley. The Lady Colonials put
a scare into a powerful Madison team holding them
scoreless in 3 straight innings with good fielding and
pitching by Diana Zavela. In a preview of coming
Capitol Conference games, TJSB played spring break
tournament games against Edison and Mount Vernon.
Diana Zavela delivers a pitch against South Lakes.
Pitcher Diana Zavela has 14 strikeouts so far this
season and catcher Allison Roush has been stalwart
behind the plate and has caught 4 baserunners trying
to steal. At the plate, Kayleigh Vance leads the team
with a .385 batting average followed by An Smith with
a .285. Roush, Smith and Jessie Heise lead the team
in defensive fielding percentage, all above .930.
Jessica Guo’s eye for the pitch has her leading the
team in walks and Pooja Rathnashyam, Lauren Berry,
and Marie Jones have come through with hits to keep
the line moving.
Shortstop Lauren Berry applies the tag at second.
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Capitol Conference 13 games begin on April 17th at
Marshall. TJSB has been improving their play and
honing their skills with each game. Come out and
cheer on your Lady Colonials!
South Lakes, March 25: Despite Carson Wishard's
2-3 performance at the plate, Colonials took a 13-3
loss at the hands of South Lakes. Two of TJ’s runs
were scored thanks to timely hitting by Wishard,
who singled in the first and fourth innings. After
rallying in the top of the fourth and pushing across
their third run, TJ faced just an 8-3 deficit; however
South Lakes closed that down to claim the win.
Quinn Dawkins diving for the out.
Varsity Softball team in the dugout.
JUNIOR VARSITY SOFTBALL
TJ Junior Varsity Lady Colonials (JVSB) have played
three games this season, twice at home against
longtime rivals McLean and Madison. Our seasonopener was held right before Spring Break on March
24 at South Lakes. Our next away games are on April
13 at Langley and April 14 at Stone Bridge. Cocaptains Kiran Girish (Pitcher), Kathy Jiang (1st
baseman) lead the Softbelles with poise and
enthusiasm. Ghnana Madeneni (Catcher), Surbhi
Patel (Shortstop), Christine Li (Left fielder), and Lisa
Qian (Center fielder) are all fearless at bat and eager
to execute good plays. Newcomers-no-more Gabby
Barranta (2nd baseman), Hyunjeong Cho, Zahin
Faruque, Sneha Thandra, and Alice Zhao (3rd
baseman) are still learning the nuances of the sport
and improving with every game. Come out to our
next home game at TJ and support our Lady
Colonials!
James Madison, April 8: With strong fielding and
pitching, the Warhawks kept TJ from scoring, and
walked away with a 14-0 victory over the Colonials.
Langley, April 10: With Langley pitching allowing
only two hits and four walks from TJ, the Saxons
took the lead early on and took the game to a 10-0
win. TJ pitcher, Jenna Greenwalt, maintained good
control over four innings, allowing no walks, one
earned run, and six hits while striking out two.
Fairfax, April 11: Despite a 16-5 loss, TJ finally
started to click against the power-hitting Rebels. In
the top of the first, Jefferson grabbed the early lead,
1-0, with a single by Nakul Dar which scored Danny
McCray. However, Fairfax went up for good in the
bottom of the first, scoring eight runs on three
singles.
JUNIOR VARSITY BASEBALL
Despite a wet spring which hampered outdoor
practice opportunities, as well as operating without
a home field (due to the renovation), JV Baseball
was able to use their first four games to begin the
process of working together as a team. Here’s a
recap of those games:
May 2015
Danny McCray making the catch from center field.
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The Rebels added eight more runs in the bottom of
the second. Fairfax then stalled against TJ pitcher,
Quinn Dawkins. Dawkins held off the hits over two
innings, allowed no earned runs, walked one and
struck out one. Four TJ runs crossed the plate in the
top of the fourth, making the score 16-5. That inning
saw exciting play from TJ when Chris Liu tripled to
right field, later scoring on a passed ball. Kevin Le
and Pratyush Gupta both walked on, with Dawkins
singling to load the bases. Le scored, Sam Case
made it to first, Dar hit a hard ground ball to bring
Gupta in, and Dawkins scored on the last play.
While the Colonials ultimately fell to the Rebels, the
game was a clear hint of what this JV team is
capable of.
GIRLS VARSITY LACROSSE
The Varsity Girls Lacrosse team’s season has been
marked by some impressive plays and stand out
players.
During the game against Falls Church, Freshman
Kayanaat Grewal scored her first goal of the season.
Goalie Cheryl Mensa (11) protected the goal well
but, sadly, it wasn’t enough to secure a win.
The first two scrimmages ended in wins, but the
start to the regular season has been rough. The first
game against Falls Church ended in a 2-5 loss.
Members of the team compete for a ground ball during
the home game against Falls Church.
The second game against Stonebridge had a score of
3-14 before lightning ended it in the second half.
Lucia Gomez and Anna Lulushi were selected as the
Players of the Game for the first and second games
respectively. Subsequent games were played against
Washington and Lee, McLean, Lee, and South Lakes.
The game against Washington and Lee also ended in
a loss, but Freshman Caroline Hatcher stopped an
impressive six goals, earning herself the title of
Game M.V.P.
The warming spring weather makes lacrosse even
more fun to watch, so come out and watch the
fastest game on two feet!
GIRLS JUNIOR VARSITY LACROSSE
The spring season is already halfway over, but it
feels like it has just started! After holding tryouts
entirely indoors, the team is finally getting a chance
to enjoy the nice weather outside. During practice,
the team has been working on 1 v 1s, faking high
and shooting low, and a new play on attack. Attack
has been working on roll and fake dodges and
getting past defenders. Defense has been working
on staying on their girls and communicating. The
team has also been working on avoiding and
clarifying fouls such as shooting space.
May 2015
The team walks off the field after the Falls Church game.
BOYS VARSITY LACROSSE
The Colonials boy lacrosse season is in full swing. TJ
came up short during its opener to Falls Church. It
was a hard-fought 9-7 loss. The Colonial offense was
led by Senior attackman Matt Gibbs and Junior
midfielder Matt Conway. Goalie Jafr Kazmi was solid
between the pipes and had outstanding support of
long poles Brendan Divney, Tristan Oaks, and
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Andrew Howard. Spring rains caused the
postponement of games against Washington-Lee
and Stone Bridge resulting in a long hiatus.
Following Spring Break, the Colonials jumped back
into play against perennial powerhouses: Stone
Bridge and McLean. Jefferson put forth solid efforts
in both games making both teams work hard for
their victories. The team continues to improve
under the dedicated coaching staff led by Coach
Kibler. The Colonials begin a 3-game road trip
against Lee, South Lakes, and Fairfax before
returning home to battle Langley. Show your
Colonial spirit by supporting the TJ laxers!
first half and then Senior captain Seth Jaffe (off a
throw-in by Sophomore Ben Bae) scored at the
opening of the second half. Senior goalies Ryan
Morris and Nikhil Gupta combined for 10 saves in
the shutout.
GIRLS VARSITY SOCCER
The Girls’ Varsity Soccer team is having a successful
season, winning their three conference games
against Falls Church (3-2), JEB Stuart (2-1) and
Mount Vernon (3-0) and doing well defensively
against South Lakes (0-0) and Madison (0-1). The JEB
Stuart game was a particularly exciting win with an
extreme ref call in the last 5 minutes giving JEB
Stuart a penalty kick, which tied the game. In the
last minute of overtime, Chelsea Li passed the ball
to Margaret Covey, who scored the winning goal.
Kudos to our goalies Raquel Sequeira and Eleni
Georgiou, who saved so many goals in the games
against South Lakes and Madison and many others
(see photo). We look forward to a strong finish, so
come out and join us for the last home game on
Tuesday, May 12.
Jake Nash manages the ball with Will Long looking on in
a win against South Lakes.
In the home-opener win against Stuart Senior
captain Jackson DuBro found the net with only
three minutes left in the second half. DuBro also
scored in the Madison game off an assist by Junior
Fionntan Thinnes. Junior Kemal Taban found the
net on during a hard-fought loss against Herndon.
Mehmet Aslan battles for the ball with captain Jackson
DuBro.
BOYS VARSITY SOCCER
Boys Varsity soccer started the season strong with
back to back wins against Falls Church and Stuart.
Sophomore midfielder Jack Nash put one in the net
against Falls Church in the waning minutes of the
May 2015
“I am very excited about the youth movement that
is taking over our team,” asserts Head Coach Sean
Burke, referring to the seven Sophomores and two
Freshmen who get playing time. Although suffering
a few recent losses and looking at difficult
conference games to come, Coach Sean Burke
remains positive, “It was a tough week for the team
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in terms of results but the boys continued to work
hard. With the weather, spring break, and
unpredictable practice patterns, the boys have
done well to remain competitive.”
Captain Seth Jaffe goes for the header with captain Eric
McCord-Snook in a win against Falls Church.
The team began their quest by easily defeating
Stone Bridge 7-2. Freshman Keely Wan;
Sophomores Jelena Liu, Stephanie Chen and
Stephanie Do; and Junior Chantal Iosso all had
sound victories at singles. Senior Anna Venetianer
and Jelena Liu dominated in first singles and Senior
Melissa Wu and Freshman Anita Ho secured the
second doubles victory for the Colonials.
Heading into the second half of the season, Senior
captain Eric McCord-Snook adds, “I think part of
what keeps TJ soccer so competitive is its
motivation to succeed and prove others wrong.
When sizing up two teams before the game, I don’t
think anybody would pick us to win—yet, it
happens.” Good Luck TJ Soccer!
GIRLS TENNIS
Girls tennis is heading into the second half of the
season having won all but one match. The current
VSHL rules have the Colonials, which were recently
placed in the 5A conference, playing for half of the
season against teams in the larger and more
competitive 6A conference. In spite of that, the
Colonials have not had trouble defeating South
Lakes (7-2) and McLean (5-4). During the second
half of the season, the ladies will face teams from
their own conference. The solid performance of the
team thus far, indicates a good chance of success in
retaining last years' conference crown.
May 2015
The team was optimistic, facing their toughest
opponent of the season and last years’ Regional
Champion, Marshall. The Colonials were down 3
singles matches to 1 with Jelena Liu and Anita Ho
still playing when rain started to fall. The match will
be finished in the near future. Next the lady
Colonials faced a much improved J.E.B. Stuart team.
The team prevailed even with the absence of the
top 2 ranked players. Jelena Liu, Keely Wan, Anita
Ho, and Chantal Iosso were victorious on the single
courts. The ladies needed a doubles win to succeed,
and the first doubles team of Jelena Liu and Keely
Wan delivered. Also playing in the match against
Stuart were Sophomores Stephanie Chen and
Stephanie Do, Junior Shirley Wang, and Senior
Melissa Wu. Ladies, keep up the good work.
Goooooooooooooo Colonials!
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SPORTS PHYSICALS
REGISTRATION IS OPEN
TRACK AND FIELD
After a great Indoor Track season Spring Track and
Field practices are in full swing. The team, led by
Head Coach Jeff James and assistants Gary Grimsley
and Todd Withington, is expecting a strong season
with a number of key returners from prior years.
On the Boys side, hopes are high for strong
performances from Charlie Guan, Christopher
Blagg, Saurav Velleteth, Nate Foss, and Nathan
Riopelle, among others.
Get out your planners and make an appointment
for Thursday June 11, to get your student’s annual
sports physical at TJ. Medical professionals will
perform the comprehensive physicals. The
screening will check height, weight, vision, posture,
vital signs, upper and lower body assessments, and
see the medical professional for clearance. Every
athlete needs a new athletic physical EVERY
SCHOOL YEAR so, save a trip to the doctor’s office
and come out and support TJ Athletics. This is a
great way to ensure that your student’s physical is
completed before summer out-of-season practices
start. EVERYONE will need a new physical in order
to participate after July 1st.
To Register: click here and follow the link for Sports
Physicals and then click on Athlete Registration.
Got questions? Email heather.murphy at fcps.edu
For the Girls, Haley Stumvoll and Katrina Junta will
lead the distance runners, while Carolina Hatanpää,
Monique Mezher, Ashley Lin, and Claire Dong are
some of the strong performers for the sprints and
field events.
Although the season is young, Christopher Blagg,
Saurav Velleteth, Nathan Riopelle, and Haley
Stumvoll have all turned in qualifying times for the
Virginia State Championships in the 3200 meter run,
as has the Girls 4x800 Relay team of Haley Stumvoll,
Emily Moschella, Katrina Junta, and Mary Pollin.
May 2015
Volunteers Needed for Physicals!
We need medical and non-medical parents to help
make the sports physicals a successful event! If you
are a physician (MD or DO), physician assistant
(PA), physical therapist (PT), or nurse practitioner
(NP), please consider helping out with physicals on
June 11. We also need non-medical parents who
want to help with working a station or check-in/out
desk. Your expertise and a few hours of your time
will greatly benefit our TJ athletes! Free advertising
for medical professionals that help! To sign up to
volunteer, click here and click on Sports Physicals.
Questions? Email heather.murphy at fcps.edu
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Emily Moschella handing off to Haley Stumvoll in the
4x800 Relay.
CREW BOOSTERS
TJ Crew’s spring racing season started with the two
first regattas in March cancelled due to cold
weather and high winds. Our boats started
competing in April in the Darrell Winslow and Al
Urquia regattas on April 11 and April 25,
respectively, on the Occoquan River, and the
Noxontown Regatta on April 18 at the St. Andrew’s
School, in Delaware. Congratulations to TJ Women’s
and Men’s Second Eight and Third Eight and Men’s
Junior Varsity Eight for finishing first in their
respective races at the Darrell Winslow Regatta!
TJ Women’s Freshmen Eight finished second at the
Noxontown Regatta in Delaware.
TJ girls’ and boys’ teams train hard every day for the
upcoming and most competitive regattas of the
spring season: the State Championships on May 2
for the lower boats and May 9 for the upper boats,
on the Occoquan River, the prestigious Stotesbury
Cup Regatta (Stotes) on May 15 & 16 in
Philadelphia, PA, and the Scholastic Rowing
Association of America (SRAA) National Regatta
(Nationals) on May 23 & 24 in Camden, NJ. The
travel arrangements for the away regattas for the
students are made by the travel coordinator, Lisa
Layfield. Parents need to make their own travel
arrangements for Stotes and Nationals – to learn
more about away regattas please visit the TJ Crew
website.
TJ Men’s Second Eight finished first at the Darrell Winslow
Regatta on the Occoquan River.
TJ Women’s First Eight finished third at the Darrell
Winslow Regatta.
May 2015
For questions about TJ Crew, students should
contact the Crew Captains at TJMensCaptains at
gmail.com and TJWomensCaptains at gmail.com.
Questions may also be emailed to our team’s head
coach Kim Ehrman at kimehrman at gmail.com,
and/or TJ Crew President Lee Wittle at
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Other Student News
A section for articles on achievements outside of
TJHSST, submitted on behalf of students.
Eight TJHSST Students Win Top Honors at
Regional TSA Fair
Eight TJ students won first place awards at the 2015
Northern Regional Technology Student Association
(TSA) Fair, held recently at Mount Vernon High
School.
•
•
•
•
•
Asha Krishnakumar (Career Preparation)
Pranavi Nara and Navya Kalale (Debating
Technological Issues)
Uzma Rentia (Essays on Technology)
Michael Krause (Prepared Presentation)
Peter Zhao, Siva Somayyajula, and Soham Ray
(System Control Technology)
TSA is the only student organization devoted
exclusively to students interested in technology and
offers members opportunities for leadership and
personal growth in technology, innovation, design,
and engineering. Competitions stress the
importance of STEM (science, technology,
engineering, and math) concepts, leadership, and
presentation skills.
TJHSST Students Win National, Regional
Awards in 2015 Scholastic Writing Awards
Competition
One TJ student has won a national award in the
2015 Scholastic Writing Awards Competition. Eight
TJ students won regional Gold Key awards, and 12
students won regional Silver Key awards.
National Silver Medal award winners were:
• Mei Baek for Poetry, “Grandmother.” Mei won
a Gold Key award for this entry in the regional
competition.
May 2015
Regional Gold Key award winners are:
• Tara Abrishami for Poetry
• Suzie Bae for Personal Essay-Memoir
• Pooja Chandrashekar for Writing Portfolio,
Critical Essay, and Personal Essay-Memoir
• Richa Gupta for Poetry
• Joyce Hong for Short Story
• Ahnaf Khan for Personal Essay-Memoir
• Anna Weidman for Personal Essay-Memoir
• Jonathan Zheng for Humor
Regional Silver Key award winners are:
• Katherine Ahn for Personal Essay-Memoir
• Zara Batalvi for Poetry
• Shani Cave for Personal Essay-Memoir
• Megan Do for Poetry
• Caroline Heilbrun for Critical Essay
• Katrina Junta for Personal Essay-Memoir
• Ellen Kan for Personal Essay-Memoir
• Caitlyn Ling for Personal Essay-Memoir
• Shreya Nandi for Poetry
• Thinh Tu for Personal Essay-Memoir
• Victoria Yang for Critical Essay and Short Story
• Jonathan Zheng for Flash Fiction.
The following students were recognized with an
Honorable Mention in the regional competition:
Tara Abrishami, Shadin Ahmed, Katherine Ahn,
Pranav Baderdinni, Pooja Chandrashekar, Jiwon
Choi, Debi Das, Deepshika Dhansekar, Jana ElSayed, Edward Fortunato, Quintin Frerichs, Aliana
Gungor, Hriday Kamshatti, Jennifer Lee, Caitlyn
Ling, Rebecca Merriman-Goldring, Christian Tae,
Anna Weidman, Michael Woon, Justin Yum,
Jonathan Zheng, and Madeline Zug.
The Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, a 92-year old
program of the Alliance for Young Artists and
Writers, will honor the winners at a special
ceremony in New York City in June.
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TJHSST Students Win Grand Prizes, First
Place Awards at 2015 Virginia State Science
and Engineering Fair
The 2015 Virginia State Science and Engineering
Fair was held March 27-28 at Virginia Military
Institute in Lexington.
Ava Lakmazaheri, who competed in the Electrical
and Mechanical Engineering category, won the
second Grand Prize for her entry, as well as first
prize in her category. Ava Lakmazaheri also won
the Yale Science and Engineering Award, a third
place Leidos (Applied Science) award, and a special
award from the U. S. Air Force.
Matthew Park won one of two Grand Prize runnerup awards for his entry in the Microbiology
category, as well as first prize in his category.
Matthew Park also won the grand prize from the
Virginia Dental Association and a special award
from the U.S. Navy-Marine Corps.
Both Ava Lakmazaheri and Matthew Park qualified
to compete in the Intel International Science and
Engineering Fair, scheduled for May 10-15 in
Pittsburgh.
First place winners included:
• Annie Abraham, Behavioral and Social Science,
and a special award from the American
Psychological Association
• Dhruv Gupta and Srijith Poduval, Computer
Science, and a special award, the Intel
Excellence in Computer Science award
• Seungha Lee, Julian Vallyeason, and Hongyi
Guan, Energy and Transportation
• Michael You and Andrew Charbonnbeau,
Physics and Astronomy
Winning second place were Shruti Anant,
Biochemistry; Adrien Bernard, Chemistry; Eduard
Danalache, Medicine and Health Science; and
Pranav Balan, Microbiology.
May 2015
Third place finishers were Pranay Singh and Rohan
Pandit, Computer Science, and the first place award
from Leidos (Computational Science); and Charlene
Franke, Earth and Planetary Science, and a special
award from the Association for Women
Geoscientists.
Two TJHSST Students Named 2015 National
Achievement® Scholarship Winners
Two TJ students are among more than 800 students
nationwide who have won Achievement
Scholarships from the 2015 National Achievement®
Scholarship Program (NASP). The Achievement
Scholarships are awarded to Black American high
school seniors to be used for undergraduate study at
any regionally accredited United States college or
university.
The TJ students named National Achievement®
Scholars, with their probable career fields in
parentheses, are:
• Azeez Abdikarim (mechanical engineeringrobotics)
• Theodore Richardson (astrophysics)
Each received $2,500 National Achievement
Scholarships supported by the National Merit
Scholarship Corporation (NMSC), which conducts the
NASP.
TJHSST Journalism Students Recognized by
Virginia Association of Journalism Teachers
and Advisers
TJ students earned the following awards in the
write-off competition:
Ankit Agrawal, first place News Writing
Aly Luckett, first place and Alvin Shi, second place
Yearbook Design
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Alexa Nugonly, second place Broadcast
Sharon Kim, second place Editorial Writing
Sarah Crossen, third place, Caption Writing
TJHSST Student Wins Scholarship and Piano
Competitions
Freshman Eric Lin won first place in the 2015 James
C. Macdonald Fine Arts Scholarship Competition. He
was the only competitor awarded in the Instrument
category. In addition, Eric won first place in the
Junior Division of the Maryland State Music
Teachers Elizabeth R. Davis Memorial Piano
Competition and first place in the 2015 Virginia
State Music Teachers National Association
Competition Junior Division.
Two TJHSST Students Win String
Competition
Two TJ students were named winners in the 44th
annual Joseph and Goldie Feder Memorial String
Competition, sponsored by Washington Performing
Arts. In the Misbin Family Memorial Awards
competition, cellist Didi Park won first place and
violinist Shankar Balasubramanian won third place.
In the Advanced Violin category, Shankar
Balasubramanian earned an honorable mention.
TJHSST Student Wins STEM Essay Contest
Valerie Chen won top honors and a $10,000
scholarship at the fourth annual STEM Essay
Contest for high school junior and senior girls. In
total, 381 young women from across the
Commonwealth submitted essays focusing on the
student’s vision for a future STEM career. The
awardees were recognized at a reception hosted by
the Governor and First Lady at the Executive
Mansion.
Two TJHSST Teams Are National Finalists in
the 2015 Spirit of Innovation Challenge
Two TJHSST teams (sponsored under TJHSST’s
Bioengineering Projects for the Future Club) have
been chosen as National Finalists to compete in the
2015 Spirit of Innovation Challenge Competition. The
Conrad Foundation announced the names of 20 high
school and middle school teams from the USA,
China, India, Israel and Sri Lanka to compete in the
final round of the 2014-2015 Spirit of Innovation
Challenge competition. These young entrepreneurs
(selected from hundreds of innovative semi-finalist
teams from around the world) will attend the 2015
Innovation Summit in Houston and compete for
$45,000 in prizes. Presented by Lockheed Martin,
the competition challenges teams of students (ages
13 to 18) to combine innovation and
entrepreneurship, along with STEM (science,
technology, engineering and math), to create
commercially-viable products to benefit humanity
and support global sustainability. Finalist teams will
present their product concepts before a panel of
industry experts, leading entrepreneurs, and
government officials. Products will be evaluated for
technical content and marketplace viability.
Presentations will be available for public viewing via
live stream.
The 2014-2015 Spirit of Innovation Challenge is
made possible by Lockheed Martin, PepsiCo,
Battelle, Air Liquide, Mondelēz International and
other supporting sponsors. Projects kTrace and XHauster were mentored by TJ’s Bioengineering
Projects for the Future Club under Senior club
officers Ramya Radhakrishnan and Heather Lukas
(international finalists in the 2013-2014 Spirit of
Innovation Challenge).
Cyber-Technology & Security:
Suri Labs - kTrace Portfolio: Rohan Suri, Kevin
Livingstone, Varun Iyengar, and Claire Scoggins
Energy & Environment:
X-Haust - XHauster: Vooha Putalapattu, Aneesh
Susarla, and Kaushik Venkatesh
May 2015
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Marketplace
TJ Logo Ties and Scarves
TJ Logo Ties and Scarves are the ideal accessory to show
your school spirit! Perfect for academic competitions,
tjSTAR, game days, or any of the other multiple times
students must dress for presentations. They also make
perfect Mother’s Day/Father’s Day gifts! Both the ties
and scarves are 100% silk. Click here to download an
order form or purchase one via PayPal.
Fill the Silver Diner @ Tyson’s
on Wednesday, May 20
Have a great meal. Bring your family and friends to
Silver Diner, Tysons Corner on Wednesday, May
20th, between 6:00pm and 9:00pm – 8101 Fletcher
St, McLean.
Celebrate the SOLs (or no homework) and a portion
of all food sales supports TJ’s ANGP.
Take a Chance on the TJ
All-Night Grad Party Raffle
...Not on the Roads!
Parents of All Grades: Support ANGP by
purchasing raffle tickets for a chance to win
a $499 Complete Virginia Behind-the-Wheel
Training Package with “I Drive Smart.” Even
if you do not win, hold onto and use your
raffle ticket to receive a $50 discount on any
IDS package purchased by June 30! Only one
ticket can be redeemed per package by
entering the promotion code that we will
share at the completion of the raffle. Tickets
are available for $5 each or 5 for $20. The
drawing will be held on May 13. Additional
details can be found on the ANGP
Fundraising webpage.
May 2015
POST A YARD SIGN
Show your pride and support of your student’s
accomplishments and hard work. Orders are being taken
for yard signs congratulating the Class of 2015 for $20.
Click here to download an order form.
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Noteworthy Dates
May 2015
June 2015
1-2
“Fiddler on the Roof,” Auditorium
5
Jazz Cabaret/Choir Spring Show
4-15
AP Exams (see page 7)
7
Band Concert, Auditorium, 2:00pm
5
Band Boosters meeting
9
tjSTAR
6
ANGP Meeting , 6:00-7:30pm, College and
Career Center
10
PTSA Meeting, Cafeteria, 7:00-9:00pm
6
PTSA Meeting, Cafeteria, 7:00-9:00pm
12
Orchestra Concert, Auditorium, 7:00pm
6
Crew Booster Board Meeting, 7:00-10:00pm,
Trailer #10
18 or
19
Senior Picnic, right after the mandatory
graduation rehearsal
9
FINAL DAY TO ORDER YEARBOOK – see pg 3
18
Baccalaureate, Auditorium, 7:00-9:00pm
10
Mother’s Day
19
Last day of school early release – have a
great summer! 8:30 am – 10:50 am
Freshman Lock-Out, Audrey Moore
Recreational Center
20
Graduation, Patriot Center, 7:00pm
21
Father’s Day
15-16
ANGP Fundraiser, Silver Diner Tysons
20
see pg 7
25
MEMORIAL DAY – NO SCHOOL
26
Orchestra Auditions (incoming Freshmen)
29
Spring Concert Symphonic Band, Wind
Ensemble, and Percussion Ensemble, 7:00pm
30
Prom, National Building Museum
Shopping for Mother’s Day, Graduation, or Father’s Day?
Shop and Earn Free Money for TJHSST!
Shop at Amazon.com and earn free money for TJ.
Please bookmark this site on your browser and use it every time you shop!
Questions? Email Helenia Pan at helenia.pan at gmail.com.
May 2015
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