Spartan Family, it’s time to celebrate the hard work and academic grit of our incredible students! On Friday, March 6th, we will be hosting our Honor Roll Assembly to recognize those who have gone above and beyond in the classroom. We are incredibly proud of our students' dedication to excellence. We will be recognizing achievement across four distinct levels based on GPA:
Platinum Honor Roll - 4.5 and above
Gold Honor Roll - 4.0 to 4.4
Silver Honor Roll - 3.5 to 3.9
Bronze Honor Roll - 3.0 to 3.4
In addition to our honor roll tiers, we are proud to award Academic Varsity Letters to students who have maintained a 3.5 GPA or higher for three consecutive semesters. This is a prestigious milestone that reflects long-term consistency and academic stamina!
We believe hard work deserves a reward. All Honor Roll students in attendance will be entered into a drawing for some incredible prizes including an Xbox, Playstation 5, Nintendo Switch 2, Meta VR Headset and Beats Headphones. After the assembly students will be celebrated at our Smarty Party. It’s going to be an afternoon of music, games, great food, and even more prize drawings. A note to our students: Your commitment to your education makes the Spartan Family stronger every day. We see your effort, and we can’t wait to celebrate you! Congratulations to all our high achievers. We’ll see you there! Go Spartans!
How to access Parent Portal How to submit an absence request online
Cómo acceder al Portal para Padres |
Andrew Skari
Assistant Principal
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• Mr. Mallaney and seven amazing Spartans recently went to the CO Technology Student Association (CTSA) state conference at the Gaylord Rockies. They had two music production teams, and one audio podcasting team entered in this highly competitive event.
These wonderful young people represented TJ so well and made us very proud. All three teams made the semifinals, and both music production teams were brought across the stage as top 5 finishers in the state! Congratulations to the following students on their hard work and success: Sony Calhoun
Brooklyn Darden
Kay Le
Kai Ossian
Kaden Pedigo
Kai Rogers
Josh White |
• Last semester our Interact Club partnered with an Interact Club in Ethiopia (Heran Interact Club, located in Debre Birhan, Ethiopia) to provide food supplies to a Refugee Camp in Ethiopia. We held many fundraisers (after school and First Friday) for this project. We also held a joint meeting with the Heran Interact Club to discuss this project; they stayed up until 10pm their time to attend our meeting! We provided the funds, they did the 'on the ground' work in Ethiopia that we were unable to do due to the distance.
On Feb 21st, the Heran Interact Club visited the Weynshet Refugee Camp to deliver the food supplies they purchased with the funds we provided. The Weynshet camp is 'home' to 11,000 people. Government food distributions arrive only once every two to three months at the camp, Unfortunately, the supplies do not reach all 11,000 residents. The portions a family receives usually does not last more than three weeks, especially for larger families. Our food donation impacted 70 families, or around 350 people in total. Thanks and congrats to the Interact Club members for their important efforts!
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• The Spartan Snack Shack (AKA: DECA After School Store), the school-based enterprise at Thomas Jefferson High School, was among 989 school-based enterprises achieving Gold Level for the 2025-2026 school year and will be recognized during DECA’s International Career Development Conference this April 25-28, 2026, in Atlanta, Georgia. Click here to read the full press release!
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DECA State Career Development Conference Summary and Results
TJ DECA participated with over 3,900 students from all over Colorado to compete in the 79th Annual State DECA Career Development Conference hosted for the 59th time by the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs. The 44 TJ DECA Students in attendance demonstrated an array of 21st Century Professional Skills by competing in their chosen competitive cluster and we also had 2 students running for State Officer Positions. For only the 2nd time in the past 38 years of DPS DECA, TJ Student Ella Storey was elected to serve as the State DECA Vice President. This is a huge accomplishment for her so please congratulate her when you see her in the coming days.
It was an amazing year for our program, with 15 students earning an invitation to attend the International Career Development Conference (ICDC) being held in Atlanta, GA this year in April. More than 25,000 DECA Students from around the world will compete in over 60 different competitive events, spanning marketing, finance, hospitality, and business management.
I am very thankful to the support we continue to receive from the TJ Community. This is a team effort and on behalf of the TJ DECA Program we want to thank our Administration, Staff, and CTE Department for the continued support of providing our students a chance to prepare for their post-secondary careers. A very special thank you to Erin Thompson, Brittany Nicolo, and Andre Skari for serving as chaperones on this adventure. I am extremely proud of all of our DECA Competitors that attended and I want to thank them for demonstrating unparalleled class and character, once again showing why TJ DECA is “The Standard By Which Others Are Measured.” Listed below are the awards and accomplishments of the TJ DECA Chapter at this year’s event.
TJ DECA Individual Awards: Arianna Winn - 4th Place Apparel & Accessories Marketing (ICDC Qualifier)
Sloane Straayer - 3rd Place Apparel & Accessories Marketing (ICDC Qualifier)
Lilah Sani - Finalist, Entrepreneurship Marketing
Meriem Sadkhi - Finalist, Hospitality & Tourism Professional Selling
Harrison Hauer - 7th Place Hotel & Lodging Management (ICDC Qualifier)
Katie Mullins - 7th Place Human Resources Management (ICDC Qualifier)
Katie Mullins & Stella O’Malley - 4th Place Integrated Marketing Campaign Event (ICDC Qualifiers)
Fardeen Azari - 3rd Place Personal Financial Literacy (ICDC Qualifier)
Saul Brittan - Finalist, Principles of Finance
Meriem Sadkhi - Finalist, Community Awareness Project
Avery Fowler, Lilah Sani, Emelia Talburt - 4th Place Community Awareness Project (ICDC Qualifiers)
Isabella Roth - Finalist, Principles of Marketing
Jackson Prochnow - Finalist, Professional Selling
Jonah Smith - 4th Place Quick Serve Restaurant Management (ICDC Qualifier)
Stella O’Malley - 6th Place Restaurant & Food Service Management (ICDC Qualifier)
Isabella Srodulski - 5th Place Retail Management Series (ICDC Qualifier)
Ella Storey - 2nd Place Sports & Entertainment Marketing (ICDC Qualifier)
Kota Hoskins - 7th Place Sports & Entertainment Marketing (ICDC Qualifier)
Ella Storey - State DECA Vice President 2026-2027 TJ DECA Chapter Awards:
Gold Re-Certified School Based Enterprise (2 ICDC Qualifiers)Promotion & Community Service Campaigns (2 ICDC Qualifiers)
District 3 Money Donated - 1st Place
District 3 Food Donated - 1st Place
District 3 Community Service Hours - 1st Place
State of Colorado Money Donated Kenzi’s Cause - 2nd Place |
Interested? Curious? Ready to take the next step in this new chapter? Contact Shanna & Melissa at THJSPTO@gmail.com |
The March 2026 Food Bank distribution will take place on TUESDAY, March 24. Any family that is in need of food support is welcomed and encouraged to sign up HERE. Please note that you MUST sign up no later than Friday, March 20 for us to have food available for you at the distribution. Thank you to the TJ Community for your continued support of the Food Bank! If you are interested in making a financial contribution to the TJ Food Bank, you can do so HERE.
Reach out to Megan Perkins (megandperkins@gmail.com), Becca Mahoney (beccaandjoemahoney@gmail.com) or Jillian Krause (jillian.krause@gmail.com) with questions.
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Dear Parents/Students, You may have received a tax form 1098T from any of our partner colleges for our Concurrent Enrollment classes (ACC, CCD, Western Colorado, Metro State, CCA). Here is information from the college about this form.
Per IRS regulations, all students, including dual enrolled/concurrent students, are issued a 1098T tax information form each year a student attends/participates in higher learning education credit bearing courses. The college is required to report all eligible payments made to the college for the tax year that is received from all sources. This includes payments made by the K-12 schools to the college for the student's college costs. If the taxpayer paid any college costs out of pocket for the tax year, the taxpayer can use their receipts to claim any eligible educational credit on tax forms. The 1098T is simply an information form and is not required to be used for tax purposes. If the taxpayer did not pay out of pocket for college costs, the taxpayer would not use the form for claiming education credits. IRS publication 970 is available online for explanation of education tax credits.
If you receive any questions or concerns regarding the 1098-T form, this FAQ should provide comprehensive answers to address them.
Please refer to the 1098-T FAQ provided by CCCS, which outlines everything there is to know about this form: https://cdn.cccs.edu/students/1098-T%20FAQ.pdf
If you have any questions, please reach out to Graham Baughn, Concurrent Enrollment Coordinator, at graham_baughn@dpsk12.net |
Now seeking donations: TJ's 9th Annual online auction is April 26-30th
The TJ Together online auction committee is gathering donations. Do you own a business you want to be included in the auction and recognized in our newsletter? Would you be willing to host a party to be scheduled late this summer or early next school year? All ideas considered! Click on the form link to submit your item or idea.
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Score the latest styles, cuts and colors at great prices—customized and delivered to you with new discounts every week.
» Shop your Spartans Sideline Store
For in-house gear stop by the DECA store in the cafeteria after school. Feel free to email with any questions. |
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Spartan Seniors and Families,
Have you been admitted to college(s)? Share your wins by completing the linked form.
Have you completed your FAFSA and/or been awarded scholarship(s)? Share your wins by completing the linked form. Your name and the name of the scholarship(s) will be celebrated on the graduation program!
College planning tasks from your Future Center schoology to work on now: Submit your DSF Scholarship application only if you are eligible. Click here for more information. If you have not yet submitted your FAFSA or CASFA, NOW is the time. Don’t wait any longer!
Start your Comparing the Cost of Your Colleges assignment. Use the worksheet to help you determine out of pocket costs to help make your decision! Upcoming Deadlines and Events:
Sunday, March 15th: Sachs Foundation Scholarship DUE; MANY institutional scholarship applications DUE, LAEF Scholarship DUE
Friday, March 20th: Robert Sullivan Scholarship DUE Emily Webster, M.S.
DSF Lead College Advisor
emily_webster@dpsk12.net |
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Did You Know...? We are taking a break from tips this week, and you should take a break, too! |
Mental Health and Social Emotional “Did You Know”: Compiled by Natalie Koncz, Ed.S., NCSP and Samanda Davis, LCSW, MSW. |
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Thank you to everyone who joined our After Prom planning meeting last week. We’re making great progress toward a fun and memorable night for our seniors. It’s not too late to get involved—our next meeting is Thursday, March 12th at 6:00 p.m. in Room 111. We’d love to have you there. Thank you, Carrie and Sheila |
Thank You for Supporting Our Butter Braid Fundraiser! 🥐A huge thank you to everyone who ordered, shared the link, and helped spread the word. We truly appreciate our amazing school community! A separate message regarding pick up will be sent to those who placed orders.
Take the night off from cooking and join us at Panda Express on Tuesday, March 3 (all day). Check out the flyer for details! |
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TIME TO DIG IN FOR THE CLASS OF 2028!
Spring break is just a few weeks away, the perfect time to start digging into your garden and start planning what goes where. The Class of 2028 Flower Power page currently features colorful spring and summer flowers, delicious strawberries, hanging garden plants and lots of gardening gifts great for Easter, Mother’s Day and more. Click on over to check it out.
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| CLASS OF 2028 PARENT MEETING
We had a small but enjoyable parent meeting last week. We will be sending
out sign-ups for a few events in the weeks ahead. We will need donations of
both food items and time for all events.
Know of any local businesses that might be willing to donate $100-$500 to
have their logo printed on t-shirts for next fall’s Fun Walk & Run? After asking
them their interest level, email jillkrug@gmail.com and/or kevkrug@gmail.com
with contact information so arrangements can be made. |
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HELP OUT WITH A ONE-TIME OR RECURRING DONATION
We’ve got a long way to go to raise the money needed to help put on an amazing after-prom party for the Class of 2028 in two years (yes, just two years away!). If just 100 families donated $5 a month for the next 24 months (that’s $120 over two years), we could have a wonderful after-prom with little additional fundraising. Follow this link to set
up a recurring donation. We have raised about $6,000 for class activities and After Prom. To put on a great After Prom, we need at least $12,000-$15,000. One-time donations are also accepted.
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It's time to give $29 to the Class of '29
Give $29 to the Class of '29 and help cultivate community for our students!
The Class of 2029 Class Fund supports class activities each year. If each family gives $29 we get close to our fundraising goals.
Give $29 to The Class of '29 through the PTO’s Online Square Account: https://tjhspto.betterworld.org/campaigns/class-2029-donation |
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