Spartan Family Newsletter

Dear Spartan Families,

As we approach the end of another successful school year, we want to take a moment to express our heartfelt gratitude for your continued support and partnership. Your involvement in your child’s education makes a significant difference, and we appreciate everything you do!

Important Announcements:

• AP Testing: Testing begins soon! Please see the AP Testing Schedule for details. Students are expected to arrive by 7:30 a.m. for morning sessions and 11:30 a.m. for afternoon sessions. They will be excused from class early to have lunch before the afternoon tests.

• Final Exams: Final exams will commence on May 28th. You can find the testing schedule here.

• Senior Art Show: Join us for our Senior Art Show from May 10th to May 16th at the Blue Tile Gallery in Englewood. Support our talented artists!

• Senior Check-Out: Scheduled for May 16th. Please check My School Bucks for any outstanding fees and ensure that Chromebooks and chargers are returned.

• The annual BackYard Bash and Talent Show is scheduled for the afternoon of May 16. Time to celebrate another great year at TJ!

• Mandatory Senior Grad Rehearsal is on May 20th starting at 8 a.m. at TJ

Additional Information:

With only three more weeks of classes before finals, it’s time to buckle down and finish strong, Spartans! Encourage your students to stay focused and motivated as we wrap up the school year.

Andrew Skari
Assistant Principal

Monday-

• Regular School Day

Tuesday-

• PTO Meeting: 6:00-7:30 p.m.

Wednesday- 

• Regular School Day

Thursday-

• Final Choir Concert: 6:00-7:00 p.m.

Friday-

• Regular School Day

Saturday-

• Saturday School: 8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.

• AP Music Theory: 9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.

• From the Future Center: Seniors - what an amazing year! You’ve earned scholarships like QuestBridge, Daniels Fund, and Boettcher, along with full ride offers from a range of schools like Northwestern, Rice, University of Miami, Colorado College, University of Colorado Boulder, Langston University, University of Wisconsin- Madison, and more. At this time, you’ve noted over $12.3 million in awards to support your college completion. Over 90% of you applied to college including our career and technical, 2 year and 4 year institutions- opening doors of opportunity. Hooray for our Future Lynx, Buffs, Rams, CityHawks, Roadrunners AND MORE!  We are SO PROUD of your efforts (along with your kindness and senses of humor) and are SO EXCITED for your bright futures! 

• Last week we hosted the Colorado Junior Classical League State Convention here at TJ. Over 80 students were here, including 13 TJ students, to compete in a variety of events from academics to performing and graphic arts to sports and games. Our TJ Spartans were proud to show off our beautiful high school and events were held throughout the campus including the pool, track, and Solar Theater.  Several students placed in their respective events and TJ teams took home many first place finishes!

  A few highlights:

  • One of our students came in 2nd place for most points earned throughout the competitions

  • Our swimming relay team came in 1st place

  • Our catapult team took three 1st place wins out of four categories

  • Our art entries placed in every category

  • Our school skit came in 2nd place

  • One of our students served as the State Secretary

  • Three of our students were elected as state officers for next year

• Congratulations to our talented TJ artists! 39 artworks by drawing & painting students represented TJ at the 2025 Congressional Art Competition! Several of our students won awards!

  • Simone Difalco - 1st place painting

  • Celeste Escobar - 2nd place overall

Click here to see more pictures and a complete recap of the competition!

• TJ DECA had an amazing experience this past week at the 2025 DECA International Career Development Conference in Orlando, Florida. In total, more than 25,000 students, advisors, business professionals, chaperones, and volunteers attended the event to compete against students from all 50 States and 15 Countries (Ontario, British Columbia, Mexico, Slovakia, Germany, Puerto Rico, Honduras, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mongolia, & Morocco).

TJ was represented by 14 students (Listed below with their event/academy), all of which either competed in their specific event or attended a leadership academy. Our group was extremely professional and represented our community with pride. Our Integrated Marketing Campaign Product group of Nate Bolinske, Miles Kahn, and Gabe Robert earned Top Performer for their presentation and competed in the finals ultimately finishing in the top 20 in the world! 

I couldn't be more proud of our students, and TJ DECA would like to thank the following DECA Supporters for helping us make this trip a reality: Dr. Jamie Fiorenza, CTE; Mike Christoff, TJ Principal; TJ PTO; Brittany Nicolo, Chaperone, Mrs. Vickie Penn, Chaperone; and every teacher at TJ for supporting our students allowing them to travel for an experience of a lifetime!

Thank you everyone for your support this past year and if you see one of these students give them a High Five and say congrats!
Matt Nicolo, Advisor

Student List & Event:

Nate Bolinske, Miles Kahn, Gabe Robert - Integrated Marketing Campaign Product: Top Performers, Finalists, Top 20 Finish

Meriem Sadkhi & Olivia Simon - THRIVE Academy

Ella Storey - State Officer, EMPOWER Academy

Leah Franco & Jonah Smith - Quick Serve Restaurant Management

Sarah Yellen - Marketing Communication Series

Macy Whistler & Tek Tewodros - Professional Selling

Olivia Osterhaus-Binkert - Business Services Marketing

Kota Hoskins - Sports & Entertainment Marketing

Xavier Porter - School Based Enterprise Food Operations

• Last week there was a wonderful evening for the Induction of 99 students into our National Honor Society. It was really an honor to watch our students make commitments to the 4 pillars of NHS. The NHS Officers did so well running the entire program. Great job, everyone! Below are the NHS officers, sponsors Ms. Jones and Ms. Reed, and Assistant Principal Hammel.

Please note: all students are expected to attend all of their finals!

NEW ONLINE STORE OPEN! Support your Spartans with your favorite gear and brand names using customizable designs. 20% off the first month with all items delivered straight to you. 

https://sideline.bsnsports.com/schools/colorado/denver/thomas-jefferson-high-school

Stop by the DECA store after school Mon-Thurs for in-house gear. Feel free to email us with any questions.

The TJHS Senior Art Show will be held at Blue Tile Art Space (BTAS) in Englewood this year! Join us at the reception to celebrate our amazing Senior artists! Seniors will experience curating, hanging, exhibiting publicly, marketing and other skills as they produce their own exhibit. The artists’ reception is Thursday, May 15th from 5 to 7 pm. All are welcome. Bring your friends and family to see our ceramics, drawings, paintings, mixed media artworks and more! The exhibit is open to the public May 10th through the 16th. BTAS is located at 3944 South Broadway, Englewood 80113.

BTAS hours of operation:

Saturday, May 10th: Second Saturday Event from 12 - 8 pm

Sunday, May 11th: 12 to 4 pm

Wednesday (5/14) through Friday (5/16): 5 to 7 pm

Link to buy a yearbook:  

https://docs.google.com/document/d/12v4BiS0N1HDYbhNkpQE4hULbMSMztjPmTTh4TCBBbAw/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.3e2qzigqdi5q

During the week, (Monday-Wednesday) teachers will provide passes to students and assign them to Saturday School for Math and/or English. Students - if your teacher gives you a pass, you have been assigned to Saturday School due to a low grade in Math and/or English. Parents - you will receive a text message on Thursday if your student has been assigned to Saturday School. Saturday School hours are 8 a.m.-12 p.m. The entrance is located on the north side of the building near the softball field. A small breakfast snack will be provided for students. 

The Final Food Bank distribution of the school year will take place Wednesday, May 14, 2025.  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 Sunday, May 11, 2025 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.

Spartan Seniors and Families,

What an amazing year! You’ve earned scholarships like QuestBridge, Daniels Fund, Boettcher along with full ride offers from a range of schools like Northwestern, Rice, University of Miami, Colorado College, University of Colorado Boulder, Langston University, University of Wisconsin- Madison, and more. At this time, you’ve noted over $12.3 million in awards to support your college completion. Over 90% of you applied to college including our career and technical, 2 year and 4 year institutions- opening doors of opportunity. Hooray for our Future Lynx, Buffs, Rams, CityHawks, Roadrunners AND MORE! 

We are SO PROUD of your efforts (along with your kindness and senses of humor) and are SO EXCITED for your bright futures! 

REQUIRED to Check Out for Graduation!

1) Complete this form to report Financial Aid Task Completion.

2) Complete this survey so we know where to send your Final High School Transcript.

Spartan Juniors and Families: 

Be sure to check out your Future Centre College Planning course in schoology. Now is a great time to familiarize yourself with the resources we’ll use throughout Senior year and to get started on creating your Colleges Considering list in MAIA Learning! Please take a few minutes to complete THIS SURVEY. We look forward to working with you on your college planning! 

Emily Webster, M.S. Alyssa Baker, M.Ed.
DSF Lead College Advisor DSF College Advisor
emily_webster@dpsk12.net alyssa_baker@dpsk12.net

Did You Know…?

May is Mental Health Month? 

And we have some information from Mental Health America to share:

Mental Health and Social Emotional “Did You Know”: Compiled by Natalie Koncz, Ed.S., NCSP and Samanda Davis, LCSW, MSW.  Resources: https://mhanational.org/mental-health-month

This is it Class of 2025!!! 2 more weeks!! Congratulations to all the students and the people in their lives who love and support them!! We truly appreciate all the families that have volunteered or donated to so many of our events over the last 4 years! We absolutely couldn’t have done this without you! We wish you all the best in the future!

Click here for graduation FAQ’s

May 13th - Juniors and Junk Food

We are going to celebrate the end of a successful school year with our juniors by hosting "Juniors and Junk Food." This event is open to everyone in the Class of 2026.  

Please view the sign up for all of our junk food and parent volunteer needs:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C084CADA72FA31-56326754-juniors

Thank you,

Carrie, Sheila and Tracy

Help us celebrate our amazing educators and staff! 🥳🍿 The Class of 2027 is serving up a trail mix bar to fuel our fantastic teachers and keep them energized! Please check out the sign up genius for details and donations. We need your support to make this a success!!!

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/805084CA8AE29A3FB6-56229975-class

Please check out the sign up genius for details and ways you can help with our S’mores event! This is an end of the year event for everyone in the Class of 2027!!! 

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/805084CA8AE29A3FB6-56284267-sophomores

SAVE THE DATE:
Join us at Chook Chicken for our last restaurant day/night on Tuesday, May 13 at 2 locations- 1300 S. Pearl St. and 4340 E. 8th Ave. Mention TJHS or use the code: SCHOOLS20 online at ChookChicken.com

Want to get involved and help with ideas and planning for the Class of 2027? Please contact Class of 2027 parent co-chairs Tiffany Berry at broncofantif@hotmail.com or Katie Mousel at katielmousel@gmail.com 

Thank you to all the families who helped out with the Bottom of the 9 th event last Friday. We hope the students who attended had a great time. The class of 2028 will provide sandwich fixings for Teacher Appreciation Week tomorrow! There are still a few items that we need. Check out the Sign Up Genius to see what you can help with - https://www.signupgenius.com/go/805084CA8AE29A3FB6-56481715-freshman.