Happy Monday! 

Everyone's getting in the rhythm of the school year, and things are going well! There are so many fun activities coming up for Homecoming Week next week, so stay tuned to the Spartan Edition for news about Spirit Days, the Bonfire, the Dance, and more! Remember, the more involved you can be in our Spartan community, the more memorable your high school experience will be.

Our school attendance is looking better, but we can still make improvements. Please be sure to build in extra time in the mornings so that we can get everyone here on time. 

Have a great week, Spartans! 

Jon Poole
Assistant Principal

Monday-

• Regular School Day

• Senior Class Meeting: 6:30 p.m.

Tuesday-

• Regular School Day

Wednesday- 

• Regular School Day

• Taziki's Mediterranean Cafe Fundraiser for the Class of 2027 (details below)

Thursday-

• TJ Shadows: 8:00-11:00 a.m.

Friday-

• TJ Tours: 9:00-10:30 a.m.

Saturday-

• AP Music Theory: 9 a.m.-12:00 p.m. in room 148

• Set Construction Build Day: 10:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.

• Thank you to all of the parents who came to Back to School Night last week! We're excited to have you as a part of the TJ Family!

TJ fans! We are here with your favorite merch and have some new designs that you will love. If you are in need of gear, stop by the DECA store in the cafeteria after school Monday thru Thursday. We sell t-shirts, hoodies, pants, hats, stadium seats, socks, stickers, etc. You will also find us at the Homecoming football game.  Feel free to email us with any questions. 

Hamilton Middle School Fall Festival: Volunteer Opportunity

Date: Saturday, September 21st
Location: Hamilton Middle School

We’re excited to invite you to be a part of our Fall Festival! We have a variety of shifts available throughout the day and would greatly appreciate your help to ensure the event is a success.

Volunteer Details:

• Shifts: Various times throughout the day (8am-5pm)

• Age Requirement: Some slots are marked as Adults Only. If you are 17 or older, you can sign up for these slots as well.

• Volunteer Hour Documentation: Certificates will be emailed 2 weeks after the festival for those who need them.

Ready to Help?
CLICK HERE to volunteer today!

Thank you for considering this opportunity. We look forward to seeing you at the festival!

Youth Substance Use:
Why Youth Use, How to Prevent Use, and How to Intervene If Your Child Is Using

September 25 at noon

Participants of this webinar will gain understanding about why youth might experiment with substances, such as nicotine and cannabis, learn how adults can prevent adolescent substance use, and how to intervene when a loved one is using.

Dr. Bonnie Halpern-Felsher, a developmental psychologist, will share her knowledge about youth substance use. Dr. Halpern-Felsher is the founder and director of the Tobacco Prevention Toolkit, an online curriculum aimed at reducing and preventing youth tobacco use. Her research has focused on understanding and reducing health risk behaviors such as tobacco use, alcohol and marijuana use, risky driving, and risky sexual behavior.

Spanish interpretation will be available. Register here.

OCTOBER MEETING - SAVE THE DATE: 

Next month's PTO meeting will be held on Tuesday, October 1 at 6pm in Room 111. Our guest speaker will be Becca Norris, volunteer with the DPS Bond Oversight Committee to discuss the upcoming bond measure on the November ballot. 

Thank you to everyone who attended September’s meeting!

Looking for a simple way to support the PTO? We use the King Soopers’ Community Rewards program as one of our annual fund raisers. King Soopers contributes a percentage of your grocery sales to the non-profit of your choice with quarterly payments to us. All you do is enter your Rewards number each time you shop. Last year 132 TJ families participated, earning the PTO over $6,800.

We use these funds to support our Teacher Appreciation program and provide funding to our Class Committees. Have you signedup yet? Or perhaps need to change the beneficiary from your previous school to TJ? Click here for more instructions. The PTO’s organization name is Thomas Jefferson High School Partners, or use code UT036. Thank you to all who currently participate!

Please consider how you can use your skills to help TJ be the best it can be.

Current leadership opportunities include:

Member-at-Large for 2028
Class Committee Chairs for 2028

The first monthly Food Bank distribution of the school year will take place on Monday, September 23 from 3:30-5:00 pm.  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 Saturday, 21 September for us to have food available for you at the distribution. 

La primera distribución mensual del Banco de Alimentos del año escolar es lunes 23 de septiembre de 3:30-5:00 de la tarde.  Cualquier familia que necesite apoyo alimentario es bienvenida y alentada a inscribirse AQUI. DEBE inscribirse a más tardar el sábado 21 de septiembre para que tengamos comida disponible para usted en la distribución.

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,

Click here to learn more about the Denver Scholarship Foundation and the DSF Scholarship for students with financial need. We’ve enjoyed seeing so many of you in the Future Center this year. If you have not stopped by yet, please do so soon! (Room 135, across from the Main Office)

Seniors: In your TJ Future Center: TJFC2025 schoology course, you will find many resources to help you with your college process. Please review the course updates and calendar at least weekly with your family. College Rep Visits held in the TJ Future Center start THIS WEEK! Sign up via MAIA:Events! 

College planning tasks from your Future Center schoology to work on now:

• Create your Colleges Considering and Applying Lists in MAIA(required).

• Link your Common App to MAIA Learning (required).  

• Start your Scholarship Search and continue this process all year long!  

Upcoming Events: For more information, please visit the Future Center schoology course calendar 

Wednesday, September 18th - College Rep Visits in the TJFC: St Olaf, UNCo, CU Boulder

Thursday, September 19th- College Rep Visit in the TJFC: CSU Pueblo

Friday, September 20th- College Rep Visit in the TJFC: Chapman University, Your College List should be updated in MAIA by the end of day!  

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

Mental Health and Social Emotional “Did You Know”: Compiled by Natalie Koncz, Ed.S., NCSP and Samanda Davis, LCSW, MSW.  Resources: The New York Times- How Walking In Nature Changes the Brain, July 22nd, 2015; https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0169204615000286

Here we are at Senior year and it is finally time to start planning for After Prom!! Our first meeting will be Sept 16th at 6:30pm in person at TJ. During this meeting we’ll discuss budget and possible venues. If you have venue ideas we’d love to hear them, especially if you can call and get an estimate of costs to rent. Places we have info on from last year are: Dave and Buster’s, Boondocks and The Island. If you can’t make the meeting but can help with After Prom please email Heather Reeder @ hmbdvm@yahoo.com

Class of 2026 Parents-we need your help!  Please see the sign up genius for volunteer opportunities and donations needed for the TJ Bonfire BBQ taking place on Monday, September 23rd.  

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C084CADA72FA31-48024883-tjbonfire

This is a fundraiser for the Class of 2026.  Thank you for helping us make it a big success!

Carrie and Sheila

We hope to see you all at the meeting on Tuesday as we plan for the year ahead for our students.

Save the Date - Wednesday, September 18

Eat at Taziki's Mediterranean Cafe - Hampden on Wednesday, September 18th. They will be donating a portion of sales to the Class of 2027.

It's time to give $27 to the Class of '27 

Give $27 to the Class of '27 and help cultivate community for our students!
The Class of 2027 Class Fund supports class activities each year. If each family gives $27 we get close to our fundraising goals.

Give $27 to The Class of '27 through the PTO’s Online Square Account:
https://tjhsstore.square.site/product/2027-class-donations/112

Sophomore Parents - want to connect? Contact Committee Co-Chair Kendal Mullins at
kendalbmullins@gmail.com.

Welcome! Stay tuned for Class of 2028 news! Questions? Want to get involved? Email TJHSPTO@gmail.com