Dear Parents and Students,

As we near the end of one semester, I wanted to share some of the growth we have been making as a school:

• Attendance has held at 90% overall until last week when it was 88%. Last year at this time attendance was 87.25%
• We have post-secondary readiness groups up and running for 9th and 10th grade students. These groups focus on improving standards-based skills.
• Kapplan data for 11th grade is back and we will be starting ACT prep groups. The overall scores were: English – 19; Math – 17; Reading – 15; Science – 17.
• Out of school suspensions are at 40 compared to 60 last year, at this time.
• Our overall tardy rate for students is 2% compared to 3.1% last year.

We still have much work to do, but progress continues. Thank you for your continued dedication and support of our goals. Together we can make TJ the highest performing school.

Spartan Spotlight: Kasmira Thompson

Photo by Mateo Rocha

Favorite Color: Green
Favorite Movie: The Grudge (2004)
What kind of music do you listen to?: Alternative or Dub, like Skrillix
Favorite Class: Japanese
Favorite Teacher: Mr. Jackson
Memorable time at TJ: Freshman Academy
Activities outside of TJ: I play rugby, soccer, basketball. I am also a volunteer at FEE Denver, an urban gardening company, where I am a junior architect and design gardens and greenhouses for buildings.
If you could by any superhero…: Storm from X-Men, I could conjure lightning!
If you could live in an time period…: The Edo Period (1600-1800), I could be a Samurai in Japan
Life Philosophy: “Fall down seven times, stand up eight.” ~Japanese Proverb

Spartan Spotlight: Travis Domagala

Artwork by Mateo Rocha

Favorite Color: Gold
Favorite TV Show: Adventure Time
Favorite Movie: Forrest Gump
If you could be any superhero…: Aquaman, because having Aqualad as a sidekick would be cool.
Music you listen to: Dubstep, like Adeventureclub
If you could live in any time period…: Future, because it would be an adventure.
Favorite memory at TJ: Painting the parking spots with the Seniors.
Activities at TJ: Soccer, Student Council
Activities outside of TJ: Skiing and playing drums
Quote: “I’m never late to a pokemon match, or lunch.” -Ash Ketchum

Spartan Spotlight: Andrea Jones

Photo by Mateo Rocha

Favorite Color: Royal Blue
Favorite Movie: Lilo & Stitch
Activities @ TJ: I play tennis in the Spring
Activities outside of TJ: I work a lot. I am a “Hollister Model,” which means I am a sales associate there.
Favorite Class @ TJ: TV & Radio Broadscasting
Favorite kind of music: R&B, it’s really soothing. I like listening to Drake.
If you could live in any time period…: The present; I don’t see any reason to go back in the past.
Quote: “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate, but that we are powerful beyond measure.” – Marianne Williamson

Spartan Spotlight: Jayden Stevens

Photo by Mateo Rocha

Year: Junior
Favorite color: Red
Favorite Movie: Scary Movie
Favorite Class: Yearbook
If you could be any superhero…: Commander John Shepard from Mass Effect
Activities at TJ: Yearbook
Activities outside of TJ: Playing and appreciating video games.
Music: I like rock bands.
Quote: “Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.” – Carl Sagan

Spartan Spotlight: Christopher Muth

Where are you originally from?: Hamburg, Germany. I am an exchange student.
Favorite Color: Blue
What is your favorite show?: I typically just watch the news.
If you could live in any time period…: In present time, because it’s safe and nice.
Activities at TJ: Stagecraft and Tech with Palmieri, and Photo club with Coleman.
Favorite Class: Photography
Favorite memory at TJ: Homecoming, it was a pretty interesting night.
Favorite music group: The Wise Guys, a German acappella group.
What do you do outside of TJ?: I play music. I’ve been playing piano for eight years and drums for six.