College Summit: Path to Higher Education

DPS pilot program helps students turn college aspirations into reality.

by Vince Crespin

    College Summit (a post secondary education preparation class) is now being offered at TJ by Eileen Adair and Jeff Coleman, to help kids who are not familiar with or are unaware they are eligible to participate in the college application process.

    The main goal of the College Summit curriculum is to get students who wouldn’t normally go to college to realize that they may be able to. The program also helps familiarize the students with the application process, exposes them to scholarship opportunities, helps them develop study skills for the ACT and SAT, and instructs them on how to write effective college essays. Jeff Coleman, no stranger to the college application process said, “I feel the college experience is the single most important experience in a person’s education, and kids need to be prepared for college. Colleges' expectations are much greater than those of high school." Read more

Tennis Has A Tough Day

The TJ Tennis boys' take a loss against the Conifer Wolves.

By Keenan Moore

     The boys’ tennis team took on a tough Confer Wolves team Wednesday, and they were unsuccessful, losing 0-7. The boys came out in full force, but they weren’t able to pull out a win. Conifer has always had a good team and they have always seemed to find a chink in the Spartan armor. This has brought down the Spartan hopes of getting a high ranking in the regional competition. They will have to win the majority of their upcoming matches to avoid facing either George Washington or East in the first round of regionals.

     While the score may not reflect it, there were a few good things to take away from the performance. The number one single Justin Blackburn and number two single Robert Lampert both had strong performances against their opponents. In both of player's sets, they were tied going into the last and final game, but were unable to pull of the total win. However, the sky is the limit for this team and there are still plenty of places they can improve, which would allow them to further their chances of getting a good seedfor regionals. “You can't let one game or match get you down," said junior Andrew Briss.  "You have to know that what has happened is in the past, and all you can do is use it for motivation in your next match.”

TJ Falls to South

The tough season continues for TJ boys' Soccer.

By Scott Bruskin

The TJ soccer team fell to the South Rebels on Semptember 25 at All City Stadium by the score of 7-0. TJ struggled during the game on both offense and defense. “We had some opportunities, we just could not take advantage of them,” defender Keenan Moore said. “I think we are now beginning to play as a team though.”

     TJ was shut out for the fourth time this year and the second straight game. South came out of the box firing and kept it up throughout the whole game. The Spartans were never really able to catch their breath and settle into the game.

     With this loss the Spartans new record is 1-8 with a conference record of 0-2. TJ looks to rebound and gets some points on the board Thursday, September 27, when they host the Montbello Warriors at 4:15. The Spartans will be looking to put a stop to their 6 game skid. Hopefully, TJ can come together and find a way to pull it off against a tough Warrior team.

Corruption Speads to the Wii

Nintendo's latest hopes to redefine the first-person shooter.

by Manny Perez

    Metroid Prime 3: Corruption is what many consider the first of three games to pioneer the Wii’s various talents in a first-class, $50 package by Nintendo (the other two being Super Mario Galaxy in November and Super Smash Bros. Brawl in December), but does Samus’s latest live up to the hype? The TJ Journal puts it to the test.

    The story centers around Samus Aran (once again) helping the Galactic Federation foil the dastardly deeds of the notorious Space Pirates; this time, with the help of some fellow bounty hunters and the deadly substance Phazon. The other hunters really do add another layer to the plot, even if it does bring up the feeling she's a  member of the Justice League. But just because Master Chief doesn't have any friends, doesn’t mean Samus can’t. Read more

Tennis Runs Past Montbello

Boys' Tennis pulls off a 6-1 win against the Warriors.

By Keenan Moore

     The boys’ tennis team took on Montbello and was able to come out with a very impressive 6-1 win. This proved to be the spark that the team needed after tough losses to Lincoln and East. The win against the Warriors raises their season record to 4-3. The team has performed for the whole season and they are proud of how they have played for the majority of it.

    The chances of the team getting a good position in the regional competition is looking really good, for they have had some impressive wins against tough DPS teams. However, they have stumbled a little bit against the tougher teams in the division such as the George Washington Patriots and the East Angels. To get as far as the team hopes, they will eventually need to take on these teams again in the regionals and maybe even the state competition. “We aren’t worried about the regionals or even the state competitions, we are just focusing on finishing the rest of the season with as many wins as possible,” said number one single Justin Blackburn.

TJ Implements Late Start Days

Students get an extra hour of sleep while teachers plan.

by Ben Gilliland

   Starting Wednesday August 29, 2007 Thomas Jefferson High School initiated late start days that will occur every other Wednesday for the rest of the school year.
   On late start days class will begin at 8:30 a.m. instead of the regular 7:30 a.m. start time. Also on those days, the class times are shortened to 41 minutes, which is 9 minutes less than the normal class time of 50 minutes.
    The purpose for the late starts is to give teachers time to evaluate their students’ progress, and to help them better prepare for teaching class. “The district is focusing on using more student data to drive instruction in the classrooms,” said Assistant Principal Scott Lessard. “As a school we recognized that there was not enough time in the day to analyze that data. The extra hour in the morning gives teachers that time to process the information.” Also with the EXCELerator curriculum this year, the teachers need time to explore that as well.
    “I think the late starts are great. It’s nice being able to sleep in, and I like having the class periods shortened,” said TJ Junior Jay Pearson.
    The new late start has been well received by the teachers and faculty as well, because it gives them time to discuss their curriculum and data. “The extra time in the morning has been very productive,” said Foreign Language Teacher Joanne Moreno. “We meet as a department and talk about expectations and what we have taught the students, so we are all on the same page.”
    “We just want the best for the students, and the late starts are an effort to make education more meaningful to them,” said Lessard.

Volleyball Spikes the Patriots

TJ Volleyball gets a big win against George Washington.

By Phillip Karlberg

The Thomas Jefferson girls volleyball team pulled off a strong win against the George Washington Patriots on Monday night, winning three games to none.
    Intense would be the best way to describe the match as a whole. From the very beginning the Spartans set the pace. In the first game the TJ girls pulled off a strong win 25-21. In the second game the girls won again with an identical score of 25-21. For the third and last game it looked as if the GW girls might come back, but ultimately TJ took the game 25-22. Unfortunately, both the JV and C-team lost to the Patriots.
    Several of the Spartan girls really stood out among the team. Ashley Morrison rallied the Spartan girls with spike after spike. Also, Aubrey Becker played like a true Spartan and gave her team the edge with a long string of aces in the second game. Also, sophomore Andrea Shacklock primed the team for the win with her skillful sets. Read more

Resident Evil: On A Path To Extinction

The third installment of Resident Evil premiers in theaters.

by Sinjin Jones

     Milla Jovovich reprises her role as the genetically enhanced Alice in the third installment of the Resident Evil series which premiered Friday.
     Jovovich leads a star-studded cast including Mike Epps (Guess Who), Ashanti (Coach Carter), and Oded Fehr (Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigalow). The film takes place roughly five years after the events of the second film in a world where the T-Virus has scarred everything, including the climate. The undead now rule the world, minus those few who are able to survive only by continuing movement and, of course, those of the upper-level Umbrella Corporation who are busy still planning their world domination. The film follows both the plight of one convoy of survivors as they strive to stay alive and the struggle of Alice to come to terms with her new found power. 
     The shining monument of this film is undoubtedly the music, which is led by Charlie Clouser, a composer known for his work in the Saw movies. The soundtrack to this film does an excellent job of grabbing the viewer's attention and keeping it throughout the film, employing the seething guitar and dark techno for which the series is famous. Read more

Spartans Know How To "Interact"

TJ Club is dedicated to local and international service.

by Asia Dorsey

    With the first meeting of the year under its belt, Thomas Jefferson’s chapter of the Rotary Interact Club is back and ready for action in the upcoming 2007-2008 school year.
    “We want members to understand the importance of serving the community,” said Danny Showers, sponsor of the Interact Club and member of the Denver Tech Rotary Club. “We serve the local community, that’s TJ. The larger community, that’s anywhere outside of the school, and we also have an international focus.”
    There are many events Interact puts on to enhance the TJ community.  Some of those projects include: Sweep the Streets, which is a club-sponsored cleanup of the school grounds and surrounding areas. There is the yearly career fair during second semester, and also in the works is the planning for a new Thomas Jefferson Homecoming tradition to replace the Car Bash. Read more

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