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The Top Ten Things I’ll Miss About High School

June 8, 2008

by Christina Danek
photo by Manuel Perez

ChristinaMiss.jpg    I sat down to make a list, and then discuss in mild detail, the top ten things that I would miss about high school. But as I was writing, I began to see that there was one thing that I would miss far more than anything else. This one thing has had a far bigger impact on me than any other single aspect of my secondary education. There is one class and one community that has fundamentally impacted the way I think, process, and write.
    Newspaper class. We interviewed, we wrote, we revised, we published. We worked hard, we played pranks on our classmates. We worked hard at playing pranks on our classmates. We debated on Debate Fridays, and we kept conversations at a low roar on not-really-very-Silent Thursdays. The class of students was unbelievably diverse, but we all had something in common: we knew the number 1 rule: NEVER get Spamp mad. That green, scary ogre-ish figure sitting on his desk that vaguely resembled our beloved instructor was not just a joke. I learned some other important lessons from being on the newspaper staff, too.
    I used to think that journalism was all about writing and publishing…this year I learned that it’s mostly about editing and revising. I used to think that I knew what “good writing” was…this past year I was blown away on multiple occasions by articles, written by my peers, that could have been published in the Denver Post. I used to think journalists were either brilliant or crazy. I now know that, in fact, they are a curious combination of both.
    On the first day of school, back in August, Mr. Spampinato gave our Newspaper class a speech about how this would be the most important class we took during high school. I seriously doubted this, and began listing in my mind all of the classes that would undoubtedly end up being more useful than Newspaper. (Let’s see…. Geometry for one. The next time I get that desperate need to prove that yes, a triangle has three sides, this knowledge will be very handy. Hmm. Physics, for another. If a ball is ever falling over a cliff towards me, standing below, I can easily calculate it’s initial potential energy, kinetic energy, and the force it will have if it hits me! Clearly, my Physics class will come in handy then!)
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Written by Christina Danek · Filed Under Editorial |  

Spartans On Summer Vacation

June 7, 2008

After another successful school year, TJ students and staff enjoy break.
by Vince Crespin
photo by Manuel Perez

TJ Statue.jpg     Thomas Jefferson has had a tremendous run this past year. Principal Sandra Just in her third year at the helm has lead the school through many changes, from a new EXCELerator curriculum to an alternative bell schedule to be implemented in the coming year. Thomas Jefferson’s Computer Magnet program once again was ahead of the curve, as the Thomas Jefferson Journal became one of the first in the nation to convert its publication to an online newspaper, enabling it to publish up to date stories at anytime. The new tjjournal.com has become the central point for all communications at TJ. The DECA program also had an outstanding year sending a remarkable 33 students to the state competition and having three more qualify for nationals. Read more

Written by Vince Crespin · Filed Under Headlines |