Alice Weeda Bids a Spartan Farewell

TJ says goodbye to one of its finest of all time.
by Ben Gilliland
photo by Manuel Perez

        For 18 years English teacher Alice Weeda has been mentoring and inspiring students at Thomas Jefferson High School, and she will be greatly missed by both students and faculty as she leaves for retirement at the end of the school year, putting an end to her 28 year teaching career.
    Weeda was born on November 2, 1946 in Denver, Colorado to parents Renie and Bertha Zoetewey. Weeda has 12 siblings, eight sisters and three brothers with whom she spent her childhood here in Denver, and she went to Denver Christian High School where she graduated in 1964.
    After graduating from high school Weeda attended Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where she received a BA in education in 1968 with a major in English and a minor in German.  During her senior year, she married John Weeda.  After a summer in southern California during which she took another class in German at Long Beach State, she and her husband moved to Athens, Ohio where she taught German for two years. “It’s funny really. I never would have gotten my first teaching job if I didn’t have my minor in German,” said Weeda. In 1970 she moved to Oak Park, Illinois, near Chicago, where she lived for over eight years and taught high school English and German for three years before starting her family. She has three children, Chris, Rachel, and Ben (all of whom are TJ graduates). Now she also has two grandchildren, Naomi and Joaquin.
   Weeda returned to her hometown of Denver in 1979 but did not resume her teaching career until 1984 after a 12-year break to raise her children. “I always wanted to return to teaching. I just wanted to wait until my youngest had started school before I returned,” said Weeda. She taught a semester at North High School and four years at Montbello High School before coming to work at TJ in 1990. “I came to work at TJ because the yearbook advisor position was open. If that wasn’t the case I probably never would have worked here,” said Weeda, who was the yearbook advisor at TJ for ten years, from 1990-2000. “I loved being the yearbook advisor, but after becoming the department chair for the English department I just couldn’t handle the extra workload. So, I handed off the reins to Mr. Coleman,” said Weeda, who has been the chair of the English department intermittently for at least ten years of her TJ tenure.
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New Block Scheduling for 2008-2009

TJ will adopt modified block schedule.
by Ben Gilliland
photo (and Legos) by Manuel Perez

    For the 2008-2009 school year at Thomas Jefferson High School there will be a modified block bell schedule, which will replace the one that the school currently runs. Read more

Gilliland’s Island

08′ After Prom, a perfect ending to a perfect evening.
by Ben Gilliland

    More often than not kids (especially teenagers) are not appreciative of many things grown-ups do for them. Whether it is our siblings, relatives, teachers, or friends, but it’s especially true with our parents. We don’t acknowledge much of what they do for us until we’re about 55 years old and are finally not afraid to admit in public that we love them and thank them.
    On April 27, 2008, that trend was broken as the students attending Thomas Jefferson High School’s After Prom had nothing but good things to say to their parents who worked for months planning and putting on the best event that the graduating class of 2008 had experienced in their four years at TJ.
     To pull off such a huge undertaking it took an elite team of TJ parents led by Stacey Zamora and Lynn Nathan. Since the beginning of the school year the after prom committee has been at almost every TJ event selling baked goods, drinks and T-shirts to raise money. The parents began building the decorations for after prom right after the end of winter break, meeting every Monday and Wednesday from 6:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m. and on Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. in room 5 every week leading to Prom. The Friday and Saturday before prom they spent the entire two days setting up all the things they had made over the past four months. My mom, Susan Stone, was one of the parents who helped build things and every Wednesday night she would come home covered in paint and glitter. Every time I would ask her what she was doing, and every time she would tell me “top secret” business that she couldn’t tell me about. I must say it was worth the wait.
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Outstanding Spartan Wins Prestigious Boettcher

An ordinary day turns extraordinary for TJ Senior Christina Danek.
by Vince Crespin
photo by Manny Perez
    February 16th started as a usual Saturday for Christina Danek.
    On her way home from her volunteering job at the Dumb Friends League, Danek felt sleep deprived, physically exhausted and in need of a shower. This all changed when she entered her house and saw a large white envelope on her table with the official Boettcher seal, addressed to her.
    Danek immediately realized that she was one of 40 students throughout the state of Colorado who would receive this scholarship. “When I saw the envelope I was shocked. 72 finalists were interviewed, and 40 were chosen from there. I really was not expecting to get it,” explains Danek.
    The Boettcher family started the foundation in 1937, and has been donating money for different causes since that time. The scholarship was designed to provide full tuition to any Colorado university, so that award recipients will not have any substantial travel costs related to college for those four years. The reason the Boettcher family began the award was to keep Colorado’s top students within the state instead of losing them to the Ivy League schools or other premier schools in the nation. Although there is no set value for the scholarship, consider this: Danek has chosen the University of Denver, the cost of which for one year is $42,903, including room and board. Danek will be attending DU for four years, which totals out to $171,612, of which Danek will not pay one cent.
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Prestigious Scholarships Awarded to Several TJ Students

TJ seniors are rewarded for their hard work in high school.
by Ben Gilliland
photo by Manny Perez

    Over the past several months seniors from Thomas Jefferson High School have been competing with other students from across the nation for scholarships, and six TJ seniors have been awarded with several different prestigious awards.
     Christina Danek was awarded the Boettcher Scholarship in mid February. The competition for the Boettcher is very vigorous, and it is only available for students in the state of Colorado. To apply for the scholarship students had to have scored at least a 27 on the ACT, and ranked in the top 5% of their class. The Boettcher is a four year scholarship that pays for tuition, books, supplies and various other costs, and is only good for colleges in the state of Colorado (both public and private). They also look for students who do a lot of community service and extra curricular activities. To receive the scholarship Danek had to write several essays, get numerous letters of recommendation, and go through a long interview process. Danek has decided to take the scholarship, and will attend the University of Denver in the fall. “It was an honor to be awarded the scholarship, and it was exciting to see that all of my hard work over the last four years has paid off,” said Danek. Read more

2008 PMI Scholarship Winners

TJ Computer Magnet students are rewarded for their efforts.
by Ben Gilliland
photo courtesy of Stacey Fornstrom

    On Saturday April 5, the Project Management Institute (PMI) awarded multiple scholarships to Computer Magnet students from Thomas Jefferson and North High Schools, and two TJ students were also awarded the title of Project Manager of the Year for their final projects in their Computer Magnet classes.
     At TJ, seniors in the Computer Magnet program take a Pathways class, sponsored by PMI for high school students. In the class no new skills or concepts are taught, rather the students are to apply all of the knowledge that they have learned over the past three years in the Magnet program. “Pathways has been a good fit here at TJ. We wanted a class that let the students choose what they want to do.  As a teacher I just provide support,” said Pathways Teacher Stacey Fornstrom.
    For the past several months Magnet students have been working on their final projects in their Pathways class, building a successful web-based business. “There is no set curriculum for this class. The students had to come up with the idea themselves and it’s up to them how they design and create their website,” said Fornstrom. All of the students in the class applied for the PMI scholarship. They had to fill out an application where they explained their project, told how they would use their computer skills in the future, and said what extra curricular activities in which they participated. There were ten students, from both TJ and North, who were awarded the scholarship.
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Marc Houghton Crowned Mr. TJ

The senior boys compete for the coveted title of Mr. TJ.
by Ben Gilliland

    On Thursday April 3, 2008 students, staff, and parents packed the Thomas Jefferson High School Auditorium to watch the crowning of Mr. TJ, the school’s annual talent show and Miss America spoof, that showcases the senior boys.
     This year there were 21 senior boys in the running for the title of Mr. TJ: Ryan Allen, Nelson Barry, Adam Colean, Devon Fitzgerald, Cooper Hearne, Kelvin Henry, Marc Houghton, Kian Jost, Joe Langlee, Jonathan Lobato, Matthew Mankoff, Michael Mankoff, Brett Nathan, Darian Savage, D.J. Short, Dylan Smith, Ian Squier, Justin Tara, Tyler Thornton, Brian Walsh, and Krubiel Workie. The emcees for the night were Erin Anderson, Julia Harrington, and Amanda Weaver.
     The show started off with the boys doing their choreographed Macho Man dance, which they have spent the past several weeks learning and rehearsing. Things moved right along into the swimsuit competition where the boys showed off their favorite swimwear. Next, there was a fashion show where several of the senior girls modeled dresses for prom, and then came the formal wear competition where their escorts led the boys onto the stage. The boys then came up with clever ways to give their escorts a rose, and they answered two questions. Between events there were also several performances that entertained the crowd while the judges were tallying their scores, which included the TJ dance team, the Nick Kaufhold band, and a performance by Ky Snow, the winner of TJ Idol. After all of the events, the judges combined the scores from the swimsuit competition, rose presentation, and questions to come up with the final five contestants: Barry, Hearne, Houghton, Jost, and Walsh.
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New Schedule Proposed for 08-09

TJ is considering a modified block schedule for next year.
by Ben Gilliland

     For the 2008-2009 school year at Thomas Jefferson High School there is a proposal on the table for a modified block bell schedule, which is currently being reviewed by TJ teachers and administrators.
     The purpose of the new scheduling is to support more dynamic learning. Assistant Principal Scott Lessard presented the idea for a new schedule to the rest of the staff last semester. “You have to ask yourself, does the [current] bell schedule support learning, and is it the most efficient use of the time we have, and the answer was ‘no,’” said Lessard, who is in charge of building the schedule each year at TJ. At the meeting, teachers were asked to write things that they liked and did not like about the current schedule based on student achievement. Lessard, along with a committee of 12 teachers met and analyzed the results of the study. They identified weaknesses in the current schedule that could be minimized by a new format. Together they came up with four different options, and then narrowed it down to two. Finally, the committee decided that a seven period day with a modified block would be the best option for the school.
     The new bell schedule that TJ would follow is called a modified block, which several other DPS schools are already employing, including East and George Washington High Schools. During the school week three days, Monday, Tuesday, and Friday would roughly be the same schedule that the school currently uses, seven periods plus lunch; but the other two days, Wednesday and Thursday, would be block scheduling. On block days, each period would be 90 minutes long, and on Wednesdays there would be an early release day. Read more

Buckle-Up Campaign

Students are informed on the importance of practicing safe driving.
by Ben Gilliland 

   During the week of March 17-21, Thomas Jefferson High School is sponsoring the annual Buckle-Up campaign, a program designed to inform students about the importance of safe driving.
    Student and parents from TJ will be helping educate teens and the community on the importance of traffic safety at several events during the week. All of the work is in preparation for keeping students safe during the DPS spring break. The week’s activities are sponsored by CDOT and coordinated by The BACCHUS Network, a non-profit organization dedicated to health promotion, and prevention education. The events will include a poetry contest, daily safety announcements, and seat belt checks.
    For the poetry contest students were to write a poem about the dangers of teen alcohol use, the dangers of impaired driving, or seatbelt use. The deadline to enter was March 11, and the winner will be announced on March 19. First, second, and third place winners will be receiving cash prizes for their poems. There will also be a crashed car displayed outside of the school as part of a comprehensive educational program for the entire week. 
    On the morning of March 18th, students and parents will be displaying signs near and around the school safety zone, which includes the Hampden Avenue and I-25 intersection. The signs will display messages to remind motorists to use caution when driving around the school zone during their morning commute, and to encourage them to wear their seat belts.
    There will also be a big banner inside the school that will display a number of different pledges. The students will be encouraged to sign the banner and honor the pledges for the entire week. The pledges that will be on the banner are as follows:
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Library Tutoring

Tutors offer students several options to improve their grades.
by Ben Gilliland

    Thomas Jefferson High School has several different tutoring options designed to help students, the biggest of which is located in the library where the tutors are dedicated to improving students’ grades.
     Wauneta Vann and Liz Buffington head the tutoring in the library. Both Vann and Buffington are teachers in training, and both did their student teaching at TJ last year. Vann is studying at the University of Denver, and gained her field experience with History Teacher Gordon Heaton. Buffington has graduated form Metro and was a part of the Teacher Quality Enrichment program (TQE) there, and is now a licensed teacher.  She did her observing with Dean of Students Mary Hayhurst and History Teacher Linda Estlund. “We are here to be advocates for the students and help those who have lower grades, or undesirable grades, get them up and maintain them,” said Vann.
     Both Buffington and Vann will be available for tutoring in the library Wednesdays and Fridays every period, including lunch, and will also be available in the lunchroom during late- start Wednesdays from 7:30-8:20 a.m. They also have other tutors who will be available in the library on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m., and there is a math tutor available on Tuesdays and Thursdays in room 108 from 2-4 p.m. as well. “We want students to realize that education does not have to be a terrible, traumatizing, boring thing; it can be fun, and that’s what we want students to walk away with,” said Vann.
     The tutors are here to help the students, and can assist them in any subject. Both Vann and Buffington are studying to be History teachers, but they are more than capable of assisting students with other subjects like math and science. If there is a question that the tutors can’t answer they will direct the student to a teacher who will be able to help them. Read more

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