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Dear TJHSST Families,
What an incredible "homecoming" this year has been! Returning to my alma mater as your principal has truly been a dream come true, and I want to express my deepest gratitude for the incredibly warm welcome you've all extended. Working alongside TJ's phenomenal students, dedicated staff, and supportive families has made my first semester back an absolute whirlwind – in the best possible way.
Together, we've achieved so much in a short time. The unwavering dedication and hard work of our students and staff continue to be the bedrock of what makes TJ the extraordinary institution it is. And to our parents and the PTSA, I cannot thank you enough for your invaluable insight, tireless support, and commitment to our shared vision. Your partnership is truly vital.
As we look ahead, there's so much to be excited about! Next year marks a significant milestone as we celebrate 40 years of Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology. I'm already looking forward to commemorating this incredible legacy with all of you. I feel incredibly fortunate to be back at TJ, ready to champion new opportunities that will empower our students as they innovate and build toward an even brighter future.
I'm eagerly anticipating my first full academic year as your principal, and I wish every one of you a truly wonderful and restorative summer break.
Regards,
Michael Mukai
Principal
#OneTJ
We invite the TJ community to join us this Wednesday, June 11 inside EagleBank Arena at 9:30 a.m. as we celebrate the Class of 2025 at their commencement ceremony! Come honor the 37th graduation class of Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology!
If you cannot make it in person you watch via a livestream broadcast!
TJ will have a graduation rehearsal on Monday, June 9, 2025, at 9:30 a.m. in the TJHSST main gym. Attendance is mandatory. Seniors should arrive at TJ after 9:00 a.m. and be seated in the TJ Main Gym by 9:25 a.m. for the start of rehearsal. Graduation rehearsal is for students only. Seniors - please check Schoology for full details on how the rehearsal is structured.
Remember you can visit the Class of 2025 FAQ website. It has all the details/dates about the final days of school, graduation, and obligations there. If you have any questions please reach out Senior Class Administrator Assistant Principal Volita Russell.
As the year comes to an end, we'd like to recognize the following staff members for reaching these years of service milestones with FCPS. We appreciate all you do for our kids and TJ!
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Years of Service
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Staff Member
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35 Years
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Susie Lebryk-Chao
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30 Years
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Barry Potoker
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25 Years
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David Arthur
Lisa Broadhead
Sean Burke
Laurie Phelps
Shane Torbert
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20 Years
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Monte Bourjaily
Rodney Boyle
Denise Castaldo
Maria Cruz
Jennifer Fisher
Paul Kosek
Maggie Xu
Junpei Yuan
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15 Years
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Anne Applin
Emily Howard
Adam Smith
Shawn Stickler
Caroline Taylor
Kathleen Young
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10 Years
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Joanne Claytor
Kirsten Frostad
Sara Guerra Chirinos
Jennifer James
Malhaz Jibladze
Michelle Lang Boswell
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5 Years
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Michael Caero
Virginia Pendleton
Michael Roth
Nicholas Thompson
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We would like to recognize Social Studies teacher Teresa Hamrick, as well as Instructional Assistant Vicky Plescow, who are retiring at the conclusion of the school year. We thank you for everything you have done for the students and TJ, and wish you all well as you embark on your new adventures!
Here is information and the dates in which our 9th, 10th, and 11th graders should turn in their FCPSOn laptop. Please note that this end of year collection is for all students not participating in summer school.
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Monday, June 9: Once final exams are complete, please turn in your device AND charger at our FCPSOn Laptop collection station near the Art Gallery.
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Tuesday, June 10: Last opportunity to return equipment near the Art Gallery.
Note from the TJ School Nurse:
All medication stored in the health room must be picked up by 11am Tuesday, June 10. Medication left in the health room after that time will be destroyed. With parent or guardian permission, students may transport over-the-counter medications and some prescription medications to and from the school health room. It is school policy that any controlled medications be picked up by the parent or guardian. Please call the health room at 703-750-8320 if you have any questions about the medication pick up process.
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Any student who has failed to return an overdue textbook or library book, did not pay a course fee (Design & Tech, Robotics and Art), activity fee, field trip fee, or owes any other fee is on our TJ Obligation List. All outstanding obligations should be cleared from your child's account as soon as possible.
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How do I know if my child has any overdue obligations?
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Individual emails will be sent out in the next few weeks to students (sent to their fcpsschools.net accounts) who have any outstanding obligations. Emails will also be sent to parents/guardians. If your child owes more than one obligation, multiple emails (one per overdue item) will be sent. The emails will also explain how to return/pay for the overdue items.
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Thank you in advance for helping your child clear all outstanding obligations.
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Questions? Please email the TJ Finance Office at TJHSSTFinance@fcps.edu or call (703) 750-8363.
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TJ is proud to offer independent SAT and PSAT practice at no cost for all rising sophomores, juniors, and seniors. This opportunity provides valuable resources to help students prepare at their own pace. Students received an email on May 27 from Albert.io via their FCPS Gmail account with details on how to access the program. We appreciate your continued support in encouraging your student’s academic success.
NOVA’s Early Online College is back for the Fall 2025 Semester!
NOVA Early Online College (EOC) allows rising high school juniors and seniors (will be 11th and 12th graders in 25-26 SY) the opportunity to take up to 2 tuition free college courses. Check out this flyer.
Registration is open now and deadline is 5pm on July 25. Classes begin Sept. 22 and end Dec. 16.
Questions? Email nmshaikh@fcps.edu.
Calling all TJ Alumni! - Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology opened in the Fall of 1985 and will be celebrating its 40th anniversary this fall!
Be sure to save the dates of October 24-25, 2025 to come back home to Northern Virginia for our 40th Anniversary celebration!
On Friday, October 24 there will be a tailgating event before the football game, plus a recognition opportunity during halftime.
On Saturday, October 25 there will be opportunities to tour TJ, participate in panels, and record your story as part of the "Oral History of TJ" project.
The event will conclude with an offsite gala that evening!
We will also officially unveil Alumni Hall this weekend and reveal the details of our brand new Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame!
Please keep an eye out this summer for emails from both TJ Director of Communications Mike Roth and the TJ Partnership Fund with more details on the event. If you are interested in more details or want to provide some of your memories towards the celebration, please fill out this Google Form.
Free/Reduced Application information and forms for qualified families (Online Submission)
FCPS offers nutritious meals every school day. Your child may qualify for free meals or reduced-price meals at TJHSST. Students who qualify for reduced-price meals receive breakfast and lunch at no cost. For information on how to apply for Free and Reduced-price meals, please visit the link above. The online free and reduced-price meals application is available in 8 languages and can be completed on mobile devices. It needs to re-apply annually.
Consent to Share Form (PDF)
If you have children eligible for the Free and Reduced-price meals program, they may also be eligible to participate in other FCPS fee-based programs without paying a fee or by paying a reduced fee.
This would include things that are specified in FCPS Notice 5922. Those are:
- Musical Instrument fees
- Driver Education fees
- Student Parking fees
- Career and Technical Education Certification fees
- Fine Arts fees
- Technology and Engineering Education Material fees
- Online Campus fees
- Advanced Placement fees (after six exams)
- Returned Check fees
You are also eligible to receive information about scholarships, classes and services that are provided by agencies and organizations other than FCPS.
In order to receive the benefits, you have to fill out the Consent to Share Form (please visit the link above), a written agreement allowing FCPS staff to share information about your children's meal eligibility status.
In recognition of National Food Allergy Awareness Month, the Office of Food and Nutrition Services (FNS) wants to emphasize that it has implemented a standardized process for dietary accommodations. This ensures that FCPS students receive safe and healthy food.
The Dietary Accommodations information provides step-by-step guidance for families to follow to ensure safe and appropriate food is provided to their student(s). This guidance includes needing a Medical Dietary Accommodation Form to be signed by a Licensed Health Care Provider and forwarded to FNS.
For students who need a milk substitute, the Milk Substitution Form signed by a Parent/Guardian must also be on file with FNS.
Forms are to be emailed to dietary.forms.fns@fcps.edu by parents/guardians. FNS Registered Dietitians on staff will then contact the family to begin planning safe meals for their student and place an alert on the student’s file at the register
Virtual therapy sessions are available to FCPS high school students at no cost to provide a safe space to address concerns such as:
- Mood/behavior changes, motivation, grief/loss.
- Anxiety, worry, fears.
- Social skills, bullying, peer and family relationships.
- Academic stress.
Students can be referred by a guardian or designated school staff member. You may refer your child by calling 571-749-2940 or by contacting an FCPS school counselor, social worker, psychologist, or director of Student Services. Visit the FCPS Teletherapy webpage for more information.
We wanted to provide you with an update to the TJ Sports Physical Fundraiser event.
We were not able to get enough medical providers to volunteer at our May 27 event. Therefore, we have moved the date to JULY 30 in hopes of recruiting more help. This event will be held at TJ and be combined for TJ, Marshall, and Lewis.
Here is the link to sign up for the waiting list. https://forms.gle/ZoVMqAZbV6tnGRPR8
We still need medical providers to help at this event. Please let us know if you have any MD, DO, NP, or PA practitioners that will be willing to volunteer.
Legislation introduced in the Virginia General Assembly and recently signed into law will result in two significant changes to the athletic pre-participation examination (physical) requirements for FCPS student-athletes:
- Beginning July 1, 2025, athletic physicals will be considered valid for a period of 14 months from the date the form is signed by the medical provider completing the exam. This is the date on page 3 of the VHSL Athletic Participation/Parent Consent/Physical Examination Form (revised January 2021).
- Beginning May 1, 2025, athletic physicals SHOULD be completed on the new VHSL Athletic Participation/Parental Consent/Evaluation Form (revised April 2025).
Please reach out to Head Athletic Trainer Heather Murphy if you have any questions or concerns regarding the TJ physical event or changes to the VHSL PPE form or date changes.
See you on the sidelines!
 All of the FCPS students at the ISEF competition (including our TJ students)
TJ had six projects compete at the 75th Annual International Science and Engineering Fair in Columbus, Ohio last month, with four of them winning awards! Here is a list of the winners and their category.
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Oliver Wang - First Award in Sustainable Materials and Design for his project: A Hybrid Hydrogel-Heat Sink for Enhancing GPU Performance, Solar Panel Efficiency, and Electric Vehicle Range
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Ansh Malhotra and Anush Devkar - Third Award in Embedded Systems for their project: BrailleSense: A Modular, Low-Cost Solution for Accessible Braille Displays
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Sarah Park - Fourth Award in Biomedical Engineering for her project: Revolutionizing Non-Invasive Blood Glucose Monitoring With AI-Powered Infrared Spectroscopy
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Nikhil Krishna and Nived Nandakumar - Fourth Award in Physics and Astronomy for their project: A Comprehensive Machine Learning Paradigm for Space Debris Surveillance: An Integrated Triple Model Framework for Identification, Orbital Prediction, and Collision Risk Evaluation
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Sarah Park also received a Special Award from NC State College of Engineering, providing full scholarship to their weeklong Engineering Summer Camp.
Congratulations to everyone who participated in the 2024-25 Science Fair season!
FCPS Release
National Merit Scholarship Winners on TJ Instagram
You may remember in the May News You Choose newsletter when we revealed that Samarth Bhargav and Claire Chen had each won National Merit Corporate Scholarships. Well we have even more good news as we can now reveal that 15 students join them by winning traditional National Merit Scholarships this year! We made up more than half of the 28 winners throughout FCPS! Each will receive a scholarship from the NMSC’s funds. Here are our 15 winners with probable career field in parenthesis.
Sanchali Banerjee (science/research)
Arnav Bhalla (medicine)
Logan Bradley (computer science)
Dhruv Chandna (computer science)
Avni Garg (applied mathematics)
Jason Hao (financial quantitative analysis)
Sophia Huang (computer science)
Grace Im (law)
Rohan Kotla (medicine)
Sophia Zhang Lin (computer science)
Eloise Minnigh (veterinary medicine)
Phoebe Pan | 
