This was sent out by Principal Ann N. Bonitatibus on 04/09/2021.

As shared in an email from the Superintendent’s Office, FCPS has adopted a series of secondary grading policy changes to help our students achieve a strong finish to the school year.

In conjunction with FCPS, TJ is adjusting its grading policy for the 2020-21 school year to ensure students are not penalized by the challenges brought on by pandemic learning. 

Key policy changes for students are listed below:

• Final Exam flexibility that ensures an exam can only serve to improve a student’s grade for the year. Teachers will apply this in their grading practices for each class.
• Use of No Mark, “NM”, instead of “F” grades for all courses. This will be automatically applied for any course in which a student receives an “F.”
• Allowing students to select a mark of “P” for pass for up to two courses for which a passing grade is earned for the final mark. 
  • ACTION NEEDED: Should you wish to designate one or two courses as Pass – No Mark status, submit this form to your school counselor by May 10, 2021.

Here is the email sent out by Principal Ann N. Bonitatibus. If you have questions about the context, please contact your counselors and/or administration.

04/09/2021

Dear TJHSST Families of In-Person Students,

FCPS has welcomed a drop in community transmission rates for the current week ending April 9, which will allow high schools to move to a 3 ft standard for in-person learning. Therefore, effective the week of April 20, TJ students who currently attend 2 days in person may now attend 4 days in person.

As a family, the decision is yours. Consider what will provide the greatest benefit and consistency for your child. We will need to know if you plan to send your child 4 days per week and if transportation is needed.

Please complete this form by April 15. The form needs to be completed by the enrolling parent. If we do not hear from you our assumption will be you choose to remain sending your child to campus 2 days per week. Please be aware that no further changes will be allowed after April.

Here are some frequently asked questions:

• Am I required to change my child from 2 days to 4 days per week?  No, students attending 2 days per week are not required to return 4 days per week.
• Even if I don’t want to change to 4 days per week, can I change the days to attend? For instance, if my child wants to attend Tuesdays and Wednesdays now instead of Thursdays and Fridays, can I change? No, students cannot change the days they attend.
• Is there enough space for my child to change from 2 days to 4 days per week? We have a high degree of confidence we will be able to accommodate families wishing to exercise this option.
• If my child is currently online fulltime, can we change to in-person learning 2 or 4 days per week for the rest of the year? At this time we are only working with students currently attending in person because there are safety, instructional, and transportation logistics requiring significant planning.
• If virus transmission rates increase, will the 4 days per week be changed back to 2 days per week? FCPS is working with the Health Department on a plan that minimizes disrupting education given the recent CDC guidance.

Sincerely,

Ann N. Bonitatibus, Ed.D.

TJHSST Principal

Original works of art and writing by students from Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) earned 27 national medals in the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards program. In addition to Gold Medals and Silver Medals, Lyat Melese of Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJHSST) received the American Voices Medal in writing, Alison Wan of TJHSST received the Best in Grade Award for Grade 11. Congratulations to the following TJHSST students: Thanisha Chowdhury, Sagar Gupta, Michelle Lin, Michelle Liu, Melese Lyat, Mulan Pan, Mayuka Valluri, Alison Wan, Aileen Zhao. Please click here for the original announcement.

Congratulations to the following TJ students for winning the 2021 Regional Science and Engineering Fair prizes:

Animal Sciences, Shan Lateef, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJHSST), What’s All Buzz? Drosophila melanogaster as a Unique Model for Addiction Disorders after Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI).

Biochemistry: Sagar Gupta and Sumanth Ratna, TJHSST, Protein Secondary Structure Assignment (SSA) by Clustering Amino Acid Residues in the Space of Topological Descriptors

Chemistry: Kaien Yang of TJHSST, New Methods for Computing the Configurational Entropy of Deeply Supercooled Liquids with the Potential Energy Landscape

Physics and Astronomy, Aditi Chandrashekar and Vance Kreider of TJHSST, Modeling Coronal Faraday Rotation of Radiation from Extragalactic Radio Sources

Systems Software: Pravalika Putalapattu of TJHSST, DORC: Dynamic Operating Room Companion for Gallbladder Removal Surgery Workflow Verification.

Translational Medical Sciences: Ron Nachum of TJHSST, PANDwriting: An Accessible Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s Novel Diagnostic Framework Using Vision-Based Handwriting Kinematic Analysis and Machine Learning.

Click here for the FCPS announcement:

The 66th annual Fairfax County Regional Science and Engineering Fair virtually showcased over 200 high school science projects via recorded videos. Over 290 students presented their research projects in a wide variety of science and engineering fields. Projects were judged by over 300 professionals and 50 professional organizations and businesses. 

The Grand Prize and first place winners are eligible to compete in the Virginia State Science and Engineering Fair to be held virtually in April. See who received awards.