Current TJ Student answering questions
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Anonymous
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Do clubs still fry bacon in the Aud lob before 8th period as a fundraiser?
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Anonymous
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OP, best wishes to you and thanks for doing this.
Do you have any suggestions for freshman about summer course this year? DS took Geometry in 8th so cant do math. Is done with self directed EPF. In fall taking CS and IBET, Spanish. Is this summer which means all of next 2 months likely stuck at home worthy to spend pre preparing for the freshman year subjects ? If our counselor is ok with World History and Geography 1 is it worthy to do it to get done with the social Studies credit? we not sure as the history course is non honors. Any suggestions ? |
Anonymous
OP here! Welcome to the TJ community--I know that you guys weren't really able to have freshman preview night in person or anything but I'll be happy to answer any questions you have here -- there's also a great resource called RealTalkTJ (https://realtalk-tj.tumblr.com/) where other upperclassmen routinely answer questions about classes, workload, ECs, etc. The classes that are considered "really hard" at TJ will differ from person to person, but the general consensus would say that the harder classes are the high-level math classes (like you mentioned: multi, linear, complex, amt, rs2) as well as some science APs and post-APs (AP Physics at the same time as Calc BC, AP Chem, Artificial Intelligence...probably others that I can't think of off the top of my head). I don't think any of these classes alone or in pairs would be too much to handle, it's only if you start taking on too much at once. Normally your counselor, when inputting your course decisions, would warn and advise you if they think your selection might be too extreme for you. Also, at the beginning of the year there are a significant amount of people who drop from Calc BC to Calc AB or AP Physics to Physics Honors. It will always depend on your teacher and what the student is good at or interested in, though, so not every experience is the same. I have not taken the math classes your daughter is interested in but my older friends do say that it's a brain struggle and not everyone gets As, as goes for most STEM classes at TJ. While they might be difficult, people normally do enjoy math to some extent if they're choosing to take these upper-level classes and will enjoy class as the content itself is very interesting. I've also heard that the teachers for these math classes are amazing. My sophomore friends taking RS2 were constantly studying for the class, because one of the two teachers that teaches RS2 at TJ is notoriously great but a tough grader. TJ does have a very rigorous STEM program, but the math courses coming before them (Math 3, 4, 5, AB/BC) build off of each other and are good preparation for courses that require an even higher level of thinking. If your daughter is interested in math, she'll love the course selection at TJ. There are many math-oriented people, the entire school blocks out time to takes the AMC, and the math competition team practices and goes to many competitions in the nation. |
Anonymous
OP here: No  ( we just have bake sales literally every week. That sounds so cool though. We should bring it back.
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Anonymous
OP here: No problem!  Welcome to TJ!
I would not worry too much about preparing over the summer for freshman year courses. If they're not doing anything else, then sure? But there's not really a strong need to prepare beforehand--TJ eases freshmen in slowly during first quarter. If I were to prep a little, I might start looking a little at the Research Stats content or learning some Java on my own? I wouldn't do WH1 this summer unless you really really want to get the credit out of the way. You not only lose the 0.5 weighting but you can take many cool weighted history courses over the school year (History of Science, Ethical Leadership, anthropology, psychology, etc) and they're all good "chill" classes to balance out a possibly rigorous junior/senior year schedule. You can also wait a year and do weighted summer history next summer and never lose the 0.5 gpa bump. But, if your child is really into the STEM electives that TJ has to offer and wants to take as many as possible, then one good option would be to take non-honors WH1 this summer, PE10/Summer Chem/Spanish 3 next summer, as that would give you the most elective space while only reducing weighting for WH1. |
Anonymous
*you’re You’re an idiot. I’ll bet you didn’t go to TJ. |
Anonymous
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First of all, congratulations on the excellent band show last fall. I think I saw it 3 or 4 times (you competed on the same circuit as my DD's band did (JMHS); I did not make it to the state championships).
How hard is it to balance a time consuming EC like marching band with the the TJ load? I know fall is always challenging for DD -- keeping up with the school load while there are 10 hours of rehearsals a week, multiple competitions (some of which the kids get home late enough on Sat night (or Sunday Morning) that Sunday is lost...I can not imagine that with the TJ workload. |
Anonymous
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Thanks OP! My DS is on the waitlist and going back and forth on if he would want to accept if admitted later on this summer. He is worried that he will be towards the bottom of the class vs at the top at the base school. I am letting him make the decision. Do you have any experiences to share wrt students that are admitted from the waitlist?
Also any tips for helping him make friends if he does go? He is very introverted and shy, but a very kind, sweet kid. Middle school was pretty rough socially for him at times. |
Anonymous
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PP, TJ parent here... Please try to have your DC make a choice about whether they would attend, before decisions are announced about the waitlist. The way it works is that if a student is offered a spot off the waitlist and declines, no one else is offered the spot. So, by declining after the decisions are out rather than withdrawing before waitlist decisions are made, your child is essentially denying another student the opportunity to attend. It is so counter-intuitive! But, as the fabulous OP noted, admissions is totally separate from the school.
I would add - my DC got in off the waitlist and loves it at TJ and is absolutely thriving, getting very good grades and is really happy about the choice to attend. |
Anonymous
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Does it bother you that some kids who live near TJ now have to cross both 395 and 495 to get to Edison when TJ was originally built to serve the community?
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Anonymous
Thank you so much!!! Madison's show last year was AMAZING and TJMC was completely geeking every time we got to see it. Also, your drum majors are super cool  Congratulations on a great season--Madison has a great marching band and y'all deserve the best. Hopefully Covid will let us have a season in the fall.
Marching band in competition season is not too easy to balance with schoolwork. I know that last year and some of my marching band friends the years prior had to ask for extensions early on in the year because we had had a band heavy week. A good amount of TJ's teachers are understanding enough about band and would give us the free pass that once. A lot of us work a lot/study in the band hall during lunch, and only do what is asked of us and not the extra optional stuff. Usually our band director is good about scheduling us to have at least one or two free days a week -- like if we have Monday and Tuesday rehearsal, Wednesday concert, Thursday rehearsal, Friday football game, Saturday Sunday overnight competition, he'll cancel one of the rehearsals. It's really discouraged to miss rehearsal because of being overwhelmed with work. We do end up working a few assignments ahead (if we know the due date is coming up) on Wednesdays when we don't have practice or free Fridays and weekends. They're also good about telling us our schedule well in advance and reminding us to make sure our work is completed early if you know there's a time-intensive week or weekend coming up. We're also highly encouraged to ask upperclassmen for help about specific subjects and how to balance everything, because they've done it for longer. Late nights kind of become the norm for a little, but I get home from practice pretty late -- 8:30? It's not easy to manage always, but the competitions and performances are definitely worth it, and during marching season most of my social life is with my TJMC friends so once I get home and shut myself in to grind for a couple hours to finish work I don't feel that I'm missing out on too much. In my freshman and sophomore years the workload has been lighter for the first quarter before ramping up once marching band/the quarter ends. But for me personally, marching season is the most fun part of the year. Even though the workload is tough to handle at times, marching band definitely forces us to develop great time management skills and even when a week is tough, every performance is like the light at the end of the tunnel. |
Anonymous
OP here: Students that are admitted from the waitlist are no different than other students at TJ. I know of two in my class--and they were able to participate in the same summer activities (marching band) even though they received their acceptance later than everyone else. If he wants to do a sport or marching band that begins practice in August (we'll see about this year...but for now everything's still going to start in August) then there might have to be a little emailing around since he's a late admit but it should still be able to be done. You definitely can't tell if someone's from the waitlist unless they tell you or anything. His concern about being near the bottom of the class vs. top of base school is a common concern--but I would advise him to think about what he truly wants in a high school experience. If his main goal is to make it to an Ivy or T-15 college, then yes--it would technically be easier to do well and stand out more at base school. Some people leave TJ early on because they realize that they have a better chance at a better college from base school. The college matriculation from TJ is also still really good, though. TJ's STEM opportunities (mentorship, research labs, 8th period clubs) are still unparalleled and the course offerings aren't like other high schools in the area. It's about the experience you might get at TJ vs. base school. Also, there's no harm in trying--I have a friend who went to TJ freshman year to try it out, hated it, then transferred to base school after the first quarter. I also have a different friend who went to TJ because his parents made him try it out since he was accepted, and then ended up loving it. So, it depends. Your son personality-wise seems to fit the profile of a lot of kids at TJ as someone really genuine who could make great friends. People at TJ aren't really mean, or there's not a large collection of people who really try to put others down. If he goes to TJ, I'd try to tell him to really try to introduce himself and talk with some kids in his IBET, and stay in IBET commons for lunch and try to meet people in the early days. At the beginning of the year everyone's nervous about making friends, and genuinely kind and sweet kids, even if they're generally quiet and shy, are great friends to have. There's also a lot of IBET bonding activities that the teachers/counselors do in the beginning and throughout the year. Your IBET rotation is only about 25 kids and eventually you get to know each other pretty well, since you all share 3 classes. It adds to the sense of belonging and community for new freshman students at TJ. I can also be one of his upperclassman contacts if he would like one or has any questions for me--he can text me at my number, 571-466-7181. (Is that okay to post on this forum? Hopefully...) |
Anonymous
OP here: I don't know much about the school zoning around TJ, I'm sorry. This does sound very annoying for those kids having to travel far and I hope that more efficient transportation or rezoning could further support them. |
Anonymous
wow! What an assh*le! |
Anonymous
This is an incredibly obnoxious question to ask a student who had absolutely no impact on the decision. Are you proud of yourself? |