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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Do the kids burn out like everyone thinks?

I have two mixed Asian American sons in elementary in the Langley pyramid. Both boys are smart and in AAP. They are not the hardest working. One kid seems to want to go to TJ. I think he should be able to get in.

How is TJ’s golf, tennis and soccer teams?

We are relatively new to the area and don’t know much about TJ except for what I read online.[/quote]

OP here:

Hi, welcome to the area! Fairfax has great academics for advanced learners and Langley is a very very good high school.

Most kids at TJ were in AAP from a young age, and they're normally prepared very well for the admission test and freshman year :) But, elementary-age is really young for kids to know what they want -- if your sons end up not being interested in TJ or STEM that much as they get older, I wouldn't advise pushing them too much towards the school. A lot of the kids that burn out at TJ have been pushed very far academically by their parents for their entire lives and can't handle the pressure anymore, or never wanted to go into STEM in the first place.

At TJ there's a lot of high achievers and subsequent comparison. Burnout happens when kids extend themselves too far in taking hard classes or striving for only perfect grades, whether by their own choice or by their parent's choice, and lose their passion for learning. This is more students than one might expect -- but definitely not everyone. I haven't gone through junior year yet, but I know that after 3 years of TJ junior year is commonly where people burnout, if they do. Junior year is characterized as the hardest year in high school. But, participating in activities and extracurriculars that you genuinely love can help minimize the chance for burnout. For me, that's band--which is a good "chill" class to destress and be with friends doing something I love afterschool. For others this might be debate, or journalism, or other 8th period clubs (our club time is factored into the school day) where kids can kind of unwind if they're stressed academically. It's all about developing a personal balance concerning schoolwork, and knowing where your limits are.

TJ's golf and tennis teams are very, very good. I would put these sports teams (as well as swim and dive) as TJ's most consistently successful competitive sports. The tennis team is large and very competitive to tryout for (unlike other sports at TJ, they make cuts), but I believe that they've won regionals for multiple years now, and also did well at states? Tennis is very respected at TJ and again, the people that do it tend to be very good and place well in competition.

Golf at TJ is also very good competitively, though the tryouts are less rigorous. I think they'll teach anyone interested, and the coach is a really cool guy and they changed golf to be co-ed a couple years ago. TJ's golf team is actually pretty well known in the general area as being successful.

Soccer at TJ is also a pretty large sport. There's a JV and V team--but they encourage all skill levels to try out, even if you've never played before, and start a student-led preseason in December. The students that do soccer always end up being pretty good friends due to the collaborative nature of the sport. The people that do it usually end up really, really loving it. It's a great way to make friends and have fun.

Sports at TJ usually have daily practice for a couple hours and occasional games on the weekends. Depending on the sport, the required attendance might be different--but I'd bet it's highly encouraged to attend all the practices. Sports are a great and supportive community at TJ, and though it's a time commitment, it helps us learn to manage the time we do have efficiently.

If you have any more questions feel free to ask :)

Thank you OP for helping parents with their questions! 
You mentioned band above. Do you think kids can join band and marching band and still participate in another extra curricular activity like debate, model un or some other. Or do you devote yourself to only band if you pick that as an elective or EC?
Thank you

[/quote][/quote]

OP here:

TJ is a little different than other schools in the way they handle band. Marching band at TJ (TJMC), unlike base school, is completely voluntary--that is, if you take the curricular band class as a class during the school day (we have two band periods and two percussion periods) and don't want to do marching band, then you don't have to. So I'll talk about curricular band and TJMC as separate things.

Curricular:
The two curricular band classes are the largest classes at TJ. Normally people try it out freshman year, take Foundations CS over the summer (taking CS is a requirement for us before junior year), then a solid amount (half the sophomores?) do a "band skip year" sophomore year in order to fit in all of their requirements for senior labs. Some never come back to band, but most rejoin junior and senior year. It's not uncommon at TJ to be a 4-year-elective student though, whether that's in band, orchestra, journalism, art, or the like. If you were not in marching band and only taking the curricular class then the time commitment (outside of personal practice and the occasional concert) is minimal. No auditions are required. You're not expected to stay afterschool for anything or use more than a couple blocks of your 8th period club time for band. Band is a class, while debate and MUN (model UN) are clubs that function in 8th periods and outside of the school day. So if you take band in the year and don't do TJMC, it's just another class you're taking and you're free to join however many other ECs you want/handle. Not every god-tier level band kid does TJMC, I can think of many people that are insanely good and only take the class.

TJMC:
TJMC acts effectively as a fall sport, so if you do TJMC you can't do a different fall sport (field hockey, cross country, football, maybe another that I'm forgetting). TJMC is literally the most fun group ever :) TJMC is a large afterschool commitment for the first quarter, but again -- your 8th period club time is still free for you to do whatever you want, so you could still participate in debate or MUN during these times, you just might not be able to go to some weekend competitions until after marching band ends. Then after first quarter/TJMC ends you have all the free time to do anything you want. I know personally some my TJMC friends do debate, CubeSAT (building satellites), and Quizbowl at the same time as marching band. They are involved when they can be during marching season and then are able to get even more involved after first quarter, which is when involvement starts to matter more imo. You can also do a winter sport (basketball, indoor track, gymnastics) or spring sport (crew, lacrosse, soccer, I'm definitely forgetting some sports somewhere).

A small minority of band students at TJ devote themselves entirely to band -- that is, taking 4 years of curricular, 4 years of TJMC, then 4 years of indoor drumline (fall + spring "sport" which any TJ student is allowed to join), spending 8th periods practicing or playing for drama's musical orchestra, getting into all-district and being super cool...etc. If they really enjoy music, then this is optimal for them. Most others combine their interest in band with other extracurriculars, since TJ's voluntary approach to things allows more flexibility in what you can do.

Lastly a shameless plug for TJMC: it's so fun, it's the best time, definitely joining was the best decision I've ever made, if you don't take band you can be a total beginner with no music experience to join color guard and the front ensemble always needs piano players of any skill level, if you want to do the group we'll always find a place for you, we do generally well competitively and everyone's so passionate we looooove marching band :)
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Thank you so much for providing all of the above detail. Its amazing how well you write and how well you express your thoughts.
Good to see your passion for band - :)[/quote]

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