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THOMAS JEFFERSON HIGH SCHOOL FOR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 6560 Braddock Rd., Alexandria, VA 22312
FEBRUARY 14, 2014
Culture P14
VOLUME 29, ISSUE 4
New renovation changes affect community
by Lindsay Williams Online Editor The full renovation has been steadily marching along to stay on time and finish in the fall of 2016. The construction is continuing in several areas, including the interior and front of the school. In the front of the school, construction has progressed rapidly on the administrative wing and new senior tech labs, which will hopefully open next fall. According to Principal Evan Glazer, the progress looks hopeful so that seniors will have new facilities to perform their culminating research projects and the administrators will be able to move out of the Auditorium Lobby (AudLob). “There will be areas classes migrate to because the school will be designed less in dpartments and more by grade level,” Glazer said. Teachers are excited to be moved to their new spaces so that they have more room for all of their resources. Currently, many tech lab sponsors have some of their materials packed up for the move, so they will be able to enjoy their new spaces will all of the possible resources available to their students. continued to p. 2
Mental Wellness Week provides relief photo illustration by Sandy Cho
by Sandy Cho News Editor “Treat yo’ self, TJ!” Every morning during Mental Wellness Week, this motto resounded in the hallways as students lined up to sign a pledge, promising to change one particular unhealthy habit, pick up free breakfast food and receive tips for the day. From Feb. 3 through Feb. 7, the members of the Active Minds club held the annual Mental Wellness Week, aiming to change the conversation from mental illness to mental wellness by encouraging healthier actions and removing the stigma surrounding the discussion of such illnesses. “The purpose of Mental Wellness Week is, through physical practices, to build yourself as a better person and lead a healthy life,” senior Tarun Prabhala, president of Active Minds, said. “At TJ, there’s a notoriously bad reputation for not having a healthy lifestyle, so what we focused on this week were practices that could alleviate that mindset.” According to the fall 2012 Fairfax County Youth Survey, taken by eight graders, sophomores and seniors, only 13 percent of Jefferson students reported getting eight or more hours of sleep per night, in contrast to the 32 percent of students of Fairfax County. In addition, only 37.2 percent of Jefferson students engage in physical activity as compared to the 43.3 percent of the other students in the county. School psychologist Gregory Myers was not surprised. “Sleep is one of the few areas that TJ does worse on than other students in the county. I think we knew already about sleep and exercise, which are the two that TJ does the worst on,” Myers said. “Everything else, TJ does pretty well but those are the ones that really stand out.” To address the problems, the club focused each day of the week on a theme: Monday on healthy eating, Tuesday on sleep, Wednesday on exercise, Thursday on random acts of kindness and Friday on stamping out stigma. “Often, depression and stress are overlooked and I think it’s really important to get a better idea of what affects kids every day,” junior Parth Desai, historian of the club, said. “We wanted to find a way to calm students down and eliminate different types of stresses.” Myers and Social Worker Danielle Armstrong hosted Technology, Entertainment and Design (TED) Talks during lunch,
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relating to the topic of the day through discussion and videos. Week, guest speaker Lauren Anderson held an honest keynote “The TED talks are supposed to raise awareness about cer- addressing suicide and stigma, in the light of the recent deaths tain mental health issues. They have covered the value of sleep, of two seniors at Langley High School. After losing her brother, new ways of thinking about mental health, mental wellness, Josh Anderson, several years ago to suicide, Lauren Anderson mindfulness and stigma,” Myers said. “We also touched on a helped establish the Josh Anderson Foundation to focus on few actual mental health conditions, such as depression.” preventing teenage suicide and give support to those in need. During eighth periods, the club held yoga classes to help Through these efforts, Active Minds club hopes to be the deal the with stress that stems from school and life. catalyst in improving the mental health of the community. “I think yoga helps with stress by clearing your mind and “We want to educate peple to stay healthy, especially with engaging you in activities that calm you,” sophomore Rachel busy lives,” Prabhala said. “Sometimes they need the first step Vasta said. “After the eighth period, most of us seemed so and we hope to be that first step.” peaceful and content. I guess just forgetting your worries and relaxing puts you at peace.” Due to the efforts of Active Minds, students, such as freshman Nayana Suvarna, took the intiative to start a new habit. She began playing basketball in her free time with a friend, including more physical activity in her life. “When I saw the members promoting Mental Wellness Week in the morning, I felt motivated,” Suvarna said. “Although I’m not on the team, I’m still playing basketball to improve my mental wellness and photos by Sandy Cho physical health.” Counterclockwise from top left: Keynote speaker Lauren Anderson gives a talk about the stigma surOn the final day rouding mentall illnesses during B block of eighth period on Feb. 7; Students sign a banner for Mental of Mental Wellness Wellness Week; Junior Parsa Zand relaxes during eighth period yoga with the Nadi Shodhana technique.
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