Keertana Senthilkumar, Team Leader
Keertana, a senior at Jefferson, has been writing for tjTODAY for the past three years. To finish her high school career strong, she’s excited to meet new people through interviewing and cover events like Homecoming and prom, which can finally return to their pre-pandemic glory. Outside of journalistic activities, she plans to spend this year listening to music, reading, and struggling through AP chemistry.
![Senior running back Christian Min (2) is tackled after a 10-yard carry in the third quarter. In the second half, despite a constant back-and-forth, the Colonials were unable to score. “We’re a good team. It all comes down to how much effort we’re going to put in [and] how focused we decide we’re going to be,” Min said.](https://www.tjtoday.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/IMG_0324-900x600.jpg)
![Mr. Wormwood, one of the antagonists of Matilda played by junior Gabriel Ascoli, grins at the audience. During part of the musical, Matilda puts bleach in Mr. Wormwood’s hair product, which turns his hair green, a gag which is difficult to pull off mid-scene. “[The] set [crew] built a sink with a big basin for him to stick his head into. There was a green wig that was set in that sink. While he stuck his head in the sink, it's like 10 seconds or 15 seconds, he puts the wig on,” Abraham said.](https://www.tjtoday.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/IMG_1203-900x600.jpg)
![With only a month to complete schedules before school began, counselors prioritized core classes. “Our first look was seniors. Do you have your graduation requirements? If you're not in the senior research lab, if you don't have [the] English class that you need, that's a problem,” principal Dr. Bonitatibus said.](https://www.tjtoday.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/scheduling.png)
![The FCPS student representative advises the school board on decisions including programs and grading policies, such as the recent change in the grading policy. “[T]he school board rep gives us recommendations based on...what they're seeing is being done on the school board side. For example, the first thing that comes to mind is that [they] brought to us the idea of making it so that seniors’ scores on final exams won't affect them that much,” Ji said.](https://www.tjtoday.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/representative-900x785.png)
![Jefferson’s Congressional Debate team poses before a tournament in 2019. The team has had to adjust to support each other in a now virtual setting, such as at Saturday’s in-house. “Every time we had a national tournament or local tournament, we would always meet as a team 30 minutes before to just talk to each other, hype each other up, give each other confidence. We still do that now. We always call one hour before [tournaments] and talk to each other,” Nalluri said.](https://www.tjtoday.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/debate-900x640.png)
![A poster directly across from the Russian classroom advertises the trip to all students. This year the trip will be open to all Jefferson students, with no requirement of Russian language experience. “It's a trip that not every student [who's in the program doing the project] could attend. Spring break is a time that students use for other activities and Moscow is just one of many opportunities,” AP Government teacher and trip sponsor Mr. Monte Bourjaily said.](https://www.tjtoday.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/IMG_9949-1-900x600.jpg)
![The Curious Understanding of Autism Awareness Christopher, played by senior Joshua Mutterperl, fantasizes about becoming an astronaut. This scene follows a tense encounter between Christopher and his father and lightens the mood. “It's a free and uplifting moment in this play, [which] comes after a more serious moment. And in it you can feel the sense of being lighter than air, in zero gravity and then it ends in a grounded place,” Mutterperl said.](https://www.tjtoday.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/IMG_9671-900x600.jpg)
![Junior Sarabeth Joyner lifts a dumbbell in the Jefferson weight room while sophomore Alexandra Fall spots and encourages her. The basketball players are mid-conditioning, where they exercise to build muscle and stamina. “Conditioning days [are] fun because you're sore the day after and it feels really good,” freshman Aditi Shukla said.](https://www.tjtoday.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Basketball_Preseason_Picture-900x600.jpg)
