The music was playing, the pom pons were shaking, and the homerooms were competing in the annual TJMS Eighth Grade TJ Idol Competition.
Throughout the year in an effort to promote team building and problem solving, the eighth grade homerooms at Thomas Jefferson Middle School compete in Color Wars battles. It starts in September with Teacher Trivia. The winning homeroom of this competition earns first color choice for classroom t-shirts. The shirts are then worn at various homeroom competitions, color wars battles, and events the rest of the school year.
But perhaps the most anticipated battle in Color Wars in the annual TJ Idol singing/dancing homeroom contest. For this year’s focus on College Game Day, students chose colleges of the Big Ten for research, poster making, and dancing and singing to the school’s fight song.
The big day started with academic quizzes in the morning to match homerooms with the colleges and songs. After the quiz bowl, homerooms returned to class to get to work! Students were divided up into working groups for research about the college, poster design, and performing the school song. In the afternoon, it was show time in the auditorium as the homerooms share their research, posters, and performances. The winning homeroom is awarded a traveling trophy. Mr. Krenz was this year’s College Game Day/TJ Idol champion.
Not only is this a great day for team building and problem solving, but students learn to work together and accomplish a goal while having fun at the same time.
Past themes have included classic television shows and American cities. But this year’s college fight songs rocked the house!