National Honor Society

National Honor Society

ARTICLE IV: MEMBERSHIP

Section 1: Membership in local chapters is an honor bestowed upon a student. Selection for membership is by a five member Faculty Council and is based on outstanding scholarship, character, leadership, and service. Once selected, members have the responsibility to continue to demonstrate these qualities.

Section 2: Membership shall be known as active, honorary, and graduate. Active members shall become graduate members at graduation. Graduate members shall have no voice or vote in chapter affairs.

Section 3: Eligibility
a. Beginning with the class of 2020 -2021, candidates eligible for selection to this chapter must be members of the sophomore or junior class when submitting their candidate form. Senior levels student candidate forms will no longer be accepted, because they will not have time to meet the service project requirement for NHS membership.
b. To be eligible for selection to membership in this chapter, the candidate must have been enrolled for a period equivalent to one semester at Washington High School.
c. Candidates eligible for election to the chapter shall have a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale.
d. Upon meeting the grade level, enrollment, and GPA standards, candidates shall then be considered based on their service, leadership, and character.

ARTICLE V: SELECTION OF MEMBERS

Section 1: The selection of members to this chapter shall be by a majority vote of the faculty council.

Section 2: The selection of active members shall be held once a year during the second semester of the school year.

Section 3: Prior to the final selection, the following shall occur:
a. Students’ academic records shall be reviewed to determine scholastic eligibility.
b. All students who are eligible scholastically will be notified and offered the opportunity to fill out an application to be considered.
c. All faculty will be asked to evaluate candidates determined to be scholastically eligible using the official evaluation form provided by the chapter advisor.
d. The Faculty Council shall review the candidate forms, faculty evaluations, and other relevant information to determine those who fully meet the selection criteria for membership.

Section 4: Candidates become members when inducted at a special ceremony.

Section 5: An active member of the National Honor Society who transfers from this school will be given an official letter indicating the status of his/her membership.

Section 6: An active member of the National Honor Society who transfers to this school will be automatically accepted for membership in this chapter. The Faculty Council shall grant to the transferring member one semester to attain the membership requirements and, thereafter, this member must maintain those requirements for this chapter in order to retain his/her membership.

ARTICLE VI: OBLIGATIONS OF MEMBERS

Section 1: Dues will be collected once during each academic year. Dues will not exceed $20 per member in any given year. Dues will cover the purchase of an NHS t-shirt for those that have paid dues by the end of September, funds to help support the community Veterans Day Assembly breakfast, induction ceremony pins for new members, refreshments and dessert as well as other items that may need to be purchased in support of service projects and activities sanctioned by NHS throughout the school year.

Section 2: Each member of this chapter who is in good standing with regard to the membership standards and member obligations shall be granted the privilege to wear the emblem adopted by the National Honor Society. A student in good standing is one that has completed the required amount of service projects for the academic years they have participated in NHS.

Section 3: Any member who withdraws, resigns, or is dismissed from the chapter shall not be granted the privilege of wearing the emblem of the chapter.

Section 4: Chapter members who are seniors in good standing shall be granted the privilege of wearing the honor cords at graduation. A senior in good standing is one who continues to meet the four pillars of NHS (service, leadership, scholarship and character) and who has completed the required number of service projects each year they are a member. All membership dues must also be paid.

Section 5: Members are encouraged to participate in at least one service project each quarter. However, all chapter members are required to participate in three (3) NHS service projects during each school year after they have been inducted in order to be considered a member in good standing and be eligible to wear the NHS stole at graduation and have the NHS seal appear on their high school diploma . A list of available projects organized by the executive committee each quarter will be provided to members, during the NHS meeting each month.

Section 6: In addition to the service project requirements for membership above, each year every member will participate in the community Veterans Day Assembly which is coordinated and hosted by the WHS chapter of NHS. Each member is required to participate in some capacity and duties will be assigned by advisers and discussed with members prior to the assembly date.

Article VII: Officers

Section 1: The Officers of the chapter shall be president, vice president, secretary, student council representative, historian and treasurer.

Section 2: Student officers shall be elected at the first meeting held with those students selected by the five member faculty council for membership. Any active member can nominate a junior member in good standing (as defined in Article VI, Section 2) as a candidate for office to serve during their senior year.

Section 3: Voting shall be by electronic ballot such as a google form. A majority vote shall be necessary to elect any officer of this chapter. If the first vote does not yield a majority, a second vote shall be taken of the two candidates receiving the highest number of votes.

Section 4: It shall be the duty of the president to preside at the meetings of the chapter, and serve as the official representative of the chapter at school and community functions.

Section 5: The vice president shall preside in the absence of the president and shall also share the duty with the secretary to keep a record of members’ contributions to service.

Section 6: The secretary shall keep the minutes and attendance records for meetings and be responsible for all official correspondence. The secretary will share the role with the vice-president to keep the record of members’ contributions to service. Together the secretary and vice-presidents will determine how to divide those duties between them.

Section 7: The treasurer shall keep the record of business expenses, dues (if necessary), and all other financial transactions of the chapter.

Section 8: The historian shall keep record of the activities occurring in the local chapters and continue the scrapbook tradition. The historian will also be the liaison with other organizations that would like record of the NHS activities during the school year.

Section 9: The student council representative shall be the liaison between the student council of WHS and the WHS NHS chapter. The student council representative will assume the responsibility of attending all student council meetings as a representative of NHS.

Section 10: If a vacancy occurs in an office position, members must hold a vote.

Section 11: Officers and the faculty advisors shall collectively be known as the chapter’s Executive Committee. The executive committee shall establish annual goals for the chapter and have general charge of the meetings and the business of the chapter. Any action by the executive committee is subject to the review of the chapter members.

ARTICLE VIII: MEETINGS

Section 1: Regular meetings of this chapter shall be monthly on dates determined by the president and advisers. Special meetings can be called by the president with approval of the adviser.

Section 2: This chapter shall conduct its meetings according to Robert’s Rules of Order.

Section 3: Members are expected to attend all chapter meetings.

ARTICLE IX: ACTIVITIES

Section 1: The chapter shall determine one or more service projects for each year.

Section 2: All members shall regularly participate in these projects.

Section 3: These projects shall have the following characteristics: Fulfill a need within the school or community, have the support of the administration and the faculty, be appropriate and educationally defensible, and be well-planned, organized, and executed.

Section 4: The chapter shall publicize and promote its projects in a positive manner.