South Brunswick High School Chapter

Membership Handbook
2012-2013

National Honor Society

South Brunswick High School Chapter Membership Handbook
Welcome to the National Honor Society! You have been accepted into one of the most prestigious school organizations in the country. Acceptance is certainly an accomplishment and an honor, but it is not an end unto itself. In order to maintain your membership, you must continue to achieve academically and uphold the high levels of service, leadership, and character, which merited your acceptance initially. As a newly inducted member, you need to understand the expectations and guidelines for remaining a member in good standing, so please be sure to read this handbook carefully. Since the National Honor Society recognizes FOUR areas of accomplishment, we have organized this handbook around these four pillars of membership. Scholarship Character Leadership Service

If you fail to meet these expectations or violate the guidelines at any time before graduation, you may be removed from membership. Seniors who remain in good standing will be recognized at graduation with a notation of their membership on the Commencement Program and by wearing the NHS collar with their gowns. We fully expect all of you to be so honored! Scholarship As you know, your initial eligibility is based on a cumulative GPA of 3.6 or higher. Once inducted, you are expected to continue your record of academic excellence. Each quarter, report cards will be reviewed, and if you fall below the required cumulative grade point average of 3.6, you will be placed on probation. If your grades do not improve and your grade point average is below the cutoff at the end of the next marking period, you will be dismissed from membership. Therefore, it is important to maintain your academic performance through your entire junior and senior year. A final failure in a course required for graduation will result in removal from membership. Final failure(s) in any course(s) will result in a formal review of your membership status and possible removal.

Character As a member of NHS, you are held to a very high standard of behavior and ethics. You are expected to hold honesty, integrity, and consideration of others as the basis for all of your decisions and actions. Your actions should not place you in a compromised position nor should they by association, reflect negatively on the National Honor Society. Therefore, it is important that you do not engage in untrustworthy, inappropriate or intentionally hurtful behavior. It is critical that you are fully aware of and abide by the schools code of conduct with particular attention to the Substance Abuse and Integrity Policies. According to the South Brunswick High School Handbook, if you are a current member of an honor society and receive a Level I or II integrity violation you will be placed on a six-month probation. In addition, if you receive a Level III or IV integrity violation you will be removed from the honor society. Thus, integrity violations are taken very seriously. You may wish to consult your handbook for descriptions of what is considered a violation. Any other behavior that is an egregious violation of the NHS standards will lead to a review of your membership status, which may result in a decision to remove you from the organization. Leadership We expect that you will conduct yourself in such a way that your classmates, teachers, coaches, advisors and others will see you as a positive, contributing member of their group. As a member of NHS, you serve as a role model to other students. Whether or not you are serving in an elected leadership position, you need to be aware of this responsibility. You are held to a higher level of expectations among faculty and staff, so it is assumed that you will conduct yourself accordingly. Service One of the key components in the National Honor Society is that of community service. Community service is defined as service to an individual or organization without monetary remuneration. All of the in-school opportunities count toward this requirement. In the community, hours are earned through nonprofit organizations and agencies, schools, hospitals, mosques, churches, temples, synagogues or other cultural/religious centers. Direct service in private companies and organizations does not usually qualify as community service. Community service hours for National Honor Society must be earned exclusively for this organization. You may not double-count hours. For example, if you are required to give hours for another organization, or a particular activity is essential to that group, you may not use those hours to fulfill NHS requirements. First-year members are expected to complete 7 hours of community service during the year of induction; a minimum of 2 need to be completed at or through the high school. Second-year members are expected to give 15 hours; a minimum of 6 must be done at or through the high school. This school-based component of the service requirement must be fulfilled during the school year. Please note that you may opt to do more than the minimum or even all of your hours in high school-based activities. Only those members who have completed their service requirements will be eligible to wear the NHS collar at the Commencement Ceremony.

All hours must be recorded on the Service Record Form and be verified with a signature from the adult with whom you worked or accompanied by a signed certificate that indicates the dates and hours worked. The Service Record Forms and accompanying documentation may be turned in at any time throughout the year, but must be submitted no later than May 17th, 2013 for first year inductees. If you are currently a junior the date for hours completed during your senior year will be announced in September of 2013. Failure to submit appropriate documentation by this deadline will result in lack of recognition as an NHS member at graduation. When determining whether service hours count as in-school or out-of-school ask yourself the following, Does this activity directly benefit the South Brunswick High School population? If your answer is no, consider the service to be out-of-school. For example, if you volunteer at the South Brunswick Public Library or help with a food drive, this benefits the community, but not specifically the high school. If you volunteer in the high schools homework help center, assist teachers outside of school hours and/or do work with clubs (of which you are not a member) directly benefiting the high school then you are doing in-school service. Other Member Responsibilities Since NHS is such a large group and members are busy with so many different activities, meetings will be rare. Communication occurs through an email distribution list and VTN announcements. Make sure to check these for information updates, service opportunities and additional handouts. It is your responsibility to stay informed. If you have not yet done so, you should provide the advisors with your email address. NHS Organization and Governance The advisors are responsible for the oversight of the National Honor Society. They work with a Faculty Council in the selection process and when a students membership is called into question. Unlike many other school groups, we do not have elected officers, but work through an Executive Committee. At the beginning of each year, all members are invited to apply for membership on the Executive Committee. If there are more applicants than committee positions, there is a vote from the general membership. The Executive Committee works with the advisors on the Induction Ceremony for new members, helps to decide and carry out fund-raising activities, oversees the Service Requirement record-keeping, and orchestrates communication among the NHS membership, particularly through the email distribution list. Questions or Suggestions If you still have questions or if you have suggestions after reading this handbook, please get in touch with the advisors at: nhs@sbschools.org