Guidelines for National Honor Society

Effective 2006-2007

Philosophy of the Club: According to the National Honor Society Constitution, the purpose of this organization shall be to create enthusiasm for scholarship, to stimulate a desire to render service, to promote leadership, and to develop character in the students of secondary schools. More than just an honor roll, NHS serves to honor those students who have demonstrated excellence in the areas of Scholarship, Leadership, Service, and Character. NHS promotes and provides leadership development opportunities to prepare and empower students to serve their schools and communities.

[Found on NHS website]

Attendance

NHS meets on the second and fourth Thursday of every month, at 8 AM, normally in the auditorium. Attendance to all the meetings is required.

If you cannot attend a meeting and you are aware beforehand, you may obtain an excused absence form from Mrs. Williams in E104. Fill it out and return it prior to the day on which you will be absent. If you are absent from school from an illness or other unforeseen circumstance, you may fill out the excused absence form when you return without penalty.

One unexcused absence is permitted as a “freebie.” Unexcused absences after this require one penalty hour per absence in addition to the twenty required. After missing five meetings, excused or unexcused, you will be removed from the club. In order to truly participate in the spirit of the club, attendance is necessary; skipping an entire year of meetings and then making up a large number of hours misses the point of membership.

Requirements for Service Hours

A minimum of 20 hours is required for all members, juniors and seniors. You are encouraged to complete your hours as early as possible, especially since the greatest number of projects appear around the winter holiday season. This also relieves crunch time around finals and AP exams at the end of the school year, a time when few projects are typically offered.

At least 10 hours must be from club-sponsored (in-club) projects. These projects appear on the agenda, are announced at a meeting, and/or have sign up sheets available through the club.

No more than 5 hours may be obtained through direct monetary donations for an in-club fundraiser. Usually a $10 donation represents one hour.

At least 10 hours must be from active service. Active service is where you attend a project site and help out for the stipulated amount of time. (These 10 hours may but do not have to overlap with your 10 in-club hours.) Hours that you have already turned in to another club such as Beta, Key, or Anchor cannot be transferred to NHS.

In order to facilitate the accurate tracking of hours, turn in completed forms within two weeks of the project date. (Since the form would be complete with signatures and contact information at the end of the event, all you have to do is drop by E104 and put it in the box, or give it to one of the sponsors or officers.)

Participating in Projects

NHS offers projects throughout the year for its members. However, other opportunities outside of the club, such as through church or a scout organization, are also available. If you wish to turn in hours from such a project, you must get the project pre-approved by a teacher sponsor. Out-of-club/Pre-approval forms are available from Mrs. Williams in E104; fill out the Pre-approval part and have Mrs. Williams (E104) or Ms. Cloud (E102) sign the form before you perform the service. Projects that you have completed and attempt to approve “ex post facto” will not be considered.

For every service project, even if a group sign-in sheet is present, an individual hours sheet must be turned in for each person. The hours will be counted based on your individual sheet, not the group sheet. Make sure that you remember to bring a form and to get the signature and the contact information of the person in charge of the event.

If you arrive at a scheduled project site only to find that the project was unexpectedly cancelled without NHS or the assigned volunteers having been informed, you may receive one hour for keeping your appointment.

When you sign up for a project, you are agreeing to make sure that you will attend and complete your service; the persons requesting your help are counting on you to be present, and you occupy a spot in which others who need hours may also have been interested. If you cannot attend, notify the officers or the teacher sponsors beforehand or find someone willing to fill in for you. If you fail to attend, you will be penalized one hour for the first missed project; for each subsequent missed project, the number of hours you signed up to complete will be deducted. (An exception is if an unavoidable and urgent problem arises, e.g. family emergency or grievous physical injury requiring a hospital visit; under these circumstances you will not be penalized.)

Other Information

Seniors who remain in the club for the entire year will receive a stole to wear with their graduation robes at the end of the year in order to honor their achievement. Stoles cost $18 and this amount must be paid at the beginning of senior year.

The sponsors of NHS for 2006-2007 are Ms. Cloud in room E102 and Mrs. Williams in room E104. The senior officers for 2006-2007 are Latavia Carroll, Beth Bettis, Sarah Waldroup, Katherine Walczak, and Maia Bageant. Induction this year will be September 20, at 7 PM, in the auditorium. Attendance is mandatory for all current members. If you cannot attend, fill out an excused absence sheet.




I have read and understand the guidelines of the Roswell Chapter of the National Honor Society.

___________________________ (printed student name)
___________________________ (student signature)


I understand my child’s responsibilities for the Roswell Chapter of the National Honor Society.


____________________________ (printed parent name)
____________________________ (parent signature)