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National Honors Society

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NHS Procedure Description

  

The National Honor Society chapter of Brea Olinda High School is a duly chartered and affiliated chapter of the National Honor Society.

 

Membership is open to those students who meet the required standards in four areas of evaluation: scholarship, leadership, service, and character. Students are selected for membership by majority vote of a 5-member Faculty Council which bestows this honor upon qualified students on behalf of the faculty of our school each year. The chapter adviser is also appointed by the principal and facilitates all selection procedures and chapter activities during the year.

 

Students in grades 10th, 11th, and 12th are eligible for membership. For the scholarship criterion, a student must have a cumulative GPA of 3.2 or better on a 4.0 scale. Those students who meet this criterion are invited to complete a NHS Application Form that provides the Faculty Council with information regarding the candidate’s leadership and service. A history of leadership experiences and participation in school or community service is also required.


Leadership experience includes any and all leadership position(s) held in school, community, or work activities. Only those positions in which a candidate was directly responsible for directing or motivating others should be included. For example: elected student body, class, or club officer; committee chairperson; team captain; newspaper editor; work area manager; or community leader. The candidate must demonstrate consistent and regular leadership service over time either through multiple leadership opportunities over a 2-3 month period (ex: sports season captain or club president with regular club meetings) or through long term roles (ex: workplace supervisory roles, class president). 


Community service activities include activities and projects done with a group either in or outside of school in which the student candidate participated for the betterment of their community. Generally speaking, service activities are those that are done for or on behalf of others (not including immediate family members) for which no compensation (monetary or other) has been given. For example: church groups, clubs sponsored outside of school, Boy or Girl Scouts, or community endeavors. These service contributions can consist primarily of hours devoted to one type of service the student is passionate about (ex: volunteering at a local library, hospital, or animal rescue) OR a variety of these types of services. The service pillar is met through consistent volunteer service, earning at least 100 hours of service, and should not solely consist of one-off events, but of meaningful, regular volunteer work that positively impacts the community. One-off events may be included in the total service hours on the application (ex: volunteering for a one day and one time event, or volunteering for one week of a day camp), but ongoing service hours will be required to meet the Service requirement.


To evaluate a candidate’s character, the Faculty Council obtains additional professional input. First, official school disciplinary records are reviewed. Second, members of the faculty are requested to provide their professional reflections on a candidate’s service activities, character, citizenship, and leadership. These Faculty Feedback Forms and the NHS Application Forms are carefully reviewed by the Faculty Council to determine whether each candidate meets the criteria for membership. A majority vote of the Council is necessary for selection. Following a review of the results of the Faculty Council voting by the principal, candidates are notified regarding selection or non-selection according to a predetermined schedule.

 

Once the notification process is completed, a formal induction ceremony is held at the school to recognize all the newly selected members, at which all current members must be present. Once inducted, new members are required to maintain the same level of performance (or better) in all criteria that led to their selection. This obligation includes regular attendance at chapter meetings held monthly during the school year, and participation in the chapter service projects(s). Students or parents who have questions regarding the selection process or membership obligations can contact the chapter adviser, Amanda Huson by email at [email protected].