The National Honor Society at The High School of Saint Thomas More

SELECTION CRITERIA

The Organization

The National Honor Society seeks to live out and promote in others the four virtues of scholarship, leadership, character and service. The STM Chapter is an active group of many of the school’s finest young students. Together, members work on a variety of service projects that benefit both the student body and larger community, while at the same time further developing sound leadership skills.

Selection

Selection for National Honor Society is based on scholarship, service, leadership, and character. While scholarship is the first criteria that must be met, the remaining qualities of service, leadership and character must likewise be evident in those students selected for NHS. To ensure fair and orderly administration of this chapter, the following guidelines and by-laws have been adopted. These guidelines and by-laws are established in accordance with the Constitution of the National Honor Society. Furthermore, let it be known that all decisions and actions of this chapter, now and henceforth, shall be in accordance with the Constitution of the National Honor Society.

While the faculty and administration encourages all of its students to strive for membership, it must be remembered that NHS membership is both an honor and a responsibility (NHS Handbook). To ensure integrity of the chapter, selection measures have been established.

General guidelines are as follows:

Final selection of membership is decided by the Faculty Council.
Candidates eligible for election to this chapter must be members of the sophomore, junior, or senior class.
Each candidate must be in attendance at The High School of Saint Thomas More for a period of at least one semester.
Membership selection shall be held once a year during the first semester of the school year.
The sole responsibility of filling out the membership application belongs to the candidate.
The personal essay is to be written by the candidate seeking membership.
NO late information forms will be accepted.
Students who received an in-or out-of-school suspension during the previous or current school year are not eligible to apply this year.

The following measures will be used by the Faculty Council to evaluate the candidate’s performance in the areas of scholarship, leadership, service, and character (NHS Handbook, p. 24). Information regarding these four areas will be made available to the Faculty Council by use of the NHS Candidate Information Form, which each candidate will have completed. This form exists to support the student’s candidacy by providing relevant information for use by the Faculty Council. This form should be signed by the student and a parent or guardian to verify accuracy of the data. These forms function as working documents to be used by the Faculty Council during the selection process (NHS Handbook, p. 29).

As part of the selection process, candidates are to submit an essay on the topic provided. The Faculty Council reviews these essays to find out more about the candidate than can be discovered from the forms alone. These essays should be crafted with care.

Scholarship: Candidates eligible for election to the chapter shall have a minimum unweighted and unrounded cumulative grade point average of 3.20. This scholastic level of achievement shall remain fixed, and shall be the required minimum scholastic level of achievement for admission to candidacy. All students who can rise in scholarship to the aforementioned standard can be admitted to candidacy for selection to membership. Their eligibility shall then be considered based on their service, leadership, and character (By-laws, ARTICLE II, Section 4).

Service: To be eligible for the service criteria, each candidate must be current with his or her requirements for the school’s Living the Faith commitment. The school chaplain must indicate on the student’s NHS Candidate Information Form that the student is in compliance with the number of hours needed for his or her grade level.
A deadline for updating service hours was set and announced at the informational meeting in August and has since expired.

Leadership: Leadership eligibility is determined by a point system. A candidate must have a total of 8 leadership points. A 3/2/1 point assignment is used. Any combination of this 3/2/1 point system totaling 8 points is acceptable. These points may be accrued through school, church, and community leadership. For school-related leadership activities, the following points will apply. Please note that this is not a comprehensive list. Additional leadership positions and points will be added as determined by the Faculty Council. Furthermore, worthy candidates whose leadership point total falls short of the requirement are entitled to further consideration by the Faculty Council. “For those who fall below the cutoff, the Faculty Council should review their information sheets first in order to make a sound professional judgment regarding selection or non-selection” (NHS Handbook, p.31).

Examples for Leadership Points:

**Eagle Scout = 3 pts
* Summer camp counselor/leader = 1 pt
STM Ambassador = 2 pts
Participation in school play= 1 pt (For a leading role= an additional point)
STM Madrigals= 1 pt
Stage Crew= 1 pt
Pit orchestra for play= 1 pt
Member of sports team = 1 pt (Athletic Team Captains, including Cheerleading, Varsity and JV = an additional point)
Saber Pack Leader = 1 pt (Saber Pack member does not earn a leadership point
Pep band= 1 pt
**Participation in community concerts = 1 pt
**Lector/Cantor/Acolyte at church = 1 pt
STM Mentor= 1pt
Active member of Student Council or other school sponsored clubs = 1 pt (For presidents= an additional 2 points, for an officer’s role or head of a committee= an additional point)
Class Officer = 1 pt
**Any “Club” sport = 1 pt
Other

All points must be accompanied by the signature of the club’s sponsor or adviser.

* Activities that earn candidates service hours do not qualify for NHS leadership points. For example, volunteering at a soup kitchen, helping with a food drive, participating in the Relay for Life.

** Points accrued through church and community-related leadership positions must be accompanied with a brief letter from the sponsor or supervisor verifying and explaining the candidate’s responsibilities. Letters submitted by applicants in previous years are still on file. All leadership points will be carefully examined by the Faculty Council.

The Faculty Council may consult the student or sponsor if more information is needed. Information pertaining to the leadership criteria will be reflected on the NHS Information Form. Only those activities that have been completed during the student’s high school career are valid. Involvement in activities during the current school year is to be excluded.

Character: The Faculty Council of The High School of Saint Thomas More Chapter of the National Honor Society shall use “the multi-faceted definition of character known as the ‘Six Pillars of Character’ (part of the Character Counts Coalition). A person of character demonstrates the following six qualities: respect, responsibility, trustworthiness, fairness, caring, and citizenship” (NHS Handbook, p. 28). To find evidence of these six characteristics, each candidate is required to submit to three faculty members the “Teacher Evaluation” portion of the NHS Candidate Information Packet. This portion will consist of ten questions to be rated on a scale of 5/4/3/2/1.

In addition to the teacher evaluations, candidates must have exhibited quality of character with no more than 2 office detentions during the previous school year.

Selection Process

Completed NHS Candidate Information Forms will be reviewed by the Faculty Council. Weight will be given to the quality of a candidate’s essay. Selection of members is by majority vote of the Council. Once the Faculty Council has made its selection, a list of prospective members will be distributed to the faculty to confirm that each faculty member agrees that each student on the list meets the NHS standards of character. Each faculty member will have the opportunity to place a yea or nay vote for each candidate. For a candidate receiving any of “no” votes, further consideration is required.

Procedure for Induction

The chapter adviser will promptly notify candidates who have been selected for induction. Inductees and their parents will receive a formal letter of confirmation. Induction will be held during the all-school Mass on prior to Thanksgiving with a reception following for NHS members and their parents, faculty and administration of The High School of Saint Thomas More.

Those candidates who are not selected for membership will be informed in a timely and caring fashion. Every effort will be made to help the candidate understand the reason for not being selected and how he or she can increase his or her likelihood for selection the next year. Once submitted, forms are sealed and not available to be reviewed parents or students.

NHS Service Projects

Every chapter is obliged each year to complete a service project for the benefit of the school or community. These projects are to be initiated, planned, organized and executed by the members of the chapter.

Responsibilities of NHS Members

A member of the National Honor Society must always strive to be a positive influence in the school and outside community. Members are to be the visible role models in the school. Additionally, members are required to attend the bimonthly meetings, maintain the GPA standard, stay current with service hours, and participate in the variety of service projects that the chapter undertakes throughout the school year. Specifically, members are required to volunteer a minimum of five times throughout the school year.

Dismissal

According to the NHS bylaws, “Any member who falls below the standards of scholarship, leadership, character, or service may be dismissed from The High School of Saint Thomas More Chapter of the National Honor Society” (By-laws, ARTICLE IV, Section 1). A student may be dismissed because his or her GPA has fallen below the standard 3.2, he or she has committed a violation of criminal law or school regulations, or due to offenses of the school conduct code. Once dismissed, a student may never again seek membership into NHS (NHS Handbook, p. 58).

Commitment

Let it be know that this selection process “is considered public information, available to parents, students, and faculty upon request” (NHS Handbook, p. 23). This selection process must be administered with fairness, consistency, and a sense of professionalism among the Faculty Council, Chapter Adviser, Principal, faculty and all other evaluators.

Additional Information

For further information about membership selection, dismissal, or any other aspect of The Saint Thomas More Chapter of the National Honor Society, refer to the chapter’s By-laws as well as the National Honor Society Handbook.

Please direct all questions to Mrs. Neitzel.