Article I: NAME AND PURPOSE
Section 1—The name
of this chapter shall be the
Summit
High School Chapter of the National Honor
Society
of Secondary Schools.
Section 2—The
purpose of this chapter shall be to promote
service,
leadership, and integrity of our school and community.
Article II: MEMBERSHIP
Section 1—Membership
in this chapter shall be known as active
and
graduate. Active members become graduate members at
graduation.
Graduate members have no voice or vote in chapter
affairs.
Section 2—Membership
in this chapter is an honor
bestowed
upon deserving students by the faculty, and shall
be
based on the criteria of scholarship, service, leadership,
and
character.
Section 3—Eligibility
a.
Candidates eligible for election to this chapter must be
members
of the sophomore or junior class.
b.
To be eligible for selection to membership in this
chapter,
the candidate must have been in attendance
for
a period of one semester at Summit High School.
c.
Candidates eligible for selection to the chapter shall
have
a minimum cumulative un-weighted GPA of 3.5
(out
of 4.0). This scholastic level of achievement shall
remain
fixed, and shall be the required minimum level of
scholastic
achievement for admission to candidacy. All students
who
can rise in scholarship to or above such standard
may
be admitted to candidacy for selection to membership.
d.
Upon meeting the grade level, attendance, and GPA
standard
requirements, candidates shall then be
considered
based on their leadership, scholarship, service,
involvement
in extracurricular activities, etc.
Article III: SELECTION OF MEMBERS
Section 1—The
selection of members to this chapter shall
be
by their application which is based on a point system that
awards
points to the following areas: scholarship, service,
leadership,
and character. The acting executive council will annually
create
this point system and make the point system public.
APPENDICES
Section 2—Prior to
selection, the following shall occur:
a.
Students’ academic records shall be reviewed to determine
scholastic
eligibility.
b.
Students who are eligible scholastically (“candidates”)
shall
be notified and asked to complete and submit the
Student
Activity Information Form for further consideration
for
selection.
c.
The faculty shall be requested to evaluate candidates
determined
to be scholastically eligible using the official
evaluation
form provided by the chapter adviser.
d.
The Faculty Council shall review the Student Activity
Information
Form and faculty evaluations in order to
determine
membership. Members may be eligible to join if they
do not meet the required points only if two
thirds of the Faculty
Council
permits them to join. Members who meet the required points
may
also not be able to join if two thirds of the Faculty Council
disqualifies
them. Final approval by the executive council is mandatory.
Section 3—The
selection of new active members shall be
held
once a year during the second semester of the school
year.
Section 4—Candidates
become members when inducted
at
a special ceremony.
Section 5—Once
selected and inducted, all members are
expected
to maintain the standards by which they were
selected
and maintain all obligations of membership.
Section 6—An
active member of the National Honor
Society
who transfers from this school will be given a letter
indicating
the status of his or her membership and
signed
by the principal or chapter adviser.
Section 7—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 or her membership.
Article IV: DISCIPLINE AND DISMISSAL
Section 1—Any
member who falls below the standards
of
scholarship, leadership, character, or service may be
considered
for dismissal from the Summit High School
chapter
of the National Honor Society. A member of the
National
Honor Society is expected to maintain his or her
academic
standing and take an active role in service and
leadership
to his or her school and community.
Section 2—If a
member’s cumulative GPA falls below the
standard
in effect when he or she was selected (3.5), he
or
she will be given a written warning and a time period
for
improvement. If the cumulative GPA remains below
standard
at the end of the warning period, the student will
be
subject to further disciplinary action by the Faculty
Council,
which may include consideration of dismissal
from
the chapter.
Section 3—If a
member fails to perform any of the published
obligations
of membership, he or she will be given a
written
warning and a time period for improvement. If the
obligation
remains unmet at the end of the warning period,
the
student will be subject to further disciplinary action
by
the Faculty Council, which may include dismissal from
the
chapter.
Section 4—Violation
of the law or school regulations can
result
in dismissal of a member. These violations include,
but
are not limited to, DWI; stealing; destruction of property;
cheating;
truancy; or possession, selling, or being
under
the influence of drugs or alcohol at school or
school-related
activities.
Section 5—Offenders
of the school conduct code (such as
use
of profanity, failure to comply, unexcused absence,
excessive
tardiness, etc.) will receive written warning notification.
A
conference may be requested by either party
(Faculty
Council, student, or parent). If the member is
involved
in another violation of the school conduct code,
the
member may be considered for dismissal.
Section 6—The Summit High School Chapter
of the National Honor
Society
of Secondary Schools shall use a “strike” system.
After
a member has three strikes, they may be considered
for
dismissal. Members may receive a strike if they obtain
an
unexcused absence to a meeting, turn in hours late,
fail
to meet the requirements of Summit’s NHS, etc.
Section 7—In all
cases of pending dismissal:
a.
The member will receive written notification indicating
the
reason for possible dismissal from the adviser or
Faculty
Council. The member and adviser will discuss
the
written notification in a conference. Situations that
involve
flagrant violations of school rules or the law
can
warrant disciplinary action without a written warning
although
a hearing must still be held (see below).
b.
The member will be given the opportunity to respond
to
the charge against him or her at a hearing before
the
Faculty Council prior to the vote on dismissal. The
Faculty
Council will then vote on whether to dismiss.
A
majority vote of the Faculty Council is needed to
dismiss
any member.
c.
The results of the Faculty Council vote will be reviewed
by
the principal and then, if confirmed, expressed in a
letter
sent to the student, parents, and principal.
Dismissed
members must surrender any membership
emblems
to the adviser.
APPENDICES
d.
The Faculty Council’s decision may be appealed to the
building
principal and afterwards through the school
district
discipline policy.
e.
When a student is dismissed or resigns, he or she is no
longer
a member and may not be reconsidered for
membership
in the National Honor Society.
Section 8—In lieu
of dismissal, the Faculty Council may
impose
disciplinary sanctions upon a member as deemed
appropriate.
Article V: OFFICERS
Section 1—The
officers of the chapter shall be president,
vice
president, secretary, community service coordinator,
and
public relations.
Section 2—Student
officers shall be elected at the last
meeting
of each school year. All returning active members
are
eligible to run for a position as an officer. All active
members
of the chapter are eligible to vote.
Section 3—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.
The
following duties should reflect the responsibilities
developed
for officers in the local chapter:
Section 4—It shall
be the duty of the president to preside
at
the meetings for this chapter.
Section 5—The vice
president shall preside in the absence
of
the president and shall also keep a record of members’
contributions
to leadership and service.
Section 6—The
secretary shall keep the minutes of
meetings
and be responsible for all official chapter
correspondence.
Section 7—The community service coordinator shall
coordinate
all
community service projects.
Section 8—The public relations officer shall maintain Summit’s
National
Honor Society blog, Facebook page, and bulletin board.
Article VI: EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Section 1—The
executive committee shall consist of the
faculty
adviser and the chapter officers.
Section 2—The
executive committee shall have general
charge
of the meetings and the business of the chapter,
but
any action by the executive committee is subject to the
review
of the chapter members.
Section 3—At least one
executive council member must be in attendance at a NHS project.
Article VII: MEETINGS
Section 1—Meetings
of this chapter shall be monthly.
Executive
council members shall meet weekly.
Section 2—This
chapter shall conduct its meetings according
to
Robert’s Rules of Order.
Section 3—All
chapter members are expected to attend all
regularly
scheduled chapter meetings.
If
a member is absent (unexcused) more than two times the
member
may be considered for removal.
Article VIII: 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. All members must have t least five group
hours
and seven other hours (group or individual) for a
total
of twelve hours every semester.
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—Each
member shall have the responsibility for
choosing
and participating in an individual service project
that
reflects his or her particular talents and interests and
as
approved by the chapter adviser. This is in addition to
the
chapter projects to which all members contribute.
Section 5—The
chapter shall publicize its projects in a
positive
manner.
Article IX: EMBLEM
Section 1—Each
member of this chapter who is in good
standing
with regard to the membership standards and
member
obligations shall have the privilege of wearing the
emblem
adopted by the National Honor Society
Section 2—Any
member who withdraws, resigns, or is dismissed
from
the chapter shall return the emblem to the
chapter.(If
the members purchased such emblems, the
chapter
is obligated to reimburse the student for said
expense.)
APPENDICES
Section 3—Chapter
members who are seniors in good
standing
shall be granted the privilege of wearing the
honor
cords or other insignia adopted at the local level at
graduation.
Article X: DUES
Section 1—Annual
dues for this chapter shall be
a
fifteen dollar joining fee.
Section 2—Dues
will be payable to the chapter treasurer
within
30 days of induction.
Article XI: POWERS
Section 1—The
chapter adviser is given the authority to
supervise
the administration of chapter activities, as delegated
by
the school principal.
Section 2—The
principal shall reserve the right to approve
all
activities and decisions of the chapter.
Section 3—These
bylaws are designed to amplify provisions
of
the national constitution and cannot contradict
any
components thereof. The chapter is obligated to
adhere
to the provisions of the national constitution in all
activities
it undertakes.
Article XII: JOINING
Members must turn in fees and
contracts.
Members must attend rehearsal
induction ceremony and
induction ceremony.
A letter must be sent to the
applicant informing them of their admission.
Article XIII: AMENDMENTS
Section 1—These
bylaws may be amended by a two-thirds
vote
of the chapter, provided notice of the proposed
amendment
has been given to members at least one
month
prior to the vote. The exceptions are selection and discipline,
which
are developed by the Faculty Council with the approval
of
the principal.
Section 2—Bylaws
and amendments must be consistent
with
the constitution of the National Honor Society.
Date:
August 28, 2012.
