Caddo Magnet High
Academic and Arts Chapter
Of the
National Honor Society
Selection and Membership
Information
(Updated 2020)
The National Honor Society is one of the most prestigious organizations available to high school students. This organization makes a positive difference in the lives of individuals, in the spirit of the community, and in the school. Membership into National Honor Society is a privilege and an honor. Students do not apply for membership; instead, they provide information to be used by the local selection committee to support their candidacy. The Faculty Council selects students who exhibit outstanding performance in all four criteria of scholarship, leadership, service, and character. Membership is based on grades, discipline, faculty approval, service, and student activities. A student who qualifies for membership into the Academic and Arts Chapter of the National Honor Society shall be enrolled at Caddo Parish Magnet High School in either the tenth, eleventh, or twelfth grade and shall agree to abide by the rules and regulations set forth by the chapter.
Requirements
Scholarship
Must maintain a cumulative 3.800 GPA
Leadership
Demonstrates initiative and exemplifies positive attitudes
Contributes ideas that improve the civic life of the school
Is a leader in the classroom, at work, and in other school/community activities
Is dependable in any responsibility accepted
Service
Volunteers ten hours per semester and provides dependable assistance
Works well with others
Willing to represent CMHS in scholastic competition
**Must show a history of service (A student in the 10th grade must have done 10 hours in 9th and 10 hours 1st semester of 10th or 20 hours 1st semester of 10th)
See Community Service
Character
Graciously accepts constructive criticism
Consistently exemplifies desirable qualities of behavior
Demonstrates the highest standards of honesty and reliability
Regularly shows courtesy, concern, and respect
Is able to demonstrate an outstanding record of conduct and behavior with regard to
school and community rules, guidelines, and policies
Has no disciplinary referrals in the office – includes tardiness, Honesty Policy, any kind of suspensions
Five Step Selection Process
- After first semester grades are in, the Faculty Council compiles a list of all sophomores, juniors, and seniors who have a 3.800 grade point average.
- The Faculty Council sends a list of prospective candidates to the assistant principal in charge of discipline. This administrator checks discipline files to ensure that candidates have not violated school rules that result in disciplinary action.
- The Faculty Council takes a compiled list of prospective candidates with a 3.800 and who have maintained a clean disciplinary record to the faculty for approval. The faculty reviews this list and has the opportunity to state relevant comments regarding prospective members. If two or more teachers write that a student regularly exhibits behaviors or attitudes not consistent with National Honor Society standards, the student will be denied membership for the current year.
- With faculty approval, the candidates selected for membership receive student activity forms that each student fills out and turns in at a specified time. The purpose of this form is to find out about community service and school organizations.
- The Faculty Council makes the final selection, and the sponsor sends notes to those who will be inducted into NHS.
Questions and Answers About Service
How many service hours do I need for the year?
You need ten hours per semester.
Where can I find service opportunities, and do they have to be with NHS?
Service projects are on the bulletin board across from C-1. Your hours are not limited to NHS. You may count hours from Interact, Key Club, etc.
Why can’t I do all of my hours at one time, like in the summer?
NHS promotes regular volunteerism, not just once or twice a year.
Does that mean my extra hours are wasted?
A large number of volunteer hours is a positive indicator on your college applications. Also, you
may use two of your summer hours each semester toward your ten hours. To get the state’s new Community Service Endorsement, you must have 10 hours in 9th, 20 in 10th, 25 in 11th, and 25 in 12th. Service hours are important to colleges.
How do I verify my volunteer service?
Record your hours in the notebooks on the door of C-1 (Mrs. Morehead’s door). Do not procrastinate,
or you will forget!
Transfer Students
With a letter from the current NHS Chapter, a student having previously been a member of NHS at his/ her school will be accepted into Caddo Magnet’s Chapter.
**Community Service**
There are posters in the halls that have examples of community service. Although the state guidelines for the graduation service endorsement allow assisting and participating in worship services, ushering, teaching Sunday School, or baby-sitting during services, we feel that community service must also include going outside of your regular routine, so be sure that you are not primarily staying within your weekly activities, but that you are also going into the community. Eligible community service examples include tutoring children, working in soup kitchens, group projects in shelters, building for Habitat for Humanity, and volunteering in senior citizens’ centers by playing music, reading, etc.
If you are part of a group and are required to be at an event to work or perform, or if you are raising money for your group, that is not community service. Helping your family is not community service. If you are raising money for groups such as the Valencia Center, Providence House, etc. that is community service. Activities must make a positive contribution to the wider community.
Non-Selection of Candidates
After first semester grades are in, the NHS sponsor will have a list of students eligible for NHS who have a 3.8 grade point average and a record of those whose names were eliminated due to disciplinary actions, non-teacher approval, lack of service, and lack of student activities. Students may check with this sponsor to find out why membership was denied. If denial was due to faculty disapproval, the student may request that the Faculty Council meet with the teachers involved and review the reasons for disapproval. The Faculty Council makes the decision and relates this decision to the student. The principal shall receive appeals in cases of non-selection.
Probation and Dismissal
The Faculty Council reviews grades, discipline, and service hours each semester. Any student having below a 3.800 GPA, or any student who does not have the required 10 service hours, will be advised in writing of his/her standing and will have one semester to restore the minimum standards before dismissal. NHS members must maintain a clean discipline record or will be dismissed. This includes academic dishonesty, ISS, and school suspension. Juniors who do not fulfill the required service hours will be dismissed after school is out. Seniors who do not fulfill the required service hours will be dismissed at the beginning of the 3rd nine. Weeks. The Faculty Council sends a written notification of dismissal to the member. Members who fall below the required standards shall be promptly warned in writing by the chapter adviser and given a reasonable amount of time to correct the deficiency, except in the case of flagrant violation of school rules or the law, then a member does not have to be warned.
The Faculty Council shall determine when an individual has exceeded a reasonable number of warnings.
In all cases of pending dismissal, a member shall have the right to a hearing before the Faculty Council. For purposes of dismissal, a majority vote of the Faculty Council is required.
A dismissed member may appeal the decision of the Faculty Council to the principal.
Sponsors | Brooke Jones
October: We are making Care Kits for diabetes patients at the MLK Heath Center. The money we earned from our Pizza Rev fundraiser night will be used for some of their medical supplies!
October-November: We will collect children’s books for Common Ground.
Ongoing Service projects are posted on the NHS board on C Wing.
Science Sidekicks opportunities are posted each week.
National Honor Society’s 13th Annual Pancake Breakfast was Saturday, September 7. Approximately 4 million people out of the total population in Cambodia lack access to safe water. The $1000 we raised will be used to refurbish wells that will make a difference in children having safe water to drink at home and at school.
