National Junior Honor Society

For Members:

  • Keep your average grade a 93% for all four quarters this year! If you don't, you will be put on probation and possibly removed from the society.

  • Please earn 10 hours of community service IN ADDITION TO your Confirmation hours. See "hours" below for more information.

  • You must be in attendance at the initiation ceremony on Honors Night in the spring. More information will come later this year.

For Applicants:

  • Applications are due the day before you leave for Spring Break. Late applications will not be accepted.

  • The ten hours of service are also due on that date.

  • Initiation will be on Honors Night in the spring. More information will come later this year.

Service Hour Opportunities:

  • Ask teachers if they need help cleaning their classrooms! We're here Monday-Wednesday next week and could use some helpful students to take down decorations and help us pack up!

  • Vacation Bible School (if not using for Confirmation or if earning over 20 hours)

  • Being a Safety Town councilor

  • Feed My Starving Children, Bernie's Book Bank, Cradles to Crayons, etc.

Ask teachers if they need help with anything! They're always looking for students to help set up their classrooms!

Regulations for Teacher Recommendations:

  • Students must give teachers at least one week to complete recommendations

  • Recommendation forms are found in the application packets, available in Dr. Carlini's and Ms. Baniewicz's classrooms

  • Dr. Carlini, Ms. Baniewicz and Mrs. Bulfin are not eligible to write recommendations

  • Recommendations must come from a current teacher or a sixth grade teacher. Recommendations from a fifth or fourth grade teacher, even a current tutor, are not accepted

Regulations for Service Hours:

  • Must be in service to the school, church or community at large

  • Cannot be in service to a student's family or friends

  • Must be separate from Confirmation service hours

  • Hours must be recorded on the application sheet, available in Dr. Carlini or Ms. Baniewicz's classrooms

  • Hours must be signed off by the leader of the activity, not a student's parent (unless the parent chaperoned)

  • Hours must be completed by the time students leave for break. Hours of anticipated service are not accepted

Ideas for Service Hours Include (but are in no way limited to):

  • Working at the Humane Society or an animal shelter

  • Volunteering at a soup kitchen or homeless shelter

  • Working at Feed My Starving Children

  • Tutoring a younger student without pay


  • Helping a teacher before or after school

  • Working the PADS lunches supervised by Alma Vedra

  • Volunteering at church or school events like Fall Family Fest

Regulations for Grades:

  • Lead teachers will receive a copy of students' grades each quarter and will determine eligibility based on the previous three quarters' grades

  • Students with an average grade below 93% will not be eligible to apply

  • Students with any grades below "S" in a specials course will likewise not be eligible to apply

  • Do not provide a copy of your report card in the application

Regulations for the Essay:

  • Essay should be one page, double spaced in 12-pt font

  • Essay should adequately cover all five characteristics sought in an NJHS member: Scholarship, Citizenship, Leadership, Service and Character

  • Essays may not be edited by a National Junior Honor Society lead teacher prior to the due date but may be edited or read by another teacher

  • Essay should be grammatically correct and have correct spelling

If you have questions about the application process, please email Ms. Baniewicz at abaniewicz@schoolofstmary.org, Dr. Carlini at mcarlini@schoolofstmary.org, or Mr. Doherty at bdoherty@schoolofstmary.org and please allow at least 24 hours for a response. Some issues and questions may require research into the national bylaws and will require more time.