CJSF

California Junior Scholarship Federation

Valley View Charter Montessori Middle School

CJSF Advisor: Ms. Mindy Compton Sideris, Room B3

CJSF, or California Junior Scholarship Federation, is a statewide organization founded for the purpose of fostering high standards of scholarship, service, and citizenship in the middle school grades. CJSF emphasizes service to the school and the community while creating pride in scholastic achievement.

In compliance with CJSF by-laws, students may apply for CJSF membership during their seventh grade (2nd/3rd trimesters) and eighth grade (1st/2nd/3rd trimesters) years only. Membership is based on Scholarship, Service, and Citizenship. Listed below is the criteria for membership.

Membership is based on work done from the previous trimester. Therefore, 7th graders are eligible to apply for membership starting at the beginning of their second trimester.
You must earn TWICE the number of points than courses in which you are enrolled that meet membership requirements.
No points are earned for PE, a remedial or repeated course, or work experience in which pay is involved.
Points are granted as follows:

A= 3 points

B= 1 point

C= 0 points

D/F= will debar from membership if received in ANY class

You must reapply each trimester for membership.

SERVICE

Two hours of community service MUST be completed the trimester PRIOR, and verified on the application itself.
School based community service is our preference. Students must perform a minimum of 2 hours of school based community service. This must be volunteer work; a grade or money cannot be received for this service. The work MUST be performed outside of school class time.
Outside community service must be approved in advance. Please see Ms. Sideris in room B3 for preauthorization of outside service. For verification of preapproved off campus service you must attach a letter on the organization’s letterhead stating the following: the date service was provided, description of service, hours completed, name and signature of the contact person. The coordinator may not be your parent or a relative.

CITIZENSHIP

The student must maintain excellent school and community citizenship at all times. Earning a detention or suspension will debar a student from membership for that trimester.

As per the by-laws of the Federation, it is the student’s responsibility to obtain a membership application and return it to the library by the due date. This will occur at the end of each trimester. No late applications will be accepted. Applications are available in the library and on our website. Membership in CJSF is not automatic.

To qualify for the Gold Seal award, graduating 8^th grade students must have been a member of CJSF for both the last TWO trimesters of their 7^th grade year and the first TWO trimesters of their 8^th grade year.

To qualify for the President’s Award for Educational Excellence, graduating 8^th grade students must have a cumulative GPA of 3.8 or above.

FIELD TRIPS

At the end of each trimester, students who maintained CJSF membership for the entire trimester and met all requirements will be invited to attend the CJSF field trip. These field trips will be both fun and educational. Most field trips will be visits to local colleges and universities, such as visiting the University of California at Davis for the day and taking a campus tour. This field trip is considered a reward for the students' hard work, and students who attend the field trip will be exempt from their schoolwork and homework for the day.

MEETINGS

Meetings will be held during lunchtime. Students are welcome to bring their lunches and eat with Ms. Sideris in the classroom. The meetings will be held on the first Wednesday of every month, or more often as needed. We will talk about possible volunteer activities and answer questions, as well as brainstorm ideas for our club.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------