Burlington Township High School
Chapter of
National Honor Society
Bylaws
Revised November 2016
Article 1
Name and Purpose
Section 1. The name of this chapter shall be the Burlington Township High School Chapter of the National Honor Society of Secondary Schools, which appears on the charter granted by the National Council of the National Honor Society, duly signed by the members of the National Council.
Section 2. The object of this chapter shall be to create an enthusiasm for scholarship, to stimulate a desire to render service, to promote worthy leadership, and to encourage the development of character in all students of the Burlington Township High School.
Article II
Membership
Section 1. Membership in this chapter shall be based upon Scholarship, Service, Leadership, and Character.
Section 2. Membership in this chapter shall be known as active, graduate, and honorary. The graduate and honorary members have no vote. Active members become graduate members at graduation.
Section 3. Candidates must have spent a minimum of one semester at Burlington Township High School and must be members of the junior, or senior class. Candidates must have a fixed minimum scholarship average of 4.0 on a 5.0 scale.
Article III
Selection of Members
Section 1. Students are elected to the National Honor Society on the basis of scholarship, leadership, service, and character. There is no quota system. All students who receive a majority vote by the faculty council are selected.
Section 2. All juniors, and all seniors who have a 4.0 GPA become candidates. Students GPAs are not subject to be rounded up to meet the 4.0 criteria.
Section 3: Selection of members of this chapter shall be by a majority vote of the Faculty Council consisting of five faculty members appointed by the Principal. The chapter adviser shall by the sixth, nonvoting, ex officio member of the faculty council.
Section 4: 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.
Section 5: The selection of new active members shall be held once a year during the first semester of the school year.
Section 6: Candidates become members when inducted at a special ceremony.
Section 7: Once selected and inducted, all members are expected to maintain the standards by which they were selected and maintain all obligations of membership.
Section 8: 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 9: 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.
Section 10: An active member of the National Honor Society who transfers from the school will be given a letter indicating the status of his membership and signed by the Principal.
Article IV
Dismissal of Members
Section 1. A member can be dismissed when his/her grade point average falls below the standards by which the student was selected. In our school, one must maintain a 4.0 grade point average. If a member’s average falls below a 4.0 grade point average, the member will be given one semester to bring the average up to a 4.0. The student will be warned in writing to inform him/her that he/she has a marking period to bring the average up to a 4.0. A student may also be dismissed if he/she falls below the standards as outlined in Article III, Section 4.
Students may also be dismissed if they do not maintain participation requirements as outlined in Articles VII and VIII. All members are required to attend monthly meetings, participate in the chapter service project, and complete 25 hours of additional community service per year and be active in 3 varied school activities. If the student is not involved in three activities they should complete five additional hours for each activity they are short.
Section 2. Student will be warned in writing whenever the he/she falls below the standard for admission or does not maintain standards for continuing membership.
Section 3. On the third written warning, the Faculty Council will review the student’s standing and determine whether dismissal is appropriate.
Section 4. In cases of impending dismissal, a chapter member shall have the right to be notified in writing of the offenses and to a hearing before the Faculty Council.
Section 5. Appeals of dismissal are to be handled in the same fashion as disciplinary appeals in our school district.
Section 6. When a member is dismissed, he must be notified in writing and his/her pin, emblem, and membership card must be returned to the advisor or principal.
Article V
Officers
Section 1. The officers of this chapter shall be a president, vice-president, secretary, & treasurer.
Section 2. A majority of votes cast shall be necessary to elect any officer of this chapter.
Section 3. The duties of each officer are as follows:
President:
Preside over meetings
Emcee for induction ceremony
Suggest topics for meetings
Vice-President:
Take attendance at each meeting
Suggest topics for meetings
Chair meetings when President is absent
Secretary:
Take minutes of monthly meeting and prepare minutes reports
Make up notices for membership/meetings
Treasurer:
Keep accounts for any fund raisers
Deposit money collect for fund raisers
Give a treasury report at every meeting
Section 4. The duties of the officers are in addition to their duties as member of NHS.
Article VI
Supervision
Section 1. The activities of this chapter shall be subject to the approval of the principal.
ARTICLE VII
Meetings
Section 1: Meetings of this chapter shall be Monthly. Other meetings may be held as needed.
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 unable to attend a meeting, they are expected to inform the chapter adviser or chapter president prior to the meeting.
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 .
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: The chapter shall publicize its projects in a positive manner.
Section 5: Each member shall have the responsibility of completing 25 service hours each year. This is in addition to a chapter project to which all members contribute. If there is no chapter project the requirement will be 30
Section 6: All members of the NHS must participate in 3 varied in school sponsored activities each year. Clubs that meet on a documented, regular basis and take attendance will count towards the NHS service to school requirement. If the NHS member does not participate in 3 varied school activities they are required to add 5 hours of community service for each missing activity.
Section 7: All students are required to participate in the yearly induction ceremony each year they are an active member of National Honor Society.
Article IX
Emblem
Section 1: Each member of this chapter shall be entitled to wear the emblem adopted by the National Honor Society of Secondary Schools.
Section 2: Any member who withdraws or is dismissed from the chapter shall return the emblem