By-Laws (Constitution)

Chapter Bylaws

of the

Hillsboro Junior High Chapter

of the

National Junior Honor Society

Adopted: May 15, 2019]

 

 

ARTICLE I:  NAME 

 

The name of this chapter shall be the Hillsboro Junior High Chapter of the National Junior Honor Society of the Hillsboro RIII School District. 

ARTICLE II: PURPOSE

The purpose of this chapter shall be to create enthusiasm for scholarship, to stimulate a desire to render service, to promote leadership, to develop character, and to encourage good citizenship in students of Hillsboro Junior High School.

ARTICLE III: POWERS

Section 1: This chapter operates under the direction of and in full compliance with the National Constitution of NJHS. See www.njhs.us/constitutions. In addition, this chapter will maintain active affiliation with the national organization on an annual basis.

Section 2: This chapter will remain an active member of the state association,  National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) , by paying annual dues and participating in state functions when possible.

Section 3. The chapter adviser is given the authority to supervise the administration of chapter activities, as delegated by the school principal. 

Section 4: Final authority on all activities and decisions of the chapter resides with the school principal. [For reference, see Article V, Section 1 of the National Constitution.]

Section 5: Nondiscrimination. Our chapter of NJHS maintains policies and practices that are designed to prevent discrimination against any qualified candidate or member on the basis of race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, gender, and disability. This policy of nondiscrimination applies to all practices, including the chapter administration and the selection, discipline, and dismissal of members.

ARTICLE IV: MEMBERSHIP

 Section 1.  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, character, and citizenship.

 Section 2.  Membership in this chapter shall be known as active, honorary, and alumni.  Active members become alumni members at graduation. Alumni and honorary members have no voice or vote in chapter affairs.

 Section 3.  Eligibility:

a.    Candidates eligible for selection to this chapter must be in the second semester of the seventh grade, or members of eighth, or ninth grade class.

b.    To be eligible for selection to membership in this chapter, the candidate must have been enrolled for a period equivalent to one semester at Hillsboro Junior High School.

c.     Candidates eligible for election to the chapter shall have a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.3 on a 4.0 scale. 

d.    Upon meeting the grade level, enrollment, and GPA standards, candidates shall then be considered based on their service, leadership, character, and citizenship.

Steps to the selection and induction to the Hillsboro Junior High NJHS chapter.

a. Invitation Letter: Students in the 7th or 8th grade who meet the following criteria will receive a Letter of Invitation to join NJHS organization. This letter will need to be signed by both parents and the applicant to move on to the next step. 

b. GPA: Students needed a minimum of a 3.3 GPA. The student's GPA will be converted to a percentage and then added to the overall total.

c. Application:   The application must be completed and turned in to the chapter adviser by the due date.  Each section of the application must be completed and will be given a score to be added to the overall total.  The total score will be converted to a percentage  and will be worth 1/4 of the overall total.  The application will be assigned through the NJHS Candidate Google Classroom.

d. Teacher Evaluations:  The applicants will need to email each of their teachers the link to the teacher evaluations.  Teachers will complete the evaluations based on their knowledge of the applicant and then turn the forms in directly to the chapter adviser.  These evaluations are kept confidential and will not be shared with the applicant at any time.  The evaluations will be added up to give an overall total and converted to a percentage.  This percentage will be one fourth of the overall total score.  (If there is a teacher evaluation missing, an average of the other evaluations will be added to the total in place of the missing evaluations.  The advisor will make every effort to get the teacher evaluations from the teachers first.)

e. Interview:  The interview will be uploaded to Flipgrid through Google Classroom.  A faculty panel will view and score the video interviews.  Interviews will be not more than 5 minutes in length.  Questions will be based on some of the information from the application and/or questions that demonstrate the 5 pillars of NJHS.  The overall score from the interviews will be converted to a percentage and added to the overall score. 

Total:  NJHS can take up to 50 current 7th graders and up to 20 current 8th graders.  The advisor may take less than than the maximum if there is a natural break in the total numbers.  If there is not a natural break, then the maximum number will be used.  The faculty panel will make the final decisions if there is a tie to take the final spots.  The faculty panel will go back over all the information that was submitted by the applicant.

Section 4. Candidates become members when inducted at a special ceremony.

Section 5.  An active member of the National Junior Honor Society who transfers from this school will be given an official letter indicating the status of his/her membership.

 Section 6.  An active member of the National Junior 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/her membership.

ARTICLE VI: OBLIGATIONS OF MEMBERS 

 Section 1.  Annual dues for this chapter shall be $20.  Dues will be payable to the chapter within the first quarter following the induction. 

 Section 2.  Each member of this chapter who is in good standing with regard to the membership standards and member obligations shall be entitled to wear the emblem adopted by the National Junior Honor Society.

 Section 3.  Any member who withdraws, resigns, or is dismissed from the chapter shall return the emblem to the chapter.

ARTICLE VII:  OFFICERS

Section 1.  The officers of the chapter shall be president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer.

Section 2.  Student officers shall be elected at the second meeting of each school year.  All returning members in good standing with the chapter are eligible to run for a position as an officer. Any active member can nominate an eligible member as a candidate for office.

Section 3.  Voting shall be by secret ballot. 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.

Section 4.  It shall be the duty of the president to serve as the official representative of the chapter at school and community functions.

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 and attendance records for meetings and be responsible for all official correspondence.

 Section 7.  The treasurer shall keep the record of business expenses, dues, and all other financial transactions of the chapter.

Section 8.  Officers and the faculty adviser(s) shall collectively be known as the chapter’s executive committee. The executive committee shall establish annual goals for the chapter and 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.

ARTICLE VIII:  MEETINGS

Section 1.  Regular meetings of this chapter shall be weekly on the Tuesday of each week). Special meetings can be called by the president with approval of the adviser.

Section 2.  This chapter shall conduct its meetings according to Robert’s Rules of Order.

Section 3. Members are expected to attend all chapter meetings.

ARTICLE IX:  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.  Each member shall have the responsibility for choosing and participating in an individual service project which 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.  Members will earn community service hours for participating in service projects. 

Section 5.  The chapter shall publicize and promote its projects in a positive manner.

ARTICLE X:  DISCIPLINE and DISMISSAL of MEMBERS

 Section 1.  Any member who falls below the standards of scholarship, service, leadership, character, or citizenship may be considered for discipline or dismissal from the Hillsboro Junior High chapter of the National Junior Honor Society. A member of the National Junior Honor Society is expected to maintain his/her academic standing and take an active role in service and leadership to his/her school and community.

Section 2.  If a member’s cumulative grade point average falls below the standard in effect when he/she was selected 3.3 GPA, he /she will be given a written warning and a reasonable time period for improvement.  If the cumulative grade point average remains below standard at the end of the warning period the student will be subject to further disciplinary action by the faculty council that includes consideration of dismissal from the chapter.

Section 3.  Violations of the law or school regulations can result in immediate consideration of the dismissal of a member (see Section 5 below).  These violations include, but are not limited to stealing; fighting; destruction of property; cheating; truancy; or possession, selling, or being under the influence of drugs or alcohol at school or school-related activities or in the community.

Section 4.  Offenders of the school conduct code (such as use of profanity, failure to comply, unexcused absences, excessive tardiness, etc.) will receive written warning notification. A conference may be requested by either party (faculty council or student/parent). If the member is involved in another violation of the school conduct code, the member may be considered for dismissal.

Section 5.  Chapter officers, as representatives of the chapter, can be removed from their positions as a consequence of disciplinary action taken by the faculty council. 

Section 6. In all cases of pending dismissal:

a. The member will receive written notification from the adviser indicating the reason for consideration of dismissal. 

b. The member has the right to respond to the charge(s) against him/her at a hearing before the faculty council prior to any vote on dismissal (in accordance with due process identified in Article X of the National Constitution). The member has the opportunity to present his/her defense either in person or via a written statement presented in lieu of the face-to-face hearing. Following the hearing, 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 presented to the principal for review, and then stated in a letter sent to the student and parents. Dismissed members must surrender any membership emblems to the adviser.

d. The faculty council’s decision may be appealed to the building principal and afterwards according to provisions of the school district discipline policies.

e. A member who is dismissed or resigns may never again be considered for membership in the National Junior Honor Society. 

Section 7.  In lieu of dismissal, the faculty council may impose disciplinary sanctions upon a member as deemed appropriate.

ARTICLE XI: RATIFICATION, APPROVAL, and REVIEW. 

Section 1: These bylaws will be approved upon receiving a two-thirds affirmative vote of all active members of the chapter, a majority affirmative vote of the faculty council, and approval by the administration. 

Section 2: These bylaws shall be reviewed and if necessary, revised within five years from the date of approval noted on this document. 

ARTICLE XII: AMENDMENTS 

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 Articles IV, V, and X, which are developed by the faculty council with the approval of the principal. 

Approved on May 15, 2019: