Academic Awards and Honors

ACADEMIC LETTER AWARD

This award is given in recognition of academic excellence at Nevada High School and is awarded annually. The following are the criteria for receiving this award:

1. Freshmen must have a 3.5 cumulative grade point average after their 2nd semester to qualify for an academic letter. 

2. Students who do not qualify as freshmen must have a 3.50 cumulative grade point average to first qualify for an academic letter. 

3. Previous Academic Award winners must maintain a 3.50 cumulative grade point average in the 10th, 11th, and 12th grades to receive additional academic letters.

4. Students must remain in good academic standing at all times. This includes attendance, grades, progress reports, tardies, etc. 

5. Recognition and presentation of the Academic Letter Award will take place at the Academic Awards Program during the opening of the following school year. Seniors will be recognized during the Senior Awards Night prior to graduation.

ACADEMIC HONORS

1. Valedictorian: Highest Ranking Senior based upon 8 semesters of work *

2. Salutatorian: 2nd Highest Ranking Senior based upon 8 semesters of work *

3. Top 10% of Class: Senior ranking in the top 10% of the class, who has completed 6 Honors courses with a cumulative GPA of 3.67 based upon 8 semesters of work. ** Honors diploma given and gold cord worn at graduation.

4. Honors Diploma: Senior who has completed 6 Honors courses with a cumulative GPA of 3.67 based upon  8 semesters of work.**

*To be considered for Valedictorian or Salutatorian, the student must complete 8 units of credit offered at Nevada  High School from the following courses:

**To be considered for the Honors Diploma, the student must complete 6 units of credit offered at Nevada High  School from the following courses:

English III Honors or AP; Psychology/Sociology; English IV Honors or AP; Spanish III; Trigonometry/Math Analysis; Spanish IV; College Algebra; French III; Calculus; French IV; Quantitative Reasoning; Speech and Debate (junior and senior year only); Biology II; Animal Science; Chemistry I; Ag Management & Economics; Chemistry II; Civil Engineering & Architecture; Human Anatomy/Physiology; Digital Electronics; Physics; Engineering Design & Development; Advanced American History;  

MSHSAA SCHOLASTIC ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS

The Missouri Athletic Association requires the following for achievement awards: 1. Outstanding Scholastic Achievement Certificate--To a team or activity group that achieved a 3.25 or above semester GPA during their specific season. Qualification for this award is computed by the accumulation of a 3.25 or above by the team/activity members as a group. 

2. Distinguished Scholastic Achievement Certificate--To a team/activity group that achieved a 3.0-3.25 semester GPA during their specific season. Computation is the same as above. 3. Most Improved Scholastic Achievement Certificate-To an individual squad team/activity member who has most significantly improved his/her scholastic achievement over previous achievements, reflected in an improved GPA. All students, including managers, who are part of the team or activity group, will be included in determining the combined GPA. The team's GPA will be computed for the semester in which the activity occurs. For activities occurring in both semesters, the composite GPA will be computed on the basis of grades earned during the 2nd quarter of the 1st semester and the 1st quarter of the 2nd semester, for music activities, either 1st or 2nd semester may be used.

NATIONAL HONOR SOCIETY

Selection for membership in the National Honor Society of Nevada High School is based on the qualities of leadership, scholarship, service and character. In the area of scholarship, a student must have attended Nevada High School for at least 1 full year and have an overall high school grade point average of 3.50 or higher. At the end of the first semester of each school year, all sophomore, junior and senior students not presently in Honor Society who meet the scholarship requirements are given a questionnaire to fill out concerning the activities they have participated in during high school, all elected or appointed leadership positions held in school, community or work activities, community and service activities they have taken part in, and job experiences, honors or recognitions received.

Eligible students are instructed to fill out the form to the best of their knowledge including all relevant information and return the completed form by a specified date if they want to be considered for membership in Honor Society. A committee composed of 5 faculty members appointed by the Principal reads and considers the questionnaires.  Students not turning in the questionnaire are not considered. The members are voted upon by the faculty council and are notified by the advisor.

Members of the Honor Society must maintain a 3.5 overall GPA and acceptable standards of character and service.  Membership in the National Honor Society is an honor and recognition of outstanding achievement.