National Honor Society
Induction into the Grace Kinnelly chapter of the National Honor society is based on a very specific group of criteria.
Scholarship: Students become eligible during the second semester of their Junior year with an overall GPA of 3.8. Each candidate who meets this requirement is then considered for induction based on an admission packet containing a personal essay, three recommendations from teachers and a list of their activities within and outside of the school.
Service: Service is the second major criteria for admission to the National Honor Society. Candidates must list all of the service hours they have accumulated throughout their high school career. Service is defined as acts performed on behalf of others which do not produce any monetary or material gain to the individual performing those acts.
Character: Character is defined as the ability to demonstrate cooperation, courtesy, consistent attendance, and attitude toward constructive criticism.
Leadership: Leadership is evaluated by a student's initiative, resourcefulness, adaptability, involvement in classroom activities, and personal responsibility.
The candidates are rated by means of a survey distributed to every faculty member who has had contact with the student during the student's attendance in Westwood Jr. Sr. High School. All of the criteria contained in the survey are rated according to a rubric described in the by-laws of the chapter. Every survey returned by the faculty is compiled to illicit a true picture of the candidate and his/her ability to uphold the high standards of the National Honor Society. The Grace Kinnelly chapter at Westwood Jr. Sr. High School bases its procedures and operating guidelines on those detailed in the Nation Chapter of Honor Societies. A five member selection committee oversees the compilation of the surveys and the final selection process. This committee is comprised of faculty members, who are not advisors of the Honor Society, and the principal, to whom the committee reports. Within two weeks of the initial invitation, candidates will be informed of their acceptance into the chapter.
Seniors who did not qualify for acceptance at the end of the third marking period of their Junior year will become eligible to begin the selection process if they become academically eligible at the end of the fourth marking period of their Junior year. The selection process then begins in September of their Senior year.
The formal induction of all new members of the National Honor Society for the present school year will then be held in early October of that year.
Membership in the National Honor Society is not permanent. Members must maintain their status in Scholarship, Service, Character, and Leadership throughout the school year or be subject to a hearing before the selection committee.