Oakmont National Honor Society Chapter By-Laws and Procedures Objective of the National Honor Society The objective of the National Honor Society is 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 students of Oakmont. Faculty Council The Faculty Council consists of five members and the faculty advisor(s). The advisor chairs meetings and collects and presents information at these meetings. The advisor does not vote on the issues presented to the Council. The advisor acts as a student advocate. The Council elects National Honor Society members, approves the by-laws, serves as the disciplinary board, and establishes the policies under which the Honor Society members function. Selection Process The election of members to the National Honor Society is by Faculty Council vote. Candidates eligible for election shall have an un-weighted grade point average of 3.5 or better. The members shall be selected based on scholarship, service, leadership and character. All candidates will be members of the junior or senior class. In order to continue membership, students must maintain the selection standards that were the basis of their election to the society. Each eligible candidate will be asked to fill out a Student Information Sheet, which is turned in to the advisor. These sheets will be used by the Faculty Council to determine service scores for each candidate. Every staff member will receive an NHS Rating Form to complete. The rating form will allow staff the opportunity to rate the candidates character and leadership qualities, using the scale of 2 (strong recommendation), 1 (recommendation), and 0 (not recommended). When the teacher does not have sufficient information to rate a candidate, the space will be left blank. In addition, a space on the rating form will be provided for staff to cite evidence of service, character and leadership with which they are familiar, or to make known any reservations they might have. The teacher rating forms will be the basis for a student s selection for NHS. A majority vote by the Faculty Council will determine each individual s candidacy. All selections are subject to the approval of the Principal and are subject to National Honor Society handbook criteria. N.H.S. and Dual Enrollment Students who are enrolled full time in another school may find it difficult to be a member of the Oakmont National Honor Society. All students must maintain the selection standards that were the basis of their selection to the society. They must be present once a week for meetings and participate in chapter activities, and complete community service requirements. On the rare occasion when a student cannot be present for a meeting, the student must contact the vice-president of the chapter for information on chapter events and responsibilities. Dual enrollment students who cannot fulfill these requirements may be dismissed from the chapter.
N.H.S. and Membership in other Service Organizations Students who wish to participate in other service organizations, such as Peer Leaders or Student Council, must be able to maintain the selection standards that were the basis of their election to the National Honor Society. Students must be present once a week for meetings, participate in chapter activities, and complete community service requirements. Students may not use community services hours for NHS that fulfill requirements for other groups. Inductions All members must attend the formal induction ceremonies. A candidate is not considered a member of the chapter until he is formally inducted. In the event that a member of the chapter cannot be present at an induction ceremony, he/she must speak with an advisor in order to be excused. An unexcused absence will result in a minimum of a Level 1 disciplinary action. NHS Offices Interested students may self-nominate for any office, but may only run for a single office. Students will submit a letter of intent to the advisor by the campaign date, explaining the candidate s reasons and qualifications for running for a specific office. Each nominee is expected to deliver a campaign speech explaining his/her reasons for seeking office. Students seeking office in the Oakmont National Honor Society must be available during chapter meetings to give leadership to the group. They may not hold office if they have extensive responsibilities in another organization within the school, such as: class officer, Peer Leaders officer, Student Council Officer or OTV announcer. Voting will be by private ballot or show of hands, one office at a time. In the event of a tie, subsequent ballots will be taken until the tie is broken. If the group desires, candidates who are not elected for their first choice of office, may move their names (once) into another category. Once elected the officers agree to complete their assigned duties and to comply with the requirements of the office. If unable to perform the duties, the officer will step down or be removed, allowing for a replacement election to be held. The following are the duties for each office: President: Vice-President: To direct, organize and represent the Oakmont NHS chapter in all activities To oversee, with the advisor, all of the standing committees To assist in creating weekly and annual agendas To promote collaboration among all members To act in the President s absence To assist the President or any other officer To provide leadership on at least one standing committee To assist in the creation of weekly agendas To act a liaison for dual enrollment students Secretary: Treasurer: To post weekly agendas before meetings take place To take minutes during weekly meetings and post them in a timely fashion in the NHS classroom To review minutes from previous meetings at weekly meetings To complete all correspondence- including posting sign-up sheets for community requests for service To assist the advisors with tabulating community service logs To take attendance at meetings
To assist in the creation of weekly agendas To assist the secretary with correspondence To help with secretarial and other duties when there are no money issues Publicist/Historian: To publicize and advertise chapter activities in and out of Oakmont To and take photos collect items of all chapter activities for the chapter binder To maintain a chapter history (Power Point), showing chapter activities through pictures, brochures, and other items to be shown at the Spring Induction NHS Executive Committee The Executive Committee consists of the 5 NHS officers (i.e., president, vice-president, treasurer, secretary, publicist/historian) and the chapter advisor. Any NHS member with a suggestion or concern can give a note to an Executive Committee member, or verbally request that his/her concerns be addressed at the next weekly NHS meeting. The agenda for the weekly meeting is set by the Executive Committee prior to each weekly meeting and shared with the advisor(s) before the meeting. General Meetings The general meetings of the chapter will begin with approval of the minutes from the previous session, followed by old issues and projects, and then new and relevant issues. Meeting issues will be posted on a weekly agenda prior to each meeting. After a third unexcused absence from chapter meetings, the member will receive a level one disciplinary notice. Service Certification Members are required to render 20 individual community service hours per school year to school and/or community. These shall be hours that are specifically performed to satisfy NHS requirements. Hours for another service organization may not be counted. Hours will be logged onto service sheets filed with the NHS advisor and participation in group activities shall be tracked by the secretary as each activity takes place. Members are required to participate in a minimum of four group activities per year and are encouraged to participate in five. All members must participate in the planning of the two yearly induction ceremonies and help with the ceremonies. All members must attend the formal induction ceremonies. All members must participate in a designated official/identifying group project of the chapter such as a community canned food drive. Individual service hours may be split so that a minimum of 10 hours of service are rendered during the first semester of the school year and a minimum of 10 hours are completed during the second semester. The advisor, or the chapter secretary, will periodically check the service log/sheets. Individual service hours, such as preparation for group events, may be counted toward fulfillment of this 20 hour requirement. Failure to meet the service requirements will be a Level 2 disciplinary infraction. Failure to meet the service obligation at the end of the year may result in a Level 3 meeting with the Faculty Council. The following is a list of activities in which the chapter has participated in past years: 1. Providing tutoring without compensation 2. Canned food and clothing drive at Christmas 3. Planning and running induction ceremony 4. Faculty Appreciation day
5. Special Olympics 6. Westminster Historical Society renovations 7. Bell ringing for the Salvation Army 8. Planning and co-sponsoring Harmony Week with Student Council 9. Samaritan s Purse Christmas shoebox collection 10. Cradles to Crayons collection effort 11. Emergency relief collections 12. Project Bread Walk for Hunger 13. Red Thread support for Nepalese women 14. Jordyn s Day Service auction NHS Disciplinary Levels The advisor may initiate the disciplinary process at any appropriate level. In accordance with the national guidelines, In the case of flagrant violation of school rules or civil laws, a warning is not required for dismissal but a hearing will still be held. The student will be informed of the tie and place of the hearing. Level I Minor Infractions of NHS policies or school rules (e.g., detention, school attendance, meeting attendance) The advisor, when notified of a discipline issue with a member at this level, will meet with the NHS member to discuss and/or remediate the situation. Notes may be taken of the meeting and any plan developed may be placed in the NHS member s file. The NHS member will acknowledge these notes and/or plan by signature. Should the NHS member or advisor have any difficulty with the meeting result or plan, Level 2 actions will be sought. Level 2 Continued Violation of NHS policies or school rules (e.g., multiple detentions; continued attendance issues; multiple absences from events; failure to meet NHS requirements) When disciplinary events continue to develop, a formal warning letter will be sent to the NHS member involved. The letter will schedule a formal meeting with the advisor where a formal remediation plan will be developed with the NHS member. Clear objective plans will be developed too remediate the unacceptable behaviors and will be signed by the member and advisor with copies for the member s file, Faculty Council, and parents. The advisor will monitor the plan to assure compliance. Lack of compliance or failure to achieve the remediation plan goals will result in further action at Level 3. Level 3 Serious discipline issues that may result in removal from NHS (e.g. suspension from school; academic dishonesty; non-compliance with the Oakmont Chemical Health Policy; failure to maintain the standards of scholarship, service, leadership or character that were the basis for selection.) When the advisor is made aware of a Level 3 violation, the facts will be gathered to present to the Faculty Council. A formal letter will be presented and, a meeting will be scheduled with the Faculty Council. The NHS member and parents will appear to present the student s side of the issue. The advisor will present the facts of the case and discussion will be held to ascertain all of the facts. All parties to the meeting will be able to speak to the issues. The Faulty Council will adjourn the testimony session and a decision will be made as soon as possible. The Faculty Council decision will be submitted to the Principal for approval. The NHS member will be informed in writing of the Council decision.
Failure to maintain the standards that becomes apparent at the end of senior year warrants immediate action by the Faculty Council who will have no recourse other than to remove the senior. Procedure for Ratification of By-laws The Faculty Council and NHS members will review and suggest amendments to the by-laws once a year. A meeting of the Faculty Council will be held to discuss changes, and a majority vote of the Faculty Council will ratify the document. All changes to the by laws will be presented to the NHS members by the advisor at the next weekly meeting following ratification. Ammended: April 2016.