NJHS (National Junior Honor Society)

Advisor: Kat Brundage

What is the National Junior Honor Society?

The NJHS is a student group that was established in 1929 in order to help recognize and promote student achievement in the areas of scholarship, character, service, citizenship and leadership. (It is actually part of the National Honor Society, or NHS, but with a specific emphasis on the middle level grades.)

Membership in the NJHS is both an honor and a commitment, and members are expected to continue to both maintain, and expand upon, the qualities and capabilities they displayed in order to be selected for the association. The members of the Skyview Eagles NJHS continue to set and meet the high standards of the group through their positive attitudes, appropriate behaviors, responsibility towards schoolwork, and by participating in various service projects that are decided upon by the group members.

As far as how the group benefits its members, students are able to derive satisfaction from creating and doing something worthwhile, in the here and now. Not only that, but college admissions officers consider participation in an organization such as the NJHS to be a good indicator of success at the college level, as well as later in life.

Source: The National Junior Honor Society Handbook

Requirements for Becoming a Member of the National Junior Honor Society

Students interested in becoming NJHS (National Junior Honor Society) members need to have the following qualifications:

• Hold an A/B average
• Demonstrate good leadership skills (or potential)
• Show involvement and teamwork through cooperation/participation/discussion
• Be responsible
• Be punctual
• Have a maximum of 1 office referral and 2 detentions

They will also be expected to participate in a selection process, which involves being recommended by one or more teachers (based on the above indicators), filling out a questionnaire (pertaining to volunteer, leadership, character, and citizenship qualities), and being screened by a committee made up of the NJHS faculty council. Students who do well in the screening process will then be invited to attend an induction ceremony to become official members. (Final selections will depend heavily on how thoroughly and thoughtfully students have filled out their questionnaires.) Not everyone will be invited, and not everyone who is invited is required to accept.

7th and 8th graders who were previously NJHS members are still considered members, and are welcome to come to the meetings. 6th grade students are not eligible to become members until the 2nd semester of the school year. (7th and 8th grade students who are not yet members, but are interested, may be eligible 2nd semester as well.) NJHS is an after-school group, which tries to meet at least every other week to plan, work on, and report back on various service projects such as fundraisers, school cleanup activities, community-based charitable activities (i.e., visiting senior homes, providing information at pet adoption fairs), etc. Many of the activities will need to be completed on weekends, as well.

Please note that all students who participate in NJHS will need to pay a $10.00 activity fee, attend the after school meetings (as their schedules permit - since many of the students are involved in other activities, they may continue to be members without attending all of the meetings - as long as they meet other requirements to remain in good standing), participate in volunteer projects and continue to meet eligibility expectations as described in the by-laws, and meet the behavioral expectations of the sponsor.

For further information or clarification, please contact Kat Brundage at either 494-2978 or kbrundage@d49.org. Thanks!