PLAINFIELD
SOUTH HIGH SCHOOL
NATIONAL HONOR SOCIETY
BYLAWS
As of March 4, 2004
ARTICLE I. PURPOSE
The Plainfield South High School National Honor Society members shall strive to demonstrate in their daily lives scholarship, leadership, strong character, and being of service to both peers and the community at large.
ARTICLE II. MEMBERSHIP
Section I. Invitation
for NHS Membership Selection
To be
eligible for membership consideration the candidate must be a
2nd semester Junior or Senior with a cumulative grade point average of
4.5 or higher on a 5-point scale. The candidate should also
demonstrate
outstanding performance in leadership, service and character.
Section II. Selection
Process
Beginning of
the 2nd semester, eligible students will receive an invitation
to attend an informational meeting regarding membership for NHS.
Interested candidates will submit their Information Form, which
declares
their intention to be considered for membership. Candidates will
turn in three Recommendation Forms, each sealed and signed in an
envelope,
from non-high school related and unrelated family members. All
forms
required must be turned in by the designated due date for membership
consideration.
Three Teacher recommendations are also required. All faculty will
have an opportunity to evaluate candidates in the area of character,
leadership,
and service. Once all information has been completed and
collected,
all forms including faculty evaluations will be presented to the
Faculty
Council. The Faculty Council will then vote on each
candidate.
Section III.
Notification
The
candidates will be notified in writing of their selection or
non-selection.
Candidates who are not selected may meet with the Adviser to gain
insight
as to why they were not selected.
Section IV. Transfer
NHS Members
Transfer NHS
students who wish to continue their membership at Plainfield
South High School must submit a letter from the former principal and/or
NHS sponsor indicating their membership standing. All transfer
students
will be required to meet the eligibility requirements of Plainfield
South
High School National Honor Society. Students who do not meet the
requirements
upon transfer will be on probation. To maintain membership, those
on probation will have until the next semesters grading period to meet
eligibility requirements.
Section V. Active
Membership and Service
Members
become active at the Induction Ceremony, which marks his/her
official membership in this NHS chapter. Active membership is one
year. Active members must complete 30 hours of service. The
hours are divided as follows, fifteen school hours and fifteen
community
hours. Each person must serve on a service activity committee
with
at least half of all service hours earned through the NHS sponsored
activities.
Members are encouraged to participate in all NHS sponsored activities
to
earn all 30 hours through these school and community service
projects.
Service hours that are not NHS sponsored activities must be
pre-approved
to receive credit towards NHS service requirements. As part of
the
service hours, members are required to attend one community or school
board
meeting. Members are required to keep track of their service
hours
and to turn them in, as they are due.
Section VI. Meetings
All members are required to attend NHS meetings. Meetings shall be scheduled as necessary. Members will receive a ½ credit for full attendance at each meeting. In the case a member cannot attend a meeting, they are required to inform the secretary preferably in writing. Extenuating circumstances need to be addressed with the adviser. Members with excessive absence will be brought before the Faculty Council for a pre-dismissal hearing.
Section VII. Attendance
Attendance at
all meetings is strongly encouraged. Students are
allowed to miss up to 3 meetings per calendar year without
penalty.
Students will be expected to contribute $1.00 for each meeting missed
thereafter
to go into the NHS account fund. Please see the advisor for any
financial
hardships.
Section VIII.
Graduate Membership
At graduation
and upon completing all requirements, members will have
a Graduate Membership status. Graduate members will no longer
have
a vote.
Section IX.
Probation, Dismissal, and Resignation
Members who
fail to maintain the minimum cumulative GPA requirement
of 4.5 will be placed on probation and will be given one semester to
meet
the requirement. Members who fail to meet the standards of
leadership,
service hours, membership responsibilities, and good character may be
subject
to warnings, probation and or other disciplinary actions which can lead
up to dismissal. In cases of flagrant violation of school rules
or
civil laws, a warning is not required for dismissal. Members will
be notified in writing of a dismissal meeting held by the Faculty
Council.
A member may attend the meeting in which his/her case will be
discussed.
Dismissed members must surrender any emblems of membership to the
adviser.
Members who wish to resign must submit their wishes in writing dated
and
signed by both student and parent. A student who is dismissed or
who resigns is not eligible again for NHS membership.
ARTICLE
III. APPEAL PROCESS
Section I.
Non-Selected Students for NHS Membership
Non-selected
students should first meet with the Adviser to receive
feed back on how the decision was made and provide direction to assist
in reaching goals to be considered in the future. If student or
parent
is not satisfied, the next level of discussion is with the
Principal.
If the Principal believes a technical or procedural mistake has been
made,
the Faculty Council may reconvene to review the situation.
Section II. Dismissal
Cases
Students who
have been dismissed from membership by the Faculty Council
may appeal to the school Principal.
ARTICLE
IV. FACULTY COUNCIL
The Faculty Council is composed of 5 voting faculty members
appointed
by the school Principal. The chapter adviser and assistant
adviser
are non-voting sixth and seventh members of the Faculty Council.
Faculty members who have children in the classes of eligible candidates
will not be eligible to serve on the council. The term is one
year.
Members may serve consecutive terms.
ARTICLE
V. OFFICERS
Section I. Office Positions
Officers will hold their offices for one year. The Executive
Office positions will include: President, Vice President, Secretary,
Treasurer,
and Historian. A majority vote by the Charter’s members is
necessary
to elect any officer to the Executive Office. 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. Other non-executive office
positions include the Committee Chairpersons, who are appointed by the
advisor.
A. President
The President’s responsibilities include the following:
· Set organizational goals for the year
· Help to organize, speak, and oversee Induction Ceremony
· Oversee all committees and attend the committee meetings
· Encourage and inspire members to put forth their best efforts
· Review meeting attendance and service hours of members
· Meet with adviser regularly
· Prepare event and activity calendar for the school year
· Prepare typed meeting agendas and keep a filed copy in the
NHS office
· Run the meetings according to the agenda and help to keep
everyone on task
· Prepare and gather information for the NHS Annual Report
· Prepare and make announcements for meetings
· Various other jobs as needed or requested by adviser
B. Vice
President
The Vice President’s responsibilities include the following:
· Works closely with the President
· Assumes the presidents responsibilities when necessary
· Help to organize, speak, and oversee Induction Ceremony
· Works with the President and Treasurer in budget and calendar
preparation
· Assists the President in meeting agenda preparation
· Work to establish peace among members
· Prepare announcements for school and local newspapers of all
activities
· Be able to provide a summary of organization accomplishments
for the year, including a total count of member service hours.
· Work with the Historian in deciding what information should
be recorded and by what means.
· Responsible for NHS display case – must decide on information
to be presented and keep current.
· Various other jobs as needed or requested by the President
and or adviser.
C. Secretary
The Recording Secretary’s responsibilities include the
following:
· Takes attendance at all meetings.
· Report member excuses for missed meetings and share with
President
and Vice Pres.
· Take minutes of the proceeding of all meetings including the
date and time of the meeting, who was present, and business conducted
and
by whom. Record the acceptance of the last meeting’s minutes
· Make copies of the minutes and agenda to distribute to members
at meetings
· Read the previous meetings minutes at the next meeting, make
any necessary corrections
· Keep Permanent records of attendance, original agendas and
minutes at school
· File all records and additional correspondence and maintain
files.
D. Treasurer
The Treasurer’s responsibilities include the following:
§ Work with the President and Vice President in preparing a
workable
budget and wish list
· Record all expenses and revenues, document when, how much,
and from who money has been collected and why.
· Maintain an accurate and detailed financial record of all
money collected and spent
· Give advice on the raising of funds. Take into
consideration
the time spent raising money, the amount of money expected to raise,
any
cost affiliated with the project, etc.
· Give advice on the spending of funds. Take into
consideration
the amount, other projects down the line that may require funds, other
items we may need in the near future, if the item can be purchased
cheaper
elsewhere, or if there is a substitute.
· Turns over any collected monies from fund raisers to Adviser
· Make monthly financial reports to the membership and answer
any questions
· Work closely with the adviser
E. Historian
The Historian’s responsibilities include the following:
· Record and document the special activities of our school
organization.
· Use a variety of media such as pictures, video, and web
· Design a scrapbook of information including pictures
· Report and type out the successes of our activities and
special
events include information such as the name of the activity, the
purpose,
the committee hosting the activity, the success of the activity and its
popularity.
· Keep all documentation and file.
· Work with Vice President on maintaining our bulletin board
F.
Chairperson
The Chairperson’s responsibilities include the following:
· Work closely with the President and Assistant Advisor
· Report the committee’s progress during meetings
· Able to clearly identify and articulate the goal of the
committee
· Seek out needed information, details and or items necessary
to complete the task
· Keep an agenda for meetings and notes to be filed in the NHS
office
Section II.
Impeachment
The Faculty
Council may impeach any officer with a 4/5 vote with the
approval of the adviser.
ARTICLE VI. REVISION
AND AMENDMENTS OF BY-LAWS
Occasionally, the bylaws may have to be revised in which a committee must be formed to revise them. Only the Faculty Council may make revisions to the procedures for member selection, disciplining, and dismissal of members. (NHS Handbook page 15) Before revisions or amendments are voted upon, the entire chapter and Faculty Council shall review the proposed changes. Revisions and or amendments must pass a 2/3 vote for acceptance.