National Honor Society
The National Honor Society is a nationwide organization under the auspices of the Association of Secondary School Principles. The process of acquiring new members for the Blue Ridge High Chapter of the National Honor Society begins soon after school starts. New members are chosen from the Junior and Senior classes. Membership in the National Honor Society involves much more than grades. Students must have a cumulative GPR of 4.25 or higher, but membership also requires Leadership Ability, Excellent Character and equally important; Service to the Community. There is also a $20 per year membership fee. Students will need to purchase the NHS T-Shirt.
The membership procedure is a fairly complex one. A list of those qualified based on GPR is acquired and sent to all teachers and staff. The faculty and staff are asked to evaluate any student they have had in class, or that they know through academic, sport or other school activities. Candidates are given a score of 1-5 in the three areas of Character, Leadership and Service for a possible total of 15. A student must have an average score of at least 12 from those teachers who responded in order to be invited to apply for membership.
The NHS Advisory Board, a group of 4 teachers appointed by the principal, tallies the scores to create the list of students who receive applications. Students interested in becoming members will have a week to return their application forms. Then, the committee will look over them and create the list of those invited to join. The most important things that will be considered at this stage will be service to the community/school and leadership. In short, the NHS looks for academically successful leaders with good character-- students who are well-rounded and able to make time to “do it all”.
Those inducted into the Blue Ridge High NHS must keep up their grades and complete 30 hours of service per year. No more than 5 service hours can be counted with any specific group or organization per semester: for example, volunteering at Church, Soup Kitchens, etc. Members must participate in four out of five school sponsored service events.
Students who graduate in good standing will receive the NHS distinctive stole to wear at graduation.
Our hope is that these students, our future leaders, will be motivated to always be looking for ways they can contribute to their community.
**Please send questions about NHS to Advisors, Mrs. Kimberly H. Wood or Mr. Joel Perkin.