Selection Process: The Ponderosa Chapter of the National Honor Society at Charlo High School is a duly chartered and affiliated chapter of this prestigious national organization. Membership is open to those students who meet the required standards in four areas of evaluation: scholarship, leadership, service and character. Standards for selection are established by the national office of NHS and have been revised to meet our local chapter needs. Students are selected to be members by a 5-member Faculty Council, appointed by the principal, which bestows this honor upon qualified students on behalf of the faculty of our school during the second semester of each year.
Students in 10th, 11th, or 12th grades are eligible for membership. For the scholarship criterion, a student must have a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher on a 4.0 scale. Those students who meet this criterion are invited to complete a Student Activity Information Form that provides the Faculty Council with information regarding the candidate’s leadership, service, and character. A history of leadership experiences and participation in school or community service is also required.
To evaluate a candidate’s character, the Faculty Council uses a variety of means for input. School disciplinary records are reviewed. The Faculty Council uses the definition of character known as The Six Pillars of Character from the Character Counts! Coalition. It states that a person of character demonstrates the following six qualities: trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and citizenship. A candidate will be able to demonstrate an outstanding record of conduct and behavior with regard to school and community rules, guidelines, and policies or be able to demonstrate sufficient growth and improvement to compensate for previous inadequacies.
Discipline and Dismissal Procedure: The constitution of the Ponderosa Chapter of the National Honor Society shall be followed at all times. Copies of the constitution may be obtained through the Faculty Advisor. Members need to fully understand that they are subject to discipline and dismissal if they do not maintain the standards of scholarship, leadership, service and character that were used as a basis for their selection. If a member falls below the standards that were the basis of their selection, he or she will be given a written warning and a time period for improvement. If the obligation remains unmet at the end of the warning period, the student will be subject to further disciplinary action by the faculty council, which may include dismissal from the chapter. In cases of flagrant violations of school rules or the law, a warning is not required for dismissal, but a hearing will still be held. Only seniors in good standing with the chapter have the privilege of wearing an honor cord at graduation.
For more information, please contact Eli Redeker.