National Junior Honor Society Bylaws
National Junior Honor Society
Nazareth, PA Holy Family School Chapter
Chapter By-Laws Article I
Name and Purpose
Section 1: The name of this organization shall be the Nazareth, PA Holy Family School Chapter of the National Junior Honor Society of Holy Family School.
Section 2: The purpose of this organization shall be to create enthusiasm for scholarship, to stimulate a desire to render service, to promote leadership, to develop character, and to encourage citizenship in students of Holy Family School.
Section 3: The NJHS shall be under the sponsorship and supervision of the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), 1904 Association Drive, Reston, VA 20191
Article II The Principal
Section 1: The principal shall reserve the right to approve all activities and decisions of the chapter.
Section 2: The principal shall annually appoint a chapter advisor, who may serve consecutive terms.
Section 3: The principal shall be a part of the local school district appeal process for non- selection or dismissal cases.
Article III The Chapter Adviser(s)
Section 1: The chapter adviser(s) shall be responsible for the direct day- to- day supervision of the chapter and act as liaison between faculty, administration, students, and community.
Section 2: The chapter adviser(s) shall maintain files on membership, chapter history, activities, and financial transactions. The chapter adviser(s) shall send the annual activity report to the national office.
Section 3: The chapter adviser(s) shall regularly review each member for compliance with Society standards and obligations.
Section 4: The chapter adviser(s) shall help the chapter officers understand and carry out their duties.
Section 5: The chapter adviser(s) shall be an ex-officio, non-voting, sixth member of the Faculty Council.
Section 6: The chapter adviser(s) shall be a member of the faculty, appointed annually by the principal, and may serve consecutive terms.
Article IV Faculty Council
Section 1: The faculty council shall consist of three to five voting faculty members appointed annually by the principal. No principal may be included on the faculty council.
Section 2: The term of the faculty council shall be one year. Members may be appointed to consecutive terms.
Section 3: The chapter adviser(s) shall be an ex-officio, non-voting, sixth member of the faculty council.
Section 4: The faculty council shall meet at least once a year to select members and to consider dismissal, non-selection, and warning cases.
Article V Membership
Section 1: Membership is an honor bestowed upon a student. Selection for membership is by a majority vote of the faculty council and is based on outstanding scholarship, character, leadership, service and citizenship. Once selected, members have the responsibility to continue to demonstrate those qualities.
Section 2: The faculty council shall reserve the right to award honorary membership to school officials, principals, teachers, NJHS advisers, or adults in recognition of outstanding service rendered to the school in keeping with the purpose of the National Junior Honor Society. Honorary members shall have no voice or vote in chapter affairs.
Section 3: Candidates become members when inducted at a special ceremony.
Section 4: A National Junior Honor Society member who transfers to another school and brings a letter from the former principal or chapter adviser to the new school adviser shall be accepted automatically as a member of the new school’s chapter. Transfer members must meet the new chapter’s standards within one semester in order to retain membership.
Section 5: Members who resign or are dismissed are never again eligible for membership or its benefits.
Article VI Selection of Members
Section 1: To be eligible for membership the candidate must be a member of seventh or eighth grade. Seventh graders who, at the end of the first marking period, have completed two consecutive trimesters of academic study (third trimester of sixth grade and first trimester of seventh grade) with a minimum cumulative GPA of 90 ( without rounding the average) will be offered membership in NJHS following the first report period of seventh grade. Eighth graders who, at the end of the first marking period, have completed two consecutive trimesters of academic study (third trimester of seventh grade and first trimester of eighth grade) with a minimum cumulative GPA of 90 ( without rounding the average) will be offered membership in NJHS following the first report period of eighth grade. All candidates must have an S or higher in effort and conduct and all minor subjects and from all teachers and on the report card. Any student taking a high school level class and does not meet the 90 GPA criteria may appeal to the NJHS Faculty Council. Students who meet the above academic criteria for the Second Trimester of seventh grade, and the third trimester of seventh grade, with a minimum cumulative GPA of 90 (without rounding the average) will be offered membership in NJHS at the beginning of eighth grade.
Section 2: Candidates shall then be evaluated on the basis of service, leadership, character, and citizenship.
Section 3: The selection of each member to the chapter shall be by a majority vote of the faculty council.
Section 4: A description of the selection procedure shall be published in an official school publication which is widely available, in a timely fashion, to all students and parents of the school. The selection procedure shall be determined by the faculty council and shall be consistent with the rules and regulations of the National Junior Honor Society.
Section 5: The National Council and the NASSP shall not review the judgment of the faculty council regarding selection of individual members to local chapters.
Article VII Discipline/Dismissal
Section 1: The faculty council, in compliance with the rules and regulations of the National Junior Honor Society, will develop a dismissal procedure. A written description of the discipline/dismissal procedure shall be available to interested parties.
Section 2: Members who fall below the standards which were the basis for their selection shall be promptly warned (in writing) by the chapter adviser and given a reasonable amount of time to correct the deficiency. In the case of flagrant violation of school rules or civil laws a member does not necessarily have to be warned.
Section 3: The faculty council shall determine when an individual has exceeded a reasonable number of warnings.
Section 4: In all cases of impending dismissal, a member shall have a right to written notification of charges and a hearing before the faculty council.
Section 5: A member who has been dismissed may appeal the decision of the faculty council under the same rules for disciplinary appeals in the school district.
Section 6: The National Council and the NASSP shall hear no appeals in dismissal cases.
Article VIII Nomination and Election of Officers (Executive Committee)
Section 1: The officers of this chapter shall be president, vice-president, secretary and treasurer.
Section 2: Officers shall be elected at the final meeting of the current school year. Individuals who are interested shall write a one- paragraph explanation of what office they are interested in and why they would be the best candidate. Each explanation shall be shared with the members. Elections shall be held through closed-ballot by majority vote.
Section 3: Executive Committee members shall serve for a term of one year. Students may serve consecutive terms
Section 4: If an Executive Committee position becomes vacant during the school year, the same election procedure described in section 2 of Article VIII will be followed to name a replacement. The new officer will serve through the completion of the current school year.
Article IX The Executive Committee
Section 1: The Executive Committee shall consist of the officers of the chapter and the chapter adviser.
Section 2: The Executive Committee shall have general supervision of the affairs of the chapter between its business meetings, make recommendations to the chapter, and determine and perform such duties as are specified in the chapter by-laws. All actions and recommendations of the Executive Committee shall be subject to the review of the chapter membership.
Section 3: The Executive Committee shall have the responsibility for ensuring that chapter activities and procedures follow school policy and regulations.
Article X Officers Duties and Responsibilities
Section 1: The president shall fulfill the following duties:
● be organized, prepared and responsible
● be a positive role model for other members
● participate in Executive Committee meetings and decision making
● enforce chapter by-laws
● organize agenda for and lead group meetings
● supervise activity committees
● lead/supervise chapter activities
● enact membership phone tree when necessary
Section 2: The vice-president shall fulfill the following duties:
● be organized, prepared and responsible
● be a positive role model for other members
● participate in Executive Committee meetings and decision making
● assist the president in his/her duties
● take over for the president in his/her absence
● organize photography for each chapter event
● compose articles for school announcements
Section 3: The secretary shall fulfill the following duties:
● be organized, prepared and responsible
● be a positive role model for other members
● participate in Executive Committee meetings and decision making
● take attendance at every meeting and activity
● take notes and report information from meetings
● create and monitor activity sign-up sheets
● assist the president with the phone tree when necessary
Section 4: The treasurer shall fulfill the following duties:
● be organized, prepared and responsible
● be a positive role model for other members
● participate in Executive Committee meetings and decision making
● create budget spreadsheet
● track payments, reimbursements, and deposits
● collect fundraiser money
● report financial information at monthly meetings
Article XI Meetings
Section 1: The Nazareth, PA Holy Family School Chapter shall meet monthly.
Section 2: Special meetings approved by the Executive Committee may be called by the president.
Section 3: Chapters shall conduct meetings according to Robert’s Rules of Order in all points not expressly provided for in these by-laws. All matters before the Executive Committee shall be decided by a majority vote. In the event of a tie, the chapter adviser(s) shall cast the deciding vote.
Section 4: All current members are required to attend all regular meetings and induction ceremonies unless they are granted permission to be excused by the chapter adviser.
Article XII Activities
Section 1: The chapter shall be involved in one or more service projects during the school year.
Section 2: Each member shall be involved in an individual service project as approved by the chapter adviser.
Section 3: Each member is required to get pre-approval for individual service by submitting the “NJHS Individual Service” form to the chapter adviser prior to performing his/ her service.
Section 4: Upon completion of individual service, each member must have a supervisor verify that service was performed adequately in the appropriate space on the “NJHS Individual Service” form. This form is then re-submitted to the chapter adviser to become part of the student’s and the chapter’s permanent NJHS record.
Article XIII Amendments
Section 1: Any and all by-laws set forth in this document shall serve as the policies and procedures on which this chapter is maintained. By-laws may be changed at the suggestion of the principal, faculty council, Executive committee, or membership in written form. The written suggestion must be approved by the principal. A majority vote shall determine if the by-law shall remain intact or will be amended. In the event of a tie, the chapter adviser(s) will cast the deciding vote.