About UsThe purpose of the National Junior Honor Society is to create enthusiasm for scholarship, to stimulate a desire to render service, to promote leadership, to develop character and to encourage citizenship. Responsibilities during the year for members are to attend meetings, maintain a minimum 3.8 GPA, participate in service projects, and maintain excellence in character and leadership.
Today, it is estimated that more than one million students participate in official Honor Society activities. NHS and NJHS chapters are found in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, many U.S. territories, and Canada. Chapter membership not only recognizes students for their accomplishments, but challenges them to develop further through active involvement in school activities and community service. |
Qualifications for 2017-18 Applicants (membership in 2018-19 school year) Membership are:
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This year all students who are eligible for membership based on cumulative GPA will be offered membership through an application process. These will either be sent through homeroom teachers or emailed to students in the next few weeks. Be on the lookout for them! Applicants will then complete the enclosed application, essay questions, recommendation letters, and application form and turn them in by a determined date in mid March. The selection process for the National Junior Honor Society (NJHS) at West Lake Middle School is based upon five principles: character, citizenship, service, leadership, and scholarship. Membership, however, is more than an honor. It incurs a responsibility and an obligation to demonstrate those outstanding qualities that result in being selected as a member. Seventh grade students who have attended West Lake Middle School for at least one full semester and who have maintained a cumulative GPA of 3.8 will become candidates for the WLMS NJHS. The Faculty Council, made up of WLMS teachers and the NJHS advisor, will meet to make the final selections. The Faculty Council members will base their careful consideration upon the five NJHS principles: character, citizenship, service, leadership, and scholarship. The criteria required to maintain membership in the NJHS has been set by the Faculty Council. Requirements are: attendance at meetings, completion of 20 hours of community service, and maintaining the required academic standard set forth by the West Lake Middle School NJHS. All applications will be reviewed by an acceptance committee and scored upon submission. |
Our History |
The National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) officially established NJHS in 1929, eight years after it founded National Honor Society for high school students. Under the leadership of Dr. Edward Rynearson, principal of the Fifth Avenue High School in Pittsburgh, the organization grew from the original Alpha Chapter at the Fifth Avenue School to more than 1,000 chapters by 1930. Equipped with a constitution, an emblem and motto, and a group of dedicated principals as coordinators, the new NJHS organization quickly developed into one of the country's leading educational groups.
Five main purposes have guided chapters of NJHS from the beginning: to create enthusiasm for scholarship; to stimulate a desire to render service; to promote leadership; to encourage responsible citizenship; and to develop character in the students of secondary schools. These purposes also translate into the criteria used for membership selection in each local chapter. |