River Valley Middle School Chapter

Of The National Junior Honor Society

I.

Membership Eligibility Requirement Source

Each chapter of the NJHS has the right to limit membership in accordance with the guidelines of the
National Junior Honor Society. Accordingly, the River Valley Middle School Chapter will consider for
membership students who meet the following criteria:
Age requirement:
Students who are invited for induction will be in grade 7, and will be inducted to serve during their
8th grade year. Students in grade 8 who have not previously been inducted will not be inducted at
the end of their 8th grade year, because there is no remaining time in the school year to fulfill the
tenants of service and leadership. Membership invitation is also based upon the 5 pillars of the
National Junior Honor Society: Scholarship, Service, Leadership, Character, and Citizenship.

II.

The Five Pillars of Membership

Scholarship
River Valley Middle Schools NJHS holds its members to the highest standards of academic excellence.
Students must have a cumulative GPA of 3.80 to be inducted into NJHS. This GPA is based upon 2
semesters of 6th grade and the first semester of 7th grade, since students will be inducted during the second
semester of seventh grade. Students must maintain a 3.5 GPA to remain members throughout their 8th
grade year.
Service
Service is at the center of leadership. Students will be required to actively participate in at least (2) NJHS
sponsored service activities during their 8th grade year, in order to maintain membership. Members are
encouraged to also participate in service through other school, religious, and community organizations of
their choice. Members of the NJHS executive council (officers) are expected to have 10 documented hours of
community service outside of school, as part of their leadership responsibilities.
Leadership
Members are expected to be leaders in our school, and especially in the classrooms. There are multiple
opportunities for students to lead by example in our school on a daily basis (in classrooms, in the hallway,
in the cafeteria, on the bus, etc.), and NJHS members are expected to be above reproach when it comes to
being student-leaders. Members may be called upon to help with shadow days for 5th grade student, Raider
Camp, school announcements, social media distribution, Raider Day activities, etc.
Character
According to NJHS guidelines, The student of good character is cooperative; demonstrates high standards of
honesty and reliability; shows courtesy, concern, and respect for others; and generally maintains a clean
disciplinary record. The Greater Clark County Schools PRIDE initiative will be the measure of character for
River Valley Middle School NJHS members. Students must receive all 1s and 2s on the PRIDE portions of

class grades (on each quarters report card), in order to qualify and maintain membership. In addition,
members are expected to receive zero behavior referrals each quarter.
Citizenship:
According to National NJHS guidelines, The student who demonstrates citizenship understands the
importance of civic engagement; has a high regard for freedom and justice; respects the U.S. form of
government (a representative democracy); respects the law for all citizens at the local, state, and federal
levels; and demonstrates mature participation and responsibility in activities such as scouting, community
organizations, or school clubs. RVMS members are expected to act in such ways that bring pride to their
families, school, community, and country. This includes being active and present at school each day. To be
a good citizen, NJHS members must be present at school (all day, every day, if at all possible), and must
demonstrate pride in our chapter, our school, our student body, and the community.
Election of Officers
All members of the chapter will be responsible for electing officers for the roles of President, VicePresident, Secretary, Treasurer, Parliamentarian, and Historian. The guidelines for these offices should be
consulted in order for members to be elected into office. In addition to the descriptions located in the index
of this membership guide, officers will be responsible for planning the next initiation ceremony. In the
event that an officer is removed from duty (due to moving to another school, probationary offenses, or
other reason), a special election will be held to fill that role. Officer elections will take place at a time
designated by the chapter advisors.
Probation:
Continued membership in the River Valley Middle Schools chapter of the National Junior Honor Society is
dependent upon the continued leadership of the member in each of the 5 areas. A students membership
will be put on probation for one (1) quarter, should any of the following occur:

The student participates in an activity of gross misconduct, which after consideration,

deems them no longer eligible for membership. Pillar: character
The members GPA for any quarter of their 8th grade year drops below 3.5 (3.25 for students
taking 2 or more Honors classes) Pillar: Scholarship
The student decides or is unable to participate in any chapter-sponsored activities by the
end of quarter 3 of the academic year. Pillar: Service
The member makes several poor decisions that show him/her to not be an effective school
leader, resulting in school consequences (i.e. repeated lunch detentions, ISS, SAS, etc.)
Pillar: Leadership
The member receives PRIDE scores of 0 in one or more classes in a quarter. Pillar:
Character
The member partakes in observable speech, actions, or public social media posts which
blatantly disrespect the River Valley student body, certain students, the school, etc. (as
stated under Citizenship above). Pillar: Citizenship

Effective May, 2016

Appendix A: Officer Descriptions:

http://nassp.njhs.rd.net/advisers/adviser-resource-center/working-with-members-and-officers/officers

President
The chapter president must maintain a delicate balance between leading and encouraging other officers,
members, and interested students to take on leadership responsibilities. The presidents responsibilities extend
beyond the students within the chapter.
The role of the chapter president must:

Know how to handle many types of situations

Be mature

Be organized with good time management skills

Have sound judgment

Have energy

Be able to work with many different kinds of people and personalities

Have a good relationship with the chapter, faculty, and student body

Vice President
The vice president's primary (and very necessary) role is to serve as the official replacement for the president
should the president fail to function or be unable to fulfill his or her responsibilities.
The vice president, more than any other officer, has the opportunity to be creative in the position beyond the
primary job description. The vice president is the president's closest student adviser and assistant. The vice
president and president must work very closely together to create a productive Honor Society.
In many chapters, the president serves as the point-personthe person out in front of everyone. The vice
president serves as the behind-the-scene person who plans, organizes, schedules, and oversees to make sure
the chapter work is done.
To be successful, the vice president needs to

Know how to handle many types of situations

Be mature

Be organized with good time management skills

Have sound judgment

Have energy

Be able to work with many different kinds of people and personalities

Have a good relationship with the president, chapter members, committees, and the student body

Secretary
The secretarys primary responsibility is to keep the official records of chapter business and serve as the
official correspondent for the chapter. The historical memory of the Honor Society on your campus
depends on the quality of the secretarys performance. The job requires accuracy, neatness, and
completeness. The secretary is expected to:

Be the keeper of the records, designer of the agenda

Be organized

Know nearly everything about every meeting

Be alert to the calendar and the progress of committees

Be knowledgeable about meeting procedures

Spend time planning and organizing the chapters work.

Treasurer
The treasurer's primary responsibility is to keep accurate records of all financial transactions of the
chapter and periodically report a summary of these transactions at meetings.
The treasurer predicts how money will be used in the future and makes concrete suggestions for saving
money and increasing efficiency. To do the job correctly, a treasurer must keep track of all expenditures
and add the appropriate transactions to the account books. The treasurer should be the person
concerned with regulating the flow of money, especially when many people want to spend it.
The treasurer is expected to:

Be the chief financial officer for the chapter

Know about money, accounting, and budgeting

Be called upon to give financial advice

Be able to research and develop cost analyses

Keep accurate records of the chapter's finances

Money management is a very serious responsibility. For your safety, it must always be done with adult
supervision and assistance and according to the policies of your school so that no student is put in a
potentially compromising position with the handling of money.
Parliamentarian
The role of the parliamentarian is to ensure that meetings are orderly and civil, and to help the chapter
operate according to its constitution and bylaws.
The main function of the parliamentarian is to advise the president or chairperson on procedure during
meetings. The parliamentarian does not rule members out of order. Neither should he or she call for
votesthat is the job of the president. If a parliamentarian notices a violation in procedure, he or she
should quietly tell the president, and then the president may rule from the chair.
The parliamentarian is expected to:

(Parliamentarian, continued)

Be knowledgeable about meeting procedures

Act as the keeper of the constitution and bylaws and be familiar with their contents

Offer procedural opinions when asked to do so by the president or chairperson

Know nearly everything about every meeting

Chair the constitution/bylaws revision committee, if the need arises.

Historian
The chapter historians primary responsibility is to collect and preserve information that provides a clear
and concise record of all chapter activities for the year.