Constitution of the
Tell City High School
National Honor Society
Article I – Name and Purpose
Section 1. The name of this organization shall be the Tell City High School National
Honor Society.
Section 2. The purpose of this organization shall be to create enthusiasm for scholarship,
to stimulate a desire to render service, to promote leadership, and to develop
character in the students of Tell City High School.
Section 3. The Tell City High School Chapter of the National Honor Society abides by
all the articles and bylaws of the national, regional, and state organizations.
Article II – The Principal
Section 1. The principal shall reserve the right to approve all activities and decisions of
this chapter.
Section 2. The principal shall annually appoint up to two chapter advisers who may serve
consecutive terms.
Article III – The Chapter Adviser(s)
Section 1. The chapter adviser(s) shall be responsible for the direct day-to-day super-
vision of the chapter and act as liaison(s) 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 report to the national office.
Section 3. The chapter adviser(s) shall regularly review each member for compliance
with society standards and obligations. The advisor(s) shall meet with the
members as a group to remind them of the standards which they have sworn
to uphold.
Section 4. The chapter adviser(s) shall help the chapter officers understand and carry out
their duties.
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Article IV – The Faculty Council
Section 1. The faculty council shall consist of five (5) faculty members appointed
annually by the principal.
Section 2. The term of the faculty council shall be one (1) year. Members may be
appointed to consecutive terms.
Section 3. The chapter adviser(s) shall be an ex-officio member of the faculty council.
Section 4. The faculty council shall meet at least once a year to select members, to
discuss non-selection of members, and to consider disciplinary actions
including, but not limited to, warnings, probation, and dismissal cases.
Article V – Membership
Section 1. Membership in the Tell City High School National Honor Society is an
honor bestowed upon a student. Selection for membership is by both the faculty council and the faculty (as described in Article 6, Section 4) and
based on outstanding scholarship, character, leadership, and service.
Once selected, members have the responsibility to demonstrate the
qualities of scholarship, leadership, service, and character.
Section 2. The Tell City High School faculty council reserves the right to award
honorary membership to school officials, principals, teachers, NHS
advisers, or citizens in recognition of outstanding service rendered the
school in keeping with the purpose of the National Honor Society.
Section 3. New members shall be inducted in a special ceremony.
Section 4. Members who are seniors in good standing are eligible to be nominated
by their chapters to compete in the National Honor Society Scholarship
program.
Section 5. A National Honor Society member who transfers from another school and
brings a letter from the former principal or chapter adviser to the new school
shall be accepted automatically as a member in the new school’s chapter.
Transfer members must meet the new chapter’s standards within one semester
in order to retain membership.
Section 6. Members who resign or are dismissed are never again eligible for membership
or its benefits.
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Article VI – Selection of Members
Section 1. To be eligible for membership, the candidate must be a member of either the
junior or senior class. Candidates must have been in attendance at the school
the equivalent of one semester.
Section 2. Candidates must have a cumulative scholastic average of at least 3.333 on a
4.0 scale. Candidates shall then be evaluated on the basis of service, leader-
ship, and character.
Section 3. Students who have received police citations, with the exception of minor
traffic violations, or who have been suspended from school within one
year of the NHS application deadline, may not apply for membership.
Section 4. Juniors and seniors with a cumulative gpa of at least 3.333 may apply for
membership in the Tell City High School National Honor Society. Eligible
students will pick up, complete, and return service applications during an
announced time frame. No late applications will be accepted, and eligible
students will not be recruited. The applicants’ names are covered on the
applications and given to the faculty advisory council who rank the students
based on their service only. Following this ranking a list of applicants is
distributed to each teacher for leadership and character ranking. Teachers
must sign their forms in order for the ranking to be considered. The four
average scores from scholarship, leadership, character, and service are
averaged. All students whose average equals at least 3.333 are eligible for
induction. There is no rounding of any scores.
Section 5. The above description is found on the school website which is widely
available to all students and parents in the school.
Article VII – Dismissal
Section 1. Should a disciplinary issue arise, with the exception of a warning, the
faculty council will meet with the student(s) involved to gather
information regarding the incident. The council will then make a
decision about the appropriate punishment as outlined in the by-laws.
Section 2. Should grounds for dismissal occur, the member will be notified in writing.
The letter will contain the reason(s) for dismissal. Should the member wish
to appeal the dismissal, he/she will have five (5) school days in which to
request a hearing. The faculty council will preside over the hearing which
will be scheduled in a timely manner.
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Section 3. Any member facing dismissal will have the option of resigning.
Section 4. Members who fall below the standards which were the basis for their
selection shall be promptly warned in writing by the chapter adviser(s) and
given a reasonable amount of time to correct the deficiency. In the case of
flagrant violation of school rules or civic laws, no warning is required.
Flagrant violation of school rules is defined as any act punishable by
suspension from school as outlined in the student handbook. In-school
suspensions will result in a recommendation for probation. Other
flagrant violations include, but are not limited to, cheating and
plagiarism. With the exception of minor traffic violations, any member
who receives a citation from the police for violating civic law will be
recommended for dismissal. This would include, but not be limited to,
minor consuming, DUI, and shoplifting. Members who are suspended
from school attendance will be recommended for dismissal.
Section 5. Members will be placed on probation for one semester, or its equivalent,
upon receipt of the second warning. Three warnings will result in a
recommendation for dismissal.
Section 6. No member may receive probation as a punishment while on probation
for another incident.
Section 7. Members who are on probation are not considered to be in good standing.
Senior members who are on probation will not wear honor cords at graduation.
Section 8. In all cases of impending dismissal, a member shall have a right to a hearing
before the faculty council, with the exception of dismissal for gpa.
Section 9. Any student whose cumulative gpa falls below the required 3.333 will be
placed on probation within one week of the distribution of report cards.
Should the student fail to bring up his/her gpa to the required 3.333 by the
end of the next semester, then the member will receive a letter of dismissal
within one week of the distribution of grade cards. The appeal process does
not apply to gpa dismissal.
Section 10.Seniors who are on probation for grades during the second semester will be
recognized in the graduation program as a member of NHS. Following the
last senior day of school, a grade check will be made; if the senior brings
his/her cumulative gpa up to the required 3.333, then he/she will be allowed
to wear honor cords. If, in the final report card of the year, a senior’s grades
fall below the 3.333 requirement, and that senior is not already on probation,
he/she will still wear honor cords and be recognized in the graduation
program. This rule is based on the fact that probation is not issued until
report cards are distributed (see previous section).
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Section 11.The faculty council will meet in any dismissal proceedings with the exception
of dismissal for gpa.
Section 12.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.
Article VIII – Chapter Officers
Section 1. The Tell City High School Chapter of National Honor Society will elect
six (6) officers – president, vice-president, secretary, treasurer,
historian, and activities director. These members will be nominated and voted upon by the present members of NHS and elected by a majority vote.
Section 2. Duties of the officers are as follows:
a) President – works with advisers on planning meetings and developing and
implementing projects;
b) Vice-President – takes the place of the president in his/her absence and
works with advisers and president developing and implementing projects;
c) Secretary – takes minutes of meetings, prepares news releases, and
records meeting attendance;
d) Treasurer – co-signs purchase orders, prepares financial reports for
meetings, plans and implements fundraisers;
e) Historian – maintains scrapbook/website of NHS events/news; and
f) Activities Director – plans social events and assists President with
implementing projects.
In lieu of a vice-president, co-presidents may be established at the discretion of the chapter advisor(s). Other duties may be assigned by the chapter adviser(s).
Section 3. Officers for the next school year will be elected in May of the previous year.
Section 4. Members who are on probation will not be allowed to run for office.
Article IX – Executive Committee
Section 1. The executive committee shall consist of the officers of the chapter and the
chapter adviser(s).
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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 other 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 – Meetings
Section 1. Meetings will be scheduled before school, at lunch, or during homerooms, as
the schedule allows. At least two days’ notice for each meeting will be given
via the daily announcements.
Section 2. Regular meetings will be held monthly. Special meetings may be scheduled
as necessary in compliance with Section 1 rules on notification.
Section 3. The Tell City High School National Honor Society shall conduct meetings
according to Robert’s Rules of Order, Newly Revised in all points not
expressly provided for in this constitution.
Section 4. One (1) unexcused absence from a scheduled meeting will result in the
student being warned. Two (2) unexcused absences will result in the
member being placed on probation. One (1) unexcused absence while on
probation will result in a recommendation for dismissal. A probationary
period shall be for three (3) grading periods which is the equivalent of one
-
semester or four (4) months. June and July are not counted towards the
probationary period. An excused absence from a meeting is determined as an excused absence from school or attendance at another previously scheduled meeting.
Article XI – Activities
Section 1. The Tell City High School Chapter of the National Honor Society shall
determine one or more group service projects per year. Each student
must participate in one group project to fulfill his/her requirements as
a member.
Section 2. These projects shall have the following characteristics: fulfill a need
within the school or the community; have the support of the admini-
stration and the faculty; be appropriate and educationally defensible;
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be the chosen activities of the majority of the NHS members; and be
well planned, organized, and executed.
Section 3. Each member shall have the responsibility for choosing and participating
in an individual service project which reflects his or her particular talents
and interests. This is in addition to the chapter projects to which all members
contribute. Individual service projects must be reasonably attainable by the
member. Service hours may not include hours from projects by volunteer
service groups which the member is expected to complete as a part of the
membership in that group. Service hours should be for the benefit of one’s
school, community, or church, and not for the benefit of private industry.
Section 4. A total of ten (10) service hours must be accumulated by each member and
reported in writing to the adviser(s) no later than May 1. Service hours must
be verified in writing by an adult supervising the activity. Hours accumulated over the summer may be used by current members. Hours must be turned in to the chapter advisor no later than the end of the month of which the hours were completed. Hours completed during the summer months must be turned in no later than the last day of the first month of school. Senior members who do not meet the May 1 deadline for service requirements will not wear honor
cords or be recognized as an NHS member at graduation. If the deficiency is cleared by May 15, then the senior will be recognized in the program as a member, but, as stipulated previously in these by-laws, will not be allowed to wear honor cords. Juniors who do not meet the requirements will be placed on probation as per previous guidelines.
Section 5. The Tell City High School Chapter of the National Honor Society shall
publicize its projects in a positive manner.
Article XII – Amendments
Section 1. This constitution may be amended at any meeting of the Tell City High
School Chapter of the National Honor Society executive committee.
Adopted May 4, 2004
Revised August 31, 2016