Bylaws

CONSTITUTION OF THE NATIONAL HONOR SOCIETY

 

Chapter of the International School of Port of Spain

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Article I: Name

 

The name of this chapter shall be the National Honor Society of the International School of Port of Spain.

 

Article II: Purpose

 

The purpose of this chapter shall be to create an enthusiasm for scholarship, to promote worthy leadership, to encourage the development of character and to stimulate a desire to render service to those in the greater community in the students of the International School of Port of Spain.

 

Article III: Powers

 

Section 1.This chapter operates under the direction of and in full compliance with these NHS chapter bylaws revised and approved on the 24th of June 2015.

 

Section 2.The chapter adviser is given the authority to supervise the administration of chapter activities, as delegated by the High School principal.

 

Section 3.Final authority on all activities and decisions of the chapter resides with the chapter president, chapter adviser, the High School principal and the director of the school.

 

Section 4.Nondiscrimination. Our chapter of NHS maintains policies and practices that are designed to prevent discrimination against any qualified candidate or member on the basis of race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, sex (gender), and disability. This policy of nondiscrimination applies to all practices, including the chapter administration and the selection, discipline, and dismissal of members.

 

Article IV: Membership

 

Section 1. Membership in this chapter is an honor bestowed upon deserving students by the faculty of the high school and shall be based on criteria of Scholarship, Service, Leadership, and Character.

 

Section 2.Membership in this chapter shall be known as active, honorary, and graduate. Active members become graduate members at graduation. Honorary members are selected at the discretion of the chapter adviser. Graduate and honorary members have no voice or vote in chapter affairs.

 

Section 3.Eligibility: Candidates eligible for selection to this chapter must be members of the sophomore (grade ten), junior (grade eleven), or senior (grade twelve) class. To be eligible for selection to membership in this chapter, the candidate must have been enrolled for a period equivalent to one semester at the International School of Port of Spain. Upon meeting the enrollment and grade level standards, candidates shall then be considered based on their service, leadership, and character.

        

Article V: Selection of Members

 

Section 1. The selection of members to this chapter shall be decided by the Executive Committee, which consists of the chapter officers and the chapter adviser.

 

Section 2.The selection of active members shall be held once a year during the school year. Alternative or additional selection periods may be added.

 

Section 3.Prior to the final selection, the following should occur:

 

The faculty of the high school will nominate students of the sophomore (grade ten), junior (grade eleven) and senior (grade twelve) classes based on the characteristics of scholarship, service, character and leadership.

 

The academic records of the students who have been nominated the most frequently shall be reviewed to determine scholastic eligibility.

 

All students who are eligible scholastically shall be notified and asked to complete and submit the Candidate’s Form for further consideration.

 

The selection committee shall review the Candidates’ Forms and other relevant information to determine those who fully meet the selection criteria for membership. Additional steps such as essays, external recommendations or interviews can be included here as components of the local selection processes.

 

Section 4. Candidates become members when inducted at a special ceremony.

 

Section 5. An active member of the National Honor Society who transfers from this school will be given an official letter indicating the status of his/her membership.

 

Section 6.An active member of the National Honor Society who transfers to this school will be automatically accepted for membership in this chapter. The Executive Committee shall grant to the transferring member one semester to attain the membership requirements and, thereafter, this member must maintain those requirements for this chapter in order to retain his/her membership.

 

Article VI: Display of Emblem

 

Section 1.Each member of this chapter who is in good standing with regard to the membership standards and member obligations shall be granted the privilege to wear the emblem adopted by the National Honor Society.

 

Section 2.Any member who withdraws, resigns or is dismissed from the chapter shall not be granted the privilege of wearing the emblem to the chapter.

 

Section 3.Chapter members who are seniors in good standing and who have completed their personal project shall be granted the privilege of wearing the honor cords (or other insignia adopted at the local level) at graduation.

 

Article VII: Officers

 

Section 1.The officers of the chapter shall be president, vice president, secretary, treasurer and historian.

 

Section 2. Student officers shall be elected at the last meeting of each school year before the senior (grade twelve) class leaves for internship. All returning members in good standing are eligible to run for a position as an officer. Any active member can nominate an eligible member as a candidate for office.

 

Section 3.Voting shall occur as an objective discussion between the chapter adviser and the current officers on who the officers of the succeeding year should be.

 

Section 4. It shall be the duty of the president to preside at the meetings of the chapter and executive meetings, coordinate the work of the chapter through the other officers, serve as the official representative of the chapter at school and community functions and report directly to the chapter adviser.

 

Section 5.The vice president shall preside in the absence of the president, continuously support the president in coordinating the work of the different committees, maintain a schedule of projects delegated to different members and report directly to the president and chapter adviser.

 

Section 6.The secretary shall keep the minutes for each meeting, notify chapter members of upcoming meetings, complete necessary paperwork for events/fundraisers, bring reference materials to every meeting, print and distribute any letter associated to the chapter and report directly to the vice president.

 

Section 7.The treasurers shall keep a proper layout of the chapter’s withdrawals and deposits, periodically report finances at meetings, develop a budget for each event/fundraiser, make profit/loss reports after each event/fundraiser within one week of event, order any necessary items from website and report directly to the vice president.

 

Section 8.The historians shall manage the chapter scrapbook throughout the year, ensure that the chapter bylaws are followed, ensure that the members in their respective service learning groups meet their required hours, ensure that personal projects are performed before graduation, write letters associated with the chapter, promote events/fundraisers around schools, make newsletter articles for events/fundraisers or for periodic updates on activities of chapter, report on each event/fundraiser that occurs, organize a cameraman for each event/fundraiser, manage the chapter email account by responding in a timely fashion to emails received and use the chapter email account to promote events/fundraisers,.

 

Section 9.Officers and the chapter adviser shall collectively be known as the chapter’s Executive Committee. The executive committee shall establish annual goals for the chapter and have general charge of the meetings and the business of the chapter.

 

Article VIII: Meetings

 

Section 1.Regular meetings of this chapter shall be weekly starting promptly at 12:20 p.m. Special meetings can be called by the president with approval of the adviser.

 

Section 2.The chapter shall conduct its meetings according to Robert’s Rules of Order, meaning that the president and adviser are not to be interrupted while talking and other members in the meeting do not speak until recognized by the adviser or president.

 

Section 3. Members are expected to attend all chapter meetings.

 

Activities IX: Activities

 

Section 1.This chapter shall determine various service projects for each year that will occur in the high school.

 

Section 2.All members are expected to participate in all of these projects.

 

Section 3.These projects shall have the following characteristics: fulfill a need within the school or community, have the support of the administration and the faculty, be appropriate and educationally defensible and be well planned, organized and executed.

 

Section 4.Each member shall have the responsibility for choosing and participating in an individual or partnered personal service project, which reflects his/her interests in the community before graduating. This must occur separately to the chapter projects.

 

Section 5.The chapter shall publicize and promote its projects in a supportive and positive manner.

 

Article X: Discipline and Dismissal of Members

 

Section 1.Any member who falls below the standards of scholarship, leadership, character, or service may be considered for disciplinary suspension or dismissal form the National Honor Society of the International School of Port of Spain. A member of the National Honor Society is expected to maintain his/her academic standing, take an active role in service and leadership in his/her school and community and preserve a certain standard of character.

 

Section 2.If a member’s …. (grade) falls below the standard in effect when he/she was selected, he/she will be given a written warning and a reasonable time period for improvement. If the grade remains below the standard at the end of the warning period the student will be subject to further disciplinary action by the Chapter Executive Committee that can include dismissal from chapter.

 

Section 3.Violations of the law or school regulations can result in immediate dismissal of a member. These violations include, but are not limited to DUI, stealing, destruction of property, cheating, suspension from school, truancy, or possession, selling, or being under the influence of drugs or alcohol at school or school-related activities or in the community.

 

Section 4.Members who miss two consecutive meetings without appropriate reason, acquire two detentions in a semester for any reason, skip class or offend any conduct codes of the school (such as profanity, failure to respect others, failure to comply, unexcused absences, excessive tardiness, etc.) will receive a written warning notification and his/her case will proceed the same as in Section 5 of Article X.

 

Section 5.Chapter officers, as representatives of the chapter, can be removed from their positions as a consequence of disciplinary action taken by the chapter adviser.

 

Section 6.In all cases of pending dismissal:

 

The member will receive written notification, as a letter of warning from the adviser stating the suspension of the member and indicating the reason for consideration of dismissal.

 

The member will be given a reasonable time period for improvement and if necessary will be given the opportunity to present his/her defense in person to the Executive Committee, before being removed off of suspension. Following the hearing, the Executive Committee will deliberate on whether to extend or to remove the suspension.

 

If another charge is brought against the member, the Executive Committee must meet and deliberate on the dismissal of the member.

 

The results of the Executive Committee will be presented to the principal for review, and then stated in a letter sent to the student and parents. Dismissed members must surrender any membership emblems to the adviser, unless member paid for the membership emblem.

 

A member, who is dismissed or resigns, may never again be considered for membership in the National Honor Society.

 

Section 7.Instead of dismissal, the Executive Committee may impose other disciplinary sanctions upon a member as deemed appropriate.

 

Article XI: Ratification, Approval and Review

 

Section 1.These bylaws will be approved upon receiving a two-thirds affirmative vote of all active members of the chapter and approval by the chapter adviser and the principal.

 

Section 2. These bylaws shall be reviewed and if necessary, revised within five years from the date of approval noted on this document

 

Article XII: Amendments

 

These bylaws may be amended by a two-thirds vote of the chapter, provided notice of the proposed amendment has been given to members at least one month prior to the vote. The exceptions are Articles V and X, which are developed by the Executive Committee with the approval of the principal (selection and discipline).

 

Approved on: June 24th 2015