By-Laws of the National Honor Society
William A. Dyer Chapter
Union City High School, Union City Michigan
Article I – NAME
The name of this organization shall be the William A. Dyer chapter of the National Honor Society of Secondary Schools, which appears on the charter granted by the National Council of the National Honor Society.
Article II – PURPOSE
The purpose of this chapter shall b e to create enthusiasm for scholarship, to stimulate a desire to render service, to promote worthy leadership and to encourage a development of admirable character in the students of Union City High School.
Article III – MEMBERSHIP
Section 1. Membership shall be based on scholarship, service, leadership and character.
Section 2. Membership shall be known as active and graduate. The graduate members
have no vote. Active members become graduate members at graduation.
Section 3. To be eligible for election to this chapter, the candidate must have been in
attendance for a period equivalent to one semester in this school.
Section 4. Candidates eligible for election to this chapter must be members of the junior
or senior class. The minimum level of scholastic achievement is a 3.3 GPA.
Article IV – SELECTION OF MEMBERS
Section 1. The faculty council shall be appointed annually by the principal and shall
consist of five faculty members.
Section 2. Each student who is academically eligible will be asked to fill out a form with
information about his or her leadership and service experiences and list honors
and awards.
Section 3. The faculty council will select the new members based on a point system and
written evaluation by the whole faculty.
Section 4. Selection of new members, and the induction ceremony, will take place in the
first semester of each school year.
Article V – DISMISSAL OF MEMBERS
Section 1. When a member drops below a 3.2 GPA, or fails to maintain other standards by which he or she was elected, the advisor will inform the errant member in writing of the nature of the violation, the time period given for improvement and provide warning of the possible consequences of non-improvement. If the student does not make improvement in the specified time period, that student is subject to whatever disciplinary measures are considered appropriate by the advisor and the faculty council.
Section 2. In the case of flagrant violation of school rules or civil laws, a warning is not required for dismissal. If the faculty council decides that dismissal may be warranted, defined steps will be taken. These are described in Chapter Policies and Procedures.
Section 3: Meetings are mandatory unless pre-excused at least one day in advance by an advisor.
a. 2 unexcused absences will result in review of membership with the possibility of dismissal.
b. 2 tardies = 1 absence
Article VI – OFFICERS
Section 1. The officers of this chapter shall be a president, vice-president, secretary and
treasurer.
Section 2. The officers shall be elected in May for the following school year from the
present junior members. The nominees will sign up with the advisor, who
shall make a ballot. The president, secretary and treasurer shall be elected by
a plurality of votes cast by the present junior members; the vice-president
shall be the runner-up in the president category.
Section 3. The president shall preside at meetings of this chapter. The president shall
also serve as a planner and coordinator of activities with the advisor.
Section 4. The vice-president shall preside in the absence of the president.
Section 5. The secretary shall keep minutes of the meetings, and keep a record of
business on file. He/she shall be responsible for communications from the
organization.
Section 6. The treasurer shall be responsible for keeping accurate records of
disbursements and income in accordance with school regulations.
Section 7. The executive committee shall consist of the four officers and the advisor.
This group will do some of the planning for the chapter, but all information
and decision-making is subject to the whole chapter.
Article VII – MEETINGS
Section 1. Meetings will be scheduled for purposes of planning the induction ceremony,
fundraisers, service projects, and NHS trip and election of officers.
Section 2. Other meetings may be called by the president or the advisor under the
sponsorship of the advisor or principal.
Section 3. Decisions will be made by consensus of the members.
Article VII – VESTED POWERS
Section 1. The chapter shall generally make its own decisions, but the advisor shall be
consulted.
Section 2. The principal shall have veto power over chapter decisions.
Article VIII - COMMUNITY SERVICE/RECYCLING
Section 1. Students can only earn their 25 hours from the following activities:
a. Blood Drive
b. Breadlift
c. MS Fundraiser
d. Community Unlimited Activities
e. School/Community revitalization projects: This refers to work done around each of the three school buildings and in the community and must have prior approval from advisors.
f. 8th Hour at the middle school
Section 2. No activities from athletics, including fundraising, will be counted towards
overall hours.
Section 3. Emptying the recycling bin is an obligatory task
that all NHS members must do.
There is a rotating list posted outside of
an advisorŐs room and on the NHS
website. If you miss your day to recycle then the advisors will find
another
school improvement project for you to complete.
Article IX – BY-LAWS
Section 1. The by-laws of the local chapter will be reviewed annually.
Section 2. Changes in the by-laws shall be amended or rewritten by the faculty council.
Input is encouraged from the chapter members and from the whole faculty,
but only the faculty council can make changes in the sections dealing with
selection procedures, discipline and dismissal.
Article X – OTHER DOCUMENTS
Section 1. The local chapter has a Chapter Policies and Procedures document, which
specifies in more detail items referred to in these by-laws.
Section 2. The Constitution of the National Honor Society of Secondary Schools
shall provide the rationale and procedure for any issue not addressed within
this document. The advisory and principal shall have current copies of the
Constitution as provided by the national organization.