National Junior Honor Society

Bennett Academy has an active NJHS chapter. Member students make sure their grades stay high and that their behavior rises to the standards set forth by the Honor Society's charter. As a group they meet once a week to discuss school and group issues. Every other week they go to the Beatitudes Center on Glendale and 17th Avenue to associate with residents on a personal level.

The National Junior Honor Society is a worldwide organization that consists of many chapters in middle schools (grades 6-8). Membership is based on five criteria: citizenship, service, leadership, scholarship and character. Members must maintain a high grade point average (the national minimum is 3.0 on a 4.0 scale) and by participating in community service, demonstrate good citizenship.

Established in 1929 as an organization which recognized and encouraged academic achievement and to develop character and a foundation of good citizenship in its members, the organization and its members have come to be recognized as positive influences in their schools and communities.

Like its sister and predecessor, the National Honor Society, founded in 1921, the NJHS is so esteemed by teachers, students, and parents that membership is considered to be the highest honor that can be bestowed upon students in secondary schools.

A National Junior Honor Society member is a good citizen. A member in good standing participates in their community, takes leadership responsibly, and understands that their character is shaped by all they do.

During the last two decades Honor Society members have been leading contributors to the improvement of their schools and their communities. The average chapter reportedly commits more than twenty-five service hours annually per member to the school and community.

School and community service projects can include tutoring programs, reading programs for younger students, charity fundraising, blood drives, serving meals at food banks, and like Bennett Academy's NJHS members, servicing the needs of the elderly in the community.

Honor Society service projects follow strict requirements: projects are to be well planned, organized, and executed; they are to fulfill a need within the school or community; they have the support and sanction of the Bennett Academy's administration and the faculty; and the projects are appropriate and educationally defensible.

The NJHS is much more than an honor roll. The purposes of the National Honor Society are to foster an enthusiasm for scholarship, to stimulate a desire to render service, to promote leadership, and to develop character.