On Oct. 30, 29 juniors and seniors were inducted into Freedom’s chapter of the National Honor Society (NHS).

“It is a nationwide fraternal organization where students are selected based on a grade point average and recommendations by their teachers on their character, service and leadership,” Mrs. KC Hastings said. She sponsors NHS and works alongside Mrs. Amy Isanogle.

“NHS does not just mean having good grades. It means showing all of the important characteristics [of a NHS member],” NHS Treasurer, Senior Robbie Raso said. These characteristics include: scholarship, leadership, character and service.

“There is a rather large difference between learning how to be a good character and knowing it’s good to serve others than actually doing it. It is inevitable that many students outside of NHS do this, which should not go unrecognized, but it’s just a great honor to be given the chance to volunteer, help others and be good role models for our school and community with peers,” NHS Secretary Senior, Morgan Calahan said.

“NHS members are expected to get 10 hours of service per year at the bare minimum. They also have to tutor during AAP, study hall or after school,” Senior Kayleigh Roberts said. Members must maintain their grades and character in order to stay in NHS.

At the beginning of the year, juniors and seniors were nominated for NHS. All of the nominated students had an average, accumulated grade of 93% or higher, which made them eligible for NHS.

All students who were eligible and were interested were given an application that would outline their leadership and service activities that they completed in their high school career. Teachers evaluated the students on their character and behavior in class while a secret faculty committee met to go over the applications and essays. Ultimately, the secret committee decided who would be in NHS.

Some planned NHS projects include a canned food drive, volunteering at the Festival of Trees for the Women’s Shelter of Beaver County and possibly a Relay for Life.

The Freedom Area Middle School expanded a new chapter of NHS into its doors by adding National Junior Honor Society (NJHS). Students in seventh and eighth grade who have a 3.9 GPA or higher were eligible for NJHS. The idea was introduced by Principal Dr. Darlene Corris, but Ms. Chantelle McKim assumed the role of NJHS sponsor.

“A lot of times in middle school, you want to give credit to exceptional students who are fabulous people, but there’s not as much formal opportunity to recognize that in a middle school as there might be in a high school,” McKim said.

Eligible and interested students had to fill out an application that was evaluated by a secret faculty committee, which is the same process that eligible high school students go through to get into NHS. Students must show evidence of the five pillars of NJHS which include scholarship, leadership, character, service and citizenship. Unlike the high school, the middle school’s NJHS requires citizenship as one of the pillars.

Even if students are not accepted into NJHS, they can still learn about what the meaning to be a NJHS or NHS member.

“Those early experiences give them a hint of what is being looked for and then it gives them [time] to build towards the very, very high standards [of NHS],” McKim said.

On Nov. 4, 17 students were inducted into NJHS. Michelle Keith, Brittany Bionda and Reilly Collins, who are members of NHS, spoke at the induction to explain the pillars of NJHS.

Currently, no specific NJHS projects were planned and there are no plans for a continuation of NJHS related projects throughout the NJHS members’ freshman and sophomore years. However, all elected officers will be expected to join the Principal’s Advisory Committee (P.A.C.) while in high school.