National Jr. Honor Society


Reviewed August 1, 2018

All current NJHS members are required to complete four hours worth of service projects.  Numerous projects are arranged for our society.  If you do service projects for another organization, you will still need to complete four hours worth of service for Bothwell's NJHS.  Think of it this way: If you join the Lions and the Kiwanis, you don't go to a Lions meeting and tell them all you've done for the Kiwanis and expect to get credit.


Membership in the National Junior Honor Society is a privilege, not a right, based on the five criteria of scholarship, service, leadership, character, and citizenship. 

1. Students’ academic records are reviewed to determine scholastic eligibility (3.5 GPA). 

2. Students who are eligible scholastically are notified by mail and told that for further consideration for selection to the BMS Chapter, they may complete the Student Essay. 

3. Students submitting the Student Essay will be listed on the Candidate Recommendation List. This list is distributed to all faculty members who mark either "highly recommend," "recommend with reservations," "do not recommend," or "do not know student." Faculty members are asked to write comments regarding students they know but do not highly recommend. 

4. The Assistant Principal tabulates the recommendation scores. 

5. The entire Candidate Recommendation List with tabulated scores is brought to the anonymous 5-person Faculty Council. 

6. The Faculty Council reviews the Candidate Recommendation List and Student Essays to vote on the individual candidates. 

7. Selected candidates are mailed an acceptance letter while those candidates not selected will receive a notification letter and will meet with designated staff members to discuss areas of improvement.


Reviewed August 1, 2018

If you receive a letter in February inviting you to apply for NJHS membership based on your GPA, you will be asked to write an essay explaining how you represent the five ideals of the National Junior Honor Society.  Essays must be word processed and describe how you meet the ideals in and out of school by writing up to 100 words for each.  The essay will help determine your acceptance after a faculty recommendation procedure and Selection Committee Review.  

To help you understand each ideal, the following are excerpts from the candle lighting portion of the NJHS Induction.

1. "Scholarship, it has been said, is the power which eliminates ignorance, superstition, and fear."  (You have already shown some of your scholarship by earning a 3.5 GPA, but explain how else you represent Scholarship.)

2. "Citizenship implies unity of purpose and unselfishness in striving for the common good."

3. "Service really begins with the way we treat each other.  The small courtesies of "excuse me" and "thank you" are related to the concept of service as they build goodwill and friendship."

4. "Leadership, in order to benefit mankind, must proceed from unselfish motives.  It requires a genuine affection for others, and the ability to begin and complete a job.  They [leaders] lead by their very action."

5. "This is character: honesty, cooperation, courtesy, fair play, and self sacrifice are a few."

Essays must be submitted by the deadline stated on the invitation letter to be considered