Where are the picnic tables? It would be easy to place blame on individuals from last year’s National Honor Society for leaving their chapter project unfinished, but it turns out that the incomplete project is due to a general lack of organization.

The group had planned to clear the brush from behind the rear parking lot at HBHS and then install picnic tables to create a gathering space for the community to enjoy.  The area was cleared, but the tables never appeared.

Allison Andreola ‘14 and Ben Goodman ‘15 commented that the club had a hard time deciding on a chapter project for the year.  When the decision to go ahead with the community gathering space was finally made, an area of the woods was cleared. However, due to a lack of organization, the benches were never purchased, and the once cleared section of woods is starting to grow back.

Current NHS president Ben Goodman confirmed that the club will not be completing the project initiated by last year’s members. Instead, the group will be working on a new idea to “execute a project that benefits the community.”

Goodman also commented that the organization “will make a decision on what [they’re] doing for a chapter project by early October.”  

When asked how NHS expects to be more successful than last year, Goodman stated that the new members will initiate and adhere to a timeline to ensure project completion.

According to the National Honor Society website (www.nhs.us), “NHS serves to honor those students who have demonstrated excellence in the areas of scholarship, leadership, service, and character.”

The main purposes of the organization are “to create enthusiasm for scholarship; to stimulate a desire to render service; to promote leadership; and to develop character in the students of secondary schools. These purposes also translate into the criteria used for membership selection in each local chapter.”

HBHS students are selected to become members of NHS based on a required minimum of 12 hours of documented community service over the past two years, submission of four character and leadership evaluation forms completed by adults, and a handwritten essay.  

Once selected, members are required to “complete two in-school and four out-of school hours of community service each quarter, attend all meetings, and maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.7 or greater.”

In other words, as a whole,  the students  in NHS are extremely driven and hard-working. This year’s group of students is no exception.

Though the picnic tables will not be put in, National Honor Society’s new attitude and timeline have a lot in store for the community. Many are looking forward to seeing what these extraordinary students will bring to the table this school year.