GREENFIELD — The Greater Commonwealth Virtual School (GCVS) is pleased to report that the school’s National Honor Society (NHS) chapter is once again active and students have hit the ground running with community projects.
The National Honor Society at Greater Commonwealth Virtual School became inactive during the COVID-19 pandemic, but reformed this year and recently elected officers and inducted new members.
On Jan. 26, 14 seniors and juniors were inducted into the Greater Commonwealth Virtual School National Honor Society. Future inductions will include members of the sophomore class.
Inductees must maintain a minimum cumulative grade-point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale, and are additionally selected based on their service, leadership, and character. Candidates for induction must write about their volunteer experience, leadership positions they’ve held, and what it means to them to be an outstanding community member. They also must submit references from teachers and community members. Applications are reviewed by a council of faculty members.
The chapter was inactive last year. This year students have focused on reestablishing a cohesive group, establishing a chapter project and starting to work on individual member projects.
Executive Committee officers for the chapter this year are:
- President Courtney Haire, of Brimfield
- Vice President Nasra Jama, of Roxbury
- Treasurer Madisyn Kaijala, of Hubbardston
Other inductees include Leila Khalid, of Marshfield; Savannah Sbrega, of Phillipston; Thomas DeMars, of Springfield; Cecilia Deslaurier-Tate, of Milford; Jacqueline Buckley-Bevan, of Greenfield; Lee Deater-Deckard, of South Hadley; Kulsum Zaki, of Westborough; and Illyana Billups.
New members of the chapter were eager to start their community service work, so within two weeks of being inducted they organized themselves to write more than 200 cards, letters, and notes to patients at the Shriners Children’s New England Hospital in Springfield, Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and the West Virginia University United Hospital Center in West Virginia.
“We are happy to give our students the opportunity to showcase their hard work,” said “Student Outreach Coordinator Chris Dillon, who serves as one of the chapter’s advisors. “Our NHS chapter is filled with students who are already going above and beyond for their communities through volunteer work they were doing prior to joining. All of our members are coming to the table with tons of great ideas for their individual NHS projects and our chapter project. We are just getting started and I can’t wait to see what they end up doing!”
To learn more about the National Honor Society, visit: https://www.nhs.us/.