The best and brightest gathered this past week as Suffern High School passed the candle and welcomed new National Honor Society members.
Junior and senior inductees proceeded down the auditorium aisle to music from the SHS Chamber Orchestra, conducted by music wizard Daniel McCarter. After the procession, some of the orchestra students themselves took their place with other National Honor Society inductees.
A special congratulations goes out to former Suffern High School standout Elizabeth Flaherty who will be named an All American honorable mention for vollyball at Roger Williams College.
Suffern High School students enter the auditorium for the National Honor Society induction ceremony.
Although a national society, each chapter has its own selection process and membership is typically by invitation and usually involves those junior and senior students who have consistently been in the the top 15% of their class ranking. Membership is based on the four pillars of National Honor Society: character, scholarship, leadership, and service, with common requirements including maintaining a minimum grade point average, volunteer or service hours, preserving an excellent record of behavior in and out of school, and participation in leadership roles in extracurricular activities.
Sloatsburg had four junior inducted: Hannah Consiglio, Jonathon Divietro, James Dowd, and Dunahay Pereyra. Sloatsburg seniors included Madison Scanlon, Dan Khieninson, Zachary Wimer ,and Kaitlyn Hahn.
There were a total of 13 seniors and 52 juniors that took their candle and place on the podium as new National Honor Society members. At graduation, NHS members can be recognized by the golden tassels on their graduation caps. National Arts Honor Society members have rainbow-colored tassels. A few select student belong to both honor societies and can be spotted wearing double tassels.
2008 Suffern High student Rebecca Olsen was guest speaker for the ceremony. A graduate of Tufts University who now works at Dupont, Olsen encouraged all the high-achieving students to find balance between their academic and social lives. Or as Auntie Mame might’ve said: Live, live, live.
See a full list of inductees here.
Note: See Mr. McCarter and music students in action at the Suffern High School Holiday Concert on Thursday, December 12, at SHS at 7:30 p.m.
