By Borislava Panayotova

For a long time, TPA’s middle school has been excluded from many things. However, things are beginning to change and change starts right here with the National Junior Honor Society (NJHS).

NJHS is an organization that is dedicated to service and academics. The National Honor Society (NHS) only accepts applicants in junior or senior year of high school. The NJHS will offer a place for 7th, 8th and, hopefully, 9th grade as well. This idea was sponsored by Mrs. Palumbo.

 The organization is focused on giving students leadership skills and allows them to provide volunteer service. The kids that would join would provide service for the school as well as outside volunteering. There is a dilemma with outside volunteering. Since the middle schoolers are not yet in high school they won’t have the availability to go somewhere outside of school. That would make most service projects on campus. That creates a difference between the two societies. Of course, there is a difference in grade groups.

Since the goal is leadership skills, the Society will be led by student peers. There would be a teacher sponsor and a faculty committee, that serves as an advisory board – five teachers with one teacher being in charge. The council is required so that if there are questions about an academic or service component a teacher is available for answers.

The importance of the council also causes a problem. There would need to be five teachers, as stated above, which means there is much help needed. Mrs. Palumbo is still trying to recruit faculty volunteers.

Our middle school is just as important as our high school. Having an organization run by junior high students brings attention to us and gives us the support we need. If the NJHS has a chapter a lot more things can happen that involve junior high as well as high school. This is a chance to involve young members with experiences that were never available to them before and can make our school a little less separated.