Mentor Public Schools highlights its National Honor Society

By Mimi Vanderhaven

The four criteria for being admitted into the National Honor Society (NHS) are scholarship (academic achievement), leadership, service and character.

At Mentor High School, you can add “master party planner” to that list.

On Thursday, December 12, the 121 NHS members are throwing a festive holiday extravaganza for any students in the district from kindergarten through fifth grade.

“This is an annual student-driven event in which they do all the planning and execution,” says Stacey Kerul, who is the advisor to the local Mentor NHS. “They organize a budget for the party and even do the shopping themselves. From 5:00 to 7:30 p.m., the students will transform our student center at the high school into a winter wonderland. They come up with different crafts and games that the kids love, including stations for making foam ornaments, decorating cookies, staging a ‘snowball’ fight with special balloons, dodgeball, writing letters to Santa and even a pin-the-tail-on-the-Grinch game.”

Of course, a highlight of the event is when Old St. Nick makes an appearance and the children can sit on his lap and get a picture.

“In addition to the holiday party, throughout the year these students have been busy,” she continues. “One much-anticipated upcoming event is the Glow in the Snow school dance with a glow-in-the-dark theme. There used to be a winter formal, but not for several years, so it’s wonderful to see these students decide to bring it back in a fun, casual format.”

You’ll also see NHS members volunteering throughout the community, at places like Lake Metroparks Farmpark Halloween Hayrides and Country Lights Santa’s Workshop.

“This is a great bunch of students to work with,” says Stacey. “They are hard-working but know how to have fun. It’s competitive to be named to NHS. Students must attain a 3.5 GPA or higher to apply, and there’s a committee of five staff members who decide who makes the cut. Each year we accept about 80 of the 100 applicants.”

Look for these monthly stories to cover topics at every level of the schools throughout the school year. The Mentor School system educates 7,660 students from pre-K to 12th grade in eight elementary schools, three middle schools, one high school and one school for students with autism. For updates, visit MentorSchools.net.