Those that read the November 5th edition of the News-Banner may have read an article slamming the induction ceremony of the Norwell chapter of National Honor Society; and condemning the effort put forth by the chapter’s sponsors and officers. As an officer, I am sorely disappointed in the individual who wrote this article. Their gross misdirection of anger and lack of appropriate investigation is disgraceful.
The author complained that the speeches at the event were “scripted, prepared words.” This is absolutely true, the speeches we gave were indeed scripted and prepared… by us… as they should be… as all good speeches are.
I think that perhaps the author was trying to suggest we used pre-written speeches provided to us by our sponsors or the National Honor Society. This is simply false. We spent many hours writing and preparing to give our speeches. Considering we were writing these speeches whilst also balancing extracurriculars, school, and college applications, I believe we did a fantastic job. Criticism of our speeches is simply unwarranted as the level of preparation and commitment we gave was exemplary.
At an almost completely student-run banquet, a staff speaker would be unnecessary. The National Honor Society prioritizes student leadership, therefore our induction ceremony was student led. The lack of staff speakers should showcase the high levels of integrity and responsibility of National Honor Society members
The technical difficulties experienced during the ceremony were certainly unfortunate, however they could not have been predicted and suggesting that they were the result of administrative oversight would be unfair.
While I do not believe that Norwell High School is perfect, no place is, I do feel as though it has equipped me to succeed in my next step in life. To suggest that Norwell has an “academics problem” is absurd. The author of the letter brought up a fantastic point that completely disproves their own argument. There were 49 students inducted into the National Honor Society, this means that 49 students maintained a GPA of 3.8 or higher. In a graduating class of around 200 this number of students pursuing such a high level of academic achievement is not indicative of a school with an “academics problem.”
I and my fellow officers take offense to such a flagrant lack of follow-through from the author. No negative comment was made of our performance until the publishing of this article. The author clearly has prior frustrations with Norwell’s administration. However, instead of taking appropriate action and discussing these issues with the appropriate audience the author took aim at the hard work of 17- and 18-year-old high school students.
The author proclaimed in their article “Yes, to say the NHS induction left something to be desired is a gross understatement — the words “appalling and embarrassing” would seem more appropriate.” I think that the more appropriate use of the words appalling and embarrassing would be in reference to the author’s decision to write and send out this imprudent article.
On behalf of my fellow officers, Gavin Threewits, Ethan WIlliamson and Shae Brooks,
WILL GERBER
President, Norwell
Chapter of the
National Honor Society
