IRVINGTON, NJ — The students at Grove Street School held their first official National Honors Society induction ceremony at the school Friday, Jan. 13.
“Originally, it started from the high school level, so now it trickled down from middle school to elementary level and I’m just so happy I was able to share with the advisor, Kimberly Howard, her vision and her dream; she did a phenomenal job,” said at large Municipal Councilwoman October Hudley, who is also the school library media specialist, on Saturday, Jan. 14.
“The whole program was a classy, classy program under our school leader, Dr. Denise Cooper. Our featured speaker was Dr. Chloe Howard, who is a very distinguished scholar and researcher. It’s an experience that the children will never forget. When they received their pens and shared with the family, they were so excited.”
“We had our induction ceremony for 16 outstanding scholars,” said Howard, a first-grade teacher at Grove Street School who also served as the advisor to the newly formed National Elementary Honor Society, along with Hudley and fellow first-grade teacher Jescia Paterson, on Saturday, Jan. 14. “We tried to make it a memorable evening for the parents and the children. The teachers were included in the processional. My vision was that the teachers were to be celebrated, as well as the students. Just as, at a pep rally, the coaches come out with their players, we had our teachers come out with our students.”
While there were distinguished guests on hand at the ceremony, Howard and Hudley said “It was all about the kids” and an important event in their young students’ lives.
“National Honor Society was originally formulated 100 years ago, in 1921, for just the high school level, but then, over the years, it trickled down to the junior high school level and on to the elementary level,” said Howard on Saturday, Jan. 14. “The principals who formulated the National Honor Society wanted to celebrate academic success of students, as well as building essential character traits and build life skills for them.
This program, in and of itself, is the largest and the oldest organization in the country and it has grown and they have chapters in every state and Canada and it’s becoming international. Students are expected to live up to the four pillars of the Honor Society that are: scholarship, character, leadership and service, they are expected to live up to (them) at the elementary level and throughout the rest of their lives.”
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