Philosophy, Purpose, and Criteria for Admission

With the intent to both promote high achievement and excellence of performance by students in the languages we offer, and to acknowledge the extraordinary proficiency demonstrated by our most accomplished scholars of French, German, Latin, and Spanish, the faculty of the Classical and Modern Language Department have chosen to confer membership in the National Honor Societies of these respective languages in accordance with the criteria established both by the individual Societies and the Department per se. These criteria, listed below, not only stress the importance for members of our national honor societies to achieve at the highest levels in the languages for which they are honored, but to duplicate this high achievement in the other areas which they study here at Wellesley High School, for it is in this way that their general dedication to academic excellence is transferred to the specific of foreign language study. Scholarship of the highest caliber in all areas is the hallmark of all exemplary scholars, not the least those who distinguish themselves in French, German, Latin, and Spanish.

To these ends the following criteria have been established for membership in each honor society to which the Classical and Modern Language Department subscribes:

1. that selection occur only during or after the student’s third year of study of his or her language, and that the student be at least a sophomore at the time of consideration;

2.that for the semester during which selection occurs, the student maintain an A average in his or her language and that for the duration of the student’s study, the overall average not be below A-;

3. that for the semester during which selection occurs, the student maintain a general average in all his or her courses of B and that for all years of the student’s study, the overall average not be below B-;

4. that to remain in the national honor society of the specific language, the student continue to maintain an average of A- in the specific language and a B- overall subsequent to selection for membership;

5. that, in extraordinary circumstances, the exact nature of which will be determined by the department head in Classical and Modern Languages and the teachers of the specific language in question, given criteria stated above may be waived, if such is deemed to be in the best interest of the student and the Department.