Thanks to the efforts of Whitewater High senior Jackson Kirchner, the school system’s first national honor society for science has been formed.
History was made at Whitewater High on the evening of February 3 when 108 of the school’s juniors and seniors were inducted and became charter members of the county’s first ever Science National Honor Society. Over 150 students at Whitewater met the eligibility requirements and were invited to join.
Honor clubs for specific subjects have been developing since the 1980s to recognize students who exceptionally excel in various areas. Whitewater has a national honor society for German, French, Spanish, art, technical, and now science.
Jackson Kirchner, the student who spearheaded the formation of the Science National Honor Society, discovered the club while researching a competing Science Olympiad team’s website. Being that Whitewater has a large number of students who excel in science, he knew the school needed to start its own chapter.
To be eligible to join, a student must be a junior or senior who has maintained a 3.0 grade point average on a 4.0 scale, has and must maintain an average grade of at least 85 across all science courses in grades 9-12, and has credit for at least two upper-level science classes, including Gifted/Honors Biology, Gifted/Honors Chemistry, STEM Physics, Advanced Placement Biology, Advanced Placement Chemistry, and/or Advanced Placement Physics.
“Our new Science National Honor Society members have used their science studies to better understand how the world around them works. They will now use their science knowledge to illuminate the world of science for others,” says Amy Hammock, one of the club’s faculty advisors along with Amy Hinote.
Community service to further the knowledge of science is one of the objectives of the Science National Honor Society. Although newly formed, the Whitewater High chapter has already been asked to assist with several activities, including helping with Fayette County’s Junior Science Olympiad Tournament on March 8, participating in science activities with students in the after school program at Sara Harp Minter Elementary, and tutoring students at Whitewater High in science and math.
