The following is a full transcript of the interview given by Ms.McHale to Dayana Reyes, Nina Bragg, and Arjan Kaur of the Warrior Messenger about the NJHS Ceremony
ARJAN KAUR: How would you describe the NJHS ceremony?
MS.MCHALE: It’s very memorable, It’s nice when the parents come out and it’s a good experience.
DAYANA REYES: How do you feel about being the leader of NJHS?
MS.MCHALE: I feel very honored, I had the opportunity to be a co-adviser since it started. It was really nice to get to know different students, not only ones that I taught and to see their ideas come to fruition.
NINA BRAGG:Why did you choose to be part of a group so important?
MM: Well, again to make sure that we give students experiences not just academically. So, taking them doing service projects, giving back to the community, always been something that was important to me to share with students. That’s what really appealed to be part of the NJHS.
AK: When did you start planning the NJHS?
MM: We had it brought to our school either 2010 or 2012. First, Avenel Middle School was the first middle school to have it and then it trickled down to the other middle schools.
DR: What was the process like while planning the NJHS organization?
MM: The National Junior Honor Society, they have their own set of bylaws (rules), so we have to follow those and then we can alter those bylaws so that it fits our school community. So, there is a certain criteria we have to follow, so they kind of help us with the whole setting up and then we go from there as far as getting our faculty counsel and trying to recruit students to be apart.
NB: How did it feel to go on stage for the ceremony?
MM: I don’t like being on the stage but I knew I had to be there to support the students in case something went wrong or if they needed re-insurance but I knew I was being recorded and people were staring at you. So I’m not always happy being on stage but you know we have to do what we gotta do.
AK: What was it like to be part of the NJHS?
MM: It was good, it went really well. We always get all nervous but it always goes smoothly and then we have these memories that we can share year after year.
DR: What was the best part of the ceremony?
MM: We had many best parts but what I like mostly is the high school honor society to come. This year one of my former students Luke Vasquez came to speak so it’s always nice to see them and get to know where he’s gonna go next year cause now he’s a senior, so that’s always a highlight when we have former students to come back.
NB: How would you describe the students’ working process?
MM: We have monthly meetings and many of the students. We get a lot of students to volunteer their time whether it’s during school hours or after school or to bring things in for a fundraiser. We do hold a certain number of requirements of service hours they have to do, so that always helps too.
