National Honor Society

Christopher James Burke, 17, a senior at Cardinal O'Hara High School in Springfield, has been honored by the Marple Newtown Lions Club. Burke has been an honor student every quarter, has won first prize in the Delaware County Science Fair, and has been a Seventh Congressional District winner in the Voice of Democracy essay contest. He is a National Merit Scholar Commended Student, president of the National Honor Society, co-editor of the school newspaper, an announcer on the school television program, a member of Peer Ministry and an office aide.

For the last half of her senior year of high school, Stephanie Sawyer of Lawnside wondered what was wrong with her. Ranked fifth in her class at Haddon Heights, involved in 10 extracurricular activities and well liked by teachers as well as students, it didn't seem much could be wrong with her. Why then, with qualifications as good or better than other National Honor Society inductees, had she not been asked to join the prestigious organization?...

Sometimes I think nothing ever changes. In Kentucky, two unwed high school girls are suing their school board, claiming they were denied membership in the National Honor Society because they were pregnant. In the 1950s, when I was a high school senior in Kentucky, I was desperate to be tapped for the National Honor Society. Tapped is the word - a signal in the dark. The event was filled with mystery and secrecy, like a Masonic ritual. The new members would be revealed in an assembly in the auditorium.

Dolly Wideman of Chester - program coordinator of the Domestic Abuse Project of Delaware County Inc. - has been named co-chairman of the Women of Color by members of that advisory group. "We will continue the primary goals of the Women of Color Caucus - to serve as an advisory group to Pennsylvania programs against domestic violence," said Wideman. She said she will "actively encourage and support the individual members of the Women of Color Caucus. " Chester resident Barbara Newsom, legal coordinator of the Domestic Abuse Project's Chester office, has been elected alternate co-chairman of the statewide caucus.

Making a moral example out of someone who erred is a tricky business. You can end up setting a bad example yourself. Just ask the Grant County (Ky.) School District. In April, a ceremony was held in the Grant County High School gym to induct worthy students into the National Honor Society. Of 35 students who had the required grade point average, 33 heard their names announced and applauded. The two who didn't, Somer Chipman and Chasity Glass, had something in common - something, that is, besides a love of playing flute and a raft of extracurricular activities.

Valedictorian. From the Latin vale, meaning farewell, and dicere, to say. The title is an honor historically conferred upon the best graduating student, and even though some high schools in Burlington County no longer use the title of valedictorian nor officially designate one, all are proud to recognize their outstanding graduates. This week, Neighbors in the News presents a brief profile of the county's valedictorians. By that name or whatever name - cum laude, best of the class - they were No. 1. BURLINGTON CITY.

Dozens of high school students who are too young to remember the Vietnam War gave up a Friday night to make sure that those who died in the war are not forgotten. The West Deptford High School volleyball marathon, sponsored by the school's National Honor Society, raised $1,250 on April 22 for the New Jersey Vietnam Veterans' Memorial, which is under construction in Holmdel, Monmouth County. The event was scheduled to run overnight, but a host of other school activities, including a track meet and a play, cut into the number of students able to participate.

Christina A. Gekas, 18, a recent graduate of Woodbury High School, died Saturday after she was struck by a hit-and-run driver while walking with a friend along Ocean Drive in Upper Township, Cape May County. Miss Gekas graduated with honors a week ago. She was active in school government, serving on the student council and as treasurer of the senior class. She was the homecoming queen last fall. "She was a role model for everyone," said Karen Mount, her friend since junior high school.

Shelli J. Hannum, 21, an honor student at Douglass College of Rutgers University who inspired others with her perseverance, died of heart disease Tuesday at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Miss Hannum, who lived in Glassboro, was a senior at Rutgers and a 1988 Glassboro High School graduate. Miss Hannum, who was legally blind, "could read faster with her eyes close to her book than some people could regularly," recalled her high school guidance counselor, Anita Heard.

Every year in late February, Sterling point guard Tyra Satchell gets a little nervous. Even though it happens to coincide with the start of the New Jersey state girls' basketball postseason, which Sterling will enter Monday, her anxiety has nothing to do with the hardwood. It actually has to do with her birthday. Unlike most seniors who turn 18 before graduating, Satchell will turn 17 on Thursday, meaning that a whole new crop of friends and teammates will learn that she is a grade ahead.

Francis Wallace Hastings, 89, of Perkasie, a longtime executive recruiter and a skilled woodworker, died Wednesday, Jan. 23, of congestive heart failure and pneumonia at his home. Mr. Hastings worked as an executive headhunter at Butterick & McGary in Philadelphia from 1952 to 1960 and went on to form his own recruitment firm, Frank W. Hastings Associates. He ran the company from 1960 to 1990 out of an office in New York City, and also worked with others out of his home, which was then in Yardley, his family said.

The National Association of Student Councils recognized eight regional finalists before singling out Jim Finnemeyer of North Penn High School in Lansdale as the Warren E. Shull Adviser of the Year. Finnemeyer received the award at the association's annual conference last month in North Carolina, an event that drew about 2,000 students and advisers. He was the first winner from Pennsylvania since the award was established 13 years ago to honor Shull, founder of the association.

Angry over a decision to bar four high school athletes from playing in the Delaware County Hero Bowl, some parents and students in the Interboro School District have asked the school board to rewrite its student code of conduct. "The school district has been very negative in how they've treated our children," said Rosemarie DiSands, whose son, Bobby, was one of 27 Interboro High School students disciplined in February for attending a party where alcohol was being served. The students, arrested and charged with underage drinking, were removed from all sports and extracurricular activities for 90 days under the school district's 1997 code of conduct.

Sometimes I think nothing ever changes. In Kentucky, two unwed high school girls are suing their school board, claiming they were denied membership in the National Honor Society because they were pregnant. In the 1950s, when I was a high school senior in Kentucky, I was desperate to be tapped for the National Honor Society. Tapped is the word - a signal in the dark. The event was filled with mystery and secrecy, like a Masonic ritual. The new members would be revealed in an assembly in the auditorium.

Making a moral example out of someone who erred is a tricky business. You can end up setting a bad example yourself. Just ask the Grant County (Ky.) School District. In April, a ceremony was held in the Grant County High School gym to induct worthy students into the National Honor Society. Of 35 students who had the required grade point average, 33 heard their names announced and applauded. The two who didn't, Somer Chipman and Chasity Glass, had something in common - something, that is, besides a love of playing flute and a raft of extracurricular activities.

High school students here take the concept of brotherhood quite seriously. For 40 years, seniors at Paulsboro High have voted to give the Brotherhood Award to one classmate who demonstrates regard for people of all faiths, races and national origin, and who shows willingness to go the extra mile to be of service. "I think that this award is as important today as it was when we started it back in 1957," said Ada Rosen, the retired English teacher who created the award to encourage students to seek out friends from various racial, social, religious and cultural backgrounds.

Three graduates of the Baldwin School in Bryn Mawr were recently honored for their achievements in the arts, sports and local government by the school's Alumnae Association. Susan Dawkins Clayton, a 1942 graduate, received the 1995 Alumnae Award for Lifetime Achievement. She is known for her pioneering work with both competitive and therapeutic swimming programs for local YMCAs. She has taught swimming at area schools and clubs, including the Suburban Swim Club in Newtown Square and, since 1964, the YMCAs in Ardmore and Berwyn.

Dozens of high school students who are too young to remember the Vietnam War gave up a Friday night to make sure that those who died in the war are not forgotten. The West Deptford High School volleyball marathon, sponsored by the school's National Honor Society, raised $1,250 on April 22 for the New Jersey Vietnam Veterans' Memorial, which is under construction in Holmdel, Monmouth County. The event was scheduled to run overnight, but a host of other school activities, including a track meet and a play, cut into the number of students able to participate.