Abbey

The National Honor Societies sponsors (Mrs. Cruz-Torres, Mrs. Fey, and Mrs. Jones) pose for a picture.

HCCPHS is a busy campus, with fundraisers, clubs, college applications, and more taking place, it can be easy to look past something new. Some campuses only have one National Honor Society, but HCCPHS has three: National Honor Society, National Spanish Honor Society, and the National Art Honor Society. 

   Each is within its first two years of establishment, and all aim to provide a unique range of opportunities for upperclassmen on campus with qualifying GPAs and character. 

   The National Art Honor Society is the newest addition to the organizations. Its focus is using the visual arts to give back to the community, and highlighting the school as a STEAM campus, not just a STEM school. 

   “I do feel like the arts are always left out of belonging to a club or an organization to really help share their love of something, and spread it,” National Art Honor Society sponsor Mrs. Jones said. 

   Last year Jones sent more students to VASE, the UIL Visual Art Scholastic Event, than most comprehensive high schools in Comal ISD–which is in the top 1.3% of all visual art programs in the state. 

   “I wanted to provide an opportunity for these students to come together with their love of art, that’s really an individual art form,” Jones said. “But this is an opportunity for them to do something collaborative.”

   The National Spanish Honor Society (NSHS) was founded primarily to offer an opportunity to a group of students who are excluded from societies like the National Honor Society because of a language or cultural barrier. 

   “A student that I had a few years ago came from Mexico, and they didn’t allow her to be in the National Honor Society, just because she didn’t know the language [English],” National Spanish Honor Society sponsor Mrs. Cruz-Torres said. “She could not take the required AP classes to get into the NHS. And I felt bad for her because I thought that native [English] speakers were at an advantage.” 

   NSHS is the first chapter to open in Comal ISD and is made up of students committed to taking AP Spanish Four. Their goal is to serve the community and spread their knowledge of Hispanic culture. 

   “I think that first year was amazing,” Cruz-Torres said. “And I think that this year, that is our second year, is going to be way better than last year.”

   The NSHS is currently undergoing elections and will have its inauguration in October.

   The National Honor Society is a well-known organization, but is still in its formative years, as this is only the second year there have been upperclassmen. 

   “I know, by definition, that National Honor Society kids tend to be very focused, and wonderful kids that are very much a part of the school,” NHS sponsor Mrs. Fey said. 

   In the past, the NHS has organized campus clean-ups and different community drives. This year, they plan to continue this and implement new ways of volunteering, like starting a tutoring program with Spring Branch Middle School. 

   “We look more at giving back,” Fey said. “We also don’t want NHS to be one more thing, it should be an honor you’ve already earned.”

   The Honor Societies want students to take charge of their own service, while sponsors try to focus on facilitation and support. 

   “I really want the students to run the chapter, and I just want to be the facilitator,” Jones said. “The teacher, the sponsor, there to support.”