Honor Roll and Honors

Upper school students who receive an overall 3.3 grade point average (GPA) for a semester, with no single grade below 80, are named to the Honor Roll.  Students achieving an overall 3.7 average or higher for the semester, with no single grade below 80, earn High Honors.  Students achieving an overall 4.0 or higher for the semester, with no single grade below 80, earn Highest Honors.  All courses are included in the computation of a student’s grade point average.

Students earning a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.3 or above for four years of Upper School work, with no single failing semester grade, will graduate with Honors; those with a GPA of 3.7 or above for four years of work and no failing semester grade will graduate with High Honors; and  students with a four-year GPA of 4.0 or above and no failing semester grades earn Highest Honors.

The Valedictorian is the graduating senior with the highest cumulative grade point average.  To be considered for this honor, a girl must have been at Duchesne Upper School for three consecutive semesters prior to her senior year.  Only those grades earned at Duchesne will be used to compute her GPA.  The Salutatorian is the graduating senior with the second highest cumulative grade point average.  The Valedictorian addresses her classmates, parents, faculty, and friends at Graduation, and the Salutatorian addresses the community at Upper School Prize Day.

National Honor Society

The National Honor Society (NHS) recognizes students who demonstrate outstanding accomplishment in the areas of scholarship, character, leadership and service.  The National Association of Secondary School Principals sponsors chapters in schools across the country, all of which are required to follow the Constitution of the National Honor Society.  To be eligible for membership in the NHS, one must be a junior or senior with a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher and no grade below 80 the semester prior to consideration for membership. The entire faculty and the administration evaluate those candidates who have earned the requisite GPA on the merits of scholarship, leadership, service, and character.  A faculty council appointed by the Head of the Upper School determines the final selection.  Members are inducted in the fall, at a formal induction ceremony to which parents are invited.  Membership in the NHS is an achievement recognized throughout the nation.  It must be stressed that the organization is not based solely on academic merit but embraces the virtues of leadership, service and character as well.