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Honor Giants is an annual program recognizing students for their academic excellence, positive behavior and extracurricular involvement at Highland Park High School. This growth mindset model enables every student the opportunity to be recognized as an Honor Giant after each school year, encouraging resiliency and promoting student growth throughout their high school career.
Recognition & Timing
The Honor Giants program recognizes students for their prior year's achievements. For example, Freshmen meeting the criteria will be awarded recognition in the Fall of their Sophomore year. Students will be awarded an Honor Giants pin by their Homeroom teachers each year they earn Honor Giant status. Students are encouraged to save the pins and wear them on their gowns at graduation.
Eligibility
Eligibility criteria are designed to represent the whole student, including their engagement with and contribution to our school community. In addition to being academically successful, the student should serve as a role model for others. As a student matures and develops, the bar for recognition is raised as well.
Freshman Year Eligibility (Students Recognized Fall of Sophomore Year)
- GPA: Cumulative Unweighted Annual Average => 3.0
- No Grades of D+, D, D-, F, Incomplete
- No Code Violations or Violation of Student Conduct Policies
Sophomore/Junior Year Eligibility (Students Recognized Fall of Junior/Senior Years)
- GPA: Cumulative Unweighted Annual Average =>3.33
- No Grades of D+, D, D-, F, Incomplete
- No Code Violations or Violation of Student Conduct Policies
- Participate in at least one HPHS Activity or Team
Frequently Asked Questions
- Why Honor Giants?
- Honor Giants strives to encourage students to set goals and take ownership of their learning process by celebrating their investment in themselves each year.
- This achievement is designed with growth in mind, allowing students to be honored once or multiple times during their years at HPHS.
- Why Honor Giants instead of HPHS Honor Society or National Honor Society?
- Other honor societies only recognize Juniors and Seniors. Honor Giants allows all students to participate and be recognized each year, encouraging a growth mindset over time.
- Other honor societies typically require students to earn activity and service points to be eligible to apply for recognition. At HPHS we recognize that many school teams and activities already have community service built into their programs. By requiring students to be involved with one activity/team per year, the need to earn and track points is eliminated.
- Is there an application process?
- No. Recognition will solely be based on a student's record.
- How will this affect my child's college application/admission?
- High schools are able to set their own criteria for honor society membership, which is widely understood by colleges and universities.
- As with any award or achievement, students should consider listing their status as an Honor Giant on their academic resume.
- Please speak to your child's postsecondary counselor if you have questions or concerns.
- How does summer school or replacement grades affect recognition?
- Only classes taken during the academic year (Semester 1 and 2 grades) will be used to determine if a student is eligible for Honor Giant recognition.