Dhakshayini Suresh ‘21
How the LHS National Honor Society is Expanding Educational Access During the Pandemic
National Honor Society, or NHS, is a nationwide, invitation-only organization consisting primarily of high school seniors who have demonstrated their proficiency in areas like Scholarship, Service, Leadership, and Character. One of the main responsibilities of Lawrence High School’s chapter of NHS is to conduct Cardinal Nest, a tutoring service for the underclassmen. Through an interview with Vice President, Princess Rebullo (‘21) and Secretary, Akshaya Shivaparan (‘21), we gained a closer look at how NHS is adapting Cardinal Nest during the pandemic.
Q: What is Cardinal Nest and how did it function before our transition to virtual classrooms due to COVID-19?
Princess: Cardinal Nest is a tutoring service offered by our school’s National Honor Society. Under the guidance of our advisor, Ms. Haughey, selected seniors help out schoolmates from the 9th, 10th, and 11th grade in their classwork/homework for various subjects that fall into the categories of Math, Science, English, and History.
Akshaya: This was typically held in the conference room of the high school library during ‘A’ day lunches, the longest lunch of the week. NHS seniors would volunteer to spend their lunch here to help out other students in certain topics they struggled in. This offers them a different and more personalized perspective on how the materials could be learned as it is students who help students, rather than teachers.
Q: What changes will be implemented to continue Cardinal Nest during the pandemic?
Princess: The Cardinal Nest will continue offering its services through Zoom. Along with one National Honor Society officer, there will be two club members to help out with each subject.
Akshaya: There will be two members each for Math and Science and one member each for English and History. The Cardinal Nest will be open for underclassmen every Tuesday and Friday from 12:30-1:00 pm. The Zoom link is on Ms. Haughey’s teacher page (https://sites.google.com/ltps.info/mshaughey/home).
Q: Could you describe NHS’s new addition to serving underclassmen–the Academic Resources Webpage?
Princess: The Academic Resources Webpage is another tool for students to help in their classwork if they cannot make it to Cardinal Nest but still require help. The members of National Honor Society have created helpful videos in subjects like Math and Science, with upcoming videos for History and English. All of these short, helpful, videos are compiled under this webpage: https://sites.google.com/ltps.info/mshaughey/home
Akshaya: For math we have videos for Geometry, Algebra 1, Algebra II, and Pre-Calculus. For science we have videos for topics in Biology and Chemistry. For english, there will soon be videos for English 1 and 2 (including Honors-level skills) and AP Language and Composition. Likewise, there will soon be videos that tackle DBQs and FRQs for all history classes. The website is the same link as Ms. Haughey’s teacher page.
The pandemic has revolutionized the way we learn, which is why it is so important to expand educational access virtually. As part of NHS, our chief purpose of Cardinal Nest and the Academic Resources Webpage, this year, is to help other students maintain the same rigor, quality, and pace of learning as they did before quarantine. Coronavirus and the ensuing lockdown has certainly changed several aspects of our lives, but I am confident that youth-led initiatives are the reason it does not have to impede our education.
Comments