Hello, Hola, 你好 , Bonjour and all others forms of greetings around the world we use on the daily. We’ve all heard of our standard National Honors Society, but who knew of our very own Spanish and French National Honors Society?

The Sociedad Honoraria Hispánica (SHH) was created to show recognition towards academic fulfillments in the studies of Spanish and Portuguese, while also striving for others to gain interest in the subjects. Since 1959 the SHH has obtained more than 3,500 national and international chapters, including our very own here at H-F.

Established in 1967 the SHH chapter of H-F was named for Jorge Luis Borges. Borges was an Argentine writer whose literary work included classics, such as  “El Aleph” and “Ficciones”.

The SHH chapter at H-F hosts many events, like the Homewood Day of the Dead Festival, Zumba classes, decorating ofrendas and Spanish Appetizer night just to name a few.  These events celebrate Hispanic culture from all over the world and embrace each country’s authenticness while introducing students to new walks of life. 

To be a member of the SHH students must complete at least three semesters of Spanish or Portuguese with an honor average and be enrolled in Spanish or Portuguese courses during time of membership.

While the Société Honoraire de Français (SHF) has most of the same purposes as the Sociedad Honoraria Hispánica it surrounds the language of French and scholarship involvement within students.

The process of becoming a member of Société Honoraire de Français is through invitation,selected members must be in the 10th grade and up along with maintaining a B- average in the semester of selection.

The SHF chapter at H-F hosts events occasionally for members such as French movie days,Mardi gras parties and cake decorating contests to give chances to explore the creative sides of the culture. 

For members of the Society, being a part of the group is about celebrating language learning. To them, knowing another language alone is important and helps with connecting to other people and cultures. 

Senior and President of French National Honors Society Emma Steiner said,“I think it is so important to study languages different from the one we speak at home because it allows us to experience the life of other cultures. America is so closed off to the world and being able to experience what life is like around the world is key to being a global citizen.”

Both Societies give recognition to cross cultural aspects of scholarship and encourage students that learning new languages can be very beneficial and fun.

“What makes the French National Honors Society different is the fact that we can really dive into various cultural aspects there,” senior and FNDH member Evelyn Malvestuto said “Being partnered with French Cuisine and Conversation allows for this. We can further explore things such as French food and the culture surrounding it in this space.” 

Most importantly, though, students in Honors societies get help with their learning.

”[Being a member of the club] also takes some of the pressure off of the language. When it is in a strictly classroom setting, we are scared to explore it outside of it. Now, we have a space to casually speak French, and of course practice it,” said Malvestuto.

If you’re interested in joining either Honors Society, check in with teachers Monica Bell and Ashley Mazzola.Meeting times are dependent on availability time with scheduling.