Service is an Achievement

The Silver Cord Award, developed by JHS Student Council in 2011, is a distinguished volunteer service award available to Johnston High School students. The award is given to students who complete a minimum of 50 hours of community service/volunteering during their sophomore, junior, and senior years of high school, for a total of at least 150 hours. Upon completion, participants will receive a silver cord to wear on their robes at graduation in recognition of their achievement.

What is the Silver Cord Program?

The Silver Cord Program has several goals. First, we hope to encourage students to give back to their community through volunteering. Second, we want to make volunteering a year round activity for students. Because of this, students are required to do at least half of the require hours (25 hours) during the school year, when they are busy with classes and activities. We hope that students find a time to include volunteering into their schedules. The third goal is to develop the student’s level of responsibility. Students are responsible for setting up volunteer hours and completing and submitting the necessary paperwork to verify their volunteering. Students should make sure their volunteering is pre-approved and check email and infinite campus regularly.

Silver Cord Website

Getting Started

Students can start the program during their sophomore year (after the first day of school) and they need to complete at least 25 hours during the school year and the remainder of the required 50 hours during the summer. If students fail to complete the required hours, they will be removed from the program. Students that choose to start or re-enroll during their junior year can do so, but must have a minimum of 100 hours going into their senior year (50 hours during the junior school year and 50 hours during the summer between 11th and 12th grade). Volunteer hours prior to enrolling/re-enrolling do not count towards the program.

If you are interested in the program, we recommend that you enroll by completing an enrollment form and submitting it to Mrs. Jensen (either to JHS room 123 or via email). Enrolling in the program will put you on the email list for updates on potential volunteer opportunities and it will also add Silver Cord to your schedule in Infinite Campus. Correspondence with students will be done through the school email account (jdragonmail) and students are expected to check and read their email periodically. No grade will be given for the program, instead volunteer hours will be logged in Infinite Campus each month. This will allow you to verify the hours you have completed. Correspondence with students will be done through the school email account (jdragonmail) and students are expected to check and read their email periodically, including during the summer. Mrs. Jensen will try to minimize the number of emails, but will send emails when necessary.

After enrolling, students can begin volunteering. Students can contact organizations on the pre-approved list, places Mrs. Jensen emails out, or they can submit a pre-approval form for activities not on the list. If volunteer work is only a single time event, students should take a verification/reflection form with them the day of the event to have the supervisor complete. If the volunteer work will span several days, we encourage students to use the documentation of hours form to keep track of volunteer hours. At the end of each month, students should take their documentation form to their supervisor and have the supervisor complete the community member portion of the verification/reflection form. (Students cannot complete volunteer hours for family members/relatives). After completing the reflection, students should submit the Verification/Reflection form and attach the Documentation form (when appropriate). Forms should be submitted to Mrs. Jensen in JHS room 123 by the first of each month or within 30 days of completion of the service project.

Sponsor: Rachel Jensen

Rachel Jensen staff photo
Instructional Coach
Johnston High School