Nine BVSD students and their teachers attended last week’s National History Day competition at the University of Maryland, seven of whom had high achievement by being selected for the final round or by winning a medal and "outstanding entry" recognition.
“All nine of these students and their teachers displayed such hard work, enthusiasm, passion and poise during this competition,” said Jackie Webb, BVSD History Day Coordinator. “They represented their school, district, and state well.”
In order to be invited to nationals, the students had to have placed first or second in the state contest in their respective category. All students listed below have won contests at school, regional, and state levels before going on to the national level where they were judged by professional historians, professors of history, and archivists from the University of Maryland and Washington, D.C.Museums/Monuments. At the national event, they competed with approximately 120 other outstanding students from 50 states and U.S. Territories. Each of the students in the national competition spent a year doing research, then synthesizing, analyzing, and evaluating that research to present and defend a historical argument related to the national theme.
RECOGNITION AND AWARDS
Senior Website
Final Round – 4th place
“The Dark Hour of Temptation”
Fairview High School, Boulder, CO
Teachers: Leigh Campbell-Hale and Scott Peoples
Students: Anna Naoumova, Risha Patel, and Michelle Shu
Junior Group Performance
Final Round – 14th place
“The Women Who Cried: Stories from Vietnam Nurses”
Centennial Middle School, Boulder, CO
Teacher: Pete Rosato
Students: Sidney Morss, Katie Olwin, Alice Skok, and Azalee Rafii
The other BVSD students who participated are:
Junior Papers: Janet Chen, Summit Middle School. Teacher: Mary Kathryn Wood
Junior Website: Alexander Denton, Centennial Middle School. Teacher: Pete Rosato
“Although they did not place, these students displayed the same poise, excellence, and passion with their presentations,” said Webb.
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National History Day (NHD) is a highly regarded academic organization for elementary and secondary school students.
Each year, more than half a million students, encouraged by thousands of teachers nationwide participate in the NHD contest. Students choose historical topics related to a theme and conduct extensive primary and secondary research through libraries, archives, museums, oral history interviews and historic sites. After analyzing and interpreting their sources and drawing conclusions about their topics’ significance in history, students present their work in original papers, exhibits, performances and documentaries. These products are entered into competitions in the spring at local, state and national levels where they are evaluated by professional historians and educators. The program culminates in a national competition each June held at the University of Maryland at College Park.
To learn more about National History Day and view a full list of competition results, visit their website at www.nationalhistoryday.org/index.htm.