Hartford, CT/College Park,
MD –Connecticut’s top student historians participated in the
prestigious National History Day Contest at the University of Maryland in
College Park from June 15 to June 18. Seventy-six
Connecticut students competed with more than 2,900 students from across the
country. Several Connecticut students
received special recognition.
Annabel Barry, Quinn Barry, Isabelle Altherr, Maxwell Chung, and
Shannon Madden won First Place in Senior Group Performance for their project A Terrible Beauty is Born: The Leadership of
James Connolly and Patrick Pearse and the Controversial Legacy of the Easter
Rising. The national champions are students at Pequot Home School in
Southport.
Sam Porcello won Third Place in Senior Individual Exhibit for his
project Pope’s Not So Ordinary Legacy:
Paving the Way for America’s Mobility. Sam is a student at Conard High
School in West Hartford.
The Outstanding Connecticut Entry Award in the Senior Division was
awarded to Swati Rath, Smrithi Raman, Sahiti Alavala for their Senior Group
Website, World Wide Webster, a
project about Noah Webster. They are
students at Farmington High School. Jack
Higgins from Thomas Edison Middle School in Meriden won Outstanding Connecticut
Entry in the Junior Division for his Individual Documentary, The Quiet Leadership of Major Karl Plagge.
Emma Cook of Southington, a student from Classical Magnet School
in Hartford, was selected for a Salute to Courage Award. She and a chaperone will be attending the
opening of the Road to Tokyo
exhibition at the World War II Museum in New Orleans later this year.
Anaisja Henry of Hartford, a student at Renzulli Academy in
Hartford, attended “Breakfast on the Hill” with members of Congress, an event
sponsored by National Endowment for the Humanities. Anaisja participated in the
Junior Individual Website category.
Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet:
Leader in Deaf Education, an exhibit created by Jayde
Zainc, Jackie Tavoletti, and Cassie Reilly from Memorial Middle School in
Middlebury, was one of only fifty seven projects featured at “National History
Night” at the National Museum
of American History on Wednesday, June 17.
Tanusri Bell, a student from the Academy of Information Technology and
Engineering in Stamford, was one of only 25 students selected to participate in
a special Paper Writers'
Event at the Library of Congress. Featured speakers included the Historian of
the House of Representatives, Matthew Wasniewski.
During the five-day contest, the Connecticut delegation spent a
day exploring Washington D.C. They met
with Senator Richard Blumenthal, visited the U.S. Capitol, toured the National
Archives and enjoyed a behind the scenes visit to the Map Department of the
Library of Congress.
History Day students spent months conducting historical research
and creating projects (paper, exhibits, websites, documentaries, and
performances). The students who
participated in the National Contest had previously placed first or second at
the State History Day Contest, which was held on May 9, 2015 at Central
Connecticut State University.
Over 4,000 middle and high school students participate in History Day in Connecticut, one of 57
affiliate programs of National History Day, a renowned, year-long, academic
program. The road to National
History Day (NHD) usually begins in Connecticut’s classrooms and home schools
where students choose topics reflecting an annual NHD theme, conduct research
and analysis and create an exhibit, performance, website, paper or documentary
that shares their findings. Of these, over a thousand students competed in this
year’s Regional Contests, with 400 of winners going on to the State Contest,
which sends first and second-place winners on to Nationals.
All of this is made possible by a strong collaboration among many
of Connecticut’s history organizations who work with dedicated educators to
help students develop critical thinking skills and a passion for learning and
sharing history. A shared goal is to encourage a life-long interest in
Connecticut’s rich stories, archives, historic buildings and museum
collections. The collaboration is led by Connecticut’s Old State House, funded
by Connecticut Humanities, and supported by the Connecticut League of History
Organizations, the Connecticut Historical Society, Central Connecticut State
University and scores of historical societies and civic groups who provide
special prizes at the state level.
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