Twelve Students Will Advance to History Day State Competition in April
The District 6 Regional History Day Competition was held on Saturday, March 19th at Saint Patrick. District 6 includes schools across southeastern Virginia. Our seventh and eighth grade students participated in the event along with students from three local schools. They presented a strong collection of projects with twelve of our students winning across five categories!
For our eighth grade students, this was their second year completing History Day projects. Many students enjoyed the process more the second time around. Andrea Spina says, “Since we were experienced from last year, we had more insight this year.” Her partner, Kaitlin Saal, describes their experience as “well-rounded” because their project last year focused on Mahatma Gandhi while their project this year focused on the Manhattan Project. The dichotomy of their topics enabled them to see both sides of war and peace.
The pair has worked as a team for the past two years and Kaitlin describes the relationship as, “mutually beneficial.” Sharing the same sentiment, Andrea says of her relationship with Kaitlin, “[we] became partners because I have qualities that she doesn’t have and she has qualities that I don’t have.”
Preparation for History Day began in September from exploring topic ideas to researching primary sources, to taking notes and writing annotated bibliographies. Some students, like Andrea and Kaitlin, chose a topic that they felt fit the theme, while fellow eighth graders chose a topic for sentimental reasons. Nathaniel Joly chose to focus his project on the sport of lacrosse because he has played the sport for many years and it is an important part of his life. Chris Hogge has always been interested in space and chose to study Apollo 11 for his project.
Students who are advancing to the state competition are listed below along with their project titles. Our students put much time and energy into their projects and we are excited as they move on to the state competition, which will be held on April 23rd at Virginia State University. They will compete against 7 other districts from across the state. Go Wolfhounds!
Individual Exhibit
1st place, Christopher Hogge
The Impacts of Apollo 11’s Exploration, Encounter and Exchange on Society
2nd place, Nathaniel Joly
Lacrosse: The Exploration of a Culture, The Encounter of a Ritual, The Exchange of a Sport
Group Exhibit
1st place, Celia Laplace and Kate Zak
Mae Jemison: Encountering Racial and Gender Boundaries on Earth-Exploring the Endless Possibilities in Space
2nd place, Andrea Spina and Kaitlin Saal
The Manhattan Project: The Exploration of Nuclear Weapon Development Through the World’s First Atomic Bomb)
Group Documentary
1st place, Ian McIntyre and Connor McMahon
Tet Offensive: The Beginning of the End
Group Website
1st place, Rebecca Bonheur and Isabella Schroeder
Josephine Baker: Encountering Fear, Striving for Unity
Historical Paper
1st place, Catherine Besachio
Sylvia Earle: Explorations, Encounters, Advocacy
2nd place, Alex Laplace
Richard Spruce Makes Malaria Manageable… and Clears the Path to World Exploration
