The National History Day competition began in September and for seven Cornwall Middle School students, it’s not over yet. After placing in the regional portion last month, Sophia Perez, Hanna Zollner, Tabitha McGreen, Breanna Guild, Allie Meile, Regan Arnold, and John Ward will be moving on to state competition on April 18 in Cooperstown. Twenty-one students presented 15 projects during the regional competition.
“I couldn’t be more proud, not just of those students, but of all the students who finished their projects,” said social studies teacher Jeff Danzer. “They’re really optimistic. I’m really optimistic. I think we have a real shot. I think there’s a lot of work to be done between now and April 18.”
At the beginning of the year, Danzer had his advanced social studies students choose topics related to, “Exploration, Encounter, and Exchange.” Students had to study their topic and convince their teacher it was worthy of being a year-long research project.
“I think too many times teachers look at advanced kids and have them write an extra paragraph here and there or they might give them slightly harder test questions and make them study more,” Danzer said. “I don’t necessarily think that’s giving them any new skills. National History Day provides students with an opportunity to not just learn about or explore the social studies subjects, historical topics, but we also focus on research methods, time management, and things like that.”
Once they received approval, the students decided how they wanted to present their project. They could write a paper, make a documentary, create a web site, give a live performance, or create an exhibit. None of the students chose to create an exhibit. Some decided to collaborate on a project. Only individuals could choose to write a paper.
On March 12, the students faced opponents from five other schools at a regional competition at St. Thomas of Aquinas College in Rockland County. Over 100 projects were presented to panels of two to four judges, who evaluated students on their research, the project itself, and their ability to answer questions.
Those who placed will compete in the next phase of the contest next month.
Between now and then, the students will modify their projects based on the feedback they received from the judges. For example, Danzer said both documentaries have some slight audio issues and will need to be re-recorded. The performances have some small script issues which need to be sharpened.
The format of the state competition will be the same as regionals. The students who win will compete nationally on National History Day at the University of Maryland in June.
———————
The following students will be moving on to the state portion of the National History Day competition based on their placement in the regional competition.
Junior individual performance
Sophia Perez – First Place
Topic- Babe Didrikson Zaharias
Hanna Zollner – Second Place
Topic- Margaret Mead
Junior group performance
Tabitha McGreen and Breanna Guild – First Place
Topic- Flight 93, An Encounter Between America and Terrorism
Junior group documentary
Allie Miele and Regan Arnold – Second Place
Topic- American Encounters with Islamic Extremism
Junior individual documentary
John Ward – Second Place
Topic- DARPA
