Region 15 Students Receive Recognition At All Levels of National History Day Competition

Five Region 15 students, who participated in National History Day (NHD), have made history of their own.  Throughout the NHD year-round programs, the students received honors, which culminated in awards and accolades at the 2006 National Contest held in June at the University of Maryland.

NHD sponsors challenging contests, for elementary and secondary school students.  According to NHD, Inc., their mission is to provide students with opportunities to learn historical content and develop research, thinking and communication skills through the study of history.

 “NHD teaches students that history is not just about the names and dates of people and events from 200 years ago but about the stories that happen every day in communities around the world,” said Rochambeau Middle School (RMS) student advisor, Sharon Wlodarczyk.

RMS 8^th grade students, Bailey B. and Jessica U., created a junior group exhibit entitled, “Harriet Beecher Stowe: Writing the Wrongs of Slavery.”  

Throughout the 2005-2006 school year, the girls interviewed historians from around the country with knowledge of Harriet Beecher Stowe.  They gathered information on the impact of the book, Uncle Tom’s Cabin and it’s affect on slavery and our country during the pre civil war era.

From an entry pool of over 50 students, the girls placed 1^st at Regionals in March, in the junior group exhibit category and won a special award from the Yale University Archives for best use of primary resources.

At State’s in May, the girls placed 2^nd.  When they returned for the second year, to the National Competition, not only did the twosome place 4^th in the Junior Group Exhibit, they also received the Best in State Award over all in the Junior Division.

An 8th grade student at RMS, Mathew M.competed in the Junior Individual Documentary Division for NHD 2006.  At the Regional competition, Mathew placed 1^st for his documentary entitled, “Prudence Crandall: Taking a Stand for Equality in CT Education”, and at State’s, he placed 2^nd for his Junior Individual Documentary. 

Mathew also received a special award at the State Competition for, “Outstanding Entry Related to the Connecticut Freedom Trail”, sponsored by The Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition. 

Mathew spent considerable time researching Prudence Crandall at the Connecticut Historical Society Library Archives, the Connecticut State Library in Hartford as well as visiting the Prudence Crandall Museum. Mathew was able to revise his project for each level of competition and placed 8^th in the Junior Individual Documentary Division at Nationals.

Now seniors at Pomperaug High School, Carolyn W. and Kate H. began their project in their junior year, honors English class.  The girls entered the Senior Group Documentary category, with a presentation entitled, “Taking a Stand for America’s Horses”.  Carolyn and Kate placed 1^st in this category at both the Regional and State Competition before moving on to Nationals.

The documentary was based on their research concerning Horse Slaughter in the United State’s. They interviewed authors from around the country; Nancy Perry, the Vice President of Government Affairs for the National Humane Society, and several people on Capital Hill involved with the legal bill currently in Congress.

 “Horses are not consumed in America, but considered a delicacy in foreign countries,” Mrs. Wlodarczyk explained.  “Our horses are slaughtered for export, by foreign run slaughter houses in Texas.  The documentary Carolyn and Kate edited from their research heightened awareness of this issue,” she said.

During their time at Nationals, the girls were invited to Washington, D.C. to meet with the head of the National Humane Society.  Carolyn was able to meet with several key members of the House while in Maryland and she left copies of the video to be viewed by Congressmen with whom time did not allow a visit.

In July, Carolyn received an email from Congresswoman Nancy Johnson.  According to the Congresswoman, because of the video the girls left with her, Johnson was cosponsoring the bill to close down the remaining slaughter houses in the United States.  In early September, the bill was passed in Congress by a large margin.