Pleasant Valley Middle School eighth graders Kira Wilson (left) and Amelia DeMoss (right) placed first in the Junior Group Performance category.
After top finishes at the regional Southwest Washington National History Day competition, 21 Battle Ground Public Schools middle school students advanced to the state round on May 1. Due to health and safety protocols surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, all rounds of the competition will be conducted in a virtual fashion.
“I am proud of the hard work and determination shown by students within the novel remote learning structure during a pandemic,’ Chief Umtuch Middle School History and English Language Arts Teacher Beth Doughty said in a news release from BGPS. “It was a lot to manage, and it is a testament to their efforts and the fact that students still gained content knowledge and skills despite the atypical learning structure.”
National History Day is a program that encourages students to become historians and develop research, conduct analysis as well as build presentations and social skills. Each year, students select a topic related to an annual national theme and work individually or in groups to conduct extensive historical research using primary and secondary sources.
According to a news release, this year’s theme is “Communication in History: The Key to Understanding.” Based on this theme, the students conducted research and analysis before developing projects such as research papers, performances, documentaries, websites and more.
The Chief Umtuch Middle School students advancing to state are:
Ruth Sprenger and Jules Staley, First Place in the Group Documentary category for "Social Impact of The First Women in English Theater"
Tova Orth and Ava Dhanens, Second Place in the Group Documentary category for "Radium Advertising and Industry in the 1900s"
Isaiah Rogers and Sterling Sutton, Third Place in the Group Documentary category for "Paul C. Fisher's Space Pen"
Tori Rehwaldt, First Place in the Individual Paper category for "Der Ewige Jude"
Duncan Clark, Second Place in the Individual Website category for "McCarthyism: The Story of How One Senator's Words Changed Our Nation Forever"
The Pleasant Valley Middle School students advancing to state are:
Judah Bullock, First Place in the Junior Individual Exhibit category for “Miscommunication in Word and Deed: Key to Understanding the Nez Perce Tribe's Century of Loss”
Amelia DeMoss and Kira Wilson, First Place in the Junior Group Performance category for “Clarity, Quantity, Focus: Key to Understanding How the Federalist Papers Convinced the States to Ratify the Constitution”
Lilly Roman-Myers and Kaylie O'Lear, First Place in the Junior Group Exhibit category for “Cesar Chavez: Strikes, Fasts, and Boycotts to Empower the Powerless”
Amelia Olson, First Place in the Junior Individual Website category for “Trial and Error, Collaboration, Bribery, and the Telegraph: Key to Understanding”
Jake Drogos, Second Place in the Individual Documentary category for “Sacagawea Translating, Guiding, and Communicating Peace: Key to the Success of the Lewis and Clark Expedition 1804-1806”
Abigail Dubinskiy, Alissa Huynh, Kristina Goldonov, and Layla Segovia, Third Place in the Group Exhibit category for “The March from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama: How the March Shamed the U.S. in World Opinion and Led to the Passing of the 1965 Voting Rights Bill”
Ethan Heaps, Third Place in the Individual Documentary category for "I Have a Dream"
The River HomeLink student advancing to state is:
Aubree Carroll, Second Place in the Junior Individual Exhibit category for “How Betsy Wade Influenced Change for Women”
Links to student projects are posted on the BGPS district website at battlegroundps.org/bgps-students-advance-to-state-in-national-history-day-competition/.
