Banner year at State History Day

Posted on: Jun 6, 2022

It was a banner year for Delano students at the State History Day competition.

Out of 13 total projects that advanced to the state level from Delano, three earned a place and six more earned honorable mention recognition. Five of those projects were done by sixth-graders, and the other four by eighth-graders.

“I am extremely happy with how everything turned out this year. This is the most sixth-grade groups that have made it to the state level, and the most that made it to the final round in state,” said sixth-grade advanced language arts teacher Teresa Campbell. “The students took it to a new level this year and set the bar high.”

“I am very happy with how things went this year,” added eighth-grade language arts teacher Rachel Holmes. “The only disappointment was that everything after locals was still virtual, so the kids didn't really get the full experience.”

History Day is a competition in which students conduct historical research related on a topic of their choice that relates to the year’s theme, then present their findings via documentary videos, websites or exhibits. This year’s theme was “Debate and Diplomacy in History: Successes, Failures, Consequences.”

“Initially, the theme seemed to be challenging, but the students found some unique perspectives which helped in their success,” said Holmes.

“The topics that the students chose were mind-blowing,” said Campbell. “They were covering higher-level issues and demonstrating maturity and depth in their knowledge and thinking. I am beyond proud of all of them and count it a privilege to have taught them through this.”

This year’s school competition took place in person on Feb. 9. The regional competition in late March and the state competition in late April took place virtually, with results announced in early May.

“One of the coordinators from Minnesota State History Day came out and worked with our students before they submitted their state entries,” said Gifted and Talented Coordinator Heidi O’Donnell. “She made a comment that she wouldn’t want to compete against us, because our entries were extremely strong this year.”

Placing at state
The top project at the state level for Delano was the documentary “Marathon Woman,” by eighth-graders Kaia Georges, Eleanor Hajas and Allison Moen, which took third place. Since the top two projects advance to nationals, they missed advancing by a single place.

Two additional projects that earned fifth place in their respective categories included:

• “The Heart of Environmentalism,” an individual documentary by eighth-grader Anya Scandrett.
• “Lavender Scare: Fear of the Queer,” an exhibit by sixth-graders Harper Bukowski and Lydia Holman.

• “The White Rose Resistance: Debating The Third Reich,” an exhibit by Emma Ristau, Maria Droogsma and Nathan Heckman.
• “Tylenol Crisis: The Ballad of Tamper Evident Packaging,” a documentary by Max Schmit, Nathan Mullen and Whitaker Pieper.
• “The Little Rock Nine: The Road to Integration,” a documentary by Estella Tordeur, Mia Dongoske and Sienna Clare.
• “Thalidomide - A Debated Drug,” a documentary by Ella Jepma and Stella Kaldenberg.

• “Peter Rose Gambling Scandal: Gambling His Career Away,” a documentary by Andrew Bruett, Ben Tellers and Carter VanBeusekom.
• “The Washington Summit of 1987,” a website by Grayson Poppler and Rhett Bahe.

“They look like deer in headlights when I am introducing it to them,” said Campbell.

But the experience stretches students to build skills in research, writing and presenting that develop further with each ensuing round of competition.

“There was tremendous growth from the beginning to the end, not just in the academic areas such as research, writing, creating, but also in teamwork, resilience, determination, drive, and so much more,” said Campbell. “Those are all benefits that students can take with them to future years of school and beyond. Seeing a project through from start to finish, and then even further by improving it after a judge gives you more and more feedback, allows a student to push themselves beyond the limits they previously might have had for themselves. It is amazing to see.”

Holmes reported that her eighth-graders were effective in absorbing feedback from the judges at multiple levels, then honing their content and presentations accordingly.

“This program gives students so many great life skills,” said Holmes. “If they are in a group, they have to work on collaboration. All participants get experience with research, critical analysis to fit the theme, as well as interaction with their interviewees. I am very proud of this group of kids.”
 

Post Categories: High School, Intermediate School