Maryland History Day Students and Teachers Honored at State House on February 29
Educational Program Coordinated By Maryland Humanities Council is Now in its 17th Year
The Maryland Humanities Council (MHC) is proud to announce that nineteen outstanding Maryland middle and high school students and three Maryland History Day teachers who received national honors at the annual National History Day competition were awarded commendations at sessions of the Maryland Senate and House of Delegates on Monday, February 29, 2016.
Each student won awards at the Maryland Humanities Council’s 2015 Maryland History Day competition, as well as honors at the National History Day contest. Maryland History Day, coordinated since 1999 by the Maryland Humanities Council, is an engaging, year-long educational program in which students showcase their historical research through interpretive papers, dramatic performances, historical exhibits, multimedia documentaries, and websites. Over 24,000 middle and high school students from 18 counties and Baltimore City participate in the History Day program. Maryland History Day is open to Maryland public, private, parochial, and homeschool students in grades 6 through 12. The national competition is held each year at the University of Maryland, College Park and involves over 3,500 students from 50 states plus the District of Columbia, Guam, American Samoa and international schools in China, Korea, and South Asia.
The 2016 Maryland History Day state competition will take place Saturday, May 7, 2016 at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and will involve over 600 students and 190 judges from throughout the state. Support for Maryland History Day is provided by the State of Maryland through the Maryland State Department of Education, the Alvin and Fanny B. Thalheimer Foundation, and Wegmans, with additional support from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
The Maryland Humanities Council is a statewide educational nonprofit that creates and supports educational experiences in the humanities that inspire all Marylanders to embrace lifelong learning, exchange ideas openly, and enrich their communities. For more information, visit http://www.mdhc.org.
Outstanding State Entry Award – Junior Division, Finalist
Student: James Sappington
Category: Junior Individual Documentary
Topic: Woody Guthrie: How His Protest Music Helped Change History
School: Central Middle School, Anne Arundel County
Teacher: Georgia Ladd
Outstanding State Entry Award – Senior Division, Finalist
Students: Anna Barth, Juliana Lu-Yang
Category: Senior Group Documentary
Topic: From Ones and Zeros to a Compiled World: The Legacy of Grace Hopper
School: Montgomery Blair High School, Montgomery County
Teacher: George Mayo
Finalist and Selected To Display Project at The Smithsonian National Museum of American History
Student: Ananya Iyer
Category: Junior Individual Exhibit
Topic: Margaret Thatcher: Britain’s Economic Savior
School: Eastern Middle School, Montgomery County
Teacher: Laurie Hawe
Selected to Represent Maryland at National Endowment for the Humanities “Breakfast on the Hill”
Student: Parker Nickels
Category: Junior Individual Exhibit
Topic: Rachel Carson: Mother Earth
School: Northern Middle School, Calvert County
Teacher: Roberta Turner
Selected to Represent Maryland at Exhibit Opening at the National World War II Museum
Student: Sarah Bowden
Category: Senior Individual Performance
Topic: Heil Hitler: The Leadership and Legacy of Adolf Hitler
School: Baltimore Polytechnic Institute, Baltimore City
Teacher: Maureen O’Neill
Finalists
Student: Rakshita Balaji
Category: Junior Individual Performance
Topic: The Leadership and Legacy of America’s National Anthem and Flag
School: Mayfield Woods Middle School, Howard County
Teachers: James McVey, Charla Phillips, Tim Grafton
Students: Katherine Harvey, Kelly McGovern
Category: Junior Group Performance
Topic: A Spark in the Darkness: Dr. Karl Koster and the Rescue of the Danish Jews During WWII
School: Frederick Homeschoolers, Frederick County
Teacher: Christine Pritt
Student: Cecilia Hsu
Category: Senior Paper
Topic: George Eastman: Establishing the Camera as the American Documenter
School: Centennial High School, Howard County
Teacher: Michelle Bagley
Student: Matthew Blum
Category: Senior Individual Documentary
Topic: Smallpox Eradication: The End of a Disease and the Beginning of a New Era in Public Health
School: Howard High School, Howard County
Teachers: Danelle Brennan, Mary Curtin
Student: Molly Bingham
Category: Senior Individual Documentary
Topic: William Wilberforce: A Force for Change
School: Marriotts Ridge High School, Howard County
Teachers: Lynn Rashid, Richard Malt
Students: Hunter Avallone, Joseph Harvey, Abby McGovern, Carrie Pritt
Category: Senior Group Documentary
Topic: Mr. President, I Have Blood on my Hands: The Leadership and Legacy of Robert Oppenheimer
School: Frederick Homeschoolers, Frederick County
Teacher: Christine Pritt
Students: Megha Sharma, Zion Hadley
Category: Senior Group Performance
Topic: Harriet Tubman: Conducting the Fight for Freedom in Maryland
School: Long Reach High School, Howard County
Teacher: Stephen Price
Student: Alexandria Ligon
Category: Senior Individual Exhibit
Topic: Madam C.J. Walker: The First Female Self-Made Millionaire
School: Bullis School, Montgomery County
Teacher: Lisa Vardi
Teacher Awards
History® Award for Serivce
RaeLynne Snyder, Baltimore City Public Schools, Baltimore City
Patricia Behring High School Maryland History Day Teacher of the Year
Sara Romeyn, Bullis School, Montgomery County
Patricia Behring Middle School Maryland History Day Teacher of the Year
Leah Olsen, Stephen Decatur Middle School, Worcester County