History Day Competition Pride and Success

On Saturday, March 3, 38 sixth- through eighth-graders competed in the district level of the National History Day competition. Held at the Cleveland History Center and Case Western Reserve University, it proved to be an exciting day! With very strong competition this year, 19 students still qualified to advance to the state competition on April 21 at Ohio Wesleyan University.

Along with the place finishes, eight students won special prizes from a variety of organizations. Receiving an award from the Cleveland Grays Armory Museum were Hadi, Sal, and Kabir for their portrayal of Desmond Doss, a highly decorated conscientious objector during World War II. The Cleveland Grays also presented an award to Ehren for his excellent paper on the Christmas Truce of 1914 during World War I. Anjali received a special prize from the Maltz Museum of Jewish History for her individual performance portraying Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Three students received a prize from the Early Settlers Association of the Western Reserve for their local history projects. Joshua received an award for his individual website on the Cuyahoga River Fire and the start of the EPA. Hope earned the prize for her individual documentary about the Sam Sheppard murder trials and Van received the prize for his individual website about Prohibition and the rise of organized crime in Cleveland.

Among the place finishers, Birchwood had a strong showing in seven out of nine categories. In group documentaries, Qiwen and Samy placed third with their story about Nellie Bly, an investigative reporter in the early 1900s. In the individual documentary category, Praveen took first place with his look at the constitutional issues surrounding Japanese internment in WWII.

In group performances, Birchwood took second and third place. The eighth grade group of Hadi, Sal, and Kabir placed second with their performance on Desmond Doss. The sixth grade group of four girls, Sofia, Morgan, Nasreen, and Rebecca, took third place with their enthusiastic performance about the newsboys’ strike of 1899 in New York City. In the individual performance category, Anjali placed third with her portrayal of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

In the website categories, Birchwood had three entries place. For his individual website on Prohibition in Cleveland and its unintended consequences, Van placed second. In group websites, Thomas, Paul, and Erhan placed first for their recounting of the ongoing failure to halt chemical weapons. Placing second were Sam and Justin for their website on the Anglo-German arms race prior to WWI. The final category in which Birchwood placed was individual exhibits. In that category, Anna placed first with her exhibit on Oberlin College and its admittance of women on equal grounds with men, and Sean took home the third place award for his exhibit on chemical weapons and the attempts and failures to eliminate them.

These 19 students will continue refining and improving their projects for the state competition in April.
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