Washington History Day

Back Online

noreply@blogger.com (Washington State Historical Society) — Fri, 11 May 2018 22:58:00 +0000

Greetings fans of Washington History Day,

Thanks to the good folks in IT at Blogger and Google, the Washington History Day Blog is officially back. In the next few weeks I’ll be posting updates about Team Washington’s progress towards nationals.

This week was all about buttons – all 5,000 are bagged and ready for trading. We have quite the team button enthusiasts this year, and I was a little concerned that I had not ordered enough to meet the high demand. But we made it and with fifty spare! I'm excited to see which other designs our team is able to collect next month, but there's still much planning and preparation to do in the mean time. Next week's goal -- t-shirt sorting and folding.

Kindly,

Katie, your State Coordinator

WA Students coming home with some hardware...

noreply@blogger.com (Washington State Historical Society) — Thu, 15 Jun 2017 18:03:00 +0000

Hello Washington History Day Fans,

Good news from the 2017 National Contest, we have some students coming home with medals!

Two golds and one silver to be exact! YAY Team!

In the Junior Division we have Ananya Nandula, Ananya Ganapathi and Layasri Ranjith bringing home the gold in Junior Group Documentary for their doc on "The Tuskegee Airmen: Courage Knows No Color." They are from Evergreen Middle School in Sammamish, Washington.
We also have Vidyut Baskar and Pranav Sheokand bringing home the silver for their Junior Group Exhibit on, "In a League of Thier Own: How Ludwig Guttmann's Paralympics Put the 'Ability" in Disability." They are also from Evergreen Middle School.

Bringing home the gold in the Senior Divison we have Hannah Doyle and Zarchary Matson from Delta High School in Pasco, Washington for their Senior Group Website on, "Mother Jones: Marching with the Mill Children."

We also have another finalist finishing in 10th place in the nation, Jeaziree Salise for her Senior Individual Website on, "Taking a Stand for the Ancient One: Bonnichsen et al. v. the United States." She too is from Delta High School.

Our Outstanding State Award winners are Sneha Bharadwaj from Redmond High School for her Senior Individual Documentary on, "Brown vs Board of Education, Taking a Stand Against Segregation." The Junior Division winner was Ann Cabacungan from Marcus Whitman Junior High for her Junior Individual Documentary on, Jane Addams and Her Contribitions to the Progressive Movement."

Below you can see some pictures from today's awards ceremony and the parade of states.

Another great year for Washington History Day students at this years National Contest.

Joan and I had a great time and we hope the rest of the delegation did as well.

Thank you to the delegation and safe travels home!

Our last full day in DC...

noreply@blogger.com (Washington State Historical Society) — Thu, 15 Jun 2017 02:20:00 +0000

Hello Washington History Day Fans,

Coming to you live from the 5th floor lounge in Elkton Hall.

Another exciting, (and hot) day here in D.C. with Team Washington exploring the city and museums. Some made stops at the Newseum, while others went to the new African American Museum. Others made stops at both of our Senator's office and a few made stops visiting the House Reps.

It's been a long week of competition and the kids are wore out! As you can see from the pics below, several still have enough energy to enjoy some snacks in the lounge before the big day ahead tomorrow.

We have a few pics of the party along with a few pics of the whale being inflated today.

If you look close, you can also see Seymour hanging out at a few important D.C. landmarks.

You will see Sneha Bharadwaj at the African American Museum and you will also see TeddyBill taking a selfie with Senator Cantwell.

Busy day head, so time to get some rest.

JoAnn and Mark signing off...

Washington History Day - Senior Day at the National Contest

noreply@blogger.com (Washington State Historical Society) — Wed, 14 Jun 2017 01:17:00 +0000

Hello Washington History Day Fans,

Coming to you live from the 2017 National History Day contest...Tuesday edition.

Today was another grueling day with the heat and humidity while trying to manage some serious campus navigation. Joan and I both crisis-crossed the campus today while cheering on our competing Seniors!

This evening we joined a large Washington State contingent as we all gathered in the Stamp Student Union to cheer on the girls from Evergreen Middle School as they competed in the Junior Group Documentary Finals! They did a great job and we hope to see them bringing home some hardware on Thursday.

As for the Seniors today, we did not have any of our Documentaries or Performances move on to the Final round. They all presented well and we are very proud of their hard work and accomplishments this year. Great job Seniors!

Below is a recap of today's activities along with a few teacher submitted pictures of our Juniors enjoying the D.C. area this week.

Tomorrow we have Ali Jones and Gabrielle Hager presenting their Documentary at the new National Museum of African American History and Culture. The Northshore contingent is meeting with Senator Maria Cantwell. Kelsey Ballard from Cedar Heights Middle School is going to be presenting her Exhibit at the National Museum of American History all day for the world to see. And Joan scored a free ticket to the African American Museum, so she will be spending the day in D.C.'s hottest attraction. Yay Joan!

Performing their Senior Group Performance, you can see Giovanni and Mikaila Bardessono as she cuts his hair live during the performance.

Jerry Cao as he paitently waits to share his Senior Group Documentary.

All 6 of our Senior Group Exhibit Students standing in the dorm lounge after successful judge interviews. From left to right, Brigitte Larkin and Madison Neyland from Liberty HIgh School. Sarah Yang, Taylor Caragher, Valerie Chung and Daniel Chen from International Community School.

Ali Jones and Gabrielle Hager as they are being judged during their Senior Group Documentary.

Sneha Bharadwaj as she shares her Senior Individual Documentary with the judges.

Rudy Garcia and Anthony Chung as they answer questions during their Senior Group Documentary.

Also we have Max Feather after his Monday Junior Individual Performance.

Olivia Krey sitting in front of her Junior Individual Exhibit topic, Sojourner Truth.

Steven Lu standing in front of his topic, Toussaint Louverture.

Aarushi Jain getting in some 10 pin in the college bowling alley.

Until tomorrow...

Joan and Mark saying good night from College Park.

2017 National Contest Day 1 of competition!

noreply@blogger.com (Washington State Historical Society) — Tue, 13 Jun 2017 02:13:00 +0000

Hello Washington History Day Fans!

It's day 1 of the 2017 National Contest and we come to you live from College Park, MD.

Today was all about the Juniors! Criss-crossing the campus, the students navigated the high heat and humidity to impress the judges with their incredible projects and months of hard work. When we say crisis-cross, we REALLY mean crisis-cross as this campus is huge! 1,335 acres huge to be exact, and we had students spread out in all corners.

Joan logged 20,278 steps on her Fitbit as she traversed the campus in pursuit of cheering on the Juniors.

In the pics below you can see Sadie Muller as she presents her Junior Individual Documentary on Temple Grandin. You can also see Isaac Vaa and Colin McAfee as they present their Junior Group Documentary on the Tuskegee Airman. (See pics below)

You can see Chelsea Davatos and Rose Kelly relaxing in the dorm lounge after their Junior Group Performance.

The competition was fierce and we learned this evening that we have one of our Junior Group Documentaries headed into finals on Tuesday evening. Ananya Nandula, Ananya Ganapathi and Layasri Ranjith from Evergreen Middle School are moving on with their group dcoumntary on the Tuskegee Airmen. (See pic below)

We ended the night by a visit to the teen dance in the Armory. Words can't describe "The Dance" but maybe the pictures below can help you to better understand "The Dance!" On our way to the dance we came across some Maryland wildlife as you can see in one of the pics.

You can also see Giovanni and Mikaila Bardessono as they rehearse for their Senior Group Performance on Tuesday morning.

Tomorrow is another big day as we begin the day marking off our seats in the Xfinity Center and then quickly head to the venues for cheering and support of the Seniors competing in the preliminary round.

Good luck Seniors!

And for now,

Mark and Joan saying goodnight...

noreply@blogger.com (Washington State Historical Society) — Mon, 12 Jun 2017 02:54:00 +0000

Sunday June 11, 2017

Hello Washington History Day Fans...

Welcome to the 2017 National Contest!

Sorry we missed you yesterday, but it was a very busy and hectic day for the Washington History Day crew. But we're today to share in all of the fun and excitement.

We would like to begin today's blog with a funny incident that happened to Joan and I last night in our dorm elevator. As we entered the elevator a mother and daughter entered along with us. The daughter asked Joan where she was from, Joan replied, "Washington State." The daughter then asked, "you're from Washington?" She then went on to say "Washington is so cool!" To which Joan replied, "where are you from?" And the daughter said, "Wisconsin, Wisconsin is just ehh!" At that point the elevator reached the floor where the mother and daughter were exiting and the mother said, "well...." At that point the elevator door closed and we didn't hear the end of their conversation. But we surmised that the daughter felt that Washington State is pretty cool! And so do we!

Onto Sunday...

After breakfast we had our first team meeting on the steps of Elkton Hall. The group was travel weary as most of them arrived late last night. We got through the meeting and Joan handed out swag-bags while Mark headed off to the Exhibit Hall. The Exhibit students followed and set up their projects which you can see on the Washington History Day Facebook page, while the other students headed for site-seeing in D.C.

The day moved along with everyone returning to campus in order to catch the Opening Ceremony and Ken Burns! Mr. Burns rocked the house and several of our kids stuck around to get his autograph and pictures with him. The highlight of the evening was Joan getting a high-five with Ken Burns as he left the stage! Rock star style!

There was also LOTS of fast and furious button trading by ALL Washington kids. We expect to see even more of that tomorrow and Tuesday.

Monday is the big day for Juniors and many of them have been rehearsing in the dorm lounge tonight and others have gone to bed early to get lots of rest. We wish all of our Juniors the best of luck tomorrow and we are excited to see the results.

Below are just a few pictures of the day. You can also see more on the Washington History Day Facebook page.

Stay tuned for more History Fans...

Mark and Joan!

noreply@blogger.com (Washington State Historical Society) — Thu, 08 Jun 2017 17:58:00 +0000

Hello Washington History Day Fans...

The team is getting ready to head to the BIG National Contest in two more days and you can follow all of the action here as well as the Washington History Day Facebook page!

Stay tuned for more...

Thursday Awards and heading home with gold...

noreply@blogger.com (Washington State Historical Society) — Thu, 16 Jun 2016 16:59:00 +0000

Hello Washington History Day fans,

The 2016 National Contest is now over and we are happy to report that we are coming home with the Junior Individual Documentary gold medal! Way to go Bobby Aiyer from Evergreen Middle School in Redmond Washington. Your project on "The Awakening of the Sleeping Giant: How Sino-American Rapprochement Triggered China's Meteoric Rise and What It Means Today," is the first project from Evergreen Middle School to win a medal at the National Contest. Bobby's teacher is Nicole Kessler and this is also the first year that Evergreen Middle has competed in the National History Day program. A crowning achievement for both Bobby and his school.

We also had four projects advance to the finals this year.

4th Place, Junior Group Website, Maxine Zhang, Clarissa Choe, "Penicillin: The Unsung Hero of World War II." Redmond Middle School, teachers Liz Dunsire and Leah Smith.

4th Place, Senior Individual Exhibit, Marissa McMaster, "The Apollo-Soyuz Test Project: Pioneering Cooperation in Space." Northshore Junior High, teacher Bill Boniface.

5th Place, Junior Paper, Daniel Ng, "Wernher von Braun: From Hitler to Huntsville." Northshore Junior High, teacher Bill Boniface.

6th Place, Junior Group Exhibit, Kyra Crosby, Emma McKune, Amber Holmgren, "Moral Choices 1975: Vietnam Refugees Encountering Callousness or Compassion; Exchanging Cultures." Pleasant Valley Middle School, teacher Irene Soohoo.

Below you will see pictures from this exciting day at the Awards Ceremony along with the Northshore students presenting teacher Alan Plummer with a shirt that contains ALL NHD state and Affiliate buttons from this years contest. They also presented Washington History Man with a special shirt covered in Colorado buttons. You will also see pictures from the procession of states as well.

Congratulations to all students from Washington State! You should all be proud of the hard work and accomplishments you've made this year.

Thank you and see you next year.

Mark and Joan.

Wednesday fun and site seeing a-plenty...

noreply@blogger.com (Washington State Historical Society) — Thu, 16 Jun 2016 01:59:00 +0000

Hello Team Washington fans,

Welcome to Wednesday and our last full day on campus. Today was a very busy day site seeing and visiting Senators and Representatives on the Hill, followed by a fun night at the National Museum of American History.

Students spent the day in Washington DC visiting museums, monuments along with custom tours of the Caplitol building. The night ended with a fun and lively gathering in the dorm as the kids prepared for the fun Thursday ahead.

See the pictures below for more of Wednesday's fun! And pay special attention to Seymour in the pics!

Tuesday excitement with the senior projects.

noreply@blogger.com (Washington State Historical Society) — Wed, 15 Jun 2016 02:17:00 +0000

Hello History Day fans,

Time for another update from Joan and Mark live from College Park.

Today we had our Seniors in action all over campus and WOW , what a lot of walking for Team WA!

We saw some incredible scholarship today by many talented students. We couldn't be more proud of the way our senior division contestants represented both themselves and the state of Washington. From giving thoughtful and informed information during their interviews to supporting and encouraging each other all week, these students exemplified the skills that History Day teaches both in and outside of the classroom. Great job today, seniors!

While our Dcoumentary and Performance kids came just short of advancing, we are excited to see how our Exhibit, Paper and Webs turn out at the awards ceremony Thursday. Keep the good vibes coming and we will keep you posted.

Shout out to our Junior finalist Bobby Aiyer who presented to a packed house tonight during the final round of Individual Doc's! Way to go, Bobby!

We also saw Seymour in action today.

See below for more fun...

Monday excitement...Juniors on parade

noreply@blogger.com (Washington State Historical Society) — Tue, 14 Jun 2016 01:44:00 +0000

Hello Washington History Day fans,

Time for another fun Team Washington update from sunny College Park.

Today was the first day of competition and all of our Juniors were busy presenting their super awesome projects! This year projects were divided up into more contest rooms thus making the coverage challenging. The contest needed more buildings, more rooms, more judges and more skateboards and roller skates. Joan and Mark really had to cover a lot of ground in a tight time frame in order to see as many projects as they could. The weather was sunny and warm, but NOT hot and humid. :-)

Button trading was hot and heavy today and our kids are really doing well in gathering up all of the various state and affiliate buttons. Way to go Team WA!

We are also pleased to share with you one of our Junior Individual Documentaries advancing to the final round on Tuesday night. Bobby Aiyer from Evergreen Middle School is really excited to present his Doc again Tuesday at 7:45pm. Good luck Bobby!!

Turtle bread a-plenty at the Monday coordinator dinner.

The night was capped off with the student dance in the Armory, and fun was had by all.

See pics below for today's exciting action! And stay tuned for more from College Park this week.

First day of fun on campus...

noreply@blogger.com (Washington State Historical Society) — Mon, 13 Jun 2016 02:09:00 +0000

Hello Washington Fans,

Joan and Mark would like to share with you the first full day on campus with most of the delegation present.

Some of the highlights of the day were...

We had our first team meeting on the steps of the dorm where we shared with them schedules, handed out team swag and discussed the week ahead.

We then moved into early exhibit set with our juniors and seniors. Followed by some SERIOUS afternoon button trading and a fun and lively Opening Ceremonies. The night was capped off with some button sorting and a performance rehearsal and general merriment.

Awards Ceremony and Goodbye

noreply@blogger.com (Washington State Historical Society) — Thu, 18 Jun 2015 17:06:00 +0000

Way to go, Washington students!

Team Washington was awarded quite an array of prizes at the 2015 Awards Ceremony, including special awards, scholarships, and even $5,000.00!

AWARDS:

White House History Award

Awarded to Julia Owens (Northshore Junior High) for her Junior Individual Exhibit

Outstanding State Entries Award
(awarded to two outstanding projects from Washington State)

Senior Division: Awarded to Erin Lee (Inglemoor High School) for her Senior Individual Exhibit

Junior Division: Awarded to Aashna Sheth, Sarah Yang, Valerie Chung, and Lauren Zimmerman (International Community School) for their Junior Group Exhibit

National WWII Museum's Salute to Courage Award
(This student wins a trip to New Orleans to study WWII and participate in the Grand Opening of a new wing of the museum)

Awarded to Vincy Fok (Liberty High School)

The History Channel's Award for Outstanding Entry on an International Theme
(This award comes with a $5,000.00 prize)

Awarded to Anmol Bajpai and Christian Culbert (International Community School) for their Senior Group Performance

Chaminade University Scholarship (This student is awarded a 50% college scholarship to Chaminade University in Honolulu, Hawaii)

Awarded to Vincy Fok (Liberty High School)

Washington State also had 11 students in the finals round, all of whom placed either first or second in their preliminary rounds.

FINALS QUALIFIERS:

4th Place:

Aashna Sheth, Valerie Chung, Sarah Yang, and Lauren Zimmerman (International Community School for their Junior Group Exhibit

5th Place:

Peter Lees (Lakeside School) for his Senior Historical Paper

Julia Owens (Northshore Junior High) for her Junior Individual Exhibit

6th Place:

Erin Lee (Inglemoor High School) for her Senior Individual Exhibit

Lorrin Johnson, Issabelle Hayden, and Vincy Fok (Liberty High School) for their Senior Group Exhibit

Sally Rim, Lauryn Hepp, and Carlyn Schmidgall (Liberty High School) for their Senior Group Website

7th Place:

Anmol Bajpai and Christian Culbert (International Community School) for their Senior Group Performance

12th Place:

Alina Herri and Taylor Caragher (International Community School) for their Junior Group Documentary

Jared Gee and Brenden Rogers (Timbercrest Junior High) for their Junior Group Website

13th Place:

Hannah Varghese, Grace Wang, and Maria Harsvik (International Community School) for their Junior Group Exhibit

14th Place:

Arushi Aggarwal, Grace Kim, and Meghna Shankar (Redmond Middle School) for their Junior Group Documentary

Congratulations to all participants from Washington State! You should all be very proud.

See you next year!

Mark and Hannah

Senior Finals and Other Events

noreply@blogger.com (Washington State Historical Society) — Thu, 18 Jun 2015 01:04:00 +0000

Students in the Senior Division had their finals round this morning. Anmol and Christian represented Washington State in the finals round of Senior Group Performances.

This morning, Hannah (Delta High School) represented Washington State at the Breakfast on the Hill program. Representative Dan Newhouse (who represents Hannah's home district in Washington State) joined Hannah at the event.

Representative Dan Newhouse and Hannah
(Delta High School) at the Breakfast on the Hill event.
[Photo: Newhouse staff]

Meanwhile, Issabelle, Vincy, and Lorrin displayed their exhibit on Edward R. Murrow at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. The exhibit was on display all day, including the History Day Night at the Museum event this evening.

Issabelle, Vincy, and Lorrin (Liberty High School) with
Mr. Ken Behring, sponsor of the National History Day contest.

[Photo: JoAnn Olsson]

Many students took advantage of their last chance to enjoy D.C. today. Levi appears to have used his super powers to warp the Washington Monument!

Levi (Prosser High School) with the
Washington Monument

[Photo: Kila Salyers-Smith]

The King of Selfies, Mr. Boniface (Northshore Junior High),

snaps a selfie with Senator Patty Murray and his students,
Johnson and Beatrice

Of course, Mark and Hannah were hard at work today as well. Hannah assembled our state identifiers in preparation for the Parade of States tomorrow and Mark inflated the orcas for students to carry. Coupeville High School teacher, Wilbur Purdue, captured this video of Mark:

Team Washington ended the evening with snacks in the dorm lounge. Students, teachers, and parents all joined in the fun.

Folks from Redmond Middle School and
Redmond High School enjoying themselves

The team from Pleasant Valley Middle School playing cards

Tomorrow morning is the Awards Ceremony -- fingers crossed!

Senior Prelims and Junior Finals

noreply@blogger.com (Washington State Historical Society) — Wed, 17 Jun 2015 01:37:00 +0000

Phew! Supporting those Senior Division students sure does leave a person hungry!

Many Junior Division students from Washington came to watch Senior Division documentaries and performances today.

Johnson (Northshore Junior High) enjoys a
noodle bowl in between documentaries

[Photo: Bill Boniface]

Lauryn, Sally, and Carlyn (Liberty High School) after their
website interview

[Photo: JoAnn Olsson]

Vincy, Issabelle, and Lorrin (Liberty High School) after their
exhibit interview

[Photo: JoAnn Olsson]

Levi (Prosser High School) right before his performance

[Photo: Kila Salyers-Smith]

Christopher (Lakeside School) with his exhibit

Andrew (Liberty High School) before his

website interview

[Photo: JoAnn Olsson]

Dhamanpreet (Liberty High School) after her

website interview

[Photo: JoAnn Olsson]

Piper (Charles Wright Academy) presenting her documentary

Deepthi, Andreea, Virginia, and teacher Nick Wellington
(Redmond High School) having fun in D.C. after

showing their documentary

Junior Division finals took place this afternoon/evening and Washington State's two Junior Group Documentaries played their films for the finals judges. Senior Division finals were announced this evening in the documentary and performance categories and Washington State is proud to be represented by Anmol and Christian's Senior Group Performance.

Anmol and Christian (International Community School)

before their performance on the Opium War

Mark and Hannah (assisted generously by Coupeville High School teacher Wilbur Purdue) manged to sneak away for a bit to mark off Team Washington's section of the Xfinity Center in preparation for the Awards Ceremony on Thursday.

Students spent the rest of the evening socializing, relaxing, and button trading.

Did we mention that Johnson (Northshore Junior High)

is only one or two buttons short of a full set?!

Junior Prelims and Student Dance

noreply@blogger.com (Washington State Historical Society) — Tue, 16 Jun 2015 02:52:00 +0000

After a full, exciting day exploring D.C. yesterday, students in the Junior Division competed in their preliminary round today.

Mary Lynn (Pleasant Valley Middle School)
enjoying Washington, D.C.

[Photo: Rene Soohoo]

Megha and Lillian (Redmond Middle School)
in costume for their Junior Group Performance

on Lucille Ball

[Photo: Liz Dunsire]

The team from Redmond Middle School enjoys some
well-deserved ice cream after their interviews.

[Photo: Liz Dunsire]

Junior Division finals in the documentary and performance categories were announced this evening. Washington is proud to be sending two Junior Group Documentaries to the finals round. (Exhibit, paper, and website finals are not announced.)

Teachers Rene Soohoo (Pleasant Valley Middle School)
and Mary Fitzmaurice (Explorer Middle School)
wait for finals results to be posted.

Congratulations to the Junior Group Documentary finalists:

Taylor and Alina
(International Community School)

[Photo: Christine Caragher]

Grace, Arushi, and Meghna

(Redmond Middle School)

[Photo: Liz Dunsire]

The evening ended with the student dance. Mark and Hannah visited the dance to say hello to Team Washington, but Mark found the pop music confusing and wanted to leave as soon as Beyonce's Single Ladies came on.

Student Dance

Tomorrow: Senior Division Preliminary Round and Junior Division Finals!

History Day Nationals 2015 Begins!

noreply@blogger.com (Washington State Historical Society) — Mon, 15 Jun 2015 02:34:00 +0000

Welcome to the 2015 National Contest!

Most of Team Washington’s students, teachers, and families have now arrived here at the National Contest in College Park, Maryland. Around 50 teachers, parents, siblings, and friends have come along to support Washington State’s 61 National Finalists as they compete this year.

Today, most students made the short trip from campus into Washington, D.C. to enjoy attractions like the Smithsonian museums, Capitol Hill, the White House, the National Archives, and the Lincoln Memorial.

Exhibit students got ready for the contest by assembling their exhibit boards in the Exhibit Hall this morning. Exhibit judging takes place on Monday and Tuesday.

Kassie and Bella (Bethel High School) with
their Senior Group Exhibit

Erin Lee (Inglemoor High School) with her
Senior Individual Exhibit

Julia Owens (Northshore Junior High) with
her Junior Individual Exhibit

Aashna Sheth, Sarah Yang, Lauren Zimmerman,
and Valerie Chung set up their Junior Group Exhibit

Several members of Team Washington attended the Welcome Ceremony hosted by the History Day National Office in the afternoon and performance students in the Junior Division ran through their presentations well into the evening in preparation for Junior Division judging tomorrow.

Megha and Lillian rehearse their Junior Group
Performance in front of their teacher and friends

2014 National Contest is over.

noreply@blogger.com (Washington State Historical Society) — Thu, 19 Jun 2014 16:59:00 +0000

2014 National Contest update…

Hello Team WA fans! The 2014 National Contest is now over.

Team WA had a good showing this year, although not quite as good as years past. This year, we will be bringing home one gold medal and two special awards. You can’t win them all, and this year proves how tough the competition was nationwide.

This year we had 9 out of 36 projects advance to the final round, 6 in Juniors and 3 in Seniors. In the preliminary rounds we did have 25 projects finish in the top half of their section, so a good showing there.

MEDALISTS:

Gold Medal:

Jethro Abatayo and Jeffrey Logan Gibert, “Vietnam Prisoners of War: Taking Responsibility When Deprived of All Rights,” Irene Soohoo, Pleasant Valley Middle School.

FINALISTS:

7^th Place:

Ally Orr, “Hanford Nuclear Waste 1943-2014: Seventy-one Years of Denial and Delay: a Disaster Waiting to Happen,” Irene Soohoo, Pleasant Valley Middle School.

Carlisle Boyle, “On Foreign Soil…POW Rights to Habeas Corpus: A Nation’s Responsibility to Uphold the Geneva Conventions with the Changing Nature of War,” Maynard Garritty, Redmond High School.

8^th Place:

Katie Orr,” DDT: Protect Today or Protect Tomorrow,” Bill Boniface, Donna Matthies, Northshore Junior High.

Gina Svab, “A Dangerous Workplace: Triangle Factory Fire,” Alan Plummer, Northshore Junior High.

Leina McDermott, Mia Richards, Alina Liokumovich, “The Scenic Hudson Decision of 1965: Opening the Gates to Environmental Rights,” Mark Elliott, Mark Bach, International Community School.

11^th Place:

Deepthi Mohanraj, Virginia Qian, Andreea Ifrim, “An Empire for 250 Years: The Hudson’s Bay Company,” Liz Dunsire, Redmond Middle School.

12^th Place:

Simon Benko, “Fish-Ins: Non-violent Protests to Restore Native American Fishing Rights,” Irene Soohoo, Pleasant Valley Middle School.

Christine Donnan, “The U.S. Labor Movement: Rights & Responsibilities in History,” Lara Sukol, Shorewood High School.

SPECIAL AWARDS:

Colonial America or Revolutionary History:

Deepthi Mohanraj, Virginia Qian, Andreea Ifrim, “An Empire for 250 Years: The Hudson’s Bay Company,” Liz Dunsire, Redmond Middle School.

Naval History Prize:

Jethro Abatayo and Jeffrey Logan Gibert, “Vietnam Prisoners of War: Taking Responsibility When Deprived of All Rights,” Irene Soohoo, Pleasant Valley Middle School.

Way to go Team WA for another fun year and another great national contest. You should all be proud of your accomplishments this year and thank you for taking part.

Don’t forget, next year’s theme is “Leadership and Legacy.”

Have a safe trip home and have a great summer. See you next year.

Your wonderful and able-bodied History Day staff Mark and Hannah.

noreply@blogger.com (Washington State Historical Society) — Thu, 19 Jun 2014 01:27:00 +0000

Happy Wednesday from the National Contest!

Senior Division Finals took place this morning and many Team Washington folks turned up to watch Carlisle's documentary.

Students enjoyed the day in D.C. and met up in the evening at the National Museum of American History for the "Night at the Museum" event. Ally and her Junior Individual Exhibit served as Team Washington's excellent representative at the Night at the Museum student exhibit display.

In the evening, Team Washington gathered in the dorm lounge for snacks and socializing.

Tomorrow morning is the Awards Ceremony, where medalists and special award recipients will be announced. Mark and Hannah have decorated a section of the Comcast Center in preparation for Team Washington's arrival.

noreply@blogger.com (Washington State Historical Society) — Wed, 18 Jun 2014 02:42:00 +0000

Happy Tuesday from the National Contest! More congratulations are in store for Team WA!

This morning, Senior Division students competed in their preliminary round and presented some wonderful projects.

Aaron, Alvaro, Oleg, Wyatt, and Oscar set

up their props for their performance.

Anna, Ezekiel, and Kylie prepare to show

their documentary.

Team Washington Junior Division finalists showed their performances and documentaries again today in the finals round. The results of Junior Division finals will be announced at the Awards Ceremony on Thursday.

Katie gets ready to perform in the finals round.

Simon sets up the backdrop for his performance.

Senior Division performance and documentary finalists were announced this evening and Team Washington will be represented in these categories by Carlisle, with her individual documentary.

Congratulations, Carlisle!

Also deserving of recognition are the folks who make their way around campus to support their fellow members of Team Washington as audience members.

Parents, teachers, and students supporting Team Washington competitors.

Looking forward to another full, humid, and exciting day tomorrow!

noreply@blogger.com (Washington State Historical Society) — Tue, 17 Jun 2014 03:05:00 +0000

Happy Monday, from the National Contest! Many congratulations are in order today.

Last night, Team Washington attended the National History Day Welcome Ceremony and finished off the night with a photo scavenger hunt around campus. Anna Wang, Sophia Hwang, and Lucy Jiang finished first in the scavenger hunt, followed by Kylie Ada, Ezekiel Dean, and Anna Davidson. Thank you to all students who participated. Your creativity in taking photos of the scavenger hunt items was certainly entertaining.

Today was the preliminary round of competition for Junior Division students and Team Washington did great! Finalists were announced in the documentary and performance categories and of the eight entries from Washington State, four entries (comprising seven students) have advanced to the finals round. Congratulations to Simon Benko, Katie Orr, Deepthi Mohanraj, Andreea Ifrim, Virginia Qian, Jethro Abatayo, and Logan Gibert! These students will show their performances and documentaries again tomorrow.

Team Washington joined the other Nationals students at a dance this evening and many students gathered together in the Team Washington lounge in the evening to talk about the day.

In news from back home, Jake Millman from Northshore Junior High was informed that he won an award at school for Perfect Attendance. However, as he is here with us in Maryland, he was not present to accept his award. Congratulations, Jake. The irony was not lost on us.

One last big congratulations to all of Team Washington's Junior Division entries who put in a great effort today. We're very proud of you all!

Jethro and Logan prepare to show their documentary.

Sophie and Megan set up their

blackboard before their performance.

Anna, Lucy, and Sophia set up their props.

Vaishnavi, Suchi, Devika, and Ms. Dunsire came to

support their schoolmates during their performance.

2014 National Contest Begins!

noreply@blogger.com (Washington State Historical Society) — Sun, 15 Jun 2014 18:57:00 +0000

Welcome to the 2014 National History Day contest!

The weather is beautiful here in College Park, Maryland and the students are busy preparing for the competition and enjoying Washington, D.C.

Team Washington arrived on campus Saturday and Sunday, where many checked in to their dorm rooms in University of Maryland's Elkton Hall. Some students even managed to fit in a bit of sightseeing before the end of the day.

Sunday morning began with breakfast and a Team Washington meeting on the steps of Elkton Hall. By now, nearly all students have picked up their Team Washington backpack and buttons. Button trading is definitely in full-swing -- Washington students have managed to trade buttons with Arizona, Wisconsin, Guam, China, and many others so far.

Exhibit students have been working in the Stamp Student Union today to set up their exhibits in preparation for judging and public viewing. Performance students are ensuring that their props survived the trip to the East Coast and are rehearsing their scripts.

Tonight, Team Washington will meet for a Team Dinner and walk together to the Welcome Ceremony. After the ceremony, Team Washington will set off on a scavenger hunt around campus.

Junior Division judging begins tomorrow, so here's wishing all Junior competitors good luck and a good night's sleep!

Check back for more updates as the week goes on. You can also find Washington History Day on Facebook.

noreply@blogger.com (Washington State Historical Society) — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 17:25:00 +0000

Hello History Day Fans,

The national contest is officially over…

And Washington state yet again did great at the national level. There were over 2900 competing students this year and Washington had 59 students in 36 projects.

I’m happy to report that we had 10 projects make it into the final round, way to go Team WA! Of that we had 2 golds and 2 silver medals. We also took home the NARA award for Constitutional History, Hannah Foster, Stephanie Massart, Avalon Tarbot-Mendoza, Nathan Runkle.

With that being said, here are your official results:

GOLD

Heni Barns, Coupeville High School, “Striking a Turning Point: the 1917 Pacific Northwest Lumber Strike.” Senior Individual Documentary

Anand Nambakam, Kevin Nakahara, Ethan Perrin, STEM High School, “Nikola Tesla: Electrifying a New Era.” Senior Group Documentary

SILVER

Taylor Walsh, Charles Wright Academy, “Samuel F. B. Morse: Artist to Innovator, A Turning Point in Communication.” Senior Individual Website

Andrew Simon, Kingston Middle School, “The Trans-Alaska Pipeline: A Struggle for Balance.” Junior Paper

4^th Place

Samhita and Adarsh Karnati, Eric Burlingame, Redmond High School, “From Panic to Progress: the Launch of Sputnik.” Senior Group Documentary

Kaylee Kim, Charles Wright Academy, “Roberts Commission.” Senior Individual Exhibit

5^th Place

Hannah Foster, Stephanie Massart, Avalon Tarbot-Mendoza, Nathan Runkle, Pleasant Valley Middle School, “Silencing Celilo Falls: Symbol of a Century of Loss, Turning Point in Native American Activism on the Columbia River. Junior Group Performance

6^th Place

Sophia Michaels, Alicia Lee, International Community School, “The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater 1958: A Turning Point in Racial Integration.” Junior Group Website

7^th Place

Serena Caryl, Lewis and Clark High School, “The 26^th Amendment: A Youth Revolution.” Senior Individual Performance

9^th Place

Anael Kuperwajs, Timbercrest Junior High, “The Final Solution: the Horrific Turning Point that Prompted the Jewish Holocaust.” Junior Individual Performance

Way to go Team WA for another great year and another great national contest. You should all be proud of your accomplishments this year and thank you for taking part.

Don’t forget, next year’s theme is “Rights and Responsibilities in History.”

Have a safe trip home and have a great summer. See you next year.

Your wonderful and able bodied History Day staff and volunteers.

noreply@blogger.com (Washington State Historical Society) — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 01:20:00 +0000

Hello History Day Fans,

It's Wednesday night and after another fun day of activity we are finally winding down here with our last night on campus.

Today we had some seniors competing in the group and individual documentary category along with another senior in individual performance. All did great and we are so proud of them! Way to go all seniors.

We also had one of our senior group exhibits presenting at the National Museum of American History all day, see picture below.

The campus was a real ghost town after the lunch hour as everyone headed into DC for one last afternoon of touring before the Night at the Museum hosted by the Behring family. Thank you Behrings.

It's been a long day and we have a very early morning with a group photo and the awards ceremony. Should be a fun day and I kow everyone is looking forward to the parade of states. :-)

Time to go judge some dorm room doors...

Helen and Erin Lee, Woodinville High School. "Turning Points for Women in Journalism."

noreply@blogger.com (Washington State Historical Society) — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 01:27:00 +0000

Welcome to Tuesday everyone,

BUSY DAY TODAY! The day started with seniors in preliminary rounds and ended with juniors in the final rounds. We had several projects this morning, but the majority of our seniors ended up with afternoon judging times. That made it a bit challenging to cover everyone, but not to worry, your faithful staff made sure to get to everyone and at least wish them luck, and in most cases, view the project as it was judged. Way to go seniors, job well done.

I'm also happy to report that Susan and I made our way to the Comcast Center and got our seats all roped off and tagged for the big awards ceremony on Thursday. :-)

After dinner we all headed over to support our wonderful juniors taking part in the evening finals. We saw two of our performance projects give it their all, way to go juniors. Job well done!

We are now in a very quiet dorm lounge busily making schedules for the seniors that moved on to finals tomorrow. We have an individual performance, individual documentary, and BOTH of our group docs have made their way into finals. :-) It's going to be a very busy morning for your crew here to make sure we cover a lot of ground and be there in person to cheer them on.

Below you will see Ben Tran, Clara Bardot and Paige Hopkins from Liberty High School, (Renton), enjoying one of the many bronze turtles on campus. This is Liberty's first year in the program, and we are very happy to have them here at the contest with us. :-)

For those of you looking for an update from the dance last night, sorry, but the weather was so bad we skipped it. :-(

Great day everyone, see you all tomorrow...

Mark
aka, Washington History Man