ORONO — More than 300 students and teachers from 36 middle and high schools in nine counties participated in the Maine National History Day competition at the University of Maine on March 28. The event on campus was made possible by a partnership between UMaine and the Margaret Chase Smith Library, with support from the Maine Humanities Council and the Maine Historical Society.
National History Day (NHD) is an academic program that began in 1980 to promote critical thinking, research and presentation skills through project-based learning for students of all abilities. More than a half million students, working with thousands of teachers, participate in the national contest annually.
Student exhibits, websites, documentaries and performances were judged and awards were presented in an afternoon ceremony. The top state winners are eligible to compete in the national contest in Washington, D.C., in June.
A public recognition ceremony for the state NHD award winners was held April 7 in Augusta’s Cultural Building atrium in partnership with the Maine State Archives, Museum and Library, followed by the third annual Maine Humanities Summit at the Senator Inn in Augusta.
A Maine student’s museum exhibit that won first place in the nation in 2014 also will be on display.
Area students winning awards include:
Bruce M. Whittier Middle School — Hwida Nawass of Norway, first place individual website in junior division for “Jane Goodall”; Colin Marquis-Boutin of Poland, first place individual documentary in junior division for “Deng Xiaopeng”; Lily Powell of Poland, third place individual documentary in junior division for “H.G. Wells”; Brady Downing and Josh Power, both of Poland, second place group exhibit in junior division for “Henry Ford”; Mia Turkington of Poland, third place individual performance in junior division for “Jesus Christ” and Haley Davis and Twilight Smart-Benson, both of Poland, second place group performance in junior division for “Joshua Chamberlain.”
Buckfield Jr./Sr. High School — Brian Casey of Buckfield and Jared Eastman of Sumner, first place group documentary in senior division for “Fredrick Tolman’s Influence on the Vietnam War”; Azalea Cormier of Hartford and Jake Hackett of Buckfield, second place group website in senior division for “Heinrich Himmler: The Architect of the Final Solution”; Caitlin Buswell of Buckfield, third place individual performance in senior division for “Juliette Gordon Lowe — A Leader Of Girls”; Cheyanne Goroshin of Sumner and Hunter White of Buckfield, third place group documentary in junior division for “Neal Dow” and William Ellis of Peru, third place paper in junior division for “Winston Churchill.”
Hartford Sumner Elementary School — Maxwell White of Buckfield, third place group documentary in junior documentary for “Neal Dow” and Shyloe Morgan of Buckfield, third place individual website in junior division for “Walt Disney.”
T.W. Kelly Dirigo Middle School — Brandon Litalien of Peru and Tucker Olsen of Hartford, second place group website in junior division for “General Leslie Groves: Leading the USA to Atomic Victory.”
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