Kalley Starbird, Riley Monahan and Nadia Davis have qualified for competition at a national level. Their presentation, “Breaking Through Alcatraz,” took second place in a state contest. Submitted photo
STRONG — Last month, 12 students from Strong Elementary School qualified for competition in the National History Day (NHD) in a Maine state contest. Because of the unique circumstances surrounding this year’s event, these young historians were not able to showcase their work in person at the University of Maine at Orono, as in years past. However, they were able to submit their projects virtually.
The team of Kalley Starbird, Riley Monahan and Nadia Davis, whose entry was in the junior group website team category, earned second place in the state contest. Their entry now awaits judging at the national level. Their presentation, titled “Breaking Through Alcatraz,” took this year’s state history contest theme, “Breaking Barriers in History,” quite literally. As their subtitle explains, it told the story of “1962: The year common thieves masterminded the most notorious escape in history, (when) the three men broke ‘The Rock’ and redefined maximum security in the United States.”
Principal Dwiggins pointed out that these researchers were even able to secure a telephone interview with a woman who had been raised on Alcatraz who had written a book, which prompted the young ladies to locate her and learn her personal insights.
The national contest will also be held virtually and is scheduled for June 14-20. The three girils will get together to present their discoveries to judges via Zoom at a designated time during that week.
The other nine competitors from Strong Elementary were Rita Baker, Aidyn Legere and Eric St. Pierre, junior division, group exhibit (Harvey Milk: The Man Who Sought Equality); Kaylie Estabrook, junior division, individual exhibit (Katherine Johnson, The Human Calculator); Adrianna Stinchfield, Kahlyn Wilkinson and Alyssa Sniadecki, senior/junior division; individual/group exhibit (Ruby Bridges: The Girl Who Changed William Frantz Elementary); and Martha Morrill and Isabelle Danala (A Treacherous Journey: Maine’s Role in the Underground Railroad).
National History Day in Maine is a history education program for students in grades 6-12. Students choose their own topics related to a national theme, then use primary and secondary sources as they research their subject. Their findings may be presented as a traditional research paper, a museum-style exhibition, a 10-minute video or live performance, or a web-based collection of interactive pages.
The competition includes classroom evaluations, regional and state competitions, and then the national event. There are two levels of competition: Junior for students in grades 6-8 and senior for high school students. Projects are evaluated on historical quality, relation to theme and clarity of presentation. It is a year-long program organized by the University of Maine and the Margaret Chase Smith Library.
Copy the Story LinkSend questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.