Thirty-nine middle and high school students from the North Country with seventeen projects won top prizes at North Country History Day that took place on Saturday, March 3, 2018 at Fort Ticonderoga. These students will advance to compete at New York State History Day in Cooperstown on April 23, 2018.
“The National History Day program develops a passion for history,” said Rich Strum, Fort Ticonderoga’s Director of Academic Programs and North Country’s Regional Coordinator for New York State History Day. “History Day provides students with an opportunity to explore a topic which interests them while relating to an annual theme. This year’s theme was ‘Conflict and Compromise in History’ and projects spanned centuries of topics from the Salem Witch Trials to World War One.”
The top two projects in each category won the right to represent the North Country at New York State History Day. Winners at the state level go on to compete in National History Day in Maryland in June. Over the past eight years, two North Country projects have advanced to the national contest.
National History Day is the nation’s leading program for history education in schools. The program annually engages 2 million people in 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Teachers and students from Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Hamilton, St. Lawrence, and Warren counties interested in participating in North Country History Day during the 2018-2019 school year should contact Rich Strum at rstrum@fort-ticonderoga.org or (518) 585-6370. Next year’s theme is “Triumph and Tragedy in History.”
Junior Division (Grades 6-8) North Country Regional winners include:
- Maggie Sorensen, from North Country Home Schoolers, placed first in the Historical Paper category with her paper “The Boston Tea Party: Conflict over Representation.”
- Allison Carvel, from Gouverneur Middle School, placed second in the Historical Paper category with her paper “The Crucible of Salem.”
- Cole Siebels and Carter Therett, from Gouverneur Middle School, placed first in the Group Documentary category with their documentary “The Pacific War.”
- Garrett Beebe, Madeline Lender, and Robert O’Neil, from St. Mary’s School in Ticonderoga, placed second in the Group Documentary category with their documentary “Operation Paper Clip.”
- Madelynne Hay Spano and Caitlyn Storie, from Gouverneur Middle School, placed first in the Group Performance category with their performance “The Conflict and Compromise: Galileo.”
- Emma Hicks, Grace Mashaw, Janay Smith, and Felicia Tallon, from Gouverneur Middle School, placed second in the Group Performance category with their performance “American Revolution Drama.”
- Kathryn Moran, from St. Mary’s School in Ticonderoga, placed first in the Individual Exhibit category with her exhibit “The Connecticut Compromise.”
- Riley Seaman, from Gouverneur Middle School, placed second in the Individual Exhibit category with her exhibit “The Salem Witch Trials: Sarah Good.”
- Ava Bartholomew, Mariah Manning, and Elizabeth Riutta, from Gouverneur Middle School, placed first in the Group Exhibit category with their exhibit “Compromise of 1850.”
- Addison Conklin, Randi Griffith, and Rikki Griffith, from Gouverneur Middle School, placed second in the Group Exhibit category with their exhibit “The Greensboro Sit-Ins.”
- Maya Bartleson, from Gouverneur Middle School, placed first in the Individual Website category with her website “The 54th Massachusetts Regiment.”
- Alex Clancy, from Gouverneur Middle School, placed second in the Individual Website category with his website “Mary Tudor the First: Queen ‘Bloody’ Mary.”
- Ashton Bowman, William Riutta, and Gunner Simmons, from Gouverneur Middle School, placed first in the Group Website category with their website “How Men Stood Up for Women.”
Senior Division (Grades 9-12) North Country Regional winners include:
- Grace Sayward and Liam Sayward, from North Country Home Schoolers, placed first in the Group Performance category with their performance “The War over Grapes.”
- Sarah Anderson, Dyani Bryant, Jonathan Gibbs, Joshua Winter, and Mackenzie Peters, from Moriah Central School, placed first in the Group Exhibit category for their exhibit “Power or Equality? How a Compromise let to the End of Reconstruction.”
- Jaiden Varmette, Taylor Brassard, Madeline Cochran, Karen King, and Malika Saleem, from Moriah Central School, placed second in the Group Exhibit category for their exhibit “Newsies: An Overview.”
- Clayton Wilhelm, a home school student from Glens Falls, placed first in the Individual Website category with his website “Marathon—With Conflict Comes Compromise.”
Two special prizes were also awarded:
- For outstanding use of primary sources for an individual project, sponsored by New York State Archives and the New York State Archives Partnership: Riley Seaman, from Gouverneur Middle School, for her exhibit “The Salem Witch Trials: Sarah Good.”
- For an outstanding junior level project demonstrating the theme “Conflict and Compromise in History,” sponsored by the Adirondack Torch Club: Lily McNulty, Hannah Porter, and Eliza Strum, from Ticonderoga Middle School, for their exhibit “The Newsboys Strike of 1899.”
Participating schools included Gouverneur Middle School, Moriah Central School, St. Mary’s School (Ticonderoga), and Ticonderoga Middle School, as well as home school students from North Country Home Schoolers in Clinton County and Home School students from Warren County.
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Photo: Caitlyn Storie, Addison Conklin, and Rikki Griffith were among the students from Gouverneur Middle School who participated in North Country History Day at Fort Ticonderoga on March 3, 2018.