Once again, IUSD took the State National History Day Competition by storm, with Sierra Vista Middle School leading the charge. Of the 10 projects from Orange County schools heading to the national competition in June, eight of those are from IUSD schools and of those eight, five are from Sierra Vista.
In addition to producing the most District champions, Sierra Vista continued its impressive record, producing the most state champions in California. Lakeside Middle School and University High School will also advance to the national competition held at the University of Maryland, College Park from June 9-13.
“Sierra Vista has a proud tradition of student excellence and success with National History Day Projects,” said Sierra Vista Principal Lynn Matassarin. “The dedication of our students and staff, combined with incredible parent support has advanced this culture of excellence year after year. Students develop a passion for history and become the expert teachers in their selected topics and we has adults become the students of these powerful and relevant events in history.”
Each year, approximately 600,000 students across the nation, in grades four through 12, take part in National History Day events. Students, working as individuals or teams, produce original websites, papers, documentaries, performances and exhibits, which are showcased at the local, county, state and national levels. These young historians conduct extensive research on a historical topic related to the annual theme. This year’s theme was “Triumph and Tragedy in History.”
The Orange County Department of Education hosted the National History Day-Orange County competition in March, drawing nearly 500 students from 34 schools and a dozen districts. The top submissions then advanced to the state finals, which were held May 10-12 at William Jessup University.
Below are projects that will represent Orange County at the national competition, including student competitors. For a comprehensive list of state winners, visit the National History Day-California website.
Orange County Junior Champions (Grades 6-8)
Individual Documentary
“The Ban of DDT: Triumph for Environment, Tragedy for Humans”
Aditya Hari
Sierra Vista Middle School, Irvine Unified School District
Group Documentary
“The Legacy of the Tragic Wonder Drug: Thalidomide”
Caleb Empig, Jonathan Kang, Justin Lee and Anthony Foo
Sierra Vista Middle School, Irvine Unified School District
Group Exhibit
“Panama Canal: Dividing a Land to Unite a World, Triumphs and Tragedies”
Harrison Cho and Joshua Ikehara
Sierra Vista Middle School, Irvine Unified School District
Historical Paper
“The Effect of Brown v. Board of Education on African-American Teachers”
Natalie Miller
Lakeside Middle School, Irvine Unified School District
Individual Performance
“The Triumph of Castañeda v. Pickard and the Tragedies that English Language Learners Still Face Today”
Maverick Malfavon
Santiago Elementary School, Santa Ana Unified School District
Group Performance
“The Triumph and Tragedy of the Transcontinental Railroad”
Cindy Ding, Olivia Cai, Sunny Wang, Rachel Huh and Rachel How
Sierra Vista Middle School, Irvine Unified School District
Group Website
“Czechoslovakia, 1938: Triumph and Tragedy in a Final Stride for Peace”
Ramon Jiang, Ethan Chen and Zhongwen Zhang
Sierra Vista Middle School, Irvine Unified School District
Orange County Seniors Champions (Grades 9-12)
Individual Exhibit
“Yellowstone: The Tragedy of Native Americans and Triumph of Environmental Conservation”
Emily Zhang
University High School, Irvine Unified School District
Individual Website
“Atoms for Peace: Triumph of Scientific Diplomacy”
James Koga
University High School, Irvine Unified School District
Group Website
“Brown v. Board of Education: A National Triumph and Neglected Tragedy”
Sophia Burick and Kate McKernan
San Clemente High School, Capistrano Unified School District
Special Awards Winners
Catalina Pacheco Memorial Award
Cindy Ding, Olivia Cai, Sunny Wang, Rachel Huh and Rachel How
Sierra Vista Middle School, Irvine Unified School District
Naval Maritime History Award
Christy Han
Sierra Vista Middle School, Irvine Unified School District
Turning Points in History Award
Sol Choi
University High School, Irvine Unified School District
William E. Geary Memorial Award for Military History
Christy Han
Sierra Vista Middle School, Irvine Unified School District