Every year, about half a million students in grades four through 12 take part in National History Day events across the U.S. These young historians produce original websites, papers, documentaries, performances and exhibits, which are showcased at the local, county, state and national levels. The theme this year is “Taking a Stand in History.”
Throughout the local, county and state competitions, IUSD students have had a strong showing. During the Orange County National History Day competition in March, 170 IUSD students submitted 108 projects. The topics ranged from “Taking a Stand Against McCarthy: The Power of Modern Day Journalism,” to “A Voyage to Freedom: The Korean Independence,” to “William Wilberforce: Stand Against The Slave Trade.”
IUSD had the most projects of any Orange County school district to move onto the state competition in May. All five IUSD high schools and four middle schools sent projects to the state level. To view projects and teams, click here.
After a strong performance at state, two IUSD projects will move on to the Kenneth E. Behring National History Day Contest at the University of Maryland at College Park from June 11-15.
Group Documentary (Senior) – Champion
“In Preservation of Honor: Resistance in the Warsaw Ghetto”
Michelle Kroll and Frances Kroll
Northwood High School
Individual Documentary (Junior) - Champion
“Jeffrey Wigand: Taking a Stand Against Big Tobacco”
Jasmine Sinchai
Sierra Vista Middle School, Irvine Unified School District
The results of the state competition for IUSD students are as follows:
Group Documentary (Junior) – Runner Up
“The Danish Resistance: The Savage Canary’s Emblem of Fire”
Padma Iyengar, Grace Wen and Ryan Jung
Jeffrey Trail Middle School
Group Documentary (Senior) – Honorable Mention
“The Free Speech Movement: A Protest for All Protests”
Kiana Wang and Rebecca Yu
Northwood High School
Group Exhibit (Junior) – Honorable Mention
“Marian Anderson: The Voice That Took a Stand”
Emilia Bretana, Amanda Carlson, Gayatri Kalyan, Quinlan Solomita and Ainsley Zapata
Sierra Vista Middle School
Group Website (Junior) – Runner Up
“John Fitzgerald Kennedy: The Cuban Missile Crisis”
Jake Compton, Rohin Palsule and Derek Yazan
Sierra Vista Middle School
Group Website (Junior) – Honorable Mention
“The Little Rock Nine: Pioneers for Equality in Education”
Andrea Huang and Annabel Yang
Sierra Vista Middle School
Historical Paper (Senior) – Runner Up
“William Wilberforce: Stand Against Slave Trade”
Stuti Agrawal
Northwood High School
Individual Exhibit (Senior) – Honorable Mention
“Joseph Lister: A Stand for Antisepsis”
Maggie Zhang
University High School
Visit the National History Day-California website for a comprehensive list of state winners.
Related National History Day News
Uni High Student/Teacher only 2017 Calf. Team Selected to Study D-Day in France
IUSD Students Have Strong Showing at 2017 County National History Day
Woodbridge High Students Place Third at 2016 National History Day Competition
Sierra Vista Teacher Named Top 2016 Middle School History Teacher in the Nation