BHS Student Projects Shine at District History Day Competition

Bedford High School students who prepared History Day projects include (kneeling L-R): Alex Chen, Brianna DeJesus-Banos, Stephanie Yan, Emily Moss, Rebecca Reubenstein, Gina Han, Jen Zhang and Kylie Patterson; (middle row, L-R): Dottie Arsenault, Mary Kalb, Rebecca Inz, Lea Kriesberg, Keara Russell, Emma Valentine, Nicole Doherty, Kristen Kuo, Rebecca Smith, Linda Bittenson, Kirs Imsong and Sophie Zacharakis; (back row L-R): Matt Judge, John Dickinson-Meltz, Brendan Flynn, Josh Berenson, Victor Chen, Andrew Shpyrko, Eric Chen, Kevin Cowles and Allison McIllece. Students not pictured are Andrea Ning, Albert Chen, Shelby Wang, Meghan Stanley, Maddie Allen and Zack Scipioni. Courtesy Photo

By Carol Amick

Thirty-five Bedford High School students competed recently in the District level of National History Day, submitting 12 projects in various “group” and “individual” categories. And, as in past years, the BHS students made Bedford proud by earning numerous recognitions.

Eight projects placed 1^st, 2^nd, or 3^rd in their respective categories. Two additional projects were awarded “Honorable Mention” by the judges. Nineteen students with the 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd place projects will move onto the next level of the History Day program this April: the “State” competition.

All the Bedford students who participated in the District competition of National History Day are:

Madeline Allen, Dottie Arsenault, Josh Berenson, Linda Bittenson, Albert Chen, Alex Chen, Eric Chen, Victor Chen, Kevin Cowles, Brianna DeJesus-Banos, John Dickinson-Meltz, Nicole Doherty, Brendan Flynn, Gina Han, Kirs Imsong, Rebecca Inz, Matthew Judge, Mary Kalb, Lea Kriesberg, Kristen Kuo, Allison McIllece, Emily Moss, Andrea Ning, Kylie Patterson, Rebecca Reubenstein, Keara Russell, Zachary Scipioni, Andrew Shpyrko, Rebecca Smith, Meghan Stanley, Emma Valentine, Michelle Wang, Stephanie Yan, Sophie Zacharakis and Jennifer Zhang.

The students, their project titles, categories and awards are shown in the chart below:

This is the 10^th year that Bedford High School students have competed in National History Day, an annual program designed to promote the teaching and learning of history. Under the direction of BHS Social Studies teachers Jim Sunderland and Dave Boschetto, students conduct historical research in groups or as individuals. They prepare their presentations in one of five categories: documentary, exhibit, performance, paper, or website.

The projects achieving a 1^st or 2^ndat the State competition will move onto the final round, National History Day, which is held at the University of Maryland in June. There, high school students from 48 states and four U.S. territories compete against each other to earn 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd place medals in each category.

Bedford’s History Day students have achieved an outstanding success rate in this competition. Since 2004, BHS students have won 36 district awards and 11 state awards. There have been four national finalists, one national silver medalist and one national gold medal winner. These winners are recognized each September by the Bedford Historical Society.

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Irene

March 12, 2014 9:47 pm

Bedford is so lucky to have such a strong and engaged history department. The student projects are impressive year after year. If you’ve never attended the BHS History Fair, you should make a point to get there next year. You’ll be amazed! The entire event is of the highest caliber!
(Maybe next year the Citizen could do an article that is posted prior to History Fair Night so that residents can try to attend.)