USM HISTORIANS RULE REGIONAL NATIONAL HISTORY DAY COMPETITION
March 3, 2007
For the second consecutive year, University School historians were incredibly successful at the regional National History Day competition at UWM! 37 students presented their research projects on Saturday, March 3, and all received glowing comments from the judges of the competition. When the results were announced, USM historians led the entire competition by having 16 projects selected to compete in the state finals in Madison!

In the very competitive categories of individual and group exhibits, USM 8th grade scholars swept each section by claiming the three finalist positions. In the group exhibits, the winners included Ethan A., Nick M, and Tommy F. for “Say It Ain’t So, Joe”; Dror L., Paul M., and David R. for “One Giant Leap for Mankind”; and Alana A. and Kim Z. for “Little Rock - Operation Integration”. The individual finalists were Wil G. for ”Polio in America”, Marjorie M. for “A Perfect Sea of Leaping Flames”, and Taylor S. for “When the Snow Ran Red”. Also receiving high scores from the judges were Carol W. for “The Triumph Can’t Be Had Without The Struggle”, Taylor H.y for “Beatlemania”, Kira P. and Nicole Ransom for “Ain’t Gonna Let Segregation Turn Us Around”, and Megan C., Mahin K., and Natalie R. for “4 Little Girls”.

USM 8th graders also dominated the group documentary category as well. All four submitted documentaries qualified for the second round of judging, and when the top three were announced, only USM students were selected! The finalists in this category were Sahitya R. and Jordon S. for “Sparks at the Factory”, Nick B., Jack M., and Sam W. for “Do You Believe in Miracles?”; and Jason P. and Nick S. for “Magic in the White City”. Bennett G. and Henry P. also received acclaim for their documentary on “The Rise and Fall of Kurt Cobain”. In addition to being selected as finalists, Sahitya and Jordan were also awarded a cash prize from the Wisconsin Labor History Society!

8th grade dramatic thespian Ian C. impressed the judges with his performance of “King of the Hill – A Soldier’s Story of Iwo Jima”, advancing to the finals in April. Two 8th grader web designers will join him in Madison for their historical websites - Ryan M. for “A Giant Awakened, A Nation Divided” and Wil G. for “Apollo 13 – A Successful Failure”. Erin H. was selected as an alternate for her excellent paper on Wilma Rudolph. What an incredibly triumphant competition for the 8th graders!

The success was not limited to the 8th grade, however. Five senior projects were submitted by Upper School historians. Each project was created outside of the normal classwork by the Upper Schoolers, and all were recognized for their work. Chelsea K. was selected as a finalist for her exhibit “100 Days of Genocide”. Three senior documentaries were also selected for the state competition - S. Lee and Katie W. for “Las Madres de la Plaza de Mayo”; Nora H. for “Emmeline Pankhurst: Visionary”; and Anna P. for “Alexander the Great, Empires Destroyed and Legends Made”. Anna S. was selected as an alternate for her fine paper “On My Knees; the Lord's Resistance Army through a Child's Eyes”.

The state competition is on Saturday, April 28, at the Wisconsin Historical Society in Madison. Each of the finalists will be able to make adjustments and additions to the projects before the finals. If you get the chance, please congratulate these young historians for their amazing success!