By LAURA HAMMACK, guest columnist
Students from Brown County Schools provide our community with so many reasons to hold deep pride in their achievements.
Recently, our students proved to the state of Indiana and the nation that students from Brown County are real competitors when it comes to their pursuit of history. I can’t wait to share with you about two very exciting developments.
First, students in Brown County Schools have been competing in the National History Day contest for many, many years. Having Brown County High School serve as a host site for the regional competition has always been a point of pride. Over the years, our district has realized countless students who have advanced their projects to the state and national level. I am thrilled to share that this year was no different.
The Indiana Historical Society sponsors the National History Day program in Indiana. Students are able to enter exhibits, documentaries, websites, performances and papers which are judged in regional, state and national competitions.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]This year, Brown County Schools sent a large number of projects to the state competition where our students competed in the elementary, junior and senior division, based on their grade levels.
Each year, there is a theme for the competition. This year’s theme, “Conflict and Compromise in History,” encouraged our young historians to think about how people throughout history have engaged in conflict and then resolved those conflicts. Our students used primary and secondary sources to develop a research question and then worked to answer their question through their selected project medium. During the competitions, students are interviewed and expected to defend their process and research findings.
Through all of this research and project development, our students are led by our own team of educators who serve as History Day coaches. This year, Brown County Intermediate School was coached by Mrs. Lauren Lockdall and Mrs. Mary Carda-Kurdziel, Brown County Junior High School was coached by Mrs. Amy Oliver, and Brown County High School was coached by Mrs. Emily Lewellen. These educators spent countless hours with our students during after-school hours preparing for successful projects. Their efforts are so appreciated.
The state competition was held on April 14 where we had the following projects represented. Those projects indicated in bold are moving on to the national competition in Washington, D.C., in June. First- and second-place projects in the junior and senior divisions advance to nationals.
•Senior Group Documentary: “Changing the Social Pattern of the South” — Megan Bickley, Natalie Suding, Emelia Koester
•Senior Individual Website: “The Heroic Conscientious Objector” — Abigail Angebrandt
•Senior Individual Website: “Agent Orange” — Emily Earnshaw
•Senior Individual Website: “The Salem Witch Trials” — Jasmine Ruckman
•Senior Individual Documentary: “The Rwandan Genocide: Small Country, Big Impact” — Rachel Huddleston
•Senior Individual Documentary: “The Troubles: Conflict and Compromise in Northern Ireland” — Zelton Kay (second place in the state)
•Senior Individual Performance: “Passing on the Tale of Alexander Hamilton” — Virginia Lecklider
•Senior Individual Exhibit: “Compromise for Comfort Girls” — Chloee Robison (first place in the state)
•Senior Individual Exhibit: “The Troubles” — Lilee DeLoach
•Junior Group Website: “John Wooden Slam Dunks Discrimination in 1947” — Clay Austin, Lexie Austin and Livie Austin (second place in the state)
•Junior Group Website: “Japan at War in 1904” — Aisan Schilling and Bradley Arndt (third place in the state)
•Junior Individual Exhibit: “Mrs. Edna M. Barnes Martin Overcoming Conflict Through Faith and Making Compromise in Neighborhoods by Changing Lives” — Shelby Gaither
•Junior Group Documentary: “The Forgotten War? The Conflict Continues” — Rhett Silbaugh and Rafe Silbaugh
•Junior Individual Documentary: “March of a Lifetime: The Selma March” — Savannah Oden
•Junior Paper: “The Scopes ‘Monkey’ Trial: The Ongoing Battle Between Science and Religion” — Josephine “Marie” Fields (first place in the state)
•Elementary Individual Exhibit:” The Devil Made Them Do It” — Lilly VanNess (third place in the state)
•Elementary Individual Exhibit: “Desmond Doss’ Moral and Ethical Battle Against the U.S. Army” — Jackson Daugherty
•Elementary Individual Exhibit: “The Seige of Yorktown: The Battle that Shaped our Nation” — Case Smith (first place in the state)
•Elementary Group Exhibit: “Malcolm X: Guiding Through Conflict — Compromise Through Understanding” — Taylor Lucas and Kinzie Knaus (second place in the state)
As you can see, the scope of research conducted by our students was vast and the quality of the projects was supreme. We feel confident that we have projects advancing to the national competition that are sincere contenders for medals.
An additional celebration from the state competition is that Mrs. Amy Oliver, BCJHS social studies teacher, was awarded the Harris History Teacher Award by the Indiana Historical Society. This award is given to one middle and high school teacher annually. Mrs. Oliver will now compete with the other state winners during the national competition. We are so excited for her and are so grateful to her for all she has done for our students in the National History Day competition.
As you can see, students in Brown County Schools are some of our state’s top historians. We are so proud of them and are currently working to raise funding to send our national competitors to Washington, D.C.
Should you be interested in donating to this effort, we are accepting donations on behalf of all of our students at Brown County High School. Checks can be made to BCHS and dropped off at BCHS or mailed to: P.O. Box 68, Nashville, IN 47448.
Thank you!
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Six Brown County students have been invited to compete in the National History Day contest in Washington, D.C., June 10-14. Each student needs to raise $500 for travel, registration and lodging expenses.
Checks made out to BCHS can be dropped off at the high school or mailed to P.O. Box 68, Nashville, IN 47448.
[sc:pullout-text-end]Laura Hammack is superintendent of Brown County schools. She can be reached at 812-988-6601 or [email protected].
