High School & Middle School Students Excel at State National History Day
Left: Middle School division (Junior) National Finalists: Kaisal Shah and Madeline Price.
Right: High School (Senior Division) National Finalists: Malka Steinberg, Katrina Cassell, Annie Stibora, Trinity Reeves, Fenner Dreyfuss-Wells, Charlotte Lo, Camille Lamb and Astrid Braun.
May 5, 2017 -- Forty-eight students from Shaker Heights High School and Shaker Heights Middle School competed with more than 600 other students Saturday, April 29, 2017, for both special prizes and the opportunity to compete at the National Level Competition June 11-15 at the University of Maryland at College Park.
Seven Shaker projects, representing eight students (plus one from Hathaway Brown), will advance to National Competition, with Shaker winning five first place spots. Overall, 16 of Shaker’s 28 projects were recognized as National Alternates, honorable mentions and/or won cash prizes due to their scholarship and expertise.
Students from the Middle School work with Individuals and Societies teacher David Saluga’s NHD club on Friday afternoons. Students from the High School work with Individuals and Societies teachers including Sarah Davis, Paul Kelly, Joseph Konopinski and Tony Cuda, with assistance from many other faculty including Silvia Sheppard, some editorial assists from the High School’s writing center, as well as a suitcase of costumes from the Theater Department.
Results are listed by category. “Senior” indicates high school level competition; “Junior” indicates the 6th-8th grade level of competition. First through second places all qualify to compete at the National competition.
Senior Individual Paper
Special Award: The New American Award | Ethiopian Tewahedo Social Services: “Hull House: The House of Social Reform” by Marta Bono Balcells, 10th grade.
Special Award: African American History Award | Ohio State University History Department
“Oscar James Dunn: The Untold Story of a Slave Who Became America's First Black Elected Official” by Emet Celeste Cohen, 10th grade.
Senior Individual Website
Special Award: The Clark Grave Vaults Award | The Ohio Grave Vault Company
“The Little Steel Strike and the Fight for the Right to Unionize” by Lincoln Luzar, 10th grade.
Special Award: Advanced Digital Researcher Award | Ohio Public Library Information Network
“Luther Terry: Taking a Stand Against Smoking” by Ethan Gimbel, 10th grade.
First Place and National Finalist: “Taking a Seat in History: The Flint Sit Down Strike” by Katrina Cassell, 10th grade.
Senior Group Website
Honorable Mention: “Sam Leibowitz and Scottsboro Boys Trial” by Emilie Evans, Hannah Roth and Allie Sweeney, 10th grade.
Senior Group Performance
Third Place and National Alternates: “Our Time is NOW” by Mika Reffner, Natalie Jaeb and Esme Alexander-Jaffe, 10th grade.
Second Place and National Finalists: “Nelly Bly: What A Girl Is Good For” by Noa Marcus, Trinity Reeves and Annie Stibora, 10th grade.
Senior Individual Documentary
Second Place and National Finalist: “Denying Restraints: The Pentagon Papers and the Fight for Free Press” by Astrid Braun, 10th grade.
First Place and National Finalist: “Why Run Only to Crawl Home?” - Silent Protest at the 1968 Olympics by Fenner Dreyfuss-Wells, 10th grade.
Junior Group Documentary
Honorable Mention: “Aung Song Suu Kyi: Taking a Stand for Democracy and Citizens' Rights in Myanmar” by Morgan Fowler, Grace Geier and Saskia River, 8th grade.
First Place and National Finalists: “Katherine Graham: Taking a Stand For Freedom of the Press” by Madeline Price and Kaisal Shah*, 8th grade.
Senior Group Documentary
Third Place and National Alternates: “Sterilization's Final Chapter: Madrigal v. Quilligan” by Hannah Braun, Melis Baltan Brunet and Olivia La Rue, 10th grade.
First Place and National Finalists: “Margaret Sanger: Motherhood by Choice” by Camille Lamb and Malka Steinberg, 10th grade.
Senior Individual Exhibit
First Place and National Finalist: “Can't Make a Monkey Out of Me: Science and Religion in the Scopes Trial” by Charlotte Lo, 10th grade.
Senior Group Exhibit
Honorable Mention and Special Award: Ohio Council for the Social Studies Primary Sources Award "Making Water Run Uphill": the Ludlow Community Association” by Elizabeth Brown and Julie Caffrey, 10th grade.
*Kaisal attends Hathaway Brown School in Shaker Heights.