Ava and Ryan off to State!

Beyond our monthly newsletters, a few students participated in the History Day Competition. As it was the first time Moose Lake has participated in the competition, we found ourselves in uncharted territory. We were able to take a research field trip to UMD at the end of February (completely free thanks to the a grant from MN Historical Center!) which inspired students to delve into heaps of papers, books and research. Four students participated: Leah Westmoreland and Maddie Geil created websites while Ava Szczyrbak and Ryan Wilson created exhibit boards. 


The History Day Competition is a national contest that encourages young people to explore a historical subject related to a theme throughout the school year. Students from grades 6-12 can participate. All of the students worked incredibly hard to research and complete projects related to this year's theme: Debate and Diplomacy: Successes, Failures and Consequences. Next year's theme will be Revolution, Reaction and Reform in History. 


Maddie created a website on Brown v Board of Education. You can view her work at http://83474186.nhd.weebly.com/


Leah also created a website. Her topic was Women's Right to vote. You can view her work at http://38142386.nhd.weebly.com/


The girls managed to complete these projects in a week (Yes, we waited until the last minute!) and deserve loads of credit for giving up their entire weekend to research and write about history! Ava competed in the exhibit board category. She chose the topic Roe v Wade. Ryan also competed in the exhibit board category. He chose to research Zionism. 


Ava and Ryan participated in the History Day Competition at UMD on March 12th. They both received honors and advanced to the state competition which will be held at the University of MN on May 1st!! Only 1,200 out of the 30,000 students who participated in History Day MN advanced to the state competition. If you see Ryan or Ava, wish them luck as we head to Minneapolis on Sunday! Only two projects from each category advance to the national competition held in June in Maryland. 


It is an intense research project that requires many hours outside of school. I can't express how proud I am of each of these students and we are already anticipating and excited for next year's process!

Ryan "The Great Migration: The Successes, Failures and Consequences of Zionism"

Ava "Roe v Wade: The Debate that Continues to Shape America Today"

They did it!