Templeton students regional finalists in National History Day

More than two dozen Templeton Middle School eighth-graders will compete March 2 at the regional level of National History Day as a result of successful participation at their school. Finalists were selected Feb. 11 at the school level and will go on to compete at the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee.

National History Day is an academic enrichment program for students in grades 6-12. Students select topics connected to an annual theme and complete their own in-depth research on the topic. This year the annual theme is “Turning Points in History: People, Ideas, Events.” Students present their conclusions by creating museum-style exhibits, media documentaries, research papers, interactive websites and dramatic performances.

The school event is the first step in a competition cycle that can take students from the school level to regional, state and national competitions. At each level of competitions, students share their work with the peers, historians, educators and professionals in related fields as they compete for special awards and the opportunity to advance to the next level of competition.

Students from Templeton and their projects advancing to the regional level are:

Research papers:
• Samuel Golding – “Death by Dioxin: The Deadly Agent Orange”
• Dominic Pino - “Giuseppe Garibaldi—The Hero of Two Worlds”
• Danielle Spence - “Billy Mitchell and the Fight for Air Power”
• Alternate: Alexander Banda

Individual exhibit boards:
• Myah Merriman – “The Miracle Drug Penicillin in Action”
• Kaylee Kuehn - “Harriet Tubman—Conductor of the Underground Railroad”
• Ninfa Weathersby – “How Bach Changed Music Forever”
• Alternate: Emily Bader

Group exhibit boards:
• Alex Saunders, Matthew Hutchison, Benjamin Heberer – “The 1919 Chicago Black Sox Scandal”
• Ben Pink, Alex Surma, Alex Nash – “Steaming Steam Engines”
• Thomas Casper, Colin Mittelstaedt – “Death Machine Comes to Life—World War I Machine Guns”
• Alternate: Daniel Markano/ Stephanie Pham

Individual website:
• Alyssa Grove – “Jackson Pollack: A Journey to Becoming an Artist”

Performance:
• Erin Magoon – “Elizabeth Blackwell: A Woman Doctor?”

Group website:
• Rachel Klibowitz, Megan Frank - “The Discovery of Insulin: Miracle for the Ill”
• Ciara Cronin, Emily Hunt – “The Roaring 20s”
• Finn Heaster, Devin Sage – “Free Masonry—The Secret Fraternity”
• Alternate: Matthew Keller and Dylan Schmidt

Documentary:
• Joshua Meysembourg, Joshua Slavik - “The Bloodiest Battle in History: The Battle of Stalingrad”