Wilton Students Win 2 First Place Prizes in for Documentaries for CT History Day Contest

WILTON, CT-- Three Weston High Shool students won first place for their group documentary, at the Connecticut History Day (CHD) 2016 Fairfield Regional Contest. The contest took place on Saturday, March 19 at Sacred Heart University, according to a release.

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Connecticut History Day is an affiliate of National History Day® (NHD), a year-long academic program that middle and high school students research on historical topics of interest. The projects are entered into Regional Contests, and top projects have the opportunity to advance to the CHD State Contest.

The historical topic must connect to the 2016 NHD theme of Exploration, Encounter, Exchange in History. Students in grades 6-12 participate in the program.

Students who placed within the top three spots in each category will move on to the CHD State Contest taking place on April 30 at Central Connecticut State University.

Below is a list of winners.

Senior Division Category:

Group Website

• First Place: Cracking the Genetic Code: The Story of DNA Students: Allysa Noccioli, Rebecca McMahon, Meghan Reynolds School: Stratford High School (Stratford, CT)
• Second Place: Walt Disney & The American Dream Students: Jackie Rhoads, Ella Jarvis, Zoe Lieberman School: Staples High School (Westport, CT)
• Third Place: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Students: Hannah Roseme, Gabriela Vega School: Staples High School (Westport, CT)

Category: Individual Website

• First Place: Working Dogs Students: Rebecca Lee School: Staples High School (Westport, CT)
• Second Place: Islamophobia Students: Nicholas Bilotti School: Staples High School (Westport, CT)
• Third Place: Militarization of an Unwanting People Students: Sofia Gerrard School: Staples High School (Westport, CT)

Category:

Group Documentary

• First Place: The Sherpas: Cultural Exchange in the Shadow of Everest Students: Brendan Moore, David Tamburri School: Weston High School (Weston, CT)
• Second Place: Panama Canal Students: Patrick Moore, Thomas Anastos, Hari Nair School: Wilton High School (Wilton, CT)
• Third Place: Leprosy Students: Sarah Carter, Nicole Arellano School: Staples High School (Westport, CT)

Category: Individual Documentary

• First Place: R.E. Olds Students: Christian Myers School: Staples High School (Westport, CT)
• Second Place: Langston Hughes Students: Peri Kessler School: Staples High School (Westport, CT)
• Third Place: American Immigration Policy 1960s Students: Matthew Gibson School: Staples High School (Westport, CT)

Category: Group Performance

• First Place: Red Rubber: King Leopold’s Reign of Terror in the Congo Free State Students: Quinn Barry, Shannon Madden, Claire Langdon, Maddie Langdon, Elena Fernald School: Pequot Home School (Southport, CT)
• Second Place: WASPs and the Flight for Equality Students: Juliana Salamone, Katherine Hurst, Nicole Wood, Flora Dievenich Braes School: Greenwich High School (Greenwich, CT)
• Third Place: The World Anti-Slavery Conference: The Exchange That Happened . . . and the One That Didn’t Students: Peter Bound, Paris-Sima Mohammadi, Maxine King, Suzanne Goodnow School: Greenwich High School (Greenwich, CT)

Category: Individual Performance

• First Place: Alexander the Great: The Relentless, Formidable and Influential Conquerer of the Ancient World Students: James Gikas School: Staples High School (Westport, CT)

Category: Group Exhibit

• First Place: Rosie The Riveter: Women in the Workforce Students: Isabel Saltzman, Hana Previte, Lauren White, Claire Graham School: Wilton High School (Wilton, CT)
• Second Place: Street Art: The Battle Between Art and Vandalism in NYC Students: Monique Ostbye, Bianca Lotti, Sarah Sherts School: Staples High School (Westport, CT)
• Third Place: FDR and the Jewish Refugees Students: Julia Abbazia, Sofia Dodaro School: Greenwich High School (Greenwich, CT)

Category: Individual Exhibit

• First Place: Operation Ajax: 1953 Iranian Coup Students: Julianna Beal School: Staples High School (Westport, CT)
• Second Place: The Arrogance of Technology Students: Ndidi Anekwe School: Stratford High School (Stratford, CT)
• Third Place: Undoing Slavery in Virginia Students: Bridget French School: Staples High School (Westport, CT)

Category: Senior Paper

• First Place: Gandhi and King Students: Andrew Brito School: Academy of Information Technology & Engineering (Stamford, CT)
• Second Place: Hell on Wheels: The Staple of the Nation Students: Jessica Ulbrich School: Academy of Information Technology & Engineering (Stamford, CT)
• Third Place: Encountering the Unprecedented Turning Point in American History Students: Mia Krishnamurthy School: Staples High School (Westport, CT)

Junior Division Category:

Group Website

• First Place: Operation Paperclip: The Nazi War Criminals that Put a Man on the Moon Students: Victor de la Pena, Sian Auer School: Tomlinson Middle School (Fairfield, CT)
• Second Place: The Battle for Baltimore: The Final Encounter Students: Nathan Holland, Drew Sutherland, Doug Muratori, Ryan Sokol School: Region 15 Rochambeau Middle School (Southbury, CT)
• Third Place: Exploration of the Moon: Apollo 13, Failure Yet Success Students: Evelyn Kuo, Joelle Beck School: Region 15 Rochambeau Middle School (Southbury, CT)

Category: Individual Website

• First Place: Gandhi: Exploring Non-Violence Students: Sneha Sunder School: Unquowa School (Fairfield, CT)
• Second Place: World War I Technology Students: Logan Neishloss School: Fairfield Woods Middle School (Fairfield, CT)
• Third Place: John D. Rockefeller – The Man Who Built America Students: Kyle Young School: Shelton Intermediate School (Shelton, CT)

Category: Group Documentary

• First Place: Discovering The Land: A Life of Nathaniel Brown Palmer Students: Julia Sexton, Sadie Kinnersley School: Middlebrook School (Wilton, CT)
• Second Place: The German American Bund Encounters Controversy With the American People Students: Samantha Grayson, Shivaun Mathews School: Region 15 Memorial Middle School (Middlebury, CT)
• Third Place: Leaders of the Underground Railroad: Bridging Racial Gaps Students: Sam Laskin, Marisa Shorrock, Gabe Sargent, Claudia Fernandez School: Bedford Middle School (Westport, CT)

Category: Individual Documentary

• First Place: Ironclads in the Civil War Students: Matteo Andres School: Fairfield Woods Middle School (Fairfield, CT)
• Second Place: The Cambodian Killing Fields Students: Grace Milliman School: Weston Middle School (Weston, CT)
• Third Place: Miracle of the Holocaust: Exploration of Survival Students: Rebecca Ronai School: Weston Middle School (Weston, CT)

Category: Group Performance

• First Place: Alexander Hamilton Explores a Financial System for the New Nation of America Students: Juliana Rodrigues, Samantha Gilbert, Max Bueno, Emily Strickland, Joe Zarif School: Region 15 Memorial Middle School (Middlebury, CT)
• Second Place: Marie Curie Students: Colleen Cooke, Rose Linkasamy, Rose Luczaj, Caroline Coccaro School: Roger Ludlowe Middle School (Fairfield, CT)
• Third Place: The Evolution of Fantasy Sports Students: Hunter Vogel, Noah Giglietti, Justin Krebs, Alex Jaber School: Fairfield Woods Middle School (Fairfield, CT)

Category: Group Exhibit

• First Place: Margaret Fogarty Rudkin Students: Hayden Mattus, Morgan Cutler, Devenny Widmer School: Fairfield Woods Middle School (Fairfield, CT)
• Second Place: Billie Holiday and Strange Fruit Students: Anna Wilder, Aleysha Henry, Ira Boci, Toni Lamparski School: Fairfield Woods Middle School (Fairfield, CT)
• Third Place: Galileo: Exploring the Universe Students: Sona Kocinsky, Supriya Ganti School: Madison Middle School (Trumbull, CT)

Category: Individual Exhibit

• First Place: The Pequot War Students: Chris Belden School: Shelton Intermediate School (Shelton, CT)
• Second Place: General Burgogne Students: Eric Young School: Tomlinson Middle School (Fairfield, CT)
• Third Place: Without Stones There is No Arch: Marco Polo and the Bonding of Two Continents Students: Nick Taubenheim School: Bedford Middle School (Westport, CT)

Category: Junior Paper

• First Place: The Manhattan Project Students: Jasmine Conley School: Roger Ludlowe Middle School (Fairfield, CT) Second Place: Barbara McClintock: Jumping into the Future Students: Haven Hunt School: Academy at Little River Farm (Redding, CT)
• Third Place: World War II: Woman Encounters of Opportunities Students: Caroline Depalma School: Rochambeau Middle School (Southbury, CT)

Connecticut History Day is led by Connecticut’s Old State House in downtown Hartford, with support from the Connecticut League of History Organizations and Connecticut Humanities’ website, www.ConnecticutHistory.org. Major funding for CHD is provided by Connecticut Humanities. You can learn more about Connecticut History Day by visiting the program’s website, www.historydayct.org, and by following CHD on Facebook and Twitter. The National History Day® website may be viewed at www.nhd.org.