Bronxville HS Students Advance To State History Competition

BRONXVILLE, NY — After securing first and second places at the Lower Hudson Regional National History Day competition, a group of 23 students from Bronxville High School have advanced to the state competition. They will present their historical research at the New York State National History Day competition, which will be held in Cooperstown April 22-23.

“We are thrilled with the success of our students,” Principal Ann Meyer said. “They demonstrated a passion for their topics along with in-depth, careful research that translated into strong performances. We wish them the best of luck at the state competition.”

Under the direction of teachers Dana Landesman, Bill Meyer and Christina Reidel, the students have been conducting extensive historical research on a topic of their choice over the last several months. Their authentic work focuses on this year’s National History Day theme of “Conflict and Compromise” and is displayed in one of five ways: paper, website, documentary, performance or exhibit.

“National History Day taught us to work as a team and use our individual strengths to create a winnable project,” said sophomore Sabrina Mellinghoff, who worked on an exhibit, “Arusha Accords: A Genocidal Compromise,” with sophomore Emily Perry. “We are so excited about the state competition.”

Sophomore Michael Burstein, who worked on a documentary, “The French-Algerian War: Tactics That Created an Inevitable Conflict,” along with Chris Hutchins, Caitlin Mooney and Sarah Whitney, said earning first place signified that all of their hard work was worth it.

At the regional competition, a total of 51 students from Bronxville High School were interviewed by professors and scholars and articulated what they’ve discovered through their historical research. Of them, 36 students received top honors, but only first- and second-place finalists advanced to the state competition.

The following students received top honors in the below categories:

Websites (individual)

• Second place: Max Runte (sophomore)
• Third place: Eva Dani (sophomore)

Websites (group)

• Second place: Clara DeMagalhaes, Yuka Nakano and Delany O’Brien (sophomores)
• Third place: Justin Barr and Michael Greco (sophomores)

Performances (individual)

• Second place: Patrick Bird (freshman)

Performances (group)

• Second place: Xavier Layton, Theo Liao, Reid Portner and Chris Visconti (sophomores)
• Third place: Anton Ribka (senior) and Harry Villanueva (sophomore)

Documentary (individual)

• Third place: Cole Zucker (sophomore)

Documentary (group)

• First place: Michael Burstein, Chris Hutchins, Caitlin Mooney and Sarah Whitney (sophomores)
• Second place: Tim Atkeson, Liam Hearty, William Swenson and Ethan Waggoner (freshmen)
• Third place: Christopher Babyak, Logan Glick, Jacoby Goodson and Clark Stephens (sophomores)

Exhibit (individual)

• Second place: Kyle Dillon (freshman)
• Third place: Mariana Apostolatos (freshman)

Exhibit (group)

• Second place: Charlotte Dotson, Sabrina Mellinghoff, Emily Perry, Sofia Ricciarini and Grace Sperber (sophomores)
• Third place: Kelly Weild and Avery Widen (freshmen)

Photo credit: Bronxville Union Free School District.