County Students Advance to NYS History Day Contest

Students representing nine school districts competed in the Lower Hudson Valley History Day Competition at St. Thomas Aquinas College in Sparkill on March 7.

The Rockland BOCES-coordinated event provides students opportunities to conduct original research on historical topics of interest.

This year’s theme, “Leadership and Legacy in History,” was portrayed by local middle and high school students in five categories - documentaries, exhibits, papers, performances, and websites.

Clarkstown dominated the regional competition again this year, earning more than 30 awards across every category.

History Day is a national educational program sponsored by the New York State Historical Association to encourage students to explore local, state, national and world history through a thematic lens.

First and second place winners in each category move on to the state competition on April 27 in Cooperstown. State champs in each category will face off with other top students from across the US at the national contest in June.

Congratulations to:

Junior Historical Paper

1st Place - Caitlin Bennett, Felix V. Festa Middle School

2nd Place - Lauren Larkin, Felix V. Festa Middle School

Junior Individual Documentary

1st Place - Anisha Kasi, Felix V. Festa Middle School

Junior Group Documentary

2nd Place - Rishabh Khanduja and Timothy Mathew, Nyack Middle School

3rd Place - Zena Kash, Hailey Schwartz and Andie Mechanic, Felix V. Festa Middle School

Junior Individual Performance

2nd Place - Jackson Poulin, Felix V. Festa Middle School

3rd Place - Vicki Cheung, Felix V. Festa Middle School

Junior Group Performance

2nd Place - Sophia Pucci, Sammi Sobel and Priyanka Ramanathan, Felix V. Festa Middle School

3rd Place - Max Portnoy, Ethan Ripps, Ben Paseltiner, and Alex Kurland, Felix V. Festa Middle School

Junior Individual Website

1st Place - Jennifer Enright, Felix V. Festa Middle School

Junior Group Website

1st Place - Joanne Stirrup and Irisa Dong, Felix V. Festa Middle School

1st Place - Dev Patale, Michael Lamia and Michael Schutzman, Felix V. Festa Middle School

2nd Place - Sam Abers and Casey Waite, Nyack Middle School

3rd Place - Luke Puthumana, James Rung and Rivindu Wijedoru, Felix V. Festa Middle School

3rd Place - Maris Daly and Olivia Barkley, Felix V. Festa Middle School

Junior Individual Exhibit

1st Place - Jake Bardorf, Felix V. Festa Middle School

2nd Place – Rory Heanue, Felix V. Festa Middle School

3rd Place – Aimen Shaadab, Felix V. Festa Middle School

Junior Group Exhibit

1st Place – Derek Schoeps, Mark Albrecht, Logan Meda, and Matt Gavin, Felix V. Festa Middle School

3rd Place – Mannion McGinley and Mary O’Connor, Felix V. Festa Middle School

Senior Historical Paper

1st Place - Sandra Goldstein Lehnert, Tappan Zee High School

Senior Individual Documentary

1st Place - Livia Bartels, Tappan Zee High School

3rd Place - Joanna Meyers, Clarkstown South High School

Senior Group Documentary

1st Place - Phoebe Fisher and Lior Zweig, Clarkstown North High School

2nd Place - Vishal Mathew, Tomer Itzhaki, Ben Eisenberg, Leonardo Price, and Aiden Daly, Clarkstown North High School

3rd Place- Hye Soo (Clare) Jeon and Cindy Li, Clarkstown South High School

Senior Individual Performance

1st Place - Amalia Baker, Clarkstown South High School

2nd Place - Helen Smith, Clarkstown South High School

3rd Place - Ella Keymer, Clarkstown South High School

Senior Group Performance

1st Place - Brian Huang and Sophia Greenberg, Clarkstown North High School

2nd Place - Teena Roy, Aashna Pandya and Kayleigh Ross, Clarkstown South High School

Senior Individual Website

1st Place – Eden Nebel, Clarkstown North High School

2nd Place – Sharon Mathew, Clarkstown South High School

Senior Group Website

1st Place - William Bahssin, Elad Raymond, Charlie Wilen, Vivek Mathew, and Joseph Vayalumkal, Clarkstown North High School

3rd Place – Joseph Jang, Dave Mathew and Sarah Jang, Clarkstown South High School

Senior Individual Exhibit

3rd Place – Katie McKenna, Clarkstown South High School

Senior Group Exhibit

1st Place – Amanda Ferraro, Hannah Berg and Christina Hanos, Clarkstown South High School

2nd Place – Teena Thomas, Gayatri Prakash and Diana Mathew, Clarkstown North High School