BHS students excel in DoDDS competition

Published April 2, 2007
By Bitburg High School

SPANGDAHLEM AIR BASE, GERMANY -- -- Twelve Bitburg High School students have earned first place awards in the European Senior Level at the recent DoDD's-Europe National History Day contest in Heidelberg.

National History Day started in Cleveland in 1974 with the goal of reinvigorating the teaching and learning of history; it became a national contest in 1980 and is now one of the nation's premier academic competitions in the humanities for students in sixth-twelfth grades.

Since 1980, millions of students have participated in the local and state level, and more than 20,000 students have competed at the national level. Students can participate as individuals or groups, and there are four contest categories. The contest emphasizes research in primary historical sources, and projects are evaluated by a panel of judges who consider each entry's historical quality, 60 percent; relation to the annual contest theme, 20 percent; and clarity of presentation 20 percent. The 2007 contest theme is "Triumph and Tragedy in History."

This is Bitburg High School's third year in the NHD program, and each year have had DoDDS-Europe winners, a national finalist, and a special award-winning entry each year.

All of the students listed below qualified for the national level of the 2007 NHD contest. The national contest is taking place at the University of Maryland College Park, from June 10-14.

Zeth McNeal: First Place Paper, "Surviving The 'Liquid Auschwitz' -- The Journey of the Vietnamese Boat People"

Mary-Lynn Piper: First Place Individual Documentary, "A Forgotten Tragedy -- The Story of German POWs"

Kirk Miller: First Place Individual Exhibit, "Pompeii -- Through its Destruction, it Lives"

Kyle Barton: First Place Individual Performance, "Broadcasting Inspiration"

Justin Heller, Aaron Roth, and Jordan Thomas: First Place Group Documentary, "Massacre at Malmédy--The Mass Murder of American POWs"

Emily Kroloff and Emily Caoagas: First Place Group Performance, "Dying to be Beautiful"

Matt Gohl, Daniel Renaud and Angelo Treherne: First Place Group Exhibit, "The Amistad Case"

For additional information, please contact BHS at 452-9337.

BHS excel