Zachary Anderson and Patrick DenHartog, sixth grade students at George-Little Rock Middle School, presented on April 25 at the State-Level, National History Day (NHD) Competition.
“Our sixth-grade students represented G-LR well within a very competitive environment of Iowa students in grades 6, 7 and 8,” said Tina Sherrill-Range, Gifted and Talented Specialist at G-LR. According to the judges, strengths of their project included the clarity of their paper’s bibliography and the project’s connection to the annual theme of the event. The annual theme for the 2022 National History Day competition was, “Debate and Diplomacy in History.”
Representatives from local banking institutions, Frontier Bank and Security Savings Bank, helped defray expenses for the trip.
“With the banks’ support and sponsorship, the boys were permitted to enjoy more of the benefits of making it ‘to state’ with this academic endeavor,” said Sherrill-Range. “As always, I am so proud of the way our community supports our school,” she said.
Patrick DenHartog and Zachary Anderson, both sixth graders, crafted a state qualifying entry from among eight entries in the G-LR MS. Their thesis statement read, “Although they happened at about the same time, we can conclude by saying that our topics (The Surrender at Appomattox and the Lincoln-Douglas Debates) are very important to United States history because they shaped what our country is today through the failure and success of diplomacy and debate.”
National History Day is a non-profit organization based in Maryland, which seeks to improve the teaching and learning of history. Locally, NHD is promoted and facilitated by the Northwest Area Education Agency which serves area schools. At the state level the competition is promoted and facilitated by the State Historical Society of Iowa and Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs. George-Little Rock Middle School students were part of the Sergeant Floyd District—one of 10 regions in Iowa.
On Tuesday, May 3, the students’ National History Day projects will be on display in the new commons at the George Middle/High School.
“The community is invited to come and view the projects along with the G-LR High School Art Department displays during the school’s concert/Awards Night,” said Sherrill-Range.