Forty-eight CCSD middle and high school students combined to win 32 awards in the Northeast Georgia regional National History Day competition last weekend at the University of Georgia and have qualified for the state-level contest in April. This strong showing included nine first-place finishes and six top overall awards.

National History Day is a nationwide non-profit organization that operates an annual contest designed to engage students in college-level research and enhance their critical thinking skills through a better understanding of history and the world they live in. Using a working theme — the 2026 theme was “Revolution, Reaction, Reform in History” — students select a topic and decide whether to work individually or in a group. They conduct research, analyze their findings, develop a thesis, and submit an entry in one of five categories — historical paper, website, documentary, exhibit, or performance — in either the junior (middle school) or senior (high school) division. Students then present their project and defend their thesis before a panel of judges.

CCSD’s regional first-place and overall winners included:

·       Jenab Balde and Breyl Martin, Clarke Middle, first-place overall exhibit and Junior Division winner for, “2, 4, 6, Hate, We Don’t Want to Integrate! The Desegregation of Clarke County Schools”

·       Nora Cooper, Caitlin Davis, Aurelia DeWald, and Gaby Farnham, Hilsman Middle, first-place overall performance and Junior Division winner for, “The Flame That Sparked a Revolution: The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire of 1911”

·      Julio Chamosa and Chesley Steele, Clarke Middle, first-place overall documentary and Junior Division winner for, “Argentina on the Line.”

·      Savannah Rawls, Caitlin Smith, and Elijah Stone, Cedar Shoals High, first-place overall documentary and Senior Division winner for “Loud for Linnentown.”

·      John Ashley Reese, Hilsman Middle, first-place overall website and Junior Division winner for “The Steroid Revolution: How Steroids Took Sports by Storm”

·      Amelia Lush, Clarke Middle, first-place overall paper and Junior Division winner for “Medusa and the Reform of Her Story from Ancient Greece and Rome to Modern United States and the Other Countries: The Parallel and Contradictory Retellings from Feminist vs Patriarchal Reactions and Viewpoints”

·       Braxton Price, Hilsman Middle, first-place Junior Exhibit Individual winner for “The Great Migration: The Move That Changed America and Paved the Way to the Civil Rights Movement”

·       Emerson deDufour, Hilsman Middle, first-place Junior Performance Individual winner for “The Islamic Revolution: The Effect on Women And the Baha’i Revolution”

·      Solomon Bics, Matthew Dinnan, and Wyatt Quick, Hilsman Middle, first-place Junior Website Group winners for “The Russian Revolution of 1917-1922.”

The following students placed second or third in their category and also qualified for the state competition, which will be held April 18 at LaGrange College.

Junior Exhibit Individual

·      3^rd place - Isabela Mazariego-Benitez, Hilsman, “Syrian Civil War”

Junior Exhibit Group

·      2nd place - Ethan Flath, Alexander McQueen, and Fionn Torres, Clarke Middle, “Rise to Rebellion”

·      3rd place - Nivea Hood, Karim Lumpkin, Sydney McElroy, Mary Jane Okoli, and Laila Taylor, Burney-Harris-Lyons Middle, “The Easter Rising”

Junior Performance Individual

·      2nd place - Hannah Adcox, Hilsman, “The Edge of the Promised Line”

·      3rd place - Evelyn Broome, Hilsman, “Copeland Who Change Dance Forever”

Junior Performance Group

·      2nd place - Sophie Rabold and Eryan Smith, Clarke Middle, “What France, Great Britain, and North America Experienced During the Seven Years War”

·      3rd place - Ruby Falke and Phoebe Geisenhof, BHL Middle, “The Creation of the Girl Scouts”

Junior Documentary Individual

·      2nd place - Sofia Lucero, Hilsman, “Seven Years of Fear: The Argentine Dictatorship of 1976”

·      3rd place - Ari Harper. Hilsman, “The Revolution of Black Hair Products and Tools”

Junior Documentary Group

·      3rd place - Mariam Ahmed, Arohi Singh, and Clyde Smart, Clarke Middle, “The Linnentown Revolution”

Junior Website Individual

·      2nd place - Mariah Pinkney, BHL Middle, “The Little Rock Nine”

·      3rd place - Atalia Cervantes-Palma, BHL Middle, with “The Digital Revolution”

Junior Website Group

·      2nd place - Laurie Bjorkland-Glazman and Kennedy Gates, Clarke Middle, “Specific Parts of the 1814 War over Swedish Norwegian Union: Sweden's Unjust Takeover of Norway”

·      3rd place - Gideon Cade, James Morgan, and Wendell Pattaker, Clarke Middle, “Native Americans Displaced by American Settlements During the American Revolution”

Junior Paper

·      2nd place - Jay Patel, Hilsman, “The Iranian Revolution: A Revolution Filled with Happiness and Despair”

·      3rd place - Mittis Pope, Hilsman, “Technology and Society: The Industrial Revolution and Great Britain”

Senior Paper

·      3rd place – Olivia Trimble, Clarke Central High, “The Marquis De LaFayette: How a Young General Took Two Worlds by Storm”