Several John F. Kennedy students taught by History teacher Jennifer Sears, will travel to Washington D.C. to compete in National History Day. Students from the Kennedy initially
competed in a regional history competition in which Kennedy students placed 1st through 3rd amongst 140 different submitted projects. (Categories for projects included Individual Website, Group Website, Individual Historical Papers, Group Historical Papers, Individual Documentary, Group Documentary, Individual Performance, Group Performance, Individual Exhibit, Group Exhibit.) These students then moved on to the state history competition, where Kennedy School students proved to be tough competition for over 100 competitors statewide. After presenting their projects and being questioned by a grueling panel of judges, Kennedy School students prevailed. Nolan Roche and James McEwen placed 2nd overall with their Website they created on the United States Responsibility vs. Bikini Islanders’ Rights. In addition to coming in 2nd place, they also won the National Archives Award in their division, and the National Maritime Historical Society Award. Sisters Kiely and Julia Johnson won 1st place in their Group Performance of Into the Flame: One Woman’s Responsibility. They also won the prestigious National Archives Award in their division. Annie Donovan placed 2nd in her category Individual Performance of With God on Our Side: An Earlier, and Quieter, Integration. She too dominated and received the National Archives Award. Stavroula Elidis and Jennifer Lima won 2nd place in Group Performance with their performance of Let Them Play Ball. Several other Kennedy School students that deserve recognition for their hard work and dedication received an Honorable Mention (3rd place) on their Group Performance of The American Dream… are Nabila Anandira, Isabel Silva, Nancy Onyejiaka, and Carlea Dolcine. All students worked endless hours on their projects during school vacations, and stayed after school daily until 5:30pm. Students will compete at a national level in Washington June 15 – June 19. The National History Day awards ceremony will be televised live on the History Channel June 19th, 8:30am-11:30am via webcast at http://www.nhd.org. Special thank you to Christine Colangelo and Stephen King for all of the support you’ve given our children throughout this process. Also, thank you to Jennifer Sears for inspiring and challenging the minds of our children. Please help us to congratulate all of these Somerville students who will be representing Massachusetts at National History Day.