Junior Division honorees in Huntington UFSD's National History Day initiative submitted exceptional projects
Junior Division honorees in Huntington UFSD's National History Day initiative submitted exceptional projects 

SEARCH & Finley Students Participate in National History Day

March 25, 2024

This year’s National History Day initiative in Huntington UFSD once again saw dozens of talented students from Woodhull Intermediate School, Jack Abrams STEM Magnet School and J. Taylor Finley Middle School joining their high school counterparts and submitting projects in a variety of contest categories.

Junior Division honorees in Huntington UFSD's National History Day initiative submitted exceptional projects

Huntington sixth graders participating in the district’s SEARCH program and seventh and eighth graders who participate in either the Finley Yorker’s club or in the social studies enrichment program at the school developed numerous projects that impressed judges and advanced to the LI regional finals at Hofstra.

“History Day is one of my favorite events of the year,” SEARCH teacher Jessica Risalvato said. “Not only do I get the opportunity to show off my current students’ hard work, I also to get to see so many former students. This year, my sixth grade SEARCH students submitted 30 projects for History Day. A project is definitely a labor of love and I am proud of what my students have accomplished in completing these projects. Collaboration, research, organization and perseverance are just some of the skills they enhanced over the past few months.”

Finley students were equally impressive with the projects the spent months developing. “This was another successful History Day event,” Finley social studies teacher Jarrad Richter said. “Viewing and recognizing the hard work of all the students, from SEARCH and Finley’s Yorker club and social studies enrichment programs all the way on up to the high school kids, is always a great experience. I think the icing on the cake this year was seeing so many former Yorkers and enrichment students moving on to Hofstra or taking home a special award.”

The sixth, seventh and eighth graders participated in the contest’s junior division. They entered projects in the individual exhibit, group exhibit, individual website, group website, individual documentary and group documentary categories.

National History Day Award Winners 2024

Junior Division

Individual Exhibit:

2nd: The Atomic Bomb

Yahel Barak Elitsur

1st: Gobekli Tepe: A Turning Point in Archaeology

Luisa Mackey

Group Exhibit:

3rd: How Jackie Robinson Changed the MLB Forever

Luke Shanley, Conor Kuhn, Charlie Gordon

2nd: How the Powered Loom and External Combustion Engine Influenced Cultural and Economic Change in Great Britain

Franklin Mulvaney, Emily McCarthy

1st: The Publication of On the Origin of Species: A Turning Point in Evolutionary Discovery

Hennie England & Sophia Curley

Individual Website:

1st: Harriet Tubman The Moses of Her People

Kennya Alvarado

Group Website:

2nd: Wright Brothers

Behan England, Andrew Parrott, Emmett Booth

1st: September 11th Attacks

Brady Oliva, Andrew Cahn, & Logan Ranft

Individual Documentary:

1st: The Printing Press: Inking Its Impact in History

Annie Donovan

Group Documentary:

3rd: How Napoleon Changed the World

Byron Jimenez, Jonah Abraham, William Dease, Marc Rosendo Valerio

2nd: Inappropriate Crown Creates Turning Point in English Religious History: The Conflict Between Henry VIII and His Six Wives

Hanna Boyle, Iliana Jarmolowsi, Bella Duke

1st: Penicillin: The Turning Point of Medicine

Darcy Rimkunas, Janita Files

Junior Division Special Awards

Outstanding Junior Entry on Irish History:

Irish Civil War

Cherrie Donnino, Rose Poli, Naomi Halder

Outstanding Junior Entry on American History:

The Change in Aviation Security After the Attacks of 9-11

John Pinto, Ethan Martin, Jason Bencivenga

Outstanding Junior Entry on Military History:

The Significance of D-Day As a Turning Point in World War II

Leo Colello, Aidan Oricoli, Avery Soldo