National History Day Contest on Thursday, February 8

Huntington UFSD students spread across grades 6-12 will compete in this year’s National History Day local contest on Thursday, February 8 at Huntington High School. Participants have been developing their projects for months. The top finishers in each division will advance to the Long Island regional finals at Hofstra.

The 2024 contest requires research to be framed within the theme of “Turning Points in History.” Huntington High School students developing projects for the contest will be joined in the initiative by sixth graders participating in the district’s SEARCH program and seventh and eighth graders in J. Taylor Finley Middle School’s Yorker Club.

“To celebrate our 50th anniversary, National History Day’s theme will be ‘Turning Points in History,’” according to the non-profit NHD organization. “This year’s theme invites you to consider questions of time and place, cause and effect, change over time, and impact and significance.”

Huntington students will submit projects in one of five formats: historical research papers, museum exhibits, video or computer generated documentaries, theatrical performances, and websites. Besides individual entries, all categories except papers can be completed by a group of up to five students.

“A turning point in history is more than just an important event that happened a long time ago,” according to NHD. “It is more than a new idea or a particular action taken by an individual. A turning point is an idea, event, or action that directly, or sometimes indirectly, causes change.”

Huntington High School’s National History Day club promotes and sponsors the initiative. The organization is open to all students who are participating in the contest. Lauren Desiderio serves as the club’s faculty advisor and coordinates the NHD program across the district.

Finley’s Yorker Club and its faculty advisor, social studies teacher Jarrad Richter welcomes participation from all seventh and eighth graders. Students that love history will have a thoroughly enjoyable experience as a club member.

SEARCH teacher Jessica Risalvato has also been working with her students as they go about developing their projects. Past sixth grade entries have been nothing short of exceptional.

“Each year, National History Day selects a theme to provide a lens through which students can examine history,” according to the organization. “The annual theme frames the research for students and teachers alike. It is intentionally broad enough to allow students to select topics from any place (local, national, or global) and any period in history. Once students choose their topics, they investigate historical context and significance and develop the topic’s relationship to the theme by researching in libraries, archives, and museums and by visiting historic sites.”

Projects will be on display in the Huntington High School lobby on February 8. The top projects in each category will be announced during a ceremony in the auditorium beginning at 6:30 p.m.