Foothills Blog

National History Day

Last Saturday, many of our Jr. High students–and a few of our 5-6 students–who placed either 1st or 2nd at the recent National History Day (NHD) regional competition, presented their history projects at the state competition held at the College of Idaho. Students interviewed with judges, answering questions about their research projects and explaining how their topics represented a significant turning point in history.

Before the state competition, all of our Jr. High students created a project for history class, which they presented to the Foothills community at our NHD Student Showcase. For this project, students chose to work as an individual or in a group, and they could create an exhibit, documentary, website, paper, or performance; they also had to submit an extensive annotated bibliography with their project. Student topics ranged from the westward expansion of the Dodgers Baseball Team, the aftermath of the Chernobyl disaster, and the effects of social media on teenagers’ mental health to the power of NATO, the impact of 9/11 on airport security, and how the movie JAWS instilled fear in a generation that made life a lot worse for sharks, among numerous other thought-provoking topics.

Jr. High Teacher Lori Mason shared, “I am SO proud of all the junior high students who competed at the regional competition. It was fun to walk into the awards ceremony and see the stands filled with Foothills families supporting each other.” This sentiment was also shared by students at the state competition: collectively, they seemed confident about their interviews and how they answered questions, cheered for their classmates who will advance to nationals, and enjoyed the experience of taking on a challenge and “being in it” together.  

Ayva Gradhandt and Abby Hajjar, Georgia and Parker Roope, and Sofia Marshall and Emery Hajjar won first place in their categories and are invited to compete at the national NHD competition in Maryland this summer. Two of our 9th graders also received $5,000 scholarships to the College of Idaho if they choose to use them. Ella Vick and Anna Keiley also placed fourth for their group exhibit and Hendrix Hurlbutt placed fourth for her exhibit.

We are so proud of our students, will cheer on students who will compete this summer, and look forward to a new National History Day challenge next year!

~Katy Young
Director of Enrollment Management & Marketing