May 4, 2018 at 4:32 p.m.
RHS students reach National History Day national competition
RHS students reach National History Day national competition
By Mike Cheslock-
JWMS language arts teacher and RHS drama director Kristin Higgins worked with the duo on much of their project. "They did this outside of class expectations and have been working on it for three quarters of the school year. They had some amazing primary sources and were enthusiastic about this the entire year," she said.
The national contest is the final stage of a series of contests. Students begin their journey by presenting their projects in classrooms, schools, and districts around the world. Top entries are invited to the state/affiliate level contests. NHD in Wisconsin is sponsored by the Wisconsin Historical Society. The top two entries in every category at the state/affiliate level are invited to the national contest.
The 2018 national competition will be held June 10-14, 2018 at the University of Maryland, College Park.
The National History Day Contest encourages more than half a million middle and high-school students around the world to conduct historical research on a topic of their choice. Locally, NHD is woven into American History classes at James Williams Middle School and Rhinelander High School. RHS history teacher Wil Losch has used NHD for a number of years.
"The NHD project complements the survey aspect of our history courses real well by allowing students to actually do history, to practice the same skills actual historians use. It brings history alive by allowing students to go a mile deep into a topic that interests them," he said.
Matt Knott also teaches history at RHS.
"The inquiry of NHD really allows students to review competing pieces of evidence, wrestle with complex ideas and develop critical thinking skills in addition to increasing their knowledge of names, dates and time periods," he said.
Ten JWMS students and eight RHS students competed at the state competition this year. In addition to Hoffhein and Peitsch's recognition, junior Zachary Thompson earned the state level "Early American History" award with his website that examined the Revolutionary War era. The theme for this year is "Conflict and Compromise" in history. Community members interested in financially supporting the trip to nationals should contact Wil Losch at Rhinelander High School. He can be reached via email at [email protected]
Pelican Elementary
second graders explore careers
The second graders at Pelican Elementary had the opportunity recently to learn about different careers in our community through our annual Career Week presentations. During the week of April 24-27, two adults from the community came each day to present and allow students to ask questions about their career. Many of the adults that presented were parents or family members of the students, which gave them a great way to make connections with the content that was being presented. The presented careers were a firefighter, Army serviceman, chiropractor, graphic designer, paramedic, vet technician, pastor, and our very own district athletic director. All presentations focused on the training involved to get into each career, how following the 4 B's (Be Respectful, Be Responsible, Be Safe, and Be Healthy and Here) is crucial to be successful at their career, and that hard work and love for their career are essential to do their job well. The students were full of questions and curiosity about all the careers and many discussions occurred in the classroom following the presentations, allowing for even more learning to occur beyond the presentations. Thank you to all the presenters for taking the time out of your busy schedules to share with the students what you do and to help our young children's' minds become engaged and career-ready for the future.
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