Peck Students Head to State for National History Day

National History Day (NHD) programming is a cornerstone of Peck’s Upper School history program, engaging sixth-through-eighth graders in historical research and skills development. Along with more than half a million students across the country, students deepen their critical thinking and problem solving skills, practice formal historical research, and elevate their confidence and agency in learning. Each year in NHD brings an annual theme; for the 2023 school year, students were challenged to explore topics relating to “Frontiers in History.”

“National History Day projects are an opportunity for students to actively engage with the past, and gain a deeper understanding of how the past shapes the present,” said History Department Chair Jason Guss.

 

After Peck’s initial history day judging, which sent 14 projects (representing 25 students)  to regionals at Monmouth University,  eleven projects were selected to move on to NHD’s state competition in May (listed below).

Guss continued, “We’re so proud of all our students’ hard work in preparing for the regional level. They revised and improved upon their original projects, added to annotated bibliographies and wrote process papers, and every student showed their work strongly among peers from other NJ schools. Congratulations to everyone, and to those proceeding to state: we’re cheering for you!”

1. The Black Sox Scandal, Jr. Group Exhibit: Avery Dewey ‘25 and Logan Lan ‘25
2. The Black Hand: Frontiers in Organized Crime, Jr. Individual Exhibit: Jonah Braun ‘25
3. Bell Labs: On the Frontier of Videoconferencing, Jr. Individual Exhibit: Bennett Schwartz ‘25
4. The Haitian Revolution, Jr. Individual Exhibit: Preston Devieux ‘23

1. The Vietcong War Tactics, Jr. Group Documentary: Sebastian Eaton ‘23, Bowen Honeker ‘23, and Matías Stevenson ‘23

1. The Berlin Airlift: The Many Frontiers It Broke, Jr. Group Website: Hadley Baker ‘24, Aanya Bhat ‘24, and Izzy Ceballos ‘24
2. The Discovery of King Tut's Tomb, Jr. Group Website: Gwyneth Buckley ‘24, Lucy Mallgrave ‘24, and Victoria Silva ‘24
3. The End of WWII: Frontier of Atomic Bombs, Jr. Individual Website: Sailee Shah ‘24
4. The First Man in Space: Yuri Gagarin and the Flight of Vostok 1, Jr. Individual Website: Jane Pagano ‘24
5. The Tiananmen Square Protests and Massacre: A Frontier in Peaceful Protesting, Jr. Individual Website. Heidi Lüer ‘24
6. The Korean Demilitarized Zone: Formation of a Frontier, Jr. Individual Website: Ginger Malloy ‘24