Ten Decorah Middle School students qualify for state finals of National History Day

(Front row, left to right): Pat Bockman, Spencer Peterson and Galen Iverson. (Back row, left to right): Danielle Lundtvedt, Katie Storlie, Britta Swanson, Ambria Pipho, Kalea Oftedahl and Audrey Casterton. (Not pictured): Annette Leschensky

DMS Eighth Graders Participate in Regional History Day Competition

Several Decorah 8th grade students recently participated in the Regional History Day competition held at the Decorah Middle School. National History Day (NHD) is integrated into the American History curriculum for every 8th grade student. Students choose how they will present their projects from a variety of different presentation opportunities, which include documentaries, exhibits, papers, performances, and web sites. The theme for the 2016 contest is "Exploration, Encounter, and Exchange."

Ten Decorah Middle School students have qualified for the state finals of the National History Day competition, which will be held in Des Moines on April 25th.  The students and their projects were selected from those students who participated at the recent Regional History Day Competition held at Decorah Middle School.

Those chosen to go to Des Moines and their projects are:

Individual Exhibit
Audrey Casterton: Navajo Code Talkers

Group Documentaries
Kalea Oftedahl and Ambria Pipho: Mount Rushmore

Individual Documentary
Pat Bockman: Dr. Richard Eells: Encountering the Law
Annette Leschensky: Alfred Nobel's Influence on the World

Group Performance
Katie Storlie and Britta Swanson: The Lusitania: Deadly Encounter on the Atlantic

Historical Paper
Danielle Lundtvedt: Deborah Sampson

Group Exhibit
Galen Iverson and Spencer Peterson: John Muir: National Parks

Other Regional Participants and their projects include the following:

Individual Exhibits
Keagen Einck: Bill France Sr.: Creating Nascar
Paige Kirchner: Rosie the Riveter
Finn Deen-Lester: Flappers: A New American Woman
Katherine Bruening: Babe Didrikson Zaharias
Isaac Dixon: Jane Goodall: A New Perspective
Breydon Johnson: The Final Solution
Mercedes Christopher: Oskar Schindler

Group Exhibits
Nils Holkesvik and Gabe Vilardo: The Dousman Fortune

Individual Documentaries
Kai Spencer: What's in a Name?
Braden Elton: Texas Western: The True Glory Road
Will Schwarz: The Steam Engine
Mitchell Leschensky: General Patton: Encounter at the Bulge

Group Documentaries
Katie Bjergum and Delaynee Frey: Ulrik Vilhelm Koren
Andrew Magner and Samuel Robinson: Harry Truman: A Controversial Decision
Owen Henning and Rex Huinker: The War of Currents
Arielle Gossman and Kiersten Benson: The Kindertransport
Amanda Kuehner and Alexis Svestka: Wilma Rudolph
Aidan Hunter and Joseph Courtney: Lou Gehrig
Anna Blaess and Kelly Ahrens: Eunice Kennedy Shriver: Special Olympics

Group Performance
Mya Sullivan and Lillian Grouws: Julia Child: Exploring French Cooking

Individual Performance
Lily Chen: Martha Graham: Exploring the Boundaries of Dance

Individual Website
Isaac Roberts: Dred Scott
Conner Cook: Titanic

Group Website
Blake Donlon and Jay Fjelstul: Pearl Harbor
Lily Humpal and Nia Whitsitt: 54th Regiment
Blake Henriquez, Logan Halverson and Lucas Benzing: Nile Kinnick
Madeline Putnam and Ella Runestad: Seed Savers Exchange
Landon Miller and Nathan Monteith: Harry Houdini: Exploring Magic
Willem and Beau Hawley-Bourcier: Nelson Mandela: Encountering the Apartheid

Historical Papers
Kaya Hougen: C.S. Lewis: Exploration into Christianity
Amey Shedinger: Abd el-Kader: Living in Exile