Southeast Kansas will send two projects to the National History Day Championship in College Park, Maryland, June 8-12. Five projects from Christian Learning Center attended the State National History Day Championships in Topeka in April.
The Fort Scott State Champion groups competing at Nationals in June will present their performances at 6:30 PM on Thursday, May 29th, at the Christian Learning Center in Fort Scott. This presentation will allow the students to practice sharing their projects and raise funds for their trip to College Park, MD. The community is invited to attend and support the two groups of students. Attendees can enter through the CLC Gym doors.
The following students are State Champions and will be sharing their projects on May 29th:
Kenlee Eden, Blair Felt, and Kodie Wells from Fort Scott Christian Learning Center will participate in the Senior Group Performance category, coached by Megan Felt and Rachel Wells. Their project is entitled Elzbieta Ficowska: Embracing Her Responsibility to Take a Stand for the Rights of the Polish People. Their project is a performance based on Elzbieta Ficowska. As a baby, Elzbieta was rescued by Irena Sendler from the Warsaw Ghetto and would grow up to become a leader in the Polish Solidarity Movement. As a leader in the Polish Solidarity Movement, Elzbieta Ficowska worked to bring rights and freedoms back to Polish citizens in the 1980s. The people of Poland believed it was their responsibility to free the nation from Communism.
Bella Antone, Klaire Kobernat, Charlee Wells and Hadley Wells from Fort Scott Christian Learning Center participated in the Junior Group Performance category at the State National History Day competition, coached by Rachel Wells. Their project is Miners Labor Rights: Mary Skubitz the Voice Above the Ground Who Rose to Fight. The performance is based on the actions of Mary Skubitz and the Amazon Army in Crawford County. In 1921, Mary Skubitz led the Amazon Army to march for the rights of the men and children working in coal mines. They felt it was their responsibility as family, to march for fair payment and working conditions. This march of over six thousand women brought the miners’ struggles for fair labor laws to the surface all around the state of Kansas.
History Day encourages students to express their knowledge of and interest in history through creative and original dramatic performances, media presentations, historical papers, website design, or three-dimensional exhibit projects. The research and study for district, state, and national competitions take place throughout the entire school year.
The national competition involves the top 2,800 students from across the nation, chosen from over 800,000 who compete to advance from local to state to national competition. All 50 states and several countries will be represented at the National competition. The theme this year is “Rights and Responsibilities in History.”
The Lowell Milken Center provides critiques and helps with research for National History Day Unsung Hero projects from Kansas and throughout the United States.