| The annual National History Day – Tulare County event will be held Thursday, February 8 from 8:45 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. at the Tulare County Office of Education Administration Building, 6200 South Mooney Boulevard in Visalia. This year, 215 elementary, middle, and high school students from 15 Tulare County schools will present over 100 projects at the competition. The schools represented include: Clay Elementary (Kingsburg), Dinuba GATE, Dinuba High School, Green Acres Middle School (Visalia), La Sierra Military Academy (Visalia), Palm Elementary (Orosi), Redwood High School (Visalia), Ridgeview Middle School (Visalia), Sequoia Union School (Lemon Cove), St. Aloysius School (Tulare), Three Rivers Union School, Tulare Union High School, Tulare Western High School, University Preparatory High School (Visalia), and Washington Intermediate School (Dinuba). Now celebrating its 50th anniversary, National History Day (NHD) is a theme-based research program that showcases original presentations by students in grades 4-12 pertaining to historical issues, ideas, people, and events. Students may choose any topic in local, national, or world history, and explore its significance relative to the annual theme, which for 2024 is Turning Points in History. Students compete in three grade categories: 4-5, 6-8 and 9-12. Students in grades 4-5 compete in the two-dimensional category only. Students in the two upper-grade categories present findings through one of the following categories: historical paper, exhibit, performance, documentary, or historical website. Except for the historical paper category, students may collaborate in groups of up to five students, or they may work individually. At the event, presentations are evaluated by local historians and educators who look for a balance of perspectives in the project. The “Best of Event” presentations will be held in the Redwood Conference Center at 1:45 p.m. National History Day – Tulare County provides students with unique learning experiences that extend beyond the projects they have prepared. In the lobby throughout the morning, students can visit a variety of hands-on, history-related stations. At 1:00 p.m., William Nay, of the Sons of the American Revolution, will be the keynote presenter. Two members from the Yosemite Chapter will join him. Dressed in his Revolutionary War era colonel uniform, Nay will discuss dynamic “turning points” in the war and his family’s long history of service, including his seventh-great-grandfather who fought in King William’s War from 1695-97 in New Hampshire. At 1:45 p.m., students whose projects were chosen as “Best of Event” will be invited to make presentations to the audience. The awards ceremony will begin at 2:15 p.m. with scholarships presented to support students as they move to the state competition, being held April 19-21 at California State University, Sacramento. For more information, contact Paula Terrill at (559) 651-0565 or visit tcoe.org/historyday. |
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