Among the winners from the Kennedy School were Kaleign Conte (L) and Emily O’Regan (R) who won 1st Place Jr. Division, Group Performance, and Marissa Toner (Middle) who won 2nd Place Jr. Division, Individual Performance, in the History Day Regionals. They will join other winners from the Kennedy School and compete in the State Contest, April 7. – Photo by Melanie O’Regan.

Kennedy School students participated in the Regional History Day Saturday, March 2 at Winchester High School, the winners will go on to the State Contest which will take place, Saturday, April 6, 2013 at Stoneham High. The 2012-2013 theme is Turning Points in History: People, Ideas, Events.

Each year, more than half a million students, encouraged by thousands of teachers nationwide, participate in the NHD contest.

Students choose historical topics related to a theme and conduct extensive primary and secondary research through libraries, archives, museums, oral history interviews and historic sites.

After analyzing and interpreting their sources and drawing conclusions about their topics’ significance in history, students present their work in original papers, websites, exhibits, performances and documentaries.

These products are entered into competitions in the spring at local, state and national levels where they are evaluated by professional historians and educators. The program culminates in the Kenneth E. Behring National Contest each June held at the University of Maryland at College Park.

In addition to discovering the exciting world of the past, NHD also helps students develop the following attributes that are critical for future success: critical thinking and problem-solving skills; research and reading skills; oral and written communication and presentation skills; self esteem and confidence; a sense of responsibility for and involvement in the democratic process.

More than 5 million students have gone on to careers in business, law, medicine, education and countless other disciplines where they are putting into practice what they learned through NHD.