Students at Talcott Mountain Academy in Avon, Connecticut, competed at the state level of the History Day competition at Central Connecticut State University on Saturday April 26. Rayna Bidwell created an exhibit portraying the history of farming from Colonial days to present factory farms. Annika Matthias wrote a paper discussing the lives and histories of Japanese-Americans interned during World War II. Eli Mathieu created a website portraying human rights abuses throughout the world and whether or not the world has the right and responsibility to protect those being harmed. Each student is to be commended on their hard work and effort from the regional to the state competition along with impressing the judges along the way.
The hard work paid dividends for Eli Mathieu who placed first in the junior website category. He will be representing Talcott Mountain Academy and the State of Connecticut at the National History Day competition at the University of Maryland from June 15th through the 19th. Eli Mathieu, from Colchester, is a 7th grade student at Talcott Mountain Academy in Avon.
Approximately 4,000 Connecticut students from grades 6-12 prepared history research projects based on this year's National History Day theme of Rights and Responsibilities in History. The students who placed in the top two in a category at the State Contest are invited to compete in the National Contest. The categories for National History Day are Research Paper, Website, Exhibit, Performance or Documentary.
