Two student groups from Diplomat Middle School have been invited to attend the National History Day competition at the University of Maryland.
Each of the competitors scored either first or second place in the state competition last month in Tallahassee, said Cindy McClung, district coordinator for Social Studies, and therefore are invited to the national level from June 13-17.
Diplomat Middle students Widline Castor, Morgan Cook, Chloe Wilson and Alexis Rojas won first place at the state competition for their group performance, “The Federal Bureau of Investigation.” Delaney Evans, another student from Diplomat Middle, also won second place for the individual performance, “Radar.”
“They go up against kids from all over the country and hopefully they will do well,” said McClung.
The only other school in Lee County sending a student to the national competition is Fort Myers High. Sara Jackson is presenting her documentary, “Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel’s Impact on the Fashion Industry.”
History competitions have a changing theme each year. This year it was “Innovation in History: Impact and Change,” where students had to pick a historical innovation and describe how it changed the world.
Schools from across Lee County let students compete in one of eight categories: Individual Performance, Group Performance, Individual Documentary, Group Documentary, Individual Exhibit, Group Exhibit, Historical Paper and Website.
Because the competition is in College Park, Md., each of the students will have to pay approximately $800 in travel and lodging expenses, said McClung. That amount could increase depending on air fare.
Anyone interested in assisting the competitors with their trip to the University of Maryland can contact McClung at 337-8632 or contact the schools directly. She said Diplomat Middle also is planning to hold its own fund- raising events.