Cedar Shoals students shine at the National History Day contest
For the first time, six Cedar Shoals High School students competed in the regional National History Day contest on Feb. 8 at the University of Georgia Center For Continuing Education. Students earned 8 medals in total.
The competition included students from Northeast Georgia. More than 110 students from 6-12 grades participated, making it the largest NHD regional competition in Georgia. Students chose to make exhibits, papers, documentaries or performances and presented them at the competition. Students were then interviewed on their research and how their project related to the 2025 theme, which was ‘rights and responsibilities in history.’
Sophomores Sa’ida Arnold, Caitlin Smith and Savannah Rawls competed in the documentary category. Their documentary “Above the Arch” placed 2nd place for the documentary category in the senior division.
Sophomore Elijah Stone competed in the paper category, his paper was about the passion and politics behind American child nutrition. Stone earned 1st place and received overall gold for the paper category in the senior division.
Freshman Kitty Dennison also competed in the paper category. Her paper was about the decline of mental health facilities and the rise of prisons. Dennison received 2nd place for the paper category in the senior division.
“I truly felt like I learned so much that I wouldn’t have known. It feels good to know that I’m spreading a message that may have never been heard of. It was also interesting to see other projects,” Rawls said. “I would definitely recommend participating in National History Day. Even if you don’t win anything, you learn something new and come out knowing so much more.”
In addition, several students from Burney-Harris-Lyons Middle School, Hilsman Middle School, Clarke Middle School and Coile Middle School received numerous awards during the award ceremony. From the 42 Clarke County School District students who competed, 32 received awards and will be advancing to the state competition including Cedar students, which will take place on April 26th, 2025 at LaGrange College.
National History Day is a non profit organization that hosts an annual year-long competition for students in middle and high schools. Over 500,000 participate in the National History Day contest each year.
