Eight students advanced to the State History Fair on May 5 in Springfield, more than have ever advanced this far before in school history.
Seven students compteted in the exhibit portion of the competition, and one student competed in the website portion. Each of the students who competed were rated as “superior” in the competition.
“The students should be very proud of the work that they presented, as each of the students worked diligently on their projects, represented GNHS well and their work was on par with the best projects from across the state on display in Springfield,” said social studies teacher Tim Sermak.
History Fair preparations began way back in December. Students created projects that were placed on display at North in January. Many students chose topics relevant to their daily lives.
“My topic is about the conductors of The Underground Railroads from the Civil War. I used to live in Zion, IL, and there was a rumor around town that there was a stop on The Underground Railroads in our town. It was supposedly under the oldest house in Zion. I decided to do my project on The Underground Railroads to see if it was true and because I wanted to know more about it. I ended up finding out that the rumor was actually false,” said History Fair contestant Kaydra Kerr.
History Fair has been a part of junior social studies curriculum since the school opened. It provides students with an outlet to get creative while learning about their towns and surrounding areas.
“It allows students to delve deeply into a topic that interests them and helps develop skills in research, persuasion, historical analysis, and writing. In order to move on in competition, they have to relate the topic to Chicagoland’s history and tie in the History Fair theme, which this year is Exploration, Encounter, Exchange,” said department chair Chris Kubic.
History Fair has opened many new doors for competitors.
“My advice for next year’s competitors would be to go the extra mile to put extra effort in your project because you never know what opportunities it can bring,” said junior Karissa Voida.