Eleven juniors moved on to the State History Fair following the Sectional competition last month.

“History Fair just completed it’s Sectional competition, so they’ve only just announced who will be attending the state competition though we’re still waiting on performances and documentaries,” said History teacher Tim Sermak.

The students who had moved to state are Rochelle Abraham, Emily Dunne, Antonette Appel, Madison Fritz, Lucy Dalton, Avery Day, Rebecca Nadeau, Sophia Cotter, Jalynn Knight, Arnold Macias, and Matt Rennolds.

“In my opinion, the History Fair teaches students how to research a topic thoroughly. Students are taught to use the databases provided by the Grayslake North library. There research is deeper than a simple Google search and is rather scholarly, as they are using the same databases college students across the country use. This project really prepares them for college level research and how to backup a thesis statement with numerous pieces of reliable evidence,” said history teacher Alexander Meier.

Although the History Fair was a struggle and had a lot of work put in it, students were successful.

“I think it went really well! Overall, the projects were well researched and a lot of attention to detail was given to the final product of these presentations. Many of the students projects exceeded my expectations and I think this is demonstrated through ten students advancing to the state level competition being held in Springfield, Illinois,” Meier said.

Of those, the following students earned Superior Ribbons: Arnold Guadalupe Macias, Madison Fritz, Emily Dunne, Antonette Appel, Rochelle Abraham, and Lucy Dalton. The following student earned an Excellent Ribbon, Avery Day,” said History teacher Roxanne Bristow. Even though students enjoyed it, teachers enjoyed it as well to be with the students competing.

“I like that this project allows students incorporate their personal and career interests. Most students choose topics they have some sort of personal connection with and I think many students enjoy studying history that is connected to Chicago and Illinois. I think these connections make the project much more relevant and meaningful to the students,” Meier said.