LAPS students participate in New Mexico National History Day. Courtesy/LAPS

LAPS News:

Los Alamos Public Schools was well represented at the recent New Mexico National History Day regional contest and state competition. Nineteen students from Piñon Elementary, Los Alamos Middle School and Los Alamos High School competed in the regional contest in Santa Fe in March.

Eight students placed at the regional contest and qualified to compete in the New Mexico National History Day State Contest in Albuquerque held April 11.

“All of the projects were very well done and the students represented Los Alamos extremely
well,” Pinon Elementary NHD sponsor Courtney Smith said. “Many are already starting to plan
their projects for next year!” She also co-sponsors NHD at the middle school along with Meagan
Selis.

The high school sponsor is Leslie Clark.

Here are the results from that competition:

• Helena Welch, Los Alamos High School – 1st place senior paper, “Musicians in Stalin’s Russia: Responsibilities Without Rights in the World of Art”
• Gordy Phillips, Los Alamos High School – 1st place senior individual exhibit, “The Emu War: How the Consequences of the Australian Government’s Political Choices Lead to a Failure of an Eradication Campaign”
• Kyra Woodhall, Los Alamos Middle School – 1st place junior individual exhibit, “Pueblo Revolt: The Fight for Cultural and Political Rights”
• Evan Cunningham and Isaac Light, Los Alamos Middle School – 1st place junior group documentary, “From the Shipwreck, to the Shackles, to the Sea”
• Eli Farley, Los Alamos Middle School – Honorable Mention junior individual documentary, “Nuclear Weapons: Where is the Ethical Line?”
• Brandon Keller, Los Alamos Middle School – Honorable Mention junior paper, “The Corps of Discovery: Rights and Responsibilities”
• Presley Hopwood, Piñon Elementary School – 2nd place junior individual website “The Music of the Civil Rights Protest”

For the National History Day (NHD) contest, students choose a historical event and analyze it through the lens of the yearly theme. This year’s theme was “Rights and Responsibilities in History.” NHD encourages students to conduct research, synthesize information, and communicate their findings through one of five different categories – paper, exhibit, documentary, performance or website.