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Hauppauge High School Makes History at the History Day Competition
On Sunday, March 18, over 60 Hauppauge students competed in the Long Island History Day Competition held at Hofstra University. All students did an outstanding job showcasing their projects and put in great effort researching this year’s theme of Conflict and Compromise in History. This year’s competition was the largest with over 1,300 students competing. Four Hauppauge High School projects qualified for the New York State History Day (NYSHD) competition which will be held on Monday, April 23rd in Cooperstown, NY:
Historical Paper:
Caroline Fortmeyer: The Conflict Between China’s One Child Policy and the Family’s Right to Choose (Felicia Cono – teacher) – 3rd place
Individual Documentary:
Aidan Ilinitzki: Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X: The Conflict and Compromise with the Civil Rights Movement (Felicia Cono – teacher) 2nd place
Individual Website:
Melody Cheng: Repression, Rebellion, Runnymede: The Writing of the Magna Carta (teacher Stacey Lasurdo) 2nd place
Group Performance - First time in Hauppauge’s History a group has qualified for the NYSHD:
Andrew Crecca, David Fresolone, Lucas Field, Vincent Gerardi, Francesco DiFlora The New York Constitutional Convention of 1821: Expanding Democracy Through Compromise (Dave Reiff, Harry Shehigian, and Stacey Lasurdo - teachers)
Special Awards – Not competing in NYSHD
Individual Documentary:
Frank Hufnagel: JFK and the Conflict over Civil Rights (Harry Shehigian – teacher) – 3rd place
Local History Award sponsored by the Smithtown Historical Society:
Alex Vasilakopoulos and Jalaj Mehta: The Shoreham Protest: Long Islanders’ Fight Against Nuclear Power (Stacey Lasurdo - teacher)- group website
Maritime History Award sponsored by the Cold Spring Harbor Whaling Museum:
Brandon Carvalho and Jade Carvalho: The Cuban Missile Crisis: A Nuclear Misunderstanding (Felicia Cono and Dave Reiff – teachers) group website
Women’ History Award sponsored by the Long Island Woman Suffrage Association:
Peter Proscia and Rose Recce: Life Behind the Quill (Felica Cono-teacher) group performance
Hauppauge High School Social Studies Teacher Ellen Robbins did a wonderful job serving as the Hauppauge liaison for History Day. Congratulations to all students, teachers and librarians who put forth a tremendous amount of hard work to help our students be successful.
On Monday, April 23, 2018 the NYS History Day Competition regional competition was held in Cooperstown, NY. All HHS students did an outstanding job
Individual Documentary
Aidan Illitzki
Historical Paper
Caroline Fortmeyer
Individual Website
Melody Cheng
Group Performance
Andrew Crecca
Francesco DiFlora
Lucas Field
David Fresolone
Vincent Gerardi
Melody placed third and is a runner up for the National Competition. The group performance placed second and moved on to the National Competition in June at the University of Maryland. This is the first time Hauppauge sent a performance to the national competition.
At the National History Day Award Ceremony, the Senior Performance, "Constitutional Convention of 1821," placed 4th in the nation. Additionally, these students also received the top outstanding entry in the Senior Division for New York State. This is a tremendous accomplishment and the best finish for Hauppauge thus far. Ms. Robbins, 11th grade Social Studies teacher and National History Day Liaison, attended the competition at the University of Maryland with these students; Andrew Crecca (12th grade), David Fresolone (12th grade), Lucas Field (12th grade), Francesco DiFloria (12th grade) and Vincent Gerardi (9th grade). Ms. Robbins remarked that the students did an excellent job researching and preparing for their performance. She also said that Andrew and Dave told the Social Studies Department they would go to the New York State History Day before they graduated. They far exceeded their goal. The students' teachers are Mr. Shehigian, Mr. Reiff and Ms. Lasurdo.