GHS National History Day Winners Honored at Board of Education Meeting

In the National History Day competition a set of very busy seniors were recognized by coach Aaron Hull, Greenwich Schools Superintendent Dr. Jill Gildea and the Board of Education at the Sept 14 meeting for their success at the National History Day competition.

Michelle Xiong won for her an individual senior documentary. Her project was entitled, “Governor Ralph Lawrence Carr: A Politician’s Stand for Japanese American Rights During World War II.”

“The relevance of Michelle’s work on Ralph Lawrence Carr in today’s political climate is a remarkable testament to the power of history to educate,” said We The People coach Aaron Hull.

Board of Education chair Peter Sherr, GHS senior Sara Stober, Greenwich Schools superintendent Dr. Jill Gildea and We The People coach Aaron Hull at the Sept 14, 2017 Board of Education meeting in Old Greenwich. Photo: Leslie Yager

In the group senior documentary project, a team of of juniors at the time – Jake Karetsky, Beth Taibi, Bennett Tiedy, Catherine Veronis, and Sara Stober – created a phenomenal documentary called “What Damage We Can: Taking a Stand Against Imperial Japan.”

The seniors, members of We The People’s Citizen and Constitution, program talked about a little celebrated battle at the center of The Battle of Leyte Gulf – generally considered to be the largest naval battle of World War II – where three very lightly armored, very lightly weaponized ships managed to keep a Japanese force at Bay until reinforcements arrived.

Coach Aaron Hull said the group took 3rd place at National History Day regionals, first place at the state competition, before making it to National History Day finals and were just outside the cut for the final day.

“It’s a tremendous accomplishment,” Mr. Hull said, adding that it was the first time that the We The People sent, not one, but two submissions to the National History Day competition.

Greenwich High School Innovation Lab students were also recognized by the Board of Education on Sept 14 for their success at National History Day.