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GC students take top honors at
National Fair
Published June 16, 2006 Goose Creek school district participants
brought national recognition to their schools and
community after winning top honors at the National
History Day competition on June 15. All six Goose Creek
students who advanced to the national contest earned one
of the highest awards presented.
Only those
students who placed first or second at the state
competition advanced to National History Day, which was
held at the University of Maryland this week.
Stuart Tiller, who just completed his
eighth-grade year at Gentry Junior School, won the
second-place silver medal for his individual exhibit.
Stuart, the son of Mark and Nan Tiller, was presented
with the award for “And We Fought for Texas . . .The
Defenders of the Alamo: Few Stand Against
Many.”
Stuart, who presented information on the
Alamo defenders’ impact on Texas and American history,
was the student of Jenice Coffey.
Sarah James,
who will be a junior at Ross S. Sterling High School
this fall, won the third-place bronze medal for her
historical paper. This was Sarah’s third trip to the
national competition after placing first in the state
historical paper competition the past three
years.
Her paper, “Taking a Stand Against
Indiscriminate Pesticide Use: Rachel Carson’s Silent
Spring,” examined how Carson’s work changed public
perception about the dangers of chemicals in the
environment. She is the daughter of Barry and Kellye
James and the student of Donna Britt.
The team of
four students from Baytown Junior School earned
third-place bronze medals for their group exhibit,
“Vietnam War College Protests: 13 Seconds That Altered
13 Years of War.” Team members, taught by Peter Cushman,
included Kaitlyn Martin, Mary Grosjean, Marlee Burns and
Karsyn Jackson.
Their exhibit demonstrated how
college students taking a stand against U.S. involvement
in the Vietnam War not only influenced the country’s
withdrawal from the war, but also brought dramatic
change to federal laws.
Kaitlyn is the daughter
of Randee King and Ken Martin, and Mary is the daughter
of Trisha and Don Grosjean. Marlee’s parents are Carrie
and Glenn Jennings and Mike Burns, and Karsyn’s parents
are Frankie and Scott Jackson.
“These Goose Creek
students who are winners at National History Day
represent hundreds of other Goose Creek students who
began their journey of history research back in the fall
semester of this past school year,” said Hal Davis,
Goose Creek social studies specialist. “It is a credit
to their perseverance, the dedication of their teachers,
and of course, support from their parents that they were
able to become winners. They competed against other
students from all 50 states as well as U.S. territories,
and to realize what they have achieved is
amazing!”
Donna Britt, history teacher at
Sterling High School, also was honored at the national
contest as one of the 10 finalists for the Richard T.
Farrell Teacher of Merit Award for outstanding success
in teaching history. Britt, whose students consistently
win awards in regional and state history competitions
each year, was among those recognized for developing and
using creative methods to make history interesting for
students.
“Donna epitomizes excellence in social
studies teaching, and she has the utmost respect of her
fellow teachers, parents and students in this school
district as well as across the state of Texas,” Davis
said. “She goes far in helping her students recognize
and develop their interest in history, spending many
hours with students developing excellent and challenging
History Day projects at the campus, region, state and
national level. Many of her students have participated
in National History Day at the University of Maryland
because she has been their guiding force.”
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